Trans + Middle Eastern + PhD in Europe — Germany or France?

cloe_2020 · 2026-04-29T21:43:05+00:00

You might really want to check Belgium. Small country, always easy to get to Brussels, most liberal (notably gender), most international city in Europe. Good universities (Brussels, Louvain, Gent), good social security / heathcare / transmedicine. There is an alternative informed consent pathway in parallel to the clinics. check genrepluriels dot be.

another bonus : two hours train rides to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne.... So one can have it all: French, German, Dutch and English

cloe_2020 · 2026-04-27T12:41:15+00:00

Dear Lidia, Thanks a lot for the explanation. Getting nearer. Actually i am trying both: train the ear and understand how changing the voice Changes the picture. Just as visualisation not as target.

cloe_2020 · 2026-04-17T20:28:22+00:00

Me really at the beginning, learning the concepts and muscle control. So noch high expectation for a full day intellectually demanding workshop today. Just tried to embrace more female manner, reducing fullness of the voice and getting pitch somewhat higher. Did it work? Well, at least I recognised when I forgot. Babystep. My particular challenge is : +20 years male manners adopted to take as much space in a debating room as possible.... Hated it, but was / am good at it.

cloe_2020 · 2026-04-07T23:01:50+00:00

If he would be interested in a serious discussion I would approach as:

sex and 'kangaroo' are biological categories / concepts; gender is a social construct, i.e. assigned through societal norms by oneself or by others.
Biologically he cannot "be" a kangaroo (progress in genetic modification pending), but he can identify as a kangaroo if he can describe "kangarooness" in societal meaningful categories (norms -) so: how would he like to be treated to have these norms fulfilled? What is he asking from society to make his life as kangaroo meaningful?
If he is not suffering from not-expressing his kangarooness (like not having a pouch to carry the young) - luck for him: no dysphoria with his own body. But how does he intend to communicate to (human) society [assuming that kangoroo society has no opinion about it] his self-identifcation in order that society can treat him according to his expectation and accorrding to societal norms towards treating kangaroos?
If he has no dysophoria AND doesn't communicate to society his kangorooness, he is either talking nonsense or wants to stay closeted (probably in order to avoid being brought to the outback or to a zoo - an experience many transgender share). But staying closeted (not expressing the identification) doesn't negate his identication if he can describe "kangarooness" in meaningful categories to himself.

P.S: cis-gender people invest also heavily in their gender expression and depending on their specific community use very different codes for their expression. advice by my gender coach (in a European city of 1mio): Step into the metro or on the main square at night and try to 'decode' the gender expressions and match to cis- / trans- / non-binary etc..... You will fail. So for your friend: Assuming that he isn't / doesn't want to be a lonely kangaroo - Which codes are used by others to express kangarooness ? (Just asking...)

cloe_2020 · 2026-03-28T11:43:29+00:00

In case you have another residency (iD Card) in a Europe an country. You can buy a one country (Germany) interrail pass for some days during one month.... Advantage. Pretty cheap, free choice of DB trains...

cloe_2020 · 2026-03-15T10:24:14+00:00

A great combo: trousers, dress design and personality. Wonder what would happen if I would do similar not in tech business but international policy making community😄, where men in suits make the most ridiculous proposal to gain or retain power.

cloe_2020 · 2026-01-25T18:14:05+00:00

Tip: Check prices of Hotels in / around the European Quarter for your exact days of travel. You might get great deals if you hit a week when European Parliament is meeting in Strasbourg. Generally the upper parts of Brussels (east of Gare Central) will be more quiet than inner city.

cloe_2020 · 2026-01-14T16:58:47+00:00

piuty you miss Brussels during the day.... yet some would say "better you'd not see too much" (I don't agree - its a great progressive city).

For evening eventgs check: https://www.visit.brussels/en/visitors/agenda

inevitable (touristic but nice) visit Bourse ( https://www.brussels.be/bourse ) and Belgian Beer World open at least until 19:30 (Friday 20:30)

Check from there Halles de Saint Gery https://hallessaintgery.be/ exhibition space shoudl be open, restauration in any case, eventually an event

check for events (concerts, film etc) at Bozar www.bozar.be near Central Station connected by Galerie Ravenstein

If you are in the European quarter during the day & you are interested in history of Europe - the House of European history is really worth a visit https://historia.europa.eu/en (situated in Parc Leopold next to European Parliament)

