March 26, 2025 • 68 mins
Klaudia Farkas is a Romani woman, Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) since 2010, a self-taught herbalist since 2014, and an esthetician since 2020. She is the founder and owner of Romani Roots and Romani Roots Skincare and Herbal Remedies, based in the heart of Noe Valley, San Francisco. With a passion for holistic wellness, Klaudia blends her extensive knowledge in healthcare, natural remedies, and skincare to empower others on their journey to health and self-care.
Visit her website https://romani-roots-skincare.chrone.work/ and follow her at @romaniroots on Instagram.
Romani crushes this episode are Meghan Ores of Luludi and Jennileen Joseph of Sastimos Holistic Health (listen to our interviews with both of them!)
Also shoutout to ally and poet Liv Mammone who writes powerful poetry about disability, werewolves, and more.
Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.
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Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic.
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Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina Stevens
Conceived of by Paulina Stevens
Edited by Viktor Pachas
With Music by Viktor Pachas
And Artwork by Elijah Vardo
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Paulina Stevens (00:07):
Welcome to Romanistan.
We're your friendlyneighborhood gypsies.
Jezmina Von Thiele (00:12):
I'm Paulina and I'm Jez, and we're here
today with Claudia Farkas, ofRomani Roots.
Paulina Stevens (00:21):
Claudia Farkas is a Romani woman, certified
nurse assistant since 2010 and aself-taught herbalist since
2014 and an esthetician since2020.
She is the founder and owner ofRomani Roots and Romani Roots
Skincare and Herbal Remedies,based in the heart of no valley,
(00:42):
san francisco.
With a passion for holisticwellness, claudia blends her
extensive knowledge in healthcare, natural remedies and skin
care to empower others on theirjourney to health and self-care.
Klaudia Farkas (00:59):
Thank, you guys, we're so happy to have you here
.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:01):
Thank you, I'm so happy to be here finally
yes yeah, it's been a dream inthe making for a while.
Klaudia Farkas (01:10):
It's been a long time.
I feel like you asked me to dothis.
Like what.
Was it like two, three yearsago, or something I don't know.
Oh, it's something that'scoming up with one of three of
us with something that's comingup with one of one of three of
us, totally, but you know it'sperfect timing because it was a
lot's happened since then, soI'm happy to be here now, divine
(01:32):
timing.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:33):
Yeah, would you like to start by answering
our favorite intro question?
Tell us about yourself.
Where are you from?
Where's your family from?
What's your visa?
Anything else you'd like toshare about your background?
Klaudia Farkas (01:46):
okay, um, so I am originally from Hungary.
Um, I was born in Budapest andwe left Hungary in um 1986 and
went to Austria I think a few ofour relatives had already left,
(02:08):
and so that's how my parentsfound out that you know, there
was opportunity to go to Americaand they were giving away
flights to refugees, and so weended up in a refugee camp in
Austria for a little bit, whichwas in 86.
And then in 88, we ended up inSan Francisco in the tenderloin
(02:38):
and yeah, so that's, and we'vebeen in San Francisco ever since
.
We've never left San Francisco.
My family I never know how tosay this, but is a Calderash, as
far as I know.
That's a little bit about whereI'm from and, yeah, sf native.
(03:04):
I've been here forever.
Um, I've pretty much moved allaround San Francisco, so every
district I've lived in and I'vebeen here ever since and still
travel back home from time totime.
I try to go every summer, butit's really expensive do you
have a favorite neighborhood inSan Francisco?
(03:26):
That's a hard one.
I love all San Francisco.
I mean, yeah, I love it all.
I feel like San Francisco isnot the same anymore.
So you know, it's kind of sadthat it's changed so much,
because San Francisco, you know,in the 90s and the 80s is not
what it is today.
(03:47):
It's really sad.
There's just a lot of homelessand, um, all the SF natives have
left, so it's very different.
But, um, but yeah, I love itall.
I love, you know, the sunset.
I love Ocean Beach.
I love um.
Brisbane's probably my favoriteright now, just because it's its
(04:07):
own little.
It's like 10 minutes away fromSan Francisco.
It's where I live and we are.
I live on Native American landand so I live in this little
cove and over San Bruno Mountainso I get all the bunnies and
the coyotes, so we kind of wekind of get our own ecosystem
(04:29):
here.
So it's it's my little safehaven.
You know, it's like I can go tothe city and get that like San
Francisco experience, but thencome back to this little small
town in Brisbane and just likefeel safe and have my family and
, you know, quiet it's beautiful, and you have a stunning plant
(04:50):
behind you too, so I feel likeI'm there yeah, it's cute, it's.
I'm, I'm very grateful, um, it's.
It was kind of industrial likebiker town before and, um,
everyone found out about it, ofcourse.
So now everyone's like, oh, Ilive in Brisbane, you know, and,
um, but yeah, back in the dayit was very affordable, you know
(05:14):
, you could buy a house for like150,000 and now houses are like
, you know, a million, two.
It's just everyone's fightingto be here.
So I think I'm very luckybecause I pretty much manifested
this house.
We were living in Brisbane andI moved here in 2010 with my man
(05:38):
and he grew up here.
I was always in SF and you know,we were in a one bedroom little
cottage home with two kids andI was like, I want a garden, you
know, and we were also in anapartment.
So we went from little smallone bedroom to apartment and we
(05:59):
ended up in.
You know, I wanted to stay inBrisbane.
Covid hit, it was crazy wantedto stay in Brisbane.
Covid, hit, it was crazy.
You know, I thought the littleone was sick from mold, but
actually he had got COVID evenbefore we knew COVID had existed
, and so we left um and wentinto apartment and stayed there
for like about a year and thisplace opened up randomly.
(06:23):
I was looking on Craigslist andyou know they don't want to let
anyone in.
They're like oh, do you makethis much?
How many kids do you have?
And so the woman who wasrenting this place, she was
super chill, um, she wasactually like yeah you can turn
this room into a room.
You can turn that room into aroom.
Nice.
Paulina Stevens (06:42):
Nice.
Yeah, I make seven times therent.
Klaudia Farkas (06:45):
Right, exactly, so it's super affordable.
I always wanted a house where Ihave a downstairs so my mom can
live with me, because I camehere with my family and it's
just hard to leave my family.
Paulina Stevens (07:01):
It's just how we roll, so I always need an
extra room for my, my mom anddad, oh yes since we sometimes
(07:29):
think of ourselves as rebels andour definition changes pretty
much daily, um, we'd like to askdo you see yourself as a rebel?
Klaudia Farkas (07:42):
definitely, um, yeah, I uh, I mean just even
being Aquarius, but definitelybeing like Aquarius and Romani,
like for sure.
Um, I was always trying to hita cut or, you know, like just
all over the place.
(08:02):
I was very unpredictable.
I always, always wanted to, youknow.
Do you know, if you told me itwas gonna burn, I was gonna, you
know, challenge you and say areyou sure?
And even if it did burn, Iwould say I'm still not sure.
Let me do that again, you know.
So definitely like just superoutgoing love to you know.
Definitely like just superoutgoing love to you know, push
(08:26):
boundaries and try new thingsand definitely rebel against
everything and find my own ways,you know understandable.
Jezmina Von Thiele (08:38):
I love um Aquarius and Roma together.
Does that feel like a specialcombo for you?
Klaudia Farkas (08:42):
I really do.
I like I've met some Aquariansand you know some of them.
I see a little bit of it inpeople, but, honestly, like
being Roma and Aquarius is justmagical.
Like you know cause I feel likeI'm already, we're already such
caring, nurturing people, andthen to add that humanitarian
(09:04):
sign in there, it's just, it'sso cool and it just I feel like
it really enhances like mypowers right, like my intuition,
my psychic abilities and justmy connection with you know,
plants and animals and all thatstuff.
Jezmina Von Thiele (09:24):
I can totally see that.
It brings us to our nextquestion.
You're a healer in so many ways.
Was healing work part of yourfamily, trades or practices, or
did you come by it another way?
And what do you enjoy about allthe different ways that you
heal as a CNA, an herbalist,esthetician, medicine maker, et
cetera?
Klaudia Farkas (09:48):
That's a loaded question, it is that's a really
loaded question.
Um, okay, give me a minute.
Um, so you know, I've thoughtabout this within myself for so
long and there's so many answersto this question.
I think to go a little furtherback.
(10:12):
I think, um, one, just beingRoma, like just the fact that
you're Roma, you already comewith um, all these abilities.
And then I think of, like whyand you know, it's really just
sitting next to I really want togive it to, like my great
grandparents and my parents,because, you know, I think about
(10:36):
, like what makes me who I am.
And aside from you know, the caraccidents which I'll get into,
but you know I used to sit withmy grandma, who she was from.
It's called the Tzigan Kerek,which is, you know, a gypsy
circle.
So she lived in the village inHungary and she was very poor.
(10:58):
She lived in the gypsy circleand got married very young to my
grandpa, and so they've reallyhad to learn how to survive off
nothing and she really had tofind ways to heal herself her
Down syndrome, son, my grandpawith diabetes, and so I really
(11:24):
just the fact that, like I'vehad the chance to be around them
Because my grandpa just passedboth my grandpas just passed and
both my grandmas are stillalive, and so I've gotten a good
amount of time sitting withthem watching her cook.
(11:49):
Sitting with them watching hercook, you know, watching her
save my grandpa when he's havinga diabetic attack without
medication, right.
And so I think a lot of mypersonality really comes from my
grandparents.
And, yeah, just like herteaching me how to grab potatoes
straight out of boiling water,right, like no, you know, you,
(12:12):
you explain that to someone andthey're like, oh, I can do that,
and it's just.
It's like I feel like it'severy Instagram, right.
Like the person trying to touchthe tortilla from the pan and
it looks like nothing.
And the guy trying to do it,he's like, ah, you know.
So those kind of things.
And just like the way she'slike taking care of me when I
had a fever, um, the way I'vewatched her take care of my Down
(12:35):
syndrome uncle who just passedum not that long ago.
So those kind of, I feel like,without me even realizing have
really um made me who I am, andI think, you know, being a rebel
and just getting into drugs andyou know being all over the
(13:04):
place, these things never reallystood out to me until I had to
actually put them to use, and itwasn't until, you know, I went
through a lot of abusiverelationships, I went through a
lot of trauma.
I feel like those also havereally helped me become a healer
and have taught me within thoseexperiences, how to heal myself
(13:29):
.
But, you know, the real healingcame from being disabled, which
was in 2012.
I had, you know, my first caraccident.
I was 28 years old and I hadtwo car accidents back to back,
which were four months apart.
(13:50):
That completely disabled me andyou know, I didn't know what to
do, and so I, you know, was inchronic pain, to the point where
the pain was blinding, I wasalmost throwing up from pain
sometimes, and so I really hadto sit with that and find ways
(14:16):
to heal myself that weren'tmedicine, because I knew that
ibuprofen and medication wasn'tgoing to work for me.
Because I knew that ibuprofenand medication wasn't going to
work for me because you know Ido have a history of the rave
scene and you know partying andtaking ecstasy and doing drugs
and I just knew that ibuprofenand medication wasn't going to
(14:39):
do anything.
It was just going to makeeverything worse.
So that was a huge part of myhealing and, you know, just with
my nursing background and likeworking in hospice, working with
people that were, you know,over 100 years old and, you know
, doing wound care, touchingbodies all day, and working in
(15:04):
the elderly community, I feellike really helped me understand
the body as a whole, especiallywhen it comes closer to death,
and so I just kind of I feellike everything just kind of
came together the way it should.
I feel like the accidentshappened for a reason to push me
where I'm at today, you know,including my third car accident
(15:31):
which you know I had to deal.
The first two I had to dealwith physical pain which really
had to make me it kind of likesat me down to think about all
the trauma, all the things I'vebeen through, because I was, I
was still, my mind was active,but my body was disabled, and so
I really had to sit with allthis you know trauma in my life
(15:59):
and sit with it.
And I, you know it was eitherit was either going to take me
down or I was either going tofight it and make something out
of it, which I did.
Um, you know, I started makingmedicine for pain and, um you
know, made uh created a businessout of it thank you for sharing
(16:35):
all that um.
Paulina Stevens (16:37):
I'm sorry that you have been through so much so
yeah so much that kind of makesme want to ask what brought you
to working with cannabis forpain relief.
