Definitely relate to not quite fitting in with either culture! I'm grateful for the perspective my heritage has given me on national identity and how I view different customs as a whole, because I think it has made me more understanding of others. But I definitely feel most understood myself when with other people who are dual identity, no matter what those identities are - there are definitely common threads we all share, from trying to fit in and camouflage to the dissonance we feel when considering what it would be like to move back to our country of origin

This is genius

I am a woman, but other than that bang on

Bloody expensive though

Maybe because they're both island nations with an isolationist culture, but there are definitely parallels to be drawn between the treatment foreigners get in the UK and in Japan. Growing up, being Polish was the identity others assigned to me and how they identified me and the main way in which I was described, and people make a lot of assumptions about me based on it. I used to get asked if I was Jewish a lot growing up because I have pretty stereotypically Slavic features, for example, and one time a teacher described me as "sallow skinned" after seeing I have an ethnic name on the school register.

Unfortunately I have neither anywhere near me, and no car to travel, but good to know. I was reliant on my food bank for a while but the COL crisis means they limit the amount of aid each person can claim which sucks

Found it interesting to discover that the money here in the UK is made from animal parts - I think certain notes contain tallow? Definitely seems like it is impossible to fully exclude animal products from your daily life unless you go off the grid and try to be an entirely self sufficient vegan homesteader, which, while extremely difficult and likely dangerous is still an option open to those preaching a vegan lifestyle. Vegans often do not actually practise their philosophy as far as is practical and possible, they all draw the line somewhere so far as how willing they are to sacrifice their comfort and convenience. Like there are no fully vegan cars - the glue is animal based, even if you opt out of a leather interior. Public transport or taking a job you can walk to are alternatives in the UK if you actually cared about benefitting from animals as little as possible, but few vegans will make sacrifices which are actually inconvenient once you get down to the nitty gritty

Imo being a vegan so far as diet and basic lifestyle changes goes is fairly easy for some people (they don't really like meat to begin with, know how to cook and enjoy it, no real health issues, disposable income) but the real test of how much they actually believe in these ideas is in if they consistently give up more niche forms of animal exploitation wherever they can

Maybe so. I typically will provide something like falafel/bhaji/spiced chickpeas with hummus in a wrap, but in situations I've helped with event planning for, there has always been a significant proportion of the party who are either religious vegetarians or have other dietary restrictions. If veganism isn't as common where you are, you wouldn't think about it I suppose

That's interesting, I suppose meat being so culturally important would definitely make substitutes feel essential, and if they're so much more expensive veganism can quickly feel like a privileged stance

I can see why not having vegan options at gatherings is frustrating, tbh. For the same reason not having halal or kosher options is also frustrating if you are going to invite guests with those restrictions. Providing a decent vegan option is easy and nonvegans can also eat it, plus you can easily make it a catch-all option for gf folk as well. I wouldn't throw a fuss about it, or post about it online, but I always try to make sure there's a vegan option when bringing snacks in for the kids at school for example (I'm a highschool teacher) so everyone can participate

By vegan stuff do you mean things like meat replacements? My diet is mostly vegetarian, for the same reasons as you stated, and honestly I see zero appeal in things like Beyond products, but I also think they're totally unnecessary. When I've done Veganuary in the past, I tend to eat a lot of whole foods (tofu, legumes, beans, fruit and veg) and here in the UK that is cheaper than eating meat. But, I know the economic model for the US is quite different so I wouldn't be surprised if things like chicken were cheaper than tofu or Seitan

I think there's nothing wrong with explaining your ideas and why you believe them to those willing to listen, but I can see why pushy activism for any cause can get annoying quickly. There are often Jehovah's witnesses outside my local supermarket, for example, but they only give you a pamphlet if you specifically approach them