I’m allergic to milk and I live in a foreign country (Japan). But I think it’s easier to live in Japan with my allergy than in America – because most traditional Japanese food doesn’t use milk. Kind of the only things that actually DO use milk are “Western” (cake, pizza, cheese, etc) and are easy to avoid. The only downside, though, is that a lot of my Japanese friends have a hard time processing how I could actually have an allergy to milk. It’s incredibly uncommon here. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to explain “yes, this is a real allergy – and it’s actually pretty common in the States.” Also – I’ve realized this can be a bit confusing. Just to clarify, I’m not actually “lactose intolerant.” I’m allergic to something specific in cow’s milk. I used to tell people that I had a milk allergy, but then they would just say “oh, so you’re lactose intolerant? So is my cousin!” and then I would have to explain the difference between a “milk allergy” and being “lactose intolerant.” It’s a lot easier to just say “lactose intolerant” when people ask, So I usually just stick to [...]
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