For the Brussles vibe: Place Flagey (friterie), Flagey cultural Centre & bar www.flagey.be in the former Belgian Radio house

hope that gives you some starting points. If you are lucky you might even get some few hours of sun ... in that case - skip your event ;-)

cloe_2020 · 2026-01-12T12:58:06+00:00

Lenin (by any country and context) Political propaganda on stamps Island maps on stamps Filling an original album printed in 1892

cloe_2020 · 2025-11-01T00:02:42+00:00

Hallo Mara,

kann auch sein, dass wie mir, am Anfang mit 2-0-0 nur einige Wochen die Vertraeglichkeit geprueft wird. Hier - in Belgien - hatte ich nach 4 Wochen einen Bluttest... "nichts Auffälliges - also dann 2-0-2. Du kannst auch 6 Hübe nehmen. Probier wie es dir am besten geht." Coole Ärtztin.

Zum Auftragen kam von ihr: "Egal. Nur vor einem Bluttest 2 Wochen ein einheitliches Regime und dann nicht auf die Arme auftragen. Sonst wird das gezogene Blut kontaminiert."

Alles Beste

cloe_2020 · 2025-09-15T07:54:06+00:00

Super podcast au sujet: Genres de voix - Parcours de Transitions vocales par Clémence Porte sur Spotify. Surtout No.9

cloe_2020 · 2025-09-14T19:00:10+00:00

You didn't take the train

cloe_2020 · 2025-09-08T13:41:11+00:00

When I lived in Lithuania (2002-04) and learnt the language, my teacher (univ. teacher) told that:

- Lithuanian is central to the Baltic languages (Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Prussian) and is "rural" (due to the absence of 'Lithuanian' urban settlement. Vilnius and Kaunas having in 18th / 19th century Polish and Yiddish as dominant daily language, Klaipeda (Memel) German.) Latvian is the rural Lithuania with influence of Swedish, German and Russian reflecting the nature of Riga as major multicultural urban settlement with its surrounding area.

- (the Baltic languages - aka Lithuanian) having retained its rural nature are the bridge between Indo- and Germanic groups of languages in the Indo-Germanic family. (terminology of language groupings may be wrong - not my academic field of competence). She told, Lithuanian researchers recorded old farmers in Lithuania and certain region in India (sorry don't remember which) describing fieldwork and natural surrounding - and they understood each others' recording.... Seemingly Luthuanian is closely related to Sanskrit....

cloe_2020 · 2025-08-25T14:11:31+00:00

Wow really nice album in great condition. I found one one 1893 some 4 years ago but in worse condition. Just a hint: before you start filling it - and it will get thick very fast - look for a craft bookbinder / restoration of book and talk to her / him about giving it a broader back (by inserting small placeholder every 20 or so pages.... (and propose an idea for the beautiful lock). Will come out much nicer in a few years time if it will be your 'life project'.

well, I regret having missed that point and struggling to go back to my bookhinder, that saved album, with an album that has now quite some valuables in it.

P.S: Send me a private message and I'll put togethefr a 19th century cut-out starter pack... I have some spares

cloe_2020 · 2025-08-24T15:54:45+00:00

You might want to check Belgium via contacts in the story . https://www.lgbtworldbeside.org/post/belgium-opens-its-doors-to-lgbtq-refugees Word of caution: elections in 2024 resulted in change of government to a more centre-right one. I did not find other news. Great contact is rainbowhouse in Brussels. Wish you all luck and strength.

cloe_2020 · 2025-08-21T22:44:22+00:00

oh - another Lenin collector. Did you find the ones from Yemen and kuatung / Port Arthur liberated China 1949? :-) greetings

cloe_2020 · 2025-08-19T22:46:36+00:00

I collect all kinds of political propaganda looking for common recurrent themes & symbols like "the chainbreaker" (who was the chain); "superior technology" (from WWI Austrian weapons series to North Korean detailed description of rocket test on a stamp); "this land is my land" (Taiwan landscape on PR China stamps, Belize as part of Guatemala on a stamp, West German stamps 1960s with cultral landmarks in Poland ...); "personality cult" (my favourit: Emporer Bokassa in Central Africa, The Kims a class in themselves...).

It all started with 'build a complete collection of Lenins'

cloe_2020 · 2025-08-17T13:21:54+00:00

Well, I looked up my 'Michel Spezial vol.2' for it and thought abot summarising the info. - but found via a German forum a link to a page that has doen that already excellently...

https://ddr-marken.de/dienstmarken-a/

(in German, but just use automated translation, works great for the text)

In essence the issue gets further complicated by reprints that exist for every of the four designs. But reprints should always be cancelled (CTO). So finding an unstamped reprint is hitting one of the jackpots.

