"So, the more I have been reading the blogs of golden-zephyr and lookatthisfuckingadje, the more I realize my initial "ask" to you was inappropriate, considering I played the "i-once-thought-we-were-rroma-but-it-turns-out-not-really" card. Even if you didn't notice or take offense, my own gadje ignorance bothers me, so I wanted to apologize and say that I will be working hard to educate myself. Anyway, that is all. Take care!" - astarrygreysea

Apology not accepted because there is no need to apologize :) 

Here in America….there are many people who have Rroma ancestry and do not know it. Were called the hidden race. So thinking that you could have Rroma ancestry is not wrong or offensive or inappropriate in ANY way.  I do not find you ignorant at all, in fact, I find you to be the exact opposite and you should be very proud of that. 

I actually found out that I am Rroma BECAUSE I had that “inkling.” I began to do ancestry research and…NOTHING made sense. Everything I knew was wrong. I had been told that we were Cherokee and….we werent. Turns out, this was and still is an extremely common lie told by Southeastern Rroma to hide their identity because even being Cherokee, to my ancestors and many others, was better than being Rroma. All “swarthy” people were treated inhumanely. But the Cherokee were considered “non-savages” by the white people…so many Rroma claimed Cherokee, or they took Scot-Irish surnames and called themselves Black Irish, took German surnames and called themselves “Black Dutch” (even though German is not Dutch..and..yeah, lol). Many even called themselves “Port-e-gyee” just to escape telling the truth about their origins. 

So, yeah, sorry about the long winded reply..but there is nothing wrong with thinking there could have been some Rroma ancestry in your genealogy. I took many wrong turns before I found out the truth…but when I did….it clicked. I was raised by my grandmother and mother in ….a pretty ‘typical’ Rromani way, ESPECIALLY my grandmother. When I learned my true ethnic origins…I just kind of laughed, like “ok…everything makes sense now.” I mean, down to the foods we ate, my grandmothers strong belief in marhime, to religion and spirituality, language (that I naturally thought was Cherokee…l..o…l. I dont speak perfect Rromani, but..I can say small things xD) and many other small cultural aspects that my friends and neighbors grew up without. 

Anyyyhow, haha. I appreciate this ‘ask’…thank you!

"I just noticed that you followed me and I just wanted to say thank you. Your blog is quite wonderful! It, along with other blogs, has taught me a lot about Rromani culture, which I have always been interested in (my family once thought we might have a bit of Rromani heritage but that ended up not being true) but mostly ignorant about. Anyway, the point is, I think you are lovely and your blog is great. :)" - astarrygreysea

Thank you so much! I love your blog, and I am very glad I followed!