"Beth" never seemed like that hard of a name. The one syllable word was rarely misspelled or mispronounced and, better yet, took me no time to fill out on scantrons for tests. (Seriously, could you imagine having a first name "Mahershalalhashbaz" and being in kindergarden?)
"Beth Anne" sometimes confused people. Two syllables, an "e" at the end, and a space in between was a bit tricky but people usually figured it out. That was, until I came to Chile...
In the last seven months my name evolved to the point now, when people ask me what my name is they are sometimes met with a blank stare.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me go back and give you the official name timeline.
Beth Anne- I leave Arizona, name in hand.
Beth- I drop the "Anne" in the airport. I have only been in Chile 5 minutes but both syllables are already causing problems.
Bet- The "th" sound is almost impossible for most of my friends to say. When I say, "Beth," they ask me how to spell it. B-E-T-H. The response, "Oh I get it- Bet!" Perfect, I always wanted my name to reflect a work related to gambling. But Bet works. I begin to introduce myself as Bet to avoid spelling my name out all the time.
Vet- Let it be known that Chileans love to switch around the "v" and "b" sound when talking. So, the name "Vet" quickly followed "Bet." People start asking me things like, "I was calling your name, didn't you hear me Vet?!" Oops! I forgot my name is Vet. Forgetting one's name causes problems. Forgetting one's name in another country causes hilarious and sometimes awkward situations.
La Bet/La Vet- I actually find the use of pronouns before names in Chile really endearing (with a sprinkle of fancy). However, I feel like I am in a Pavlovian name experiment and suddenly find myself responding to La Beth or La Vet like a conditioned puppy.
Bent- If you are confused by how someone thought my name was Bent, don't worry, I am too. One day I was reading a group email from a friend and they mention "Bent" needed to do x, y, and z. I read the email and thought, "Well that is strange, I thought I was responsible for that but clearly this Bent person is taking care of it." Later realized that I am that Bent person. Luckily, the name Bent did not stick.
Gringuita- When you are the only gringa in your classes or events, people may start calling you gringuita, which literally means "little gringa." Nothing makes going to classes more interesting than being called gringuita and then talking about the history of the word "gringo" in Mexico. Love it.
After all of these names though, nothing really prepared me for the name my professor gave me in class today.
After discussing something in class, my professor looks at me and ask, "Gringuita, what is your name again?"
"Beth or Bet." I am trying to make my name as easy as possible for my 80 year old teacher.
"Beth?"
"Sí."
"Beth is too difficult. I am just going to call you something else."
"Okay..."
"I am going to call you-
Panchita. Perfect name for you...
Panchita!"
I almost die laughing. Panchita. I am not even sure how that is remotely related to Beth/Bet/Vet. The three syllable name seems less easy to me than Bet but what do I know?
So, the current phase in the name evolution is Panchita! I am thinking about scribbling "Panchita" onto my birth certificate and passport. I may even start signing my emails and introducing myself as Panchita.
Or I might just wait, who knows when my next name will roll around? But until then...
Yours truly,
Panchita