Klaudia Farkas (16:58):
Thank you, paulina.
So what brought me to cannabis?
My man was actually a growerfor about 10 years and what
brought me to it was, well, onehe was.
(17:20):
He was actively growing.
He was, um, he was activelygrowing, he was doing some
pretty big grows and I reallydidn't know anything about it.
I was using food and just kindof everything.
I've learned from beingresilient and you know my
(17:44):
parents and coming here andsurviving, not speaking English,
all that stuff to survive, andso his mom actually she has her
own disabilities that she'dstruggled with since she was
about 14 years old.
Since she was about 14 yearsold, and so she really
(18:10):
introduced organic food and adifferent way of moving.
And I remember her giving mesome cannabis cream to put on at
her house.
And I just remember, like fourhours later, uh, feeling my pain
again and going, holy shit,like what babe?
(18:34):
You know what time is it?
And realizing like, has it beenfour hours?
Like, oh my god, and so that'sreally how it started, um, and I
just started, you know thatreally like sparked something in
me.
It really sparked something inme.
I mean, I had been moving intothat on my own, just like moving
(19:00):
into more plant based because Icouldn't.
I was so disabled that Icouldn't use lung comb, I
couldn't use those things that Iwas normally using, right that
my mom, me and my mom would goto Macy's and get all these like
yummy smelling things, like Ijust it would burn.
And so I had already moved intolike a plant-based way of
(19:25):
living and he was growingprobably the best weed that I've
ever came across in my entirelife.
Honestly, and you know so,having already been playing with
plants, I decided, hey, I'mgoing to incorporate cannabis
(19:45):
into this whole, along with allthe other plants that I'm
already playing with.
And you know, I startedlistening to podcasts and
reading a lot and just kind ofteaching myself about plants,
and it was just very eyeopening.
It was very I just couldn'tbelieve like you rub this cream
(20:07):
on you and you get relief forfour hours.
You know that was a huge dealto me because the pain was
unbearable, as you know.
You know, so, um, so yeah, so Itried it.
My first batch ended up justbeing amazing.
It was like one of my bestbatches and, uh, it was a from
(20:31):
my rosemary bush in the gardenand I had added some cannabis to
it and it just was.
It was powerful and initially Iused it for just pain.
And I just remember, like amonth later, holding a cast iron
pan and going, holy shit, Ican't believe I'm holding a pan,
like I can't believe I'm moving, I can't believe I'm cleaning,
because I couldn't do that.
I couldn't believe I'm holdinga pen Like I can't believe I'm
(20:52):
moving, I can't believe I'mcleaning, because I couldn't do
that, I couldn't sit, I couldn'tsleep, I couldn't really do
anything.
And so something that turnedinto pain management, turned
into healing, that is so cooland interesting um.
(21:24):
And I definitely want some ofthat cream for show.
Yeah, I got you.
I mean I've been trying to likesend you both stuff and I'm
just so.
It's just been so much going on, it's like so crazy.
Paulina Stevens (21:33):
No, no, don't worry about it One day.
One day.
I feel like you kind ofanswered this a little bit
earlier, kind of with like howyour grandmother was just using
things.
But do you feel like the likeplants and herbs that you work
with are influenced by yourculture and kind of so I mean I
(21:58):
think so.
Klaudia Farkas (21:58):
I think you know , I think it's all in us, you
know, I think the fact that wehave had to rely on what's
surrounding us because we didn'thave access, we didn't have
access, the same access thateverybody else has had, you know
(22:21):
, and I still don't.
I still get judged, um,especially as I got older.
I started to look more Roma.
When I was younger, I looked alot like I've I've changed so
much over time, but I feel like,yeah, I feel like when I went
to the doctors not that long ago, just because I was Roma, I,
(22:48):
you know, I told I had this hugeeye infection and she was like
oh, no, no, you don't have aneye infection.
Then there's literally like puscoming out of my eye and I'm
like can I, can you give me eyedrops?
And she's like oh, maybe youhave a piece of glass in your
eye.
And I was just kind of likedon't you think I would know if
(23:08):
I have a piece of glass in my?
Paulina Stevens (23:10):
I was like I'm not trying to like let me give
you some of this puss and thenwe'll see.
Klaudia Farkas (23:16):
I'm not trying to offend you, lady.
You know, like I was, she'solder and I was trying to be as
nice as I could you?
know, because I could come offkind of strong, and so I was
like you know, I know.
And then she's like oh, maybeyou're like rubbing your eyes
and I'm like, look, I'm not five.
(23:36):
I was like, first of all I'mnot five and if I had a piece of
glass in my eye I think I wouldknow, you know, but I feel like
, just because I was Roma, rightLike I feel like I just I
didn't get the same treatmentand so I had to, so I was going
(23:58):
back home, I was going back toHungary this last summer or
whatever and I get to Hungaryand my I was almost going to
like rip my eyes out because atthat point it had spread to my
eyeball right.
It wasn't in the lid anymore, itwas in the actual eyeball.
And so I go to the doctorsthere and immediately she's like
(24:21):
oh yeah, it's an infection, youneed eye drops, and I was like
I've been saying that.
You know like I had to go tolike three different people to
get the answer, but back home,when I had asked her why okay,
if it's an infection, then whywas the doctor before that
giving me this cream forsomething else, right?
And she would not look at me.
(24:43):
She would not look at me becausemy Hungarian, you know, one
because I'm Roma and one becausemy Hungarian isn't as good as
my dad, so I literally had to,like ask my dad multiple times
to, you know, ask her thequestion, but she didn't want to
talk to me because I'm RomaRight, so this might be a little
(25:04):
off topic, but you know, yeah,I feel like I'm sorry.
Can you repeat your question,Paulina, just so I can go back.
Paulina Stevens (25:14):
Oh, I feel like you answered it.
Um, it was just kind of howyour relationship with plants
and your culture kind ofintertwines.
Yeah.
Jezmina Von Thiele (25:24):
I think lack of access like we.
Klaudia Farkas (25:27):
Sometimes we have to make our own remedies
because of bullshit like thattotally, I feel like we rely on
ourselves and just like you knowyou know it goes back to
grandma like she's had to likedo the best she could to to heal
my grandpa and to heal herselfand whatever.
And I feel like when we were,you know, traveling, plants were
(25:50):
our only access.
Right, those were the thingsaccessible.
And you know, people go toschool to become herbalists and
all this stuff and spend allthis money and I just don't
retain information that way,like I can't go to school and
have like a hundred plants infront of me and memorize their
names and then be like, oh, oh,okay, this has this property, so
(26:11):
this does this right.
So it's just like I feel, likeyou are, I'm going to put it
like I was the best tester,because I did have severe
debilitating chronic pain likeevery day, to the point where
(26:35):
debilitating chronic pain likeevery day, to the point where
you're suicidal, right, and so Iwas my own tester, right.
So plants that people normallyare like, oh, you can't mix that
with that, right, I'm like,really, because I did, and here
I am and I've healed myself,right.
So totally.
Jezmina Von Thiele (26:51):
Yeah, I'm so impressed by the way you
support people with chronic paintoo.
I mean, going through somethinglike that creates this
tremendous amount of compassion.
And I remember I barely evenknew you and I think I was
posting a little bit aboutfibromyalgia even before I got
like super, super sick and yousent me some pain bomb you know
cannabis bomb and I was likethis is so helpful, oh my God.
(27:14):
And it was just so kind and,yeah, I started making my own
and, like you know, buying stufffrom you and it was like just
so incredibly helpful.
I mean, I know, personally Irarely feel understood with my
own chronic illness from pain,fibromyalgia, post COVID, ptsd,
etc.
(27:34):
I think it's hard to talk aboutphysical pain Like I don't know
if you feel this way, butespecially if you're from a
family that's been through a lot, you don't spend a lot of time
complaining or talking about it,you just power through it, and
so it can be difficult to evenlet people know what you're
going through or likecommunicate needs, at least for
me.
But um, so even though I'vedone advocacy in my own way
(28:00):
around trauma survivors andother settings which feels
related, I still have a reallyhard time talking about illness
myself and um, and pain, and Ifeel like it can be very
vulnerable because you can bedismissed as you try to explain
it.
People want to.
You know, if you don't looksick from the out, from the
(28:20):
outside, people get veryjudgmental.
Um, and when you do, you know,I've been walking with a cane
for a few years now and someonecame up to me and was like oh
why are you a crip?
and I'm like did you just saythat to a stranger?
Klaudia Farkas (28:31):
like oh my god, because I'm trying to look cool,
I'm trying to be a crip, okay,like damn, it's a new look, it
is a nerve condition.
Jezmina Von Thiele (28:45):
Man, the new black that's messed up, oh my
gosh.
And so you know all of these.
What would you like people toknow or understand about the
experience of living withchronic pain?
Klaudia Farkas (29:07):
So I feel like in general I already get hated
on Just I don't know why, butthat's just been what it is
right, like.
For some reason it's eitherpeople just love me, right, or
they just hate.
And you know my grandma'salways like it's because you're
(29:30):
cute.
I'm like okay and like I'm justlike what the fuck?
right?
But yeah, I feel like for me ithas been so hard out of
everything we've talked about sofar, I think the hardest I mean
not to take anything away fromthe pain, because holy, but like
(29:53):
, I think that is the hardestthing and I think it's the
biggest thing that I still fight, for, which I still somehow
would like to create some kindof like organization, some
nonprofit, to have people comethrough and sit and talk about
(30:14):
it, because I feel like therereally is a lack of
understanding of what adisability means and I have kind
of just had to, like, shut up.
I've learned to just shut upBecause, you know, unlike my
grandma or like my family, theyjust don't say anything and you
assume they're like fine, andthey're really not right like,
(30:37):
but they just kind of.
They just kind of thug it outand they don't say anything
right where I've always beenvery outspoken.
I'm always gonna say how I feel, and so when I first had my car
accident, I didn't know that Ihad bulging discs in my neck.
I had no idea what was going on.
(30:57):
I had someone who sideswiped me, was flying off the freeway as
I was getting on the freeway andI didn't start having pain, to
like, a week after my caraccident.
So I didn't even know what wasgoing on with me.
And so when I kept tellingpeople, oh my god, I'm in pain,
oh my god, I'm in pain, theywere just kind of like you're
(31:22):
just like complaining, or you'rejust such a prima donna, and I
was just like you don'tunderstand, like I'm dramatic.
Yeah, they were like you're,you're just doing too much,
claudia right, and I was kind oflike dude, I'm like dying, like
I don't know if I I don't thinkyou understand, like I don't
(31:43):
think I can survive, like I.
And it just kept getting worse,right, and so I got so much
judgment.
I mean, honestly, like the latI'm, I'm like all over the place
right now because it's such alike huge, huge topic, but it's
hard to talk about.
(32:05):
I mean, I just want to like giveyou my whole life story.
I can't cram enough into oneright now for you this topic,
like seriously, like I'm.
It is just so hard becausepeople will look at me and when
I tell them that I am disabledand I'm, I'm still disabled,
(32:26):
okay, and when I I'm maybe not100% disabled anymore, but I am
definitely still disabled, Imean I just re-injured myself
because of class passoverloading me, because they set
up my whatever wrong, right, soI just re-injured.
But people look at me and thenthey'll go you look fine, you
(32:51):
know.
Or because I'm, I'm, I'm apretty girl, right.
They're just like oh, what'swrong with you?
Like you know, like you're okay, right.
So because I'm a beautiful woman, it's almost like worse and I
feel like I have to downplaymyself, because if I don't do
(33:12):
that, if I don't downplay myselfto people, I get less respect.
Like it's almost like if I'mdying and I'm just like broke
and I'm like going through it orwhatever.
They're like oh, claudia, yeah,right.
But the more I'm like I'm good,I'm, you know, I'm doing it,
they're like, oh right.
But the more I'm like I'm good,I'm, you know, I'm, I'm doing
(33:33):
it, they're like, oh right, andI can't be disabled, then
because I'm doing it, becauseI'm running a business, because
I'm good with my man, because mylife is good, because my kids
are good.
That's not okay, I can'tpossibly still be disabled Right
And's.
It's a very hard topic.
Um, I still deal with it.
(33:55):
I mean I dealt with it in mylast job.
