I had a doctor's appointment today for a physical. I found my doctor by doing a search on the United provider directory and assumed the doctor was female b/c the name sounded female to me. Keep in mind the doctor was Indian with a very Indian name. Apparently, I don't know my own people. I prefer female doctors because of the assumption that a male doctor maybe a sleaze ball. Anyhow, this was was the best medical experience I have ever had. He was professional, thorough, kind and took his time with me.
This experience today got me thinking about my own name. I have a very Latina name, extremely. My surname is Portuguese due to the travels of the Portuguese to my homeland. My first name is a common Spanish/Portuguese name but also could be desi. Being Catholic, my middle name is taken after a saint's name.
My parents were alway late picking me up from school. Some days my dad would come to pick me up. He would go the Office and the receptionist would say over the intercom, "Juana Theresa Rozario** please report the office," pronounced by the white receptionist with a Spanish accent. When I first emailed my husband regarding his article, he thought I was Puerto Rican. When I go to interviews it's always interesting when the interviewer takes a double take, eyes going from my resume to my face several times trying to understand what is going on.
I kept my maiden name for a good year after my marriage. I couldn't part with it. I finally decided to hyphenate my maiden and married last names. I partly did this in hopes that my name would more correctly identify my origins (i.e. I am not Latina).
Juana Theresa Rozario-Singh**........... I'm not sure if I met my objective.
**Real name is similar but obviously not disclosed for good reasons.
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My friend Smurf is pregnant. She's 32 years old and 11 weeks along. I met up with her and other festival folk for a weekend project. ... -
I'm kinda scared of brownies. Okay, scared is a strong word. Plus I'm married to a South Asian, does that give me street cred ? ... -
I find you to be a f*cking cunt. I hope there is a special place in hell for a b*tch like you. You never deserved to have children. Here ...
14 comments:
I took my husband's last name, so people just take a wild guess when they see me. At one of my law firm interviews, the interviewer said goodbye and "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around at Latino bar events."
You're my favorite Bengali Latina ;)
When I first met you, after seeing your name, I didn't think you'd be Latina. I didn't know you were going to be so pretty, though...did I ever tell you that story? I came into the coffee shop looking like a dirtcake and you looked like a supermodel. I was like, "Maybe I should hide under my purse until she realizes I'm not here?" Ha!
What a tangent that was.
My wife and I(both desi) are struggliing with what to name our son who is due very soon. My wife has an americanized first name and I have a very indian name - each have their own pros and cons. We dont want to betray the little one's roots (our last name isnt as identifiable as some indian surnames) but at the same time, we dont want to make his life difficult, by having to grow up with a "different" and hard to pronounce name.
Also, I've read your previous blog entries, and I wanted to offer my condolences on your miscarriage and the loss of your baby.
CM: Hello fellow Latin!
Roonie: You never told me that. You so silly.
Daddy: Thanks for leaving a comment! I definitely want an Indian name. I guess you always want what you don't have. I've actually been pronouncing my name lately the "real" way. What about a not so hard to pronounce Indian name?
I have a wierd name....with no real origin...I mean, it's Indian and Hawaiian...but I look like a mutt....no one really every assumes anything about my name except that it's "CALLIE" ugh.
Can't say that my name or appearance make me look anything but Indian. However, I do live near a building that has a lot of Guyanese and Fijian residents, many of whom have South Asian roots extending back several generations. So when they see me in the building, they assume I'm one of them.
As for the offspring, if I ever have kids I'm totally going with the desi name, mispronunciations be damned.
hi there...not sure how i stumbled upon your blog recently, but here i am!
as a south indian Christian, i can relate. everyone who hears my full name expects either a white or black person. indian people ask me why i have a "white" name. strangers ask why it is, if i'm indian, that i have an "american" name. it drives me insane! my fiance has a very "indian" (or thai, depending on your stererotypes) last name, but i don't think i'll be taking his name officially.
That's so funny, when i started professional school, even the desi people in my class assumed i was Latina because of my name, like yours a spanish/portugese first name and a Latin last name....with all evidence to the contrary they would still hesitantly ask ...soooo where are you from?, even bosses to this day get that puzzled look that i have become accustomed to... *her name is WHAT? hmm should i ask, would it be rude? how should i phrase this...errr...* "by the way..."
LOL. I thought i was one of the few...glad to know i'm not!
You can relate to my life! Imagine the look I get from the cashier when this brown face hands the woman a credit card with a very Latin surname. I can nearly read the thought bubble as she begins to think I've stolen someone's credit card.
I love these name stories. My name sort of precedes my appearance, and when I don't look more Arab, I think people are disappointed. Um, yeah, I'm half-white, too, but you don't know that, do ya? DO YA?
Not you, but you know, people who expect me to be more Arab. I really HATE HATE HATE hearing, "Well, you don't look Arab." Do you know what Arabs look like? Arabs from Egypt? Egyptians can always pick me out (I look more like my Egyptian dad than my Polish/German mom, and my sister - now you've finally met her! - looks more like my mom) as Egyptian. They always note the shape of my eyes, the length and slant of my nose, and the texture of my hair as distinctly Egyptian. But I HATE being told, "You just look like a regular ol' white girl to me." Yeah, THANKS. Are you insulting me or what are you trying to say with that comment, you know?
I have to stop this tangential ranting on your blog.
Not to sound totally daft, but can you tell me more about the Portugese getting to Bengal? This is one aspect of our culture I didn't know about. I was under the impression they traded with the parts of India starting with Bombay, Goa and south. Tell me more!
Of course, there is the distinct possibility that only one of your parents is from Bengal, or moved to Bengal or ... ok, I'll shut up now.
Love the blog, BTW, having just discovered it recently!
Hi Maitri: I'm so glad you enjoyed the blog! Both of my parents are Bengali. Apparently the Portuguese traded in that area and converted many people to Catholicism and also changed the last names. My mom's maiden name is also Portuguese! All the Bengali Catholics I know have Portugese last names. Tell you the truth I don't know to much about it! I need a history lesson as well.
Oh roonie....plain ole white girl isn't so bad....I've been one all my life!! haha...
Hi ! I just found your blog (through your comment at Shauna's blog) and I am totally hooked. Your posts are really fun and interesting. I am bengali myself and live in SF area. I was wondering about the portuguese connection. I came across this wiki-entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Bangladesh
One question, how do you deal with the religion stuff within your family ? I am wondering because my hubby is catholic (from South India) and I am hindu. Things are cool now because we areboth very liberal, but I am a tad bit worried that things might get complicated once I have a child.
-spee
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