zzzzzezzoz Zoe

6 aug 2010

i was talking to a Chinese student and asked him his name. 'Andy', he said. i told him this is the same as his teacher's, Andrew, and that Andy is a nickname for Andrew. Andy was very surprised because he didn't know that. he said he picked the name out of the internet as he liked it.

i walked around and spoke with a Chinese girl. when i asked her name, she said 'zzzzzezzoz Zoe'. i smiled, repeated 'Zoe', and we talked about other, more relevant for the moment things.

i've seen this adoption of an English name by a Chinese speaker (both Chinese and Taiwanese) happen so often i decided to ask them why they do it a while ago. the ones i spoke with told me their name doesn't matter much. for them what is really important is their father's (family's) name, which is kept, along with the new, English name.

although i could understand and see the point in their argument, i still wonder why the need to do that. i would just simplify my name if it were too hard for foreigners to pronounce it, but i don't see people calling anything else rather than Kalina. do i have identity issues?