I from my old boss heard thatyou know she has pain too.
Like you know that the last spathat I worked at, when I got
hired there, you know I was veryhonest with my situation and I
(34:18):
was constantly getting judgedfor it.
I was constantly getting youknow just a lot for it.
You know, just like if I wouldsay something it just couldn't
be.
Just like if I would saysomething it just couldn't be.
And it couldn't be because I'mRoma.
If I'm a liar, right, becauseI'm using my disability to maybe
(34:40):
like bullshit her or something,right.
And so it was this huge thingwhere I just felt so unseen, so
disrespected, um, at my last jobthat it was a horrible
experience, honestly.
I got Roma shamed, you know.
I got accused of stealingtowels, like I, like it was a
(35:03):
whole thing.
It was a whole thing.
So, yeah, honestly, that's.
It's been really difficult tonot be walking around with a
cane and apparently even if youare walking around with a cane.
Jezmina Von Thiele (35:17):
No, they'll find reasons to say something
wild.
Klaudia Farkas (35:19):
Yeah, like it's like.
I mean.
I always say like, do I have tobe like?
Do I have to have like a signon me?
Do I have to be in a wheelchair?
Do I have to be like, throwingmyself on the ground for you to
like give me that respect orempathy, right?
Jezmina Von Thiele (35:35):
Yeah.
And the thing is, with thesemobility devices, you would
think that that would besomething that would signal to
people like, oh, let me bemindful and respectful, sure,
but it's a lot.
It's like inviting a lot ofableism.
Like bullshit, like just rudecomments, invasive questions
(35:58):
like oh, you're so inspiring,kind of like very, just, very
bad things.
And I'm not just speaking frommy experience, but friends I
have who have mobility aids havejust been telling me these
horror stories over the years.
There's a wonderful poet whoI'm friends with, liv Mamon, who
(36:19):
writes a lot about disabilitybut also other things like
werewolves and fun things likethat.
So if anyone is interested insome disability rage and
reflection, definitely check outLiv Mamon.
Paulina Stevens (36:31):
You always have the coolest friends I swear.
Klaudia Farkas (36:58):
Oh yeah, I'm down for that.
I like all that, thank you um.
Paulina Stevens (37:22):
In your experience, how do you describe
the interplay between emotionaland physical pain and how would
you suggest people address both?
Klaudia Farkas (37:33):
um, so I feel like that's a lot of the work I
do in my um space right now.
Um, that's a lot of what, like,my nervous system reset facial
is about.
It's um, it comes with like a30 minute talk therapy session
where you just like really giveit to me and lay it all on me
(37:57):
and there's no bullshit.
And I just like, give you thereal deal.
Um, I feel like, um, emotional,um, and physical, it's, it's
all connected, right.
I feel like until I was able toaccept my disability and not
(38:19):
wake up every day and go I'm inpain, I'm in pain, I'm in pain.
Why am I in pain?
It took me five years, but whenI accepted, oh, this is who I
am, I am disabled, right, and Iwas able to emotionally process
(38:42):
that, my body just kind of wentalong with it.
And it wasn't until I made thatemotional connection that I
started to heal on a deeperlevel.
So, regardless of the plants,regardless of eating organic,
regardless of moving slower andnot working, I wasn't healing to
(39:05):
my hundred percent because Iwas still waking up, stressed
out about my pain.
I was still waking up, stressedout about my pain.
And why?
Because I went from being ableto like move my whole house,
move the couch, move the dresser, move everything, vacuum and
put it back together, and Icouldn't do that anymore.
(39:26):
I couldn't even sit.
That was really hard for me toprocess, because so much of your
identity is that is who you are, right.
And so that emotional wasreally difficult and I think
what really, really reallytaught me about how important
(39:46):
emotional is in comparison tophysical is the third car
accident, where I had a tire flyat me from the from the sky on
the freeway and almost wentthrough me, totaled my car and
created this weird like PTSDreaction that I've never it's
(40:14):
like so different than um, whichis why it's really hard for me
to talk honestly, like I neverused to speak in the way I speak
right now, like it's so hardfor my mind to um find the words
to process because of the PTSD,because of the emotional stress
that the body thinks that I'mstill carrying right.
(40:38):
So I try to teach people thatyou know, regulating your
nervous system, regulating youremotions, taking the time to
like, taking the time to like,let go to process, to be open,
to be authentic, is really goingto help heal that physical.
(40:59):
So I feel like people try tomedicate and people try to, you
know, go to the doctors and doall these things get acupuncture
, use the herbal remedies, butit's not going to work if you're
not working on the emotionalpart.
Right, working on theacceptance, working on slowing
down, loving yourself.
(41:22):
For all of that you are right,instead of putting on this mask
and trying to look like what you, what people think they need to
look like, or whatever, right.
So I think emotional has a hugepart to the physical.
Like if I'm emotional, honestlyit's the worst.
It's the worst.
(41:42):
Like if I'm stressing, um, andthat tire taught me.
Like the second I'm stressingat this point which it's really
hard, like even if I watch ascary movie or something
emotional even talking right nowabout it.
Like I'm I don't know if you canhear it, but like my throat's
(42:03):
kind of closing up, like mythroat will close up if I'm
emotionally distressed.
So it's so important for me to.
Paulina Stevens (42:17):
You don't have to.
You don't have to keep talkingabout it.
I don't want to know.
Klaudia Farkas (42:21):
It's cool, it's a part of the process, right,
like it's a part of my healing,like it's a part like the
process, right, like it's a partof my healing, like it's a part
like I have to do it.
I have to do it because whenthat person comes at me on the
street and you know is likewhat's up with that cane, I have
to be ready to be like I don'tknow what's up, right, like
cause it just it's so.
(42:44):
It's.
It's like a gift, but it's alsoa curse because it has enhanced
my like psychic abilities.
Like I am, I can smell you amile away.
You know, like, because I'm sosensitive now I either I'm cool
(43:11):
with you or I'm not cool withyou, and that's okay.
I don't have to fit in, I don'tcare, and I used to care so much
.
So I say to people if you couldlike master that and really
just like, not give a fuck andlike, but like actually do it.
That's when things start tojust like shut off your body,
(43:31):
and that's been um, a lot of.
What I've had to learn in thepast, like 15 years, is to, you
know, had insomnia for threeyears over things, and one day I
just woke up and I was like youknow what?
I just don't fucking care.
I swear I started to sleepthree years, three years.
(43:55):
So definitely emotional haseverything to do with physical.
Jezmina Von Thiele (43:59):
Yeah, I feel that too with my you know pain
conditions.
I notice if I'm, you know,triggered about something or you
know someone conditions Inotice if I'm, you know,
triggered about something or youknow someone yells at me or
something, immediately I starthaving flare.
Yeah, and I'm just like, oh,okay, and even after like a
tough therapy session, I can'treally like I can't do them
right before work, like I haveto do them at the end of the day
(44:22):
because I need to likedecompress, my body needs rest
after it.
Klaudia Farkas (44:26):
It's, it's interesting totally like, even
if you're like hanging out witha friend who maybe isn't, maybe
is very hyper and isn't, andself uh, doesn't have the
awareness to go.
Oh, her face looks a little justyou know, to kind of back it up
and go are you okay, like youknow people like I have to be
(44:49):
very mindful of, like whatenergetics or what kind of
people I hang around, becauseit's not I don't mean to be
triggered, you know.
But yeah, I can be sensitiveand then sometimes I'm just very
sensitive and sometimes, youknow, I have to really just like
pull it back and sit at homeand take a minute to reset yeah,
(45:14):
thank you.
Jezmina Von Thiele (45:52):
So, among other Roma, we talk a lot about
intergenerational trauma as acommunity and how it coincides
with poor health and shorterlife expectancy, even in
families that are no longerexperiencing extreme poverty or
political oppression, and therehave been a few studies about
this on the Romani communities,especially in Eastern Europe,
but not enough Anecdotally.
(46:14):
What have you noticed aboutpain within Romani?
Klaudia Farkas (46:17):
I feel like, sorry, my mind, just I'm kind of
blanking on, like where I wantto go with it, cause there's so
(46:42):
many ways to go with it.
But are you talking about likejust physical pain, generational
pain, like just pain in general, like just the things it feels?
Jezmina Von Thiele (46:50):
so conversational right now, so I'm
just going to do that and youcan go wherever you want with it
.
But pretty much everyone in myfamily on my Romani side has a
pain condition, has autoimmunedisorders, like everyone is like
sick, sick, sick and it I feellike it coincides with like a
lot of childhood trauma, mygrandma's trauma coming from
(47:12):
literally Nazi Germany, and likeeveryone on Germany is very
unwell as well and die veryyoung.
And you know, and I, pain isjust constant and and we weren't
allowed to complain about it.
And you know, and pain is justconstant and we weren't allowed
to complain about it, and youknow, we didn't always seek care
when we needed it, even if wehad access to it, and so that's
(47:33):
kind of my own experience withit.
But what are your thoughtsabout, you know, romani
relationship to pain and health?
I kind of want to Okay.
Paulina Stevens (47:48):
It's weird that we never had this conversation
before.
We have not holy shit.
So because we talked abouteverything like I know, like
what, I guess there's more.
Um, totally, my family was thesame way, but like everybody
dies super early.
But I feel like for my family,I feel like it's a combination
of all the past trauma, but alsothe life.
(48:10):
The life that they live, guys,it's like everybody is related
to each other, that gets marriedand has children.
So there's like a ton.
There's a huge amount of incest, like within my literal family.
And then there's also like andI hate saying that, but like
whatever we have to throw it outthere, we're open.
I talked about it before.
Our fans have to know, like youknow we're against that.
(48:31):
Obviously I'm against that, butlike that's the reality that
we're dealing with.
But then there's also like thefood smoking, like everybody's
constantly thank you, oh my godyes, yes, yeah.
Oil all day, all day.
Like everything's cooked withlard.
Like lard, I know, I know sureand no exercise, nobody's
(48:52):
exercise thank you.
Klaudia Farkas (48:53):
Okay, yeah, like I I'm, I feel like you know,
kind of like speaking in thisway just helps me kind of like
be a little freer, um, so I lovethat you guys are like also
also jumping in here because ithelps me kind of, like my get
like, you know, fires up mybrain.
But, yes, um.
(49:13):
So for me, you know, yeah, allthose things, I think food, I
think lifestyle, I think, youknow, like my dad has 85 percent
of his lungs and he's stillsmoking.
Okay, like when I first had myson, my firstborn, I was 23
(49:34):
years old, and I rememberbringing him home and he thought
it was cool to like smoke acigarette in his room and I'm
sorry, dad, like don't don'tmean to talk, but like where's
who put it out there?
You know, um, but yeah, like I,you know, he was like smoking
cigarettes in the house and itwas coming through the vent and
(49:56):
I just was so like I was crushed, you know, I mean, I grew up
smoking cigarettes.
I remember my dad, I, I waslike, how old was I?
I think I was like 15, 16, 16when I started smoking
cigarettes, and I remember himbeing like are you smoking
cigarettes?
And I was kind of like no, I'mnot, you know.
(50:19):
And he's like well, you know,if you're going to smoke
cigarettes, smoke it in front ofme.
You know.
And he's like well, you know,if you're going to smoke
cigarettes, smoke it in front ofme and so I did, and it wasn't
like, oh no, you can't do that.
That's horrible.
Like if I saw my kids smoking acigarette, holy, you know, it
would be such a big deal.
Like I mean, I don't, I don'tsmoke cigarettes anymore.
(50:39):
I did smoke cigarettes.
Both my parents smoke cigarettes.
My mom still smoke cigarettes.
You know, I just spoke to heron the phone and you know she's
back home.
She misses me, she missesfacial, she misses living with
me, organic food, all that stuff, right, and you know it's just
yeah.
It's about like my grandmadidn't have the money and she
(51:02):
had no breast milk so she had togive my mom sugar water, right,
like those kind of things.
They didn't have breast milk soshe had to give my mom sugar
water, right, like those kind ofthings.
They didn't have money so theyhad to eat bread and lard and
tomatoes and, you know, peppersor whatever.
That was like the meal.
It was like bread and lard yeah,bread and lard, that's
everything.
Paulina Stevens (51:22):
and smoking cigarettes in the house my and
smoking cigarettes in the house.
