I must say having a name like "Ariel" has confuzzled all the adorable Asian grandparents and oversea relatives I have. I have also earned many nicknames derived from my name. for example, my dear grandma, just the most lovely and adorable person ever, calls me 'Ellier'. what does it mean? honestly, it doesn't mean anything. it's really Ariel with a Chinese accent. sometimes she shortens it to "Ellie" and my mum has caught on to it and started calling me this too. when it's not Ellie or Ellier, it's usually "CHIA MAN!" (which is my Chinese name). for the record, "Chia Man" is pronounced "JIA mahn". I have to go by this name on all my legal documents and papers and whenever I take any standardized test, because I'm not a citizen of the States. I try not to burst out laughing whenever the proctor does a roll call:
"is, uhhh... uhm. <clears throat> CHEE MAN MAY here?"
I know, I know, it's hard to pronounce foreign names, but what really blows my mind though is that (not to be racist here) the non-Asian people can't pronounce even my last name right. it's MA. yes, M-A. so simple it's mind blowing. Ma is pronounced as in "heeyy MAA, CAN YOU GET PIZZA TONIGHT?" yes, Ma as in mother as in Mama, as in Ma. there is no "y" after the "a" so no need to pronounce it "may", thanks.
as it turns out, not only do grandmas have trouble pronouncing my name, little kids do too. seriously, it's the cutest thing ever when little kids have trouble enunciating words. I have been affectionately called "Arrow", "Ee-ree-uhl""Ab-ree-uhl" by a few tots. they make me smile til my jaw gets sore. then of course, there are the people who, no matter how many times they've heard my name, just call me... Oreo. yum. I mean, I'm not talking about people who tease me on purpose, just people who really don't know how to pronounce my name. I honestly don't care, it makes me laugh.
here are a couple more random names I've been dubbed in the past:
Xiao Apple "Little Apple"--my cousins gave me this name because apparently when I was little, I had a super round face that was always red (that looked like oh I don't know, an apple, yeah?)
Xiao Man--this is my Chinese name shortened with "little" added in the front. and no! it does not mean "little man". I forget what the "man" part means in Chinese. I was one of those [rare] kids that was never forced to attend Chinese school. hurray! so besides for understanding and speaking Mandarin, I'm rather illiterate in Chinese.
Little Mermaid--only the people who don't know what kind of name "Ariel" is and make me refer to this sea creature to jog their memory calls me this. usually it only lasts for a couple of seconds, and then they drop it after awhile, because it gets old fast and because no one can really connect a red-haired mermaid wearing a skimpy shell bikini to a person like me. seriously.
REL--I actually don't remember who it was that came up with this nickname. I just know it was one of the girls at my old youth group. REL is pronounced as is "R-E-L". I get asked a lot of that's the right way to say my name. I respond to both, and I don't mind as long as it's not "dummy".
Daughty--my dad calls me this all. the. time. it's really just short for "daughter". he even addresses birthday cards and emails to me with "Dear Daughty..." I used to hate it, but I love it now. I've noticed lately, a lot of things I used to hate, I've learned to love. strange, really.
Earl (of pearls)--my sister gave me this name. whenever I try to say it, it comes out like "eaaarrrrrll o' pearrls" in a drawled out Southern accent. I don't think that's what she meant when she gave me the name, but oh well. hehe
Arielly+Arie--in middle school, my friends started calling me Arie because my brother called me that all the time. for whatever reason, I didn't like that name. thankfully it was dropped not too long after I moved to SC. as for Arielly, only one person calls me this now, but I love it. it subtly reminds me of Jaq and Gus singing this. cute, right?
last but certainly not least, Oreo--this name sorta stemmed from people who didn't know how to pronounce and spell "Ariel". I remember when I was five years old and taking lessons for the first time from my violin teacher (who is also my current teacher. random facts ftw), his wife (who helps schedule lessons for him) spelled my name wrong on a letter:
"Dear Ray and Oreil..."
I nearly cried.
Xiao Apple "Little Apple"--my cousins gave me this name because apparently when I was little, I had a super round face that was always red (that looked like oh I don't know, an apple, yeah?)
Xiao Man--this is my Chinese name shortened with "little" added in the front. and no! it does not mean "little man". I forget what the "man" part means in Chinese. I was one of those [rare] kids that was never forced to attend Chinese school. hurray! so besides for understanding and speaking Mandarin, I'm rather illiterate in Chinese.
Little Mermaid--only the people who don't know what kind of name "Ariel" is and make me refer to this sea creature to jog their memory calls me this. usually it only lasts for a couple of seconds, and then they drop it after awhile, because it gets old fast and because no one can really connect a red-haired mermaid wearing a skimpy shell bikini to a person like me. seriously.
REL--I actually don't remember who it was that came up with this nickname. I just know it was one of the girls at my old youth group. REL is pronounced as is "R-E-L". I get asked a lot of that's the right way to say my name. I respond to both, and I don't mind as long as it's not "dummy".
Daughty--my dad calls me this all. the. time. it's really just short for "daughter". he even addresses birthday cards and emails to me with "Dear Daughty..." I used to hate it, but I love it now. I've noticed lately, a lot of things I used to hate, I've learned to love. strange, really.
Earl (of pearls)--my sister gave me this name. whenever I try to say it, it comes out like "eaaarrrrrll o' pearrls" in a drawled out Southern accent. I don't think that's what she meant when she gave me the name, but oh well. hehe
Arielly+Arie--in middle school, my friends started calling me Arie because my brother called me that all the time. for whatever reason, I didn't like that name. thankfully it was dropped not too long after I moved to SC. as for Arielly, only one person calls me this now, but I love it. it subtly reminds me of Jaq and Gus singing this. cute, right?
last but certainly not least, Oreo--this name sorta stemmed from people who didn't know how to pronounce and spell "Ariel". I remember when I was five years old and taking lessons for the first time from my violin teacher (who is also my current teacher. random facts ftw), his wife (who helps schedule lessons for him) spelled my name wrong on a letter:
"Dear Ray and Oreil..."
I nearly cried.
of course, that was then... now I really could care less. I mean Oreos are like my favoritest cookies ever, that is when Girl Scout cookies aren't readily available, so why would I be sad about being called my favorite cookie? they're scrumptious and you can eat them in any way. you can dip them in milk and scarf them down barbaric style, or eat em without milk, or split em down the middle and eat it creme on one side and just cookie on the other, in fact, you can even stuff them inside homemade chocolate cookies and give them to someone so they can eat them and die happy. ahh, the joys of an Oreo cookie are endless. Oreos are the love of my life. dabomb.com
okay. wow, I don't think ever written or seen my name so many times in one sitting before. I can't even remember why I felt lead to write about my plethora of nicknames. I'm weird, this whole post is kind of weird, so I suppose I'll end it here. sorry for missing my Monday post (more on that another day), but this makes up for it, right? totally.
have a swell weekend. toodle-loo.
Wat about Aweal??? :(
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