What's in a Name?

Ever since kindergarten, the process of roll call has been the same. I wait for the teacher to reach the end of the alphabet and call out “Anne Wen-dell?” I then clarify that I prefer “Annie” –and really it’s Wen-duhl, but not worries –and after jotting down a few notes in the roster book, my name is set for the year. Other than a few nicknames from close friends and roommates, I’ve always been simply “Annie.”

Not so in Nepal.

In just three months here in Gorkha, I have acquired nearly a dozen new nicknames. I’ve learned that Nepali culture is highly relational and that family members have different names, depending on who is addressing them, a cultural practice that made the initial adjustment period very confusing!

At breakfast the morning after I moved in with my host family, my dai gave me my Nepali name “Amisha,” which is a combination of my didis’ (older sisters’) names. “Because you are my fourth sister,” he explained. It was certainly a warm welcome after arriving less than 24 hours before.

Then there is “bhahini,” or younger sister, the name Shanti Didi affectionately uses when she wants me to join her on the roof for morning tea. On the occasion that my aamaa needs help lugging bags of rice up or down the many flights of stairs, Aamaa calls out “Aau, Amisha Bhahadur!” meaning “Come, my strong Amisha!” Although my stomach may not be benefitting from eating all this rice, my arms are certainly getting a workout!

Sometimes I'm even "Amy"...

When I enter the classroom, I immediately become “MISSSS!!!” My students seem to think if they repeat my name louder than their neighbor, I will immediately rush to their assistance and unfortunately my classroom management skills to demonstrate otherwise are still a work in progress. But it doesn’t end there. There’s even nicknames in the staffroom. The senior female teacher uses a pet name to check in with me every morning, “Thik chha, kanchi churi?” referring to me as her little girl.

I arrive home from school every day to a small welcoming party in front of the shop. Bauju, my sister-in-law, pats the stool next to her, motioning for me to sit. “For Annie myaah,” “Annie my love,” she says. However I don’t usually remain sitting for long; Stutat will grab at my hands, hoping to pull me to a nearby shop for an afternoon chocolate fix. “Enu!” he calls out, a combination of “Nunu,” or “big sis” and Annie –I’m still not quite sure how that one evolved, but it has stuck!

In addition to learning to respond to all these new names, I’ve also made progress in learning more of the names of my (nearly) 150 students (although I still get mixed up with the Sanjita, Sunita, Sasita and three Saritas that are all in class seven!). It’s slow going but has lead to great results now that I’m able to personally engage students in the classroom!