Klaudia Farkas (51:25):
My mom still smokes cigarettes in the house
Coffee, cigarettes and bread andlard, you know.
And salona, which is like theit's the smoked bacon but just
the fat.
You know just like the smokedfat with like butter and you
(51:49):
know sides of like cut uptomatoes and peppers or whatever
, like it's the best part of it.
But my dad still just eatssalami and bread and kielbasa.
You know, like you, he's notgonna.
You know he like he won't eatchicken but he'll eat.
He's like, oh, meat, but he'lleat like breaded pork chops, so
(52:09):
like it has to be fried andcrunchy.
It's just, yeah, it'sfrustrating.
It's like bread all day bread,bread, bread, bread, bread, cold
, cold, cut meats, right, whichI totally feel horrible saying
because you know my parents cooksuch good like Hungarian food,
(52:30):
but yes, that is kind of likethe background is the cigarettes
and just like the trauma andjust the, just the trauma, just
the family trauma.
You know, just like, yeah, likenot wanting to go to therapy,
(52:50):
not, um, taking care of things,not dealing.
You know like growing up myparents were totally like, oh,
no, like we can't have her go totherapy.
She's gonna tell the therapisteverything and that's that's the
point.
You know, like just goingthrough all all the family,
(53:14):
trauma, and just how they grewup.
And you know, my mom coming froma village sleeping on a dirt
floor to having nothing, youknow, to literally having
nothing, um, to having um, to bepoor, and then my grandma
having her down syndrome brother, her, and then my other, her
(53:39):
other brother, right, and theywere poor.
They were poor, you know, theycouldn't buy all the good things
and the food and the clothesand so, yeah, I mean I get it
coming.
The fact that we came here andmy mom was a nurse assistant for
20 years here is a big deal andI forget, like, where she comes
(54:00):
from, because she is such asweet woman we are and we are so
resilient and like such amazingpeople, so we forget.
But, yeah, like, as I startedto break like the cycles right,
I was the one to break thecycles, I was always the one.
I was the bougie one, right,I'm considered bougie because I
(54:21):
like, I'm healthy you know,that's the backlash that I get
Right, I was like, oh, like toogood, too good Cause I like
grass fed butter, like.
Jezmina Von Thiele (54:33):
I?
I remember when I came homefrom college, um, I had never
had olives that were not from acan before, but I guess I tried
them at some sort of like party,you know when, um, maybe there
was like a museum party orsomething at my college where we
had a new exhibit and there waslike a little bit of like wine
and cheese.
I was like what are theseolives?
(54:53):
So big day.
So I came back home and I wentto the grocery store and I got
some of the fancy olives fromthe olive bar that I'd never
noticed before and I presentedthem to my mother like you have
to try these.
And she's like who the hell doyou think you are?
She was so mad.
She was like you think you'rebetter than me with your grocery
(55:17):
store olives.
Klaudia Farkas (55:18):
I was like oh no my god, I had the same, okay.
So I, when I had my son, I, youknow, got food stamps, right,
and I I never been to WholeFoods.
Okay, this was like years ago,17 years ago, and so I have
never been to Whole Foods.
And I just remember likerandomly going in there and kind
(55:41):
of being like wow, like what'sall this, like good stuff, right
, and because there was aSafeway down the street from our
house, so we just went toSafeway, costco or Foodstuff,
whatever, and I just rememberlike buying a nice chicken, you
know, and coming home and beinglike wow like really proud.
Like, look, mom, look at thechicken, it's so beautiful.
(56:02):
And she was fucking pissed.
She was like she was so mad atthis switch up that when I was
like I don't think you shouldshop there, I don't think you
should buy the foster farms,like six dollar chicken, you
know and she's like, oh well,you, you ate this your whole
life and you're fine, you know,kind of like judging me for like
(56:24):
wanting better.
So I just kind of had to likelet it go, which was hard
because I was living with her.
I had my son and I justremember the, the switch, you
know, like her buying thisSafeway chicken and it was black
and I just was like sittingback and she's like I don't know
(56:47):
about this chicken.
And I'm like, yeah, yeah, andso she, it took me like two
years to slowly kind of likemove her away, even with like
the medicine, you know, evenwith what.
Even when I got injured she waslike, oh, you're just
(57:08):
complaining, I'll be quiet, allthis, all that you know.
Like then she hurt her neck andso all the things that I had
gone through she went through,and I just remember trying to
put this cream on her and she'slike oh, oh, my god, the smell.
You know, she was just sojudgmental.
She's like oh, you're a drugaddict.
Oh, you're drug addicts, youknow.
(57:30):
And so now fast forward.
You know, when I make a batchand it smells very strong, she's
like oh, that's a good one.
Like, yes, oh, yes, it is, butit's just, it's just funny, you
know.
Jezmina Von Thiele (57:45):
It's funny to try to like change our
parents views and ways, Iunderstand the defensiveness
because it's like you know,maybe for my mom she was like,
okay, so I have failed as aparent.
Clearly, yes, you have newolives and and you now I'll
never see you again, you're offto the world of fancy olives in
(58:07):
college, and so I was like I getyou know in retrospect, looking
back, I'm like it was about somuch more than the olives, but
it was like so funny though inthat moment.
But yeah, it's like ideally we,we just want them to be well.
And it can be so hard sometimeswhen our family resists.
And I glad that your mom got onthe um, on the medicine train,
with you.
(58:27):
She felt very judged.
Klaudia Farkas (58:30):
Yeah, she felt very judged and she really
didn't understand.
She was just like you're, whoare you?
That's literally that's whatshe said.
She was like who do you thinkyou are?
and I was like I don't knowhealthy like I was just like I
don't know nobody, I guess itfeels so scary to like I don't
know to, to lose commonality, Iguess yeah, yeah, and it's just
(58:53):
like the way we, the way theygrew up, you know it's it's hard
to feel they're in such likethis, um, secret society.
You know, like she, sheprobably felt like, oh, like now
you're moving into likedifferent things, like what's
going on, right, the the changewas definitely hard for her and
she's like in such an old worldmindset that it just took her so
(59:17):
long.
Like that, I mean, I try toshow my grandma and she's kind
of like, you know, like lasttime I went back home she was,
oh, bring that oil that you, youknow the tea tray.
She's like, oh, make sure tobring that oil for my scalp, you
know.
Paulina Stevens (59:33):
But she's always like, oh, no, no, no, no,
don't like, she's very old,she's very old school do you
(59:57):
have advice for roma and peoplein general in ways to prioritize
wellness in some like realsimple kind of accessible things
they could do or or things theycould try?
Klaudia Farkas (01:00:13):
that's a hard one.
Um, that's a hard one.
I mean, I feel like food iseverything, you know.
I feel like food is everything,you know.
I feel like food is everything,and I feel like farmers are
everything.
And if, if you are Roma andRoma, non Roma, whatever, like I
(01:00:38):
just feel like it's veryimportant to know that, like you
do have access and hopping onthe computer or asking somebody
and really just googling yournearest farmer's market, I feel
like, especially in these timeswhere our food is so poisoned
(01:00:59):
you know, I don't even go toWhole Foods anymore.
Luckily, I'm blessed with likeRainbow Grocery, which is like a
cooperative here.
But you know, if there are anyRoma in San Francisco, I highly
recommend rainbow grocerybecause you're spending the same
amount of money.
Um, wherever you go at thispoint and so that was always the
(01:01:19):
argument with my mom she's likeoh, that's like expensive and
that was her thing it's like wecan't afford that, right, and so
like, well, it was always acomparison of like, okay, you
went to Safeway and you haveboxed food and I went here and I
have like fruits and vegetablesand meat and all this stuff,
and so I feel like food'simportant, getting it local.
(01:01:45):
I say you can reach out to me.
I'm always willing to give youknow sliding scale.
I give medicine all for free.
So if anybody ever wants toreach out to me, definitely I
can't, off the top of my head,give resources, but like I I'm
down to be that access and theform of communication for how to
(01:02:09):
be in the system, how to getwhat you need.
Being Roma in this, you know,in the United States I don't
know about other places but like, definitely if you're Roma in
the United States, like there'sso many resources that maybe
they don't feel they can accessor know about and I'm definitely
down to be that resource forthem.
(01:02:31):
Even do a zoom or show them orwhatever how to make basic
medicine.
How about do at home stuff,because I'm always treating my
kids for their wounds and theirinfections and all that stuff.
So there's so much you know youcan do.
People can DM me infections andall that stuff.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:02:51):
So there's so much you know you can do.
People can dm me, so we'regoing to shift gears a little
bit.
We're wrapping up.
Who are your romani crushes atthe moment?
Basically, who do you admire?
Who do you want to give a shoutout to my crushes?
Klaudia Farkas (01:03:15):
Well, honestly, to keep it really real, when I
first got on Instagram, my first, first, first crush was
probably Megan Megan ofLululemon.
Yeah.
Megan, megan has always.
She's just real.
She's just real.
I love Megan, like it was justno, she's just sweet, she's just
(01:03:36):
real.
I love her products.
You definitely, you like, like,you are always my you and
Paulina, like you guys are, youknow, you, you just reached out
to me and I didn't ask foranything out of everybody.
Like this whole time I havebeen romani roots, like you and
(01:03:58):
megan have been the two peoplethat have, without me asking,
just posted me up, reposted me,supported me, pushed me, and
that just I felt like damn okay,okay, like I'm doing what I
need to be doing and I'msupported, right, you know.
And then, uh, my girl, sastimos, you know I always call her for
(01:04:22):
like herbal remedies and stuff.
Like she just gave me mytincture and had I not had her
tincture, you know, with mythroat hurting.
I don't know.
That was rough.
So I just, you know, grabbedher tincture and seconds later I
was fine.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:04:39):
So definitely like Sos de Mos, and
you guys and Megan are my girlsyes, I mean I I've been a fan of
your work and so it makes mereally happy that it meant a lot
that I was sharing Cause I wasjust like, oh my God, so excited
.
Yes, I have to post this.
Klaudia Farkas (01:04:56):
I mean you're just yeah, you were always my.
I mean I didn't even know.
You like found me and I wasjust like Whoa, I was like
showing my man, I like look ather, she's so pretty.
And then I found Paulina and Iwas like, oh, my god, like look,
I was like right.
I don't care, you know like youcould be a supermodel and I'm
(01:05:17):
just like yeah, whatever, butlike.
But with you guys I'm alwaysjust like oh my god, they're so
cute oh look how cool, we thinkthe same about you we really do.
Paulina Stevens (01:05:29):
We're fangirls well thank you how can people
find you and support your work?
Klaudia Farkas (01:05:39):
um, so people can find me at on my instagram,
which is the romani roots.
People can also go to mywebsite, which is the Romani
roots.
People can also go to mywebsite, which is Romani roots
skincare and herbal remedies,and there you will find my phone
number.
You'll find my email.
Yeah, if anybody needs anythingin the Roma community, I am
(01:06:01):
down like.
Whatever questions, resourceshelp, um, I'm there for it and
others and others, everyone, I'mfor all well, thank you so much
.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:06:17):
This was such a pleasure talking with you
and we really appreciate you,um, yeah, talking to us about
challenging things that are noteasy to talk about, and your
perspective is so important.
You've, you know, been throughso much, you've healed so much
and, yeah, we, just we soappreciate your wisdom thank you
, it's been fun.
Klaudia Farkas (01:06:37):
Um, yeah, it's been good.
I'm happy to be on here funtimes talking about trauma, yeah
.
I mean I swear we need to likejust create a platform for that.
Like seriously, it's so it's.
It's super important to be ableto talk about it, because if
you can't talk about it, you'renever gonna get over it.
(01:06:58):
Yeah, it's true.
So yeah thank you guys for likeshouting me out and supporting
Thank you for everything you do.
Paulina Stevens (01:07:10):
That's it Very cool, I'll see you guys.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:07:27):
Thank you for listening to Romanistan
Podcast you can find us onInstagram, TikTok and Facebook
at Romanistan Podcast and onTwitter at RomanistanPod, To
(01:07:49):
support us, join our Patreon forextra content or just donate to
our Ko-fi fundraiser, ko-ficombackslash Romanistan, and please
rate, review and subscribe.
It helps people find our show.
It helps us so much.
Paulina Stevens (01:07:56):
You can follow Jez on Instagram at
jasminavantila and Paulina atRomani Holistic.
