What's in a name?

One of the first things I noticed after arriving in China, was that the students in our school adopted some very strange English names. I used to think that it was wrong to take on an English name if you are from another culture. I thought it was akin to eating hamburgers instead of a local dish like noodles or watching Friends on TV instead of... oh I don't know... instead of doing something less American. I used to think it was a sign of English imperialism. I used to think it was a sign of being consumed by a dominant culture. But maybe I`m wrong.

Now I'm getting sort of used to the idea, and many of the Chinese names are so hard to pronounce that an English name makes it much easier for me. Maybe I have warmed to the idea partly because the Chinese typically do not choose your typical English name. They choose English names that are distinctly Chinese. The Daves, Johns and Marys are few and far between. They have been replaced with names like Apple and Zero and Grass.

I have been making a list of the interesting Chinese names I have heard. Now if I could only find it.... Well, here are some of the interesting names I've heard:

Apple
Cherry
Orange
Fat Joe (he likes rap music)
Morning (a guy!)
Rambo (a skinny guy!)
Kathy (she can't say 'th', comes out like Kacey)
Grass
Rainbow
Echo
January (she was born in....)
Vivi (and you x-Coreleans thought there was only one Vivi in the world!)
Zero
Even
Miracle
Smile
Haze
Queenie
Ice Cream
Hymen (I`m not making this up)
Boner (Really, I`m not!)
Snow
Summer

I`ve been facinated with these names since I arrived and in talking to the students I`ve learned a few things that may shed some light on their choices. In China a person`s name can come from words such as beautiful or lovely or echo. In fact you can take two words that you like and take a written symbol from each, combine them together and form a name. It works. I think they try to do the same in English, however since we don`t have the same system of writing, they cannot mix and match like they do in Chinese so they just pick one nice word. I`m not sure if they pick the name based on what it means or how it sounds. I suspect some do one and some do the other. Sometimes I think they pick a word because it sounds like their Chinese name. Whatever the reason, I like it! I`ve been here for three months and I am still coming across new and interesting names.

Fashion Faux Pas?

They say, China will be the next big super-power. They say, Shanghai will be the financial center of the world. Does that mean that China will start setting the latest fashion trends? I already illuded to the fashion faux pas found in China in an earlier post when I mentioned that people wear pyjamas outdoors and I don't want to sound negative but.... The Chinese do not appear to have any sense of fashion, and to top it off they have the nerve to complain about my fashion sense!! (They think I'm too manly!)

I'm not sure why the Chinese dress the way they do, but I have a theory. According to my sudents, thirty years ago, or so, people did not have any fashion choice. When you went shopping you could buy a pair of navy blue pants, a navy blue skirt and white blouse, and that was about it. Now that China has opened its doors to the west, they have been inundated with western culture. There is a clothing shop on every corner and the Chinese are like kids in a candy shop. They want to try everything... all at once! There is no limit to the mixing and matching they will perform and the exotic combinations they can create. For example, the other day I saw a young woman on the subway. She was wearing silver high-top sneakers and a pair of short black denim shorts. She also had on black stockings. Not regular old nylons, but stockings. Those things that require a garter belt to hold them up. And yes, she did have on a garter belt. I knew this because I could plainly see it, sticking well out from under her short little denim shorts. At least it was black, so it matched. To top all of this off, she had on a baggy pink and white sweatshirt, like you'd wear if you were out working in the garden. What possessed her to put together this combination of clothes I don't know, but my senses are constantly being bombarded with these bazzar fashion combinations and permutations.

Last week, as I walked through my local supermarket I saw an attractive women. She looked to be around 30. She was wearing a bright pink terry cloth bath robe. It only came down to about mid-thigh, but that was no problem because she had a pair of matching pink terry pants to go with it. She was wearing a nice pair of heels and her hair and make-up were very well done, but for some reason she thought that this robe and pyjama bottoms made a nice outfit. In a way, I guess they did, but I just can't get past the fact that they are... pyjamas! Maybe it's my problem, not theirs.