The Broad Abroad

I asked my husband before we left Kunming for the holiday if maybe Sam and his wife (Wen Li, which I called her the whole time, forgetting that Wen is her family name) would ask us to give their baby an English name.  I’ve been trying to come up with a Chinese name for myself, knowing that if I picked it myself I’d probably end up insulting someone.  To me, if they asked for an English name for their baby, it was the perfect opportunity to ask them to give me a Chinese name.  I had hopes for my Chinese name — maybe something to do with nature and sounding vaguely like the name my parents gave me.  Prior research (thumbing through a dictionary) had me looking at combinations pronounced roughly “Wei Li”, but I didn’t like any of the meanings.

Anyhow, after spending a few days with this well-insulated baby (did I mention it was cold there?) commonly called Niu-niu or “little cow” because she was born in the year of the ox, I had already come up with a name for her.  One day, finally, they asked us!  We quickly agreed, and I countered by asking them for a Chinese name.  Two nights later, the whole family was discussing it.

The first one they came up with sounded nice, but after seeing and trying to write the characters, I sheepishly asked for another that was easier to write.  It’s important for me to be able to write my own name.   After more deliberation, they suggested ?? (Xia Mei) which means “beautiful summer” or “summer beauty”.  It’s significantly easier to write, though I do need to practice.  Sam and Joyce’s father also pointed out that the xia character has something to with China, and the mei character is the first part of the Chinese word for America (making me the person to unite China and the U.S.?).  Unfortunately, when I inevitably mispronounce my name, I could become ??, which means “shrimp mildew”.

Oh, and the name we gave the giggly 8-month-old?  Joy!  I wanted to give them something easy to say and spell, as well as something with a meaning.