You can get our book Secrets ofRomani Fortune Telling online
or wherever books are sold.
Visit romanistanpodcastcom forevents, educational resources
and more.
Email us at romanistanpodcastat gmailcom for inquiries.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:08:22):
Romanistan is hosted by Jasmina Vontila and
Paulina Stevens, conceived ofby Paulina Stevens, edited by
Victor Pachas, with music byVictor.
Pachas and artwork by ElijahBarado.
Welcome to Romanistan.
We're your friendlyneighborhood gypsies.
Jezmina Von Thiele (00:12):
I'm Paulina and I'm Jez, and we're here
today with Claudia Farkas, ofRomani Roots.
Paulina Stevens (00:21):
Claudia Farkas is a Romani woman, certified
nurse assistant since 2010 and aself-taught herbalist since
2014 and an esthetician since2020.
She is the founder and owner ofRomani Roots and Romani Roots
Skincare and Herbal Remedies,based in the heart of no valley,
(00:42):
san francisco.
With a passion for holisticwellness, claudia blends her
extensive knowledge in healthcare, natural remedies and skin
care to empower others on theirjourney to health and self-care.
Klaudia Farkas (00:59):
Thank, you guys, we're so happy to have you here
.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:01):
Thank you, I'm so happy to be here finally
yes yeah, it's been a dream inthe making for a while.
Klaudia Farkas (01:10):
It's been a long time.
I feel like you asked me to dothis.
Like what.
Was it like two, three yearsago, or something I don't know.
Oh, it's something that'scoming up with one of three of
us with something that's comingup with one of one of three of
us, totally, but you know it'sperfect timing because it was a
lot's happened since then, soI'm happy to be here now, divine
(01:32):
timing.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:33):
Yeah, would you like to start by answering
our favorite intro question?
Tell us about yourself.
Where are you from?
Where's your family from?
What's your visa?
Anything else you'd like toshare about your background?
Klaudia Farkas (01:46):
okay, um, so I am originally from Hungary.
Um, I was born in Budapest andwe left Hungary in um 1986 and
went to Austria I think a few ofour relatives had already left,
(02:08):
and so that's how my parentsfound out that you know, there
was opportunity to go to Americaand they were giving away
flights to refugees, and so weended up in a refugee camp in
Austria for a little bit, whichwas in 86.
And then in 88, we ended up inSan Francisco in the tenderloin
(02:38):
and yeah, so that's, and we'vebeen in San Francisco ever since
.
We've never left San Francisco.
My family I never know how tosay this, but is a Calderash, as
far as I know.
That's a little bit about whereI'm from and, yeah, sf native.
(03:04):
I've been here forever.
Um, I've pretty much moved allaround San Francisco, so every
district I've lived in and I'vebeen here ever since and still
travel back home from time totime.
I try to go every summer, butit's really expensive do you
have a favorite neighborhood inSan Francisco?
(03:26):
That's a hard one.
I love all San Francisco.
I mean, yeah, I love it all.
I feel like San Francisco isnot the same anymore.
So you know, it's kind of sadthat it's changed so much,
because San Francisco, you know,in the 90s and the 80s is not
what it is today.
(03:47):
It's really sad.
There's just a lot of homelessand, um, all the SF natives have
left, so it's very different.
But, um, but yeah, I love itall.
I love, you know, the sunset.
I love Ocean Beach.
I love um.
Brisbane's probably my favoriteright now, just because it's its
(04:07):
own little.
It's like 10 minutes away fromSan Francisco.
It's where I live and we are.
I live on Native American landand so I live in this little
cove and over San Bruno Mountainso I get all the bunnies and
the coyotes, so we kind of wekind of get our own ecosystem
(04:29):
here.
So it's it's my little safehaven.
You know, it's like I can go tothe city and get that like San
Francisco experience, but thencome back to this little small
town in Brisbane and just likefeel safe and have my family and
, you know, quiet it's beautiful, and you have a stunning plant
(04:50):
behind you too, so I feel likeI'm there yeah, it's cute, it's.
I'm, I'm very grateful, um, it's.
It was kind of industrial likebiker town before and, um,
everyone found out about it, ofcourse.
So now everyone's like, oh, Ilive in Brisbane, you know, and,
um, but yeah, back in the dayit was very affordable, you know
(05:14):
, you could buy a house for like150,000 and now houses are like
, you know, a million, two.
It's just everyone's fightingto be here.
So I think I'm very luckybecause I pretty much manifested
this house.
We were living in Brisbane andI moved here in 2010 with my man
(05:38):
and he grew up here.
I was always in SF and you know,we were in a one bedroom little
cottage home with two kids andI was like, I want a garden, you
know, and we were also in anapartment.
So we went from little smallone bedroom to apartment and we
(05:59):
ended up in.
You know, I wanted to stay inBrisbane.
Covid hit, it was crazy wantedto stay in Brisbane.
Covid, hit, it was crazy.
You know, I thought the littleone was sick from mold, but
actually he had got COVID evenbefore we knew COVID had existed
, and so we left um and wentinto apartment and stayed there
for like about a year and thisplace opened up randomly.
(06:23):
I was looking on Craigslist andyou know they don't want to let
anyone in.
They're like oh, do you makethis much?
How many kids do you have?
And so the woman who wasrenting this place, she was
super chill, um, she wasactually like yeah you can turn
this room into a room.
You can turn that room into aroom.
Nice.
Paulina Stevens (06:42):
Nice.
Yeah, I make seven times therent.
Klaudia Farkas (06:45):
Right, exactly, so it's super affordable.
I always wanted a house where Ihave a downstairs so my mom can
live with me, because I camehere with my family and it's
just hard to leave my family.
Paulina Stevens (07:01):
It's just how we roll, so I always need an
extra room for my, my mom anddad, oh yes since we sometimes
(07:29):
think of ourselves as rebels andour definition changes pretty
much daily, um, we'd like to askdo you see yourself as a rebel?
Klaudia Farkas (07:42):
definitely, um, yeah, I uh, I mean just even
being Aquarius, but definitelybeing like Aquarius and Romani,
like for sure.
Um, I was always trying to hita cut or, you know, like just
all over the place.
(08:02):
I was very unpredictable.
I always, always wanted to, youknow.
Do you know, if you told me itwas gonna burn, I was gonna, you
know, challenge you and say areyou sure?
And even if it did burn, Iwould say I'm still not sure.
Let me do that again, you know.
So definitely like just superoutgoing love to you know.
Definitely like just superoutgoing love to you know, push
(08:26):
boundaries and try new thingsand definitely rebel against
everything and find my own ways,you know understandable.
Jezmina Von Thiele (08:38):
I love um Aquarius and Roma together.
Does that feel like a specialcombo for you?
Klaudia Farkas (08:42):
I really do.
I like I've met some Aquariansand you know some of them.
I see a little bit of it inpeople, but, honestly, like
being Roma and Aquarius is justmagical.
Like you know cause I feel likeI'm already, we're already such
caring, nurturing people, andthen to add that humanitarian
(09:04):
sign in there, it's just, it'sso cool and it just I feel like
it really enhances like mypowers right, like my intuition,
my psychic abilities and justmy connection with you know,
plants and animals and all thatstuff.
Jezmina Von Thiele (09:24):
I can totally see that.
It brings us to our nextquestion.
You're a healer in so many ways.
Was healing work part of yourfamily, trades or practices, or
did you come by it another way?
And what do you enjoy about allthe different ways that you
heal as a CNA, an herbalist,esthetician, medicine maker, et
cetera?
Klaudia Farkas (09:48):
That's a loaded question, it is that's a really
loaded question.
Um, okay, give me a minute.
Um, so you know, I've thoughtabout this within myself for so
long and there's so many answersto this question.
I think to go a little furtherback.
(10:12):
I think, um, one, just beingRoma, like just the fact that
you're Roma, you already comewith um, all these abilities.
And then I think of, like whyand you know, it's really just
sitting next to I really want togive it to, like my great
grandparents and my parents,because, you know, I think about
(10:36):
, like what makes me who I am.
And aside from you know, the caraccidents which I'll get into,
but you know I used to sit withmy grandma, who she was from.
It's called the Tzigan Kerek,which is, you know, a gypsy
circle.
So she lived in the village inHungary and she was very poor.
(10:58):
She lived in the gypsy circleand got married very young to my
grandpa, and so they've reallyhad to learn how to survive off
nothing and she really had tofind ways to heal herself her
Down syndrome, son, my grandpawith diabetes, and so I really
(11:24):
just the fact that, like I'vehad the chance to be around them
Because my grandpa just passedboth my grandpas just passed and
both my grandmas are stillalive, and so I've gotten a good
amount of time sitting withthem watching her cook.
(11:49):
Sitting with them watching hercook, you know, watching her
save my grandpa when he's havinga diabetic attack without
medication, right.
And so I think a lot of mypersonality really comes from my
grandparents.
And, yeah, just like herteaching me how to grab potatoes
straight out of boiling water,right, like no, you know, you,
(12:12):
you explain that to someone andthey're like, oh, I can do that,
and it's just.
It's like I feel like it'severy Instagram, right.
Like the person trying to touchthe tortilla from the pan and
it looks like nothing.
And the guy trying to do it,he's like, ah, you know.
So those kind of things.
And just like the way she'slike taking care of me when I
had a fever, um, the way I'vewatched her take care of my Down
(12:35):
syndrome uncle who just passedum not that long ago.
So those kind of, I feel like,without me even realizing have
really um made me who I am, andI think, you know, being a rebel
and just getting into drugs andyou know being all over the
(13:04):
place, these things never reallystood out to me until I had to
actually put them to use, and itwasn't until, you know, I went
through a lot of abusiverelationships, I went through a
lot of trauma.
I feel like those also havereally helped me become a healer
and have taught me within thoseexperiences, how to heal myself
(13:29):
.
But, you know, the real healingcame from being disabled, which
was in 2012.
I had, you know, my first caraccident.
I was 28 years old and I hadtwo car accidents back to back,
which were four months apart.
(13:50):
That completely disabled me andyou know, I didn't know what to
do, and so I, you know, was inchronic pain, to the point where
the pain was blinding, I wasalmost throwing up from pain
sometimes, and so I really hadto sit with that and find ways
(14:16):
to heal myself that weren'tmedicine, because I knew that
ibuprofen and medication wasn'tgoing to work for me.
Because I knew that ibuprofenand medication wasn't going to
work for me because you know Ido have a history of the rave
scene and you know partying andtaking ecstasy and doing drugs
and I just knew that ibuprofenand medication wasn't going to
(14:39):
do anything.
It was just going to makeeverything worse.
So that was a huge part of myhealing and, you know, just with
my nursing background and likeworking in hospice, working with
people that were, you know,over 100 years old and, you know
, doing wound care, touchingbodies all day, and working in
(15:04):
the elderly community, I feellike really helped me understand
the body as a whole, especiallywhen it comes closer to death,
and so I just kind of I feellike everything just kind of
came together the way it should.
I feel like the accidentshappened for a reason to push me
where I'm at today, you know,including my third car accident
(15:31):
which you know I had to deal.
The first two I had to dealwith physical pain which really
had to make me it kind of likesat me down to think about all
the trauma, all the things I'vebeen through, because I was, I
was still, my mind was active,but my body was disabled, and so
I really had to sit with allthis you know trauma in my life
(15:59):
and sit with it.
And I, you know it was eitherit was either going to take me
down or I was either going tofight it and make something out
of it, which I did.
Um, you know, I started makingmedicine for pain and, um you
know, made uh created a businessout of it thank you for sharing
(16:35):
all that um.
Paulina Stevens (16:37):
I'm sorry that you have been through so much so
yeah so much that kind of makesme want to ask what brought you
to working with cannabis forpain relief.
Klaudia Farkas (16:58):
Thank you, paulina.
So what brought me to cannabis?
My man was actually a growerfor about 10 years and what
brought me to it was, well, onehe was.
(17:20):
He was actively growing.
He was, um, he was activelygrowing, he was doing some
pretty big grows and I reallydidn't know anything about it.
I was using food and just kindof everything.
I've learned from beingresilient and you know my
(17:44):
parents and coming here andsurviving, not speaking English,
all that stuff to survive, andso his mom actually she has her
own disabilities that she'dstruggled with since she was
about 14 years old.