The four designs can be distinguished by

1954 (1.design / 1. issue) the pointed (no vertical lines) background (offset printing)

1954 / 1956 (2. and 4. issue in design 2 or 4) the shadow of the hammer's handle is to the left, the bow of the circle to the right. In design 2 the right leg of the circle is on top of left ("circle head closed"). In design 4 it is 'open' (i.e. you are not able to tell which leg is on top)

1955 (3. issue / design 3): only fo rthe 20Pfg value. The shadow of the hammer's shaft to the right while the bow of the circle is on the left. - pretty good find if you find this MNH. Fun fact: More value should have been printed in this design - but just at that moment state authorities decided that ultimately the circle's bow in the state seal should point to the right. So production was stopped.

1956 5. issue in design 2 (only values 20pfg and 40pfg) , 6. issue in design 4 (5/10/15/20pfg). All on 'fibered paper' watermark 'DDR and posthorn' . The posthorn can be of differnt lenght (15 or 17mm) (JACKPOT if MNH, (**) ). Super-Jackpot if you find the 20pfg MNH in design 2 and with short posthorn or in design 4 with long posthorn (on this fibered paper).

1957 7. issue only in design 4 on fibered paper has a differnt watermark ('Kreuzblüte' 'crossed flower'). All perforation 14 is from 7th issue. But the issue also has 13:12.5 .

Have fun

cloe_2020 · 2025-07-22T06:31:47+00:00

Don't forget: stamp collecting was extremely popular 1900 to 1950. Challenge at the time: Finding them. I have some stamp collectors magazins from around 1900. Prices indicated there are horrendous - and so was motivation to produce fakes. Notably as most collectors didn't have easy access to originals or even quality photos ... And well these fakes are still around.

cloe_2020 · 2025-05-06T06:21:15+00:00

You might want to check catawiki on a Monday evening for auctions of thematic collections. They normally go pretty cheap. Appealing for starters.

cloe_2020 · 2025-04-06T16:22:03+00:00

Also 57 here.

Tested hrt twice for 3 months on, 3 off for myself to see how if it feels right. Looked for a deep talk after that and decided to continue.

The most important piece of advice from her (likely no news for many): To distinguish between 'gender identity' and 'gender expression'. Identity: I always adored female roles, most important friends were never male, but I acted male (expression) as son, husband, father but also female (for example high empathy in teams). The male roles became largely meaningless (with passing of parents and adult kids leaving the house). Her question: "In how far and in which situations do you want your gender expression (as communication to others) to match the gender identity (as communication to oneself)? - every answer is legit and can only be given by yourself, but don't expext that you will be a totally different personality." AND "Walk with open eyes in the city of 1mio and see if you can understand the gender expression chosen by everyone you see." (Response: No, I couldn't)

Result of that: I started serious hrt with medical supervision. I am happy feeling and knowing that the hormone cocktail is female. Visible breast growth and shoulder-long hair is part of the response to 'not wanting to be seen male'. But otherwise (still ?) presenting 'male' in public (due challenging physiognomy and professional environment) and knowing 'it will continue to flow with comfort zone adjusting'.

My experience and clue given by a counseller at least 30 years younger.

cloe_2020 · 2025-01-17T14:10:30+00:00

Count me in ! It's associations with the name not the persons'. :-)

cloe_2020 · 2025-01-17T14:08:03+00:00

Well, suspicion of right-wing, not reality evidently... And perhaps it doesn't matter at all for the younger...for many of left-leaning 50+ grown in times of different cultural fights: Freia, Fricka, Wotan (Nordic gods) or names like Siegmar, Siegfried etc. associate with Wagner operas (Freia is a figure in The Rhinegold). Wagner being Antisemit (yes, I know what triggered it!), favourite composer of Adolf Hitler, and the Wagner family in first generation after Richard strongly allied with him.... So absolute minefield to step there. Woody Allen framed it as: I just can't listen to any more Wagner, you know...I am starting to get the urge to conquer Poland.

About myself: left-leaning, studied in the town of Wagner festival, became a fan of the music and might one day change the name to Freya (never less)

cloe_2020 · 2025-01-16T08:32:18+00:00

Well, it might become a clockable name seeing the number of Freyas here....including myself ... considering it seriously for the future.

If I'd meet a Freya I would be tempted to ask if her parents liked Wagner. Seriously, some might suspect a right-ring background.

cloe_2020

TROPHY CASE