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Hello, My name is ……
After traveling for what this week marks half of my journey on the world race I have come to the realization that names are a very important thing. Yes, I knew this before (come on now) but at the same time it is important to have a relatable name and my name is just NOT one of them, outside of the United States.
The name Courtney around the world has turned into so many different things. I will give you my full birth name for better understanding, which is, Courtney Danielle Naylor. The name Courtney at home is so common that both male and females have this name.
Month 1: Guatemala: Courtney turned into Corny- in the Spanish language it is hard to pronounce the letters R & T right beside each other. I was to stubborn at the time to not go by any other name so… I just kept trying to explain it to them.
Month 2: Nicaragua: Courtney was still Corny so I introduced myself as Danielle (my middle name) and it was pronounced Daniela
Month 3: Philippines: Courtney was actually pronounced Courtney; they had a princess on a TV show that had the same name!! CELEBRATION!! WAHOO!!
Month 4: Thailand: Courtney was not working so, I was given the name Conay which is pronounced Connie. The idea came from taking the first two letters of my first name and the first three letters of my last name to make one name. They understood this so much more and could actually remember my name and by the end of the month I remembered to answer to the name Conay.
Month 5: Cambodia: Conay was continued and it just so happened that the school I was working at they had a teacher Connie. So, this made it really easy for the children to remember my name!
Month 6: Nepal: On the very first day of ministry in Nepal I just decided to continue the name Conay. So, I went around during a feeding program and I had the job of handing out everyone’s plate, which I was really excited about! I got to introduce myself to around 400 children.
Every time someone came up to get a plate I would say hello, what is your name…. my name is Conay. Well, it became really interesting about halfway through at least what felt to be 100 kids had responded back to say that they were Conay too. The next day when we went back to the same feeding program I realized that “Connie” in Nepali means hungry or eating.
WHAT?? No wonder everyone had responded to the name with the same name because they children we had fed came from the slums. The parents had to beg for food and clothes. These children were STARVING!
So, now month 6 here in Nepal I have received yet another two names. The first name was given to me by one of the locals as I was making lunch with him: he gave me the name Maya- which means love.
The second name was given to me when my name Courtney was read off a piece of paper as Country.
So, from Nepal Country love has become the name/ joke.
It has turned into a fun experience to see what name I will have each month. I think it was a great lesson for me to learn that the American standard of names being pronounced correctly just had to be thrown out the window. I have loved getting to expand my nickname list once I gave up the expectations of wanting to be called, Courtney.
Much Love & until next time,
Courtney, Danielle (Daniela), Corny, Conay (Connie), Maya, Country, Nourt, Court, Coco, & I am sure more nicknames to come.