Since she was about 14 yearsold, and so she really
(18:10):
introduced organic food and adifferent way of moving.
And I remember her giving mesome cannabis cream to put on at
her house.
And I just remember, like fourhours later, uh, feeling my pain
again and going, holy shit,like what babe?
(18:34):
You know what time is it?
And realizing like, has it beenfour hours?
Like, oh my god, and so that'sreally how it started, um, and I
just started, you know thatreally like sparked something in
me.
It really sparked something inme.
I mean, I had been moving intothat on my own, just like moving
(19:00):
into more plant based because Icouldn't.
I was so disabled that Icouldn't use lung comb, I
couldn't use those things that Iwas normally using, right that
my mom, me and my mom would goto Macy's and get all these like
yummy smelling things, like Ijust it would burn.
And so I had already moved intolike a plant-based way of
(19:25):
living and he was growingprobably the best weed that I've
ever came across in my entirelife.
Honestly, and you know so,having already been playing with
plants, I decided, hey, I'mgoing to incorporate cannabis
(19:45):
into this whole, along with allthe other plants that I'm
already playing with.
And you know, I startedlistening to podcasts and
reading a lot and just kind ofteaching myself about plants,
and it was just very eyeopening.
It was very I just couldn'tbelieve like you rub this cream
(20:07):
on you and you get relief forfour hours.
You know that was a huge dealto me because the pain was
unbearable, as you know.
You know, so, um, so yeah, so Itried it.
My first batch ended up justbeing amazing.
It was like one of my bestbatches and, uh, it was a from
(20:31):
my rosemary bush in the gardenand I had added some cannabis to
it and it just was.
It was powerful and initially Iused it for just pain.
And I just remember, like amonth later, holding a cast iron
pan and going, holy shit, Ican't believe I'm holding a pan,
like I can't believe I'm moving, I can't believe I'm cleaning,
because I couldn't do that.
I couldn't believe I'm holdinga pen Like I can't believe I'm
(20:52):
moving, I can't believe I'mcleaning, because I couldn't do
that, I couldn't sit, I couldn'tsleep, I couldn't really do
anything.
And so something that turnedinto pain management, turned
into healing, that is so cooland interesting um.
(21:24):
And I definitely want some ofthat cream for show.
Yeah, I got you.
I mean I've been trying to likesend you both stuff and I'm
just so.
It's just been so much going on, it's like so crazy.
Paulina Stevens (21:33):
No, no, don't worry about it One day.
One day.
I feel like you kind ofanswered this a little bit
earlier, kind of with like howyour grandmother was just using
things.
But do you feel like the likeplants and herbs that you work
with are influenced by yourculture and kind of so I mean I
(21:58):
think so.
Klaudia Farkas (21:58):
I think you know , I think it's all in us, you
know, I think the fact that wehave had to rely on what's
surrounding us because we didn'thave access, we didn't have
access, the same access thateverybody else has had, you know
(22:21):
, and I still don't.
I still get judged, um,especially as I got older.
I started to look more Roma.
When I was younger, I looked alot like I've I've changed so
much over time, but I feel like,yeah, I feel like when I went
to the doctors not that long ago, just because I was Roma, I,
(22:48):
you know, I told I had this hugeeye infection and she was like
oh, no, no, you don't have aneye infection.
Then there's literally like puscoming out of my eye and I'm
like can I, can you give me eyedrops?
And she's like oh, maybe youhave a piece of glass in your
eye.
And I was just kind of likedon't you think I would know if
(23:08):
I have a piece of glass in my?
Paulina Stevens (23:10):
I was like I'm not trying to like let me give
you some of this puss and thenwe'll see.
Klaudia Farkas (23:16):
I'm not trying to offend you, lady.
You know, like I was, she'solder and I was trying to be as
nice as I could you?
know, because I could come offkind of strong, and so I was
like you know, I know.
And then she's like oh, maybeyou're like rubbing your eyes
and I'm like, look, I'm not five.
(23:36):
I was like, first of all I'mnot five and if I had a piece of
glass in my eye I think I wouldknow, you know, but I feel like
, just because I was Roma, rightLike I feel like I just I
didn't get the same treatmentand so I had to, so I was going
(23:58):
back home, I was going back toHungary this last summer or
whatever and I get to Hungaryand my I was almost going to
like rip my eyes out because atthat point it had spread to my
eyeball right.
It wasn't in the lid anymore, itwas in the actual eyeball.
And so I go to the doctorsthere and immediately she's like
(24:21):
oh yeah, it's an infection, youneed eye drops, and I was like
I've been saying that.
You know like I had to go tolike three different people to
get the answer, but back home,when I had asked her why okay,
if it's an infection, then whywas the doctor before that
giving me this cream forsomething else, right?
And she would not look at me.
(24:43):
She would not look at me becausemy Hungarian, you know, one
because I'm Roma and one becausemy Hungarian isn't as good as
my dad, so I literally had to,like ask my dad multiple times
to, you know, ask her thequestion, but she didn't want to
talk to me because I'm RomaRight, so this might be a little
(25:04):
off topic, but you know, yeah,I feel like I'm sorry.
Can you repeat your question,Paulina, just so I can go back.
Paulina Stevens (25:14):
Oh, I feel like you answered it.
Um, it was just kind of howyour relationship with plants
and your culture kind ofintertwines.
Yeah.
Jezmina Von Thiele (25:24):
I think lack of access like we.
Klaudia Farkas (25:27):
Sometimes we have to make our own remedies
because of bullshit like thattotally, I feel like we rely on
ourselves and just like you knowyou know it goes back to
grandma like she's had to likedo the best she could to to heal
my grandpa and to heal herselfand whatever.
And I feel like when we were,you know, traveling, plants were
(25:50):
our only access.
Right, those were the thingsaccessible.
And you know, people go toschool to become herbalists and
all this stuff and spend allthis money and I just don't
retain information that way,like I can't go to school and
have like a hundred plants infront of me and memorize their
names and then be like, oh, oh,okay, this has this property, so
(26:11):
this does this right.
So it's just like I feel, likeyou are, I'm going to put it
like I was the best tester,because I did have severe
debilitating chronic pain likeevery day, to the point where
(26:35):
debilitating chronic pain likeevery day, to the point where
you're suicidal, right, and so Iwas my own tester, right.
So plants that people normallyare like, oh, you can't mix that
with that, right, I'm like,really, because I did, and here
I am and I've healed myself,right.
So totally.
Jezmina Von Thiele (26:51):
Yeah, I'm so impressed by the way you
support people with chronic paintoo.
I mean, going through somethinglike that creates this
tremendous amount of compassion.
And I remember I barely evenknew you and I think I was
posting a little bit aboutfibromyalgia even before I got
like super, super sick and yousent me some pain bomb you know
cannabis bomb and I was likethis is so helpful, oh my God.
(27:14):
And it was just so kind and,yeah, I started making my own
and, like you know, buying stufffrom you and it was like just
so incredibly helpful.
I mean, I know, personally Irarely feel understood with my
own chronic illness from pain,fibromyalgia, post COVID, ptsd,
etc.
(27:34):
I think it's hard to talk aboutphysical pain Like I don't know
if you feel this way, butespecially if you're from a
family that's been through a lot, you don't spend a lot of time
complaining or talking about it,you just power through it, and
so it can be difficult to evenlet people know what you're
going through or likecommunicate needs, at least for
me.
But um, so even though I'vedone advocacy in my own way
(28:00):
around trauma survivors andother settings which feels
related, I still have a reallyhard time talking about illness
myself and um, and pain, and Ifeel like it can be very
vulnerable because you can bedismissed as you try to explain
it.
People want to.
You know, if you don't looksick from the out, from the
(28:20):
outside, people get veryjudgmental.
Um, and when you do, you know,I've been walking with a cane
for a few years now and someonecame up to me and was like oh
why are you a crip?
and I'm like did you just saythat to a stranger?
Klaudia Farkas (28:31):
like oh my god, because I'm trying to look cool,
I'm trying to be a crip, okay,like damn, it's a new look, it
is a nerve condition.
Jezmina Von Thiele (28:45):
Man, the new black that's messed up, oh my
gosh.
And so you know all of these.
What would you like people toknow or understand about the
experience of living withchronic pain?
Klaudia Farkas (29:07):
So I feel like in general I already get hated
on Just I don't know why, butthat's just been what it is
right, like.
For some reason it's eitherpeople just love me, right, or
they just hate.
And you know my grandma'salways like it's because you're
(29:30):
cute.
I'm like okay and like I'm justlike what the fuck?
right?
But yeah, I feel like for me ithas been so hard out of
everything we've talked about sofar, I think the hardest I mean
not to take anything away fromthe pain, because holy, but like
(29:53):
, I think that is the hardestthing and I think it's the
biggest thing that I still fight, for, which I still somehow
would like to create some kindof like organization, some
nonprofit, to have people comethrough and sit and talk about
(30:14):
it, because I feel like therereally is a lack of
understanding of what adisability means and I have kind
of just had to, like, shut up.
I've learned to just shut upBecause, you know, unlike my
grandma or like my family, theyjust don't say anything and you
assume they're like fine, andthey're really not right like,
(30:37):
but they just kind of.
They just kind of thug it outand they don't say anything
right where I've always beenvery outspoken.
I'm always gonna say how I feel, and so when I first had my car
accident, I didn't know that Ihad bulging discs in my neck.
I had no idea what was going on.
(30:57):
I had someone who sideswiped me, was flying off the freeway as
I was getting on the freeway andI didn't start having pain, to
like, a week after my caraccident.
So I didn't even know what wasgoing on with me.
And so when I kept tellingpeople, oh my god, I'm in pain,
oh my god, I'm in pain, theywere just kind of like you're
(31:22):
just like complaining, or you'rejust such a prima donna, and I
was just like you don'tunderstand, like I'm dramatic.
Yeah, they were like you're,you're just doing too much,
claudia right, and I was kind oflike dude, I'm like dying, like
I don't know if I I don't thinkyou understand, like I don't
(31:43):
think I can survive, like I.
And it just kept getting worse,right, and so I got so much
judgment.
I mean, honestly, like the latI'm, I'm like all over the place
right now because it's such alike huge, huge topic, but it's
hard to talk about.
(32:05):
I mean, I just want to like giveyou my whole life story.
I can't cram enough into oneright now for you this topic,
like seriously, like I'm.
It is just so hard becausepeople will look at me and when
I tell them that I am disabledand I'm, I'm still disabled,
(32:26):
okay, and when I I'm maybe not100% disabled anymore, but I am
definitely still disabled, Imean I just re-injured myself
because of class passoverloading me, because they set
up my whatever wrong, right, soI just re-injured.
But people look at me and thenthey'll go you look fine, you
(32:51):
know.
Or because I'm, I'm, I'm apretty girl, right.
They're just like oh, what'swrong with you?
Like you know, like you're okay, right.
So because I'm a beautiful woman, it's almost like worse and I
feel like I have to downplaymyself, because if I don't do
(33:12):
that, if I don't downplay myselfto people, I get less respect.
Like it's almost like if I'mdying and I'm just like broke
and I'm like going through it orwhatever.
They're like oh, claudia, yeah,right.
But the more I'm like I'm good,I'm, you know, I'm doing it,
they're like, oh right.
But the more I'm like I'm good,I'm, you know, I'm, I'm doing
(33:33):
it, they're like, oh right, andI can't be disabled, then
because I'm doing it, becauseI'm running a business, because
I'm good with my man, because mylife is good, because my kids
are good.
That's not okay, I can'tpossibly still be disabled Right
And's.
It's a very hard topic.
Um, I still deal with it.
(33:55):
I mean I dealt with it in mylast job.
I from my old boss heard thatyou know she has pain too.
Like you know that the last spathat I worked at, when I got
hired there, you know I was veryhonest with my situation and I
(34:18):
was constantly getting judgedfor it.
I was constantly getting youknow just a lot for it.
You know, just like if I wouldsay something it just couldn't
be.
Just like if I would saysomething it just couldn't be.
And it couldn't be because I'mRoma.
If I'm a liar, right, becauseI'm using my disability to maybe
(34:40):
like bullshit her or something,right.
