Funny, this doesn't LOOK like a rainbow gathering

Every day is a new surprise here, I swear! In preparation for the first week of classes, I had been mentally bracing myself for the daunting job of remembering over 100 Chinese names. As I had my students introduce themselves (I have 4 classes of 30-35 students each), I asked each of them for the name that they wanted me and their classmates to call them. I told them that if they preferred to be called by their Chinese name, then that's what we would use. (Many Chinese students take on English names because it's easier for their teachers to remember them. I told them I didn't want them to accomodate me. As the teacher, it's MY job to remember and call them by their names. Period.) Well, despite my little pep-talk on cultural sensitivity, most of my students still gave their English names...and boy oh boy...

Let's see...I've got girls named Sunny, Windy, Rainy, Sky, Echo, Fire, Morning, and Shine. I have guys who want to be called Panda, Wave, Rock, Plane, BoBo, Thinking, Man, Brain, Jacket, Season, Tomorrow, Lilac (!), and my personal favorite, Banana.

So where on earth did these alter-egos come from? Possibly from previous teachers (with good or not-so-good intentions). Some of the names are a close phonetic representation of their Chinese name (Chen=Jane, Bin=Ben). Some of the names are simply words that represent what's important to them (an engineering student named Structure and a law student named Idyllic). Some of them are just people or characters that they like (like Cinderella and Bruce Lee) And I also hear that they get some of the seemingly nonsense names from online video-games, which are very very popular here.

So here is the Biggest Irony of it all: I write MY name on the board and to my surprise, they all say my last name...perfectly...as it was intended to be pronounced generations ago- "Novitzki" rather than the Americanized "Nowicki" that I've been using my whole life. It floored me. Turns out there's a famous German basketball player named Dirk Nowitzki and these kids LOVE basketball. The last time I was called Jennifer "Novitzki" was by the old nuns in my Polish Catholic high school. Who would have guessed that I'd be called that again by these teenagers in Southern China?! So here's to names that, like language, never seem to sit still.

Comments

[Laura]

Jen! I love reading your blog. I am busy busy but not too busy to be thinking about you lots....
love,
Laura

[Dad]

Jen,
I guess if they wanted to be intrnationally politically correct it would have been Novitska.
Love
Dad

[Jen Nowicki]

Yeah, I didn't explain the male/female thing to them. Perhaps another day!

[Kristin]

i don't remember any nun calling you that.

i must have been sleeping during that stuff.

i was too busy being called VERMOUTH!

[Jen]

yeah, I guess so. I even remember hearing it over the loudspeaker sometimes.

[Jen M.]

Jen, This is so funny. Let me know if you get a Sponge Bob or Noodle.
Love, Jen M.

[Lisa]

Hey girl,
I heard you had a blog. I hadn't gotten the URL for it but I googled "jen nowicki" and here I am.
Nice way to keep up with everyone. Hope you are having a great time.

[Lonnie]

Wonderful...I am still trying to explain to KAKA why it may be an issue for her when she goes abroad...

[tessa]

ah ha! quiero que me nombre ahora sea: hottamale:-) heeheee

[Kristin]

well it's better than pronouncing the person's name wrong the whole time you are there... i called a kid by the wrong name (pronunciation) the whole year and he never said one word. we even asked him in the begining of the year, "how do you say your name?" and he shrugged at us.

the sad thing was that he did speak englsh, so he knew what we were asking him... but he was asian (cambodian) and deferred to the teacher no matter what.

[Brattlmg]

http://www.varna-sport.com/pages/button_buy-now.gif

http://www.varna-sport.com/pages/soft-bigsale3.jpg

http://www.varna-sport.com/pages/button_buy-now.gif


In uniting, very few graphics software programs are licensed to OEMs conducive to bundling.
Most of the bargain sites advertising cheap oem autodesk autocad electrical 2012 64 bit are in actuality selling pirated pseudo copies.
Please note, I am not saying here that all software marketed as an OEM form is illegal.
This is a graphics software situation, at any rate, and a there are a gobs c many of imitation graphics applications sold answerable to the appearance of buy cheap download autodesk inventor lt 2012 (32-bit) publisher has under no circumstances licensed an OEM variety of the privilege Adobe Photoshop being equal of the most frequently counterfeited software titles.
Legitimately obtained purchase cheap adobe creative suite 5 web premium generally does not come with user manuals or the ingenious retail packaging, and complicated shore up is usually provided sooner than the devices provider.
Regardless, if you realize buy cheap oem software filemaker bento 3 mac from a counterfeiter, you force not be proper in return technological support, software upgrades, service packs, or patches-if you even get the offering at all.
If you are in worry regarding the legitimacy of cheap oem adobe flash builder 4.5 premium mac you have seen advertised including the ads and sponsored links on this install, satisfy peruse my article on software piracy and scams and educate yourself on the caveat signs.
If youre flat not established, dont learn a chance.