And so it was this huge thingwhere I just felt so unseen, so
disrespected, um, at my last jobthat it was a horrible
experience, honestly.
I got Roma shamed, you know.
I got accused of stealingtowels, like I, like it was a
(35:03):
whole thing.
It was a whole thing.
So, yeah, honestly, that's.
It's been really difficult tonot be walking around with a
cane and apparently even if youare walking around with a cane.
Jezmina Von Thiele (35:17):
No, they'll find reasons to say something
wild.
Klaudia Farkas (35:19):
Yeah, like it's like.
I mean.
I always say like, do I have tobe like?
Do I have to have like a signon me?
Do I have to be in a wheelchair?
Do I have to be like, throwingmyself on the ground for you to
like give me that respect orempathy, right?
Jezmina Von Thiele (35:35):
Yeah.
And the thing is, with thesemobility devices, you would
think that that would besomething that would signal to
people like, oh, let me bemindful and respectful, sure,
but it's a lot.
It's like inviting a lot ofableism.
Like bullshit, like just rudecomments, invasive questions
(35:58):
like oh, you're so inspiring,kind of like very, just, very
bad things.
And I'm not just speaking frommy experience, but friends I
have who have mobility aids havejust been telling me these
horror stories over the years.
There's a wonderful poet whoI'm friends with, liv Mamon, who
(36:19):
writes a lot about disabilitybut also other things like
werewolves and fun things likethat.
So if anyone is interested insome disability rage and
reflection, definitely check outLiv Mamon.
Paulina Stevens (36:31):
You always have the coolest friends I swear.
Klaudia Farkas (36:58):
Oh yeah, I'm down for that.
I like all that, thank you um.
Paulina Stevens (37:22):
In your experience, how do you describe
the interplay between emotionaland physical pain and how would
you suggest people address both?
Klaudia Farkas (37:33):
um, so I feel like that's a lot of the work I
do in my um space right now.
Um, that's a lot of what, like,my nervous system reset facial
is about.
It's um, it comes with like a30 minute talk therapy session
where you just like really giveit to me and lay it all on me
(37:57):
and there's no bullshit.
And I just like, give you thereal deal.
Um, I feel like, um, emotional,um, and physical, it's, it's
all connected, right.
I feel like until I was able toaccept my disability and not
(38:19):
wake up every day and go I'm inpain, I'm in pain, I'm in pain.
Why am I in pain?
It took me five years, but whenI accepted, oh, this is who I
am, I am disabled, right, and Iwas able to emotionally process
(38:42):
that, my body just kind of wentalong with it.
And it wasn't until I made thatemotional connection that I
started to heal on a deeperlevel.
So, regardless of the plants,regardless of eating organic,
regardless of moving slower andnot working, I wasn't healing to
(39:05):
my hundred percent because Iwas still waking up, stressed
out about my pain.
I was still waking up, stressedout about my pain.
And why?
Because I went from being ableto like move my whole house,
move the couch, move the dresser, move everything, vacuum and
put it back together, and Icouldn't do that anymore.
(39:26):
I couldn't even sit.
That was really hard for me toprocess, because so much of your
identity is that is who you are, right.
And so that emotional wasreally difficult and I think
what really, really reallytaught me about how important
(39:46):
emotional is in comparison tophysical is the third car
accident, where I had a tire flyat me from the from the sky on
the freeway and almost wentthrough me, totaled my car and
created this weird like PTSDreaction that I've never it's
(40:14):
like so different than um, whichis why it's really hard for me
to talk honestly, like I neverused to speak in the way I speak
right now, like it's so hardfor my mind to um find the words
to process because of the PTSD,because of the emotional stress
that the body thinks that I'mstill carrying right.
(40:38):
So I try to teach people thatyou know, regulating your
nervous system, regulating youremotions, taking the time to
like, taking the time to like,let go to process, to be open,
to be authentic, is really goingto help heal that physical.
(40:59):
So I feel like people try tomedicate and people try to, you
know, go to the doctors and doall these things get acupuncture
, use the herbal remedies, butit's not going to work if you're
not working on the emotionalpart.
Right, working on theacceptance, working on slowing
down, loving yourself.
(41:22):
For all of that you are right,instead of putting on this mask
and trying to look like what you, what people think they need to
look like, or whatever, right.
So I think emotional has a hugepart to the physical.
Like if I'm emotional, honestlyit's the worst.
It's the worst.
(41:42):
Like if I'm stressing, um, andthat tire taught me.
Like the second I'm stressingat this point which it's really
hard, like even if I watch ascary movie or something
emotional even talking right nowabout it.
Like I'm I don't know if you canhear it, but like my throat's
(42:03):
kind of closing up, like mythroat will close up if I'm
emotionally distressed.
So it's so important for me to.
Paulina Stevens (42:17):
You don't have to.
You don't have to keep talkingabout it.
I don't want to know.
Klaudia Farkas (42:21):
It's cool, it's a part of the process, right,
like it's a part of my healing,like it's a part like the
process, right, like it's a partof my healing, like it's a part
like I have to do it.
I have to do it because whenthat person comes at me on the
street and you know is likewhat's up with that cane, I have
to be ready to be like I don'tknow what's up, right, like
cause it just it's so.
(42:44):
It's.
It's like a gift, but it's alsoa curse because it has enhanced
my like psychic abilities.
Like I am, I can smell you amile away.
You know, like, because I'm sosensitive now I either I'm cool
(43:11):
with you or I'm not cool withyou, and that's okay.
I don't have to fit in, I don'tcare, and I used to care so much
.
So I say to people if you couldlike master that and really
just like, not give a fuck andlike, but like actually do it.
That's when things start tojust like shut off your body,
(43:31):
and that's been um, a lot of.
What I've had to learn in thepast, like 15 years, is to, you
know, had insomnia for threeyears over things, and one day I
just woke up and I was like youknow what?
I just don't fucking care.
I swear I started to sleepthree years, three years.
(43:55):
So definitely emotional haseverything to do with physical.
Jezmina Von Thiele (43:59):
Yeah, I feel that too with my you know pain
conditions.
I notice if I'm, you know,triggered about something or you
know someone conditions Inotice if I'm, you know,
triggered about something or youknow someone yells at me or
something, immediately I starthaving flare.
Yeah, and I'm just like, oh,okay, and even after like a
tough therapy session, I can'treally like I can't do them
right before work, like I haveto do them at the end of the day
(44:22):
because I need to likedecompress, my body needs rest
after it.
Klaudia Farkas (44:26):
It's, it's interesting totally like, even
if you're like hanging out witha friend who maybe isn't, maybe
is very hyper and isn't, andself uh, doesn't have the
awareness to go.
Oh, her face looks a little justyou know, to kind of back it up
and go are you okay, like youknow people like I have to be
(44:49):
very mindful of, like whatenergetics or what kind of
people I hang around, becauseit's not I don't mean to be
triggered, you know.
But yeah, I can be sensitiveand then sometimes I'm just very
sensitive and sometimes, youknow, I have to really just like
pull it back and sit at homeand take a minute to reset yeah,
(45:14):
thank you.
Jezmina Von Thiele (45:52):
So, among other Roma, we talk a lot about
intergenerational trauma as acommunity and how it coincides
with poor health and shorterlife expectancy, even in
families that are no longerexperiencing extreme poverty or
political oppression, and therehave been a few studies about
this on the Romani communities,especially in Eastern Europe,
but not enough Anecdotally.
(46:14):
What have you noticed aboutpain within Romani?
Klaudia Farkas (46:17):
I feel like, sorry, my mind, just I'm kind of
blanking on, like where I wantto go with it, cause there's so
(46:42):
many ways to go with it.
But are you talking about likejust physical pain, generational
pain, like just pain in general, like just the things it feels?
Jezmina Von Thiele (46:50):
so conversational right now, so I'm
just going to do that and youcan go wherever you want with it
.
But pretty much everyone in myfamily on my Romani side has a
pain condition, has autoimmunedisorders, like everyone is like
sick, sick, sick and it I feellike it coincides with like a
lot of childhood trauma, mygrandma's trauma coming from
(47:12):
literally Nazi Germany, and likeeveryone on Germany is very
unwell as well and die veryyoung.
And you know, and I, pain isjust constant and and we weren't
allowed to complain about it.
And you know, and pain is justconstant and we weren't allowed
to complain about it, and youknow, we didn't always seek care
when we needed it, even if wehad access to it, and so that's
(47:33):
kind of my own experience withit.
But what are your thoughtsabout, you know, romani
relationship to pain and health?
I kind of want to Okay.
Paulina Stevens (47:48):
It's weird that we never had this conversation
before.
We have not holy shit.
So because we talked abouteverything like I know, like
what, I guess there's more.
Um, totally, my family was thesame way, but like everybody
dies super early.
But I feel like for my family,I feel like it's a combination
of all the past trauma, but alsothe life.
(48:10):
The life that they live, guys,it's like everybody is related
to each other, that gets marriedand has children.
So there's like a ton.
There's a huge amount of incest, like within my literal family.
And then there's also like andI hate saying that, but like
whatever we have to throw it outthere, we're open.
I talked about it before.
Our fans have to know, like youknow we're against that.
(48:31):
Obviously I'm against that, butlike that's the reality that
we're dealing with.
But then there's also like thefood smoking, like everybody's
constantly thank you, oh my godyes, yes, yeah.
Oil all day, all day.
Like everything's cooked withlard.
Like lard, I know, I know sureand no exercise, nobody's
(48:52):
exercise thank you.
Klaudia Farkas (48:53):
Okay, yeah, like I I'm, I feel like you know,
kind of like speaking in thisway just helps me kind of like
be a little freer, um, so I lovethat you guys are like also
also jumping in here because ithelps me kind of, like my get
like, you know, fires up mybrain.
But, yes, um.
(49:13):
So for me, you know, yeah, allthose things, I think food, I
think lifestyle, I think, youknow, like my dad has 85 percent
of his lungs and he's stillsmoking.
Okay, like when I first had myson, my firstborn, I was 23
(49:34):
years old, and I rememberbringing him home and he thought
it was cool to like smoke acigarette in his room and I'm
sorry, dad, like don't don'tmean to talk, but like where's
who put it out there?
You know, um, but yeah, like I,you know, he was like smoking
cigarettes in the house and itwas coming through the vent and
(49:56):
I just was so like I was crushed, you know, I mean, I grew up
smoking cigarettes.
I remember my dad, I, I waslike, how old was I?
I think I was like 15, 16, 16when I started smoking
cigarettes, and I remember himbeing like are you smoking
cigarettes?
And I was kind of like no, I'mnot, you know.
(50:19):
And he's like well, you know,if you're going to smoke
cigarettes, smoke it in front ofme.
You know.
And he's like well, you know,if you're going to smoke
cigarettes, smoke it in front ofme and so I did, and it wasn't
like, oh no, you can't do that.
That's horrible.
Like if I saw my kids smoking acigarette, holy, you know, it
would be such a big deal.
Like I mean, I don't, I don'tsmoke cigarettes anymore.
(50:39):
I did smoke cigarettes.
Both my parents smoke cigarettes.
My mom still smoke cigarettes.
You know, I just spoke to heron the phone and you know she's
back home.
She misses me, she missesfacial, she misses living with
me, organic food, all that stuff, right, and you know it's just
yeah.
It's about like my grandmadidn't have the money and she
(51:02):
had no breast milk so she had togive my mom sugar water, right,
like those kind of things.
They didn't have breast milk soshe had to give my mom sugar
water, right, like those kind ofthings.
They didn't have money so theyhad to eat bread and lard and
tomatoes and, you know, peppersor whatever.
That was like the meal.
It was like bread and lard yeah,bread and lard, that's
everything.
Paulina Stevens (51:22):
and smoking cigarettes in the house my and
smoking cigarettes in the house.
Klaudia Farkas (51:25):
My mom still smokes cigarettes in the house
Coffee, cigarettes and bread andlard, you know.
And salona, which is like theit's the smoked bacon but just
the fat.
You know just like the smokedfat with like butter and you
(51:49):
know sides of like cut uptomatoes and peppers or whatever
, like it's the best part of it.
But my dad still just eatssalami and bread and kielbasa.
You know, like you, he's notgonna.
You know he like he won't eatchicken but he'll eat.
He's like, oh, meat, but he'lleat like breaded pork chops, so
(52:09):
like it has to be fried andcrunchy.
It's just, yeah, it'sfrustrating.
It's like bread all day bread,bread, bread, bread, bread, cold
, cold, cut meats, right, whichI totally feel horrible saying
because you know my parents cooksuch good like Hungarian food,
(52:30):
but yes, that is kind of likethe background is the cigarettes
and just like the trauma andjust the, just the trauma, just
the family trauma.
You know, just like, yeah, likenot wanting to go to therapy,
(52:50):
not, um, taking care of things,not dealing.
You know like growing up myparents were totally like, oh,
no, like we can't have her go totherapy.
She's gonna tell the therapisteverything and that's that's the
point.
You know, like just goingthrough all all the family,
(53:14):
trauma, and just how they grewup.
And you know, my mom coming froma village sleeping on a dirt
floor to having nothing, youknow, to literally having
nothing, um, to having um, to bepoor, and then my grandma
having her down syndrome brother, her, and then my other, her
(53:39):
other brother, right, and theywere poor.
They were poor, you know, theycouldn't buy all the good things
and the food and the clothesand so, yeah, I mean I get it
coming.
The fact that we came here andmy mom was a nurse assistant for
20 years here is a big deal andI forget, like, where she comes
(54:00):
from, because she is such asweet woman we are and we are so
resilient and like such amazingpeople, so we forget.
But, yeah, like, as I startedto break like the cycles right,
I was the one to break thecycles, I was always the one.
I was the bougie one, right,I'm considered bougie because I
(54:21):
like, I'm healthy you know,that's the backlash that I get
Right, I was like, oh, like toogood, too good Cause I like
grass fed butter, like.
Jezmina Von Thiele (54:33):
I?
I remember when I came homefrom college, um, I had never
had olives that were not from acan before, but I guess I tried
them at some sort of like party,you know when, um, maybe there
was like a museum party orsomething at my college where we
had a new exhibit and there waslike a little bit of like wine
and cheese.
I was like what are theseolives?
(54:53):
So big day.
So I came back home and I wentto the grocery store and I got
some of the fancy olives fromthe olive bar that I'd never
noticed before and I presentedthem to my mother like you have
to try these.
And she's like who the hell doyou think you are?
She was so mad.
She was like you think you'rebetter than me with your grocery
(55:17):
store olives.
Klaudia Farkas (55:18):
I was like oh no my god, I had the same, okay.
So I, when I had my son, I, youknow, got food stamps, right,
and I I never been to WholeFoods.
Okay, this was like years ago,17 years ago, and so I have
never been to Whole Foods.
And I just remember likerandomly going in there and kind
(55:41):
of being like wow, like what'sall this, like good stuff, right
, and because there was aSafeway down the street from our
house, so we just went toSafeway, costco or Foodstuff,
whatever, and I just rememberlike buying a nice chicken, you
know, and coming home and beinglike wow like really proud.
Like, look, mom, look at thechicken, it's so beautiful.
(56:02):
And she was fucking pissed.
She was like she was so mad atthis switch up that when I was
like I don't think you shouldshop there, I don't think you
should buy the foster farms,like six dollar chicken, you
know and she's like, oh well,you, you ate this your whole
life and you're fine, you know,kind of like judging me for like
(56:24):
wanting better.
So I just kind of had to likelet it go, which was hard
because I was living with her.
I had my son and I justremember the, the switch, you
know, like her buying thisSafeway chicken and it was black
and I just was like sittingback and she's like I don't know
(56:47):
about this chicken.
And I'm like, yeah, yeah, andso she, it took me like two
years to slowly kind of likemove her away, even with like
the medicine, you know, evenwith what.
Even when I got injured she waslike, oh, you're just
(57:08):
complaining, I'll be quiet, allthis, all that you know.
Like then she hurt her neck andso all the things that I had
gone through she went through,and I just remember trying to
put this cream on her and she'slike oh, oh, my god, the smell.
You know, she was just sojudgmental.
She's like oh, you're a drugaddict.
Oh, you're drug addicts, youknow.
(57:30):
And so now fast forward.
You know, when I make a batchand it smells very strong, she's
like oh, that's a good one.
Like, yes, oh, yes, it is, butit's just, it's just funny, you
know.
Jezmina Von Thiele (57:45):
It's funny to try to like change our
parents views and ways, Iunderstand the defensiveness
because it's like you know,maybe for my mom she was like,
okay, so I have failed as aparent.
Clearly, yes, you have newolives and and you now I'll
never see you again, you're offto the world of fancy olives in
(58:07):
college, and so I was like I getyou know in retrospect, looking
back, I'm like it was about somuch more than the olives, but
it was like so funny though inthat moment.
But yeah, it's like ideally we,we just want them to be well.
And it can be so hard sometimeswhen our family resists.
And I glad that your mom got onthe um, on the medicine train,
with you.
(58:27):
She felt very judged.
Klaudia Farkas (58:30):
Yeah, she felt very judged and she really
didn't understand.
She was just like you're, whoare you?
That's literally that's whatshe said.
She was like who do you thinkyou are?
and I was like I don't knowhealthy like I was just like I
don't know nobody, I guess itfeels so scary to like I don't
know to, to lose commonality, Iguess yeah, yeah, and it's just
(58:53):
like the way we, the way theygrew up, you know it's it's hard
to feel they're in such likethis, um, secret society.
You know, like she, sheprobably felt like, oh, like now
you're moving into likedifferent things, like what's
going on, right, the the changewas definitely hard for her and
she's like in such an old worldmindset that it just took her so
(59:17):
long.
Like that, I mean, I try toshow my grandma and she's kind
of like, you know, like lasttime I went back home she was,
oh, bring that oil that you, youknow the tea tray.
She's like, oh, make sure tobring that oil for my scalp, you
know.
Paulina Stevens (59:33):
But she's always like, oh, no, no, no, no,
don't like, she's very old,she's very old school do you
(59:57):
have advice for roma and peoplein general in ways to prioritize
wellness in some like realsimple kind of accessible things
they could do or or things theycould try?
Klaudia Farkas (01:00:13):
that's a hard one.
Um, that's a hard one.
I mean, I feel like food iseverything, you know.
I feel like food is everything,you know.
I feel like food is everything,and I feel like farmers are
everything.
And if, if you are Roma andRoma, non Roma, whatever, like I
(01:00:38):
just feel like it's veryimportant to know that, like you
do have access and hopping onthe computer or asking somebody
and really just googling yournearest farmer's market, I feel
like, especially in these timeswhere our food is so poisoned
(01:00:59):
you know, I don't even go toWhole Foods anymore.
Luckily, I'm blessed with likeRainbow Grocery, which is like a
cooperative here.
But you know, if there are anyRoma in San Francisco, I highly
recommend rainbow grocerybecause you're spending the same
amount of money.
Um, wherever you go at thispoint and so that was always the
(01:01:19):
argument with my mom she's likeoh, that's like expensive and
that was her thing it's like wecan't afford that, right, and so
like, well, it was always acomparison of like, okay, you
went to Safeway and you haveboxed food and I went here and I
have like fruits and vegetablesand meat and all this stuff,
and so I feel like food'simportant, getting it local.
(01:01:45):
I say you can reach out to me.
I'm always willing to give youknow sliding scale.
I give medicine all for free.
So if anybody ever wants toreach out to me, definitely I
can't, off the top of my head,give resources, but like I I'm
down to be that access and theform of communication for how to
(01:02:09):
be in the system, how to getwhat you need.
Being Roma in this, you know,in the United States I don't
know about other places but like, definitely if you're Roma in
the United States, like there'sso many resources that maybe
they don't feel they can accessor know about and I'm definitely
down to be that resource forthem.
(01:02:31):
Even do a zoom or show them orwhatever how to make basic
medicine.
How about do at home stuff,because I'm always treating my
kids for their wounds and theirinfections and all that stuff.
So there's so much you know youcan do.
People can DM me infections andall that stuff.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:02:51):
So there's so much you know you can do.
People can dm me, so we'regoing to shift gears a little
bit.
We're wrapping up.
Who are your romani crushes atthe moment?
Basically, who do you admire?
Who do you want to give a shoutout to my crushes?
Klaudia Farkas (01:03:15):
Well, honestly, to keep it really real, when I
first got on Instagram, my first, first, first crush was
probably Megan Megan ofLululemon.
Yeah.
Megan, megan has always.
She's just real.
She's just real.
I love Megan, like it was justno, she's just sweet, she's just
(01:03:36):
real.
I love her products.
You definitely, you like, like,you are always my you and
Paulina, like you guys are, youknow, you, you just reached out
to me and I didn't ask foranything out of everybody.
Like this whole time I havebeen romani roots, like you and
(01:03:58):
megan have been the two peoplethat have, without me asking,
just posted me up, reposted me,supported me, pushed me, and
that just I felt like damn okay,okay, like I'm doing what I
need to be doing and I'msupported, right, you know.
And then, uh, my girl, sastimos, you know I always call her for
(01:04:22):
like herbal remedies and stuff.
Like she just gave me mytincture and had I not had her
tincture, you know, with mythroat hurting.
I don't know.
That was rough.
So I just, you know, grabbedher tincture and seconds later I
was fine.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:04:39):
So definitely like Sos de Mos, and
you guys and Megan are my girlsyes, I mean I I've been a fan of
your work and so it makes mereally happy that it meant a lot
that I was sharing Cause I wasjust like, oh my God, so excited
.
Yes, I have to post this.
Klaudia Farkas (01:04:56):
I mean you're just yeah, you were always my.
I mean I didn't even know.
You like found me and I wasjust like Whoa, I was like
showing my man, I like look ather, she's so pretty.
And then I found Paulina and Iwas like, oh, my god, like look,
I was like right.
I don't care, you know like youcould be a supermodel and I'm
(01:05:17):
just like yeah, whatever, butlike.
But with you guys I'm alwaysjust like oh my god, they're so
cute oh look how cool, we thinkthe same about you we really do.
Paulina Stevens (01:05:29):
We're fangirls well thank you how can people
find you and support your work?
Klaudia Farkas (01:05:39):
um, so people can find me at on my instagram,
which is the romani roots.
People can also go to mywebsite, which is the Romani
roots.
People can also go to mywebsite, which is Romani roots
skincare and herbal remedies,and there you will find my phone
number.
You'll find my email.
Yeah, if anybody needs anythingin the Roma community, I am
(01:06:01):
down like.
Whatever questions, resourceshelp, um, I'm there for it and
others and others, everyone, I'mfor all well, thank you so much
.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:06:17):
This was such a pleasure talking with you
and we really appreciate you,um, yeah, talking to us about
challenging things that are noteasy to talk about, and your
perspective is so important.
You've, you know, been throughso much, you've healed so much
and, yeah, we, just we soappreciate your wisdom thank you
, it's been fun.
Klaudia Farkas (01:06:37):
Um, yeah, it's been good.
I'm happy to be on here funtimes talking about trauma, yeah
.
I mean I swear we need to likejust create a platform for that.
Like seriously, it's so it's.
It's super important to be ableto talk about it, because if
you can't talk about it, you'renever gonna get over it.
(01:06:58):
Yeah, it's true.
So yeah thank you guys for likeshouting me out and supporting
Thank you for everything you do.
Paulina Stevens (01:07:10):
That's it Very cool, I'll see you guys.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:07:27):
Thank you for listening to Romanistan
Podcast you can find us onInstagram, TikTok and Facebook
at Romanistan Podcast and onTwitter at RomanistanPod, To
(01:07:49):
support us, join our Patreon forextra content or just donate to
our Ko-fi fundraiser, ko-ficombackslash Romanistan, and please
rate, review and subscribe.
It helps people find our show.
It helps us so much.
Paulina Stevens (01:07:56):
You can follow Jez on Instagram at
jasminavantila and Paulina atRomani Holistic.
You can get our book Secrets ofRomani Fortune Telling online
or wherever books are sold.
Visit romanistanpodcastcom forevents, educational resources
and more.
Email us at romanistanpodcastat gmailcom for inquiries.
Jezmina Von Thiele (01:08:22):
Romanistan is hosted by Jasmina Vontila and
Paulina Stevens, conceived ofby Paulina Stevens, edited by
Victor Pachas, with music byVictor.
Pachas and artwork by ElijahBarado.
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