The Road to Taiwan: My name choice

Have I told y'all about the man I met back in the early 'Digits' at a bus stop here in Austin?  It was sometime between 2004 and 2007. I was taking the bus to the VA clinic for an appointment and was waiting at a bus stop at Lamar and Oltorf. An elderly man got off of his bus and sat down on the bench with me. I started talking to him (y'all know me!) and he told me (in Spanish) that he couldn't speak English. So, I--with my meager Spanish language skills--began having a discussion with him. During the course of our conversation, I discovered that he had been living in Austin for TWENTY-FIVE years and he didn't understand or speak English yet. I decided, then and there, that--if ever I moved to another country--I would, as soon as possible, learn enough of their language to ask directions, go grocery shopping, and have basic conversations which all humans could understand, no matter what language they spoke. I decided that I would assimilate. I feel like a person can (and should) assimilate into their new country's culture, while still remaining as much themselves as they can. Part of that includes learning the language. I'm hoping that by the end of my second year in Taiwan, I can, at least, be proficient in Mandarin.

Anyway, to that end, I decided that I would choose a Mandarin name for myself to use in professional settings.  As a preface, I'd like to say that I think my name (ahem: Loralee Fabulous) is a pretty easy one to say; however, I have been using it for 52 years. I've often found it interesting that even some English-speaking Americans find my name a challenge which is part of the reason why I've taken to giving my surname when restaurants ask me for a name. My thought process on this is that little Taiwanese children will likely have a challenging time pronouncing 'Loralee.' So, I decided to choose a Mandarin one.

My new surname was an easy choice which I fixed upon during early days. Just for information's sake: The Ford surname is generally believed to have originated as a name bestowed on someone who lived near a ford or river crossing, from the Old English ford, meaning "pass or crossing."  I found a rarely used surname, 'Jin' (津) which means 'ferry.'

For my first name, I wanted to choose something with meaning and beauty. We don't get to choose what our parents give us for a name (although I absolutely LOVE the one my parents chose for me. Not only do I think it is beautiful (and rare) but also, the tradition of it makes it even more awesome, in my mind. Even so, I was looking forward to the process of choosing a name whichs means something to me (as I did with my blog name.)  

As most of you know, I just turned 52 two days ago. I feel I can safely assert that I am in the (very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very) beginning of the Autumn of my life.  I definitely wanted 'Autumn' to be part of my name because not only is it my favorite season, but also because of its significance to my time in life. I'm very excited and happy about my choice in life goals. I think choosing to live an adventurous life, teaching children not only English, but also how to grown into kind, helpful, decent, amazing adults is a beautiful goal and I'm VERY thankful that I was led to make this choice. So, I was trying to find Chinese word name that meant 'Beautiful Autumn.' There are plenty of them, but some of them didn't sound beautlful (sorry mandarin!) I finally landed on the names Mei (beautlful) Qu (Autumn). I even liked how they all sounded together "Mei Qu Jin" (or May Chew Jin" in American English.) I felt like I had struck name gold!

However, after a few conversations with my Taiwanese Ex-Pat Facebook Group friends and my tutor, Diane, I realized that I would have to choose a different name. Turns out that--in the secondary, and oft-used, language in Taiwan (Hokkien??)--the name I chose sounds like I'm saying something naughty.  So, I was back to the drawing board.

I put my name chosing on the back burner. I decided to finish knitting a friend's birthday present and watch a Taiwanese t.v. series on Netflix. The one I chose was 'Love Cuisine.' One of the secondary characters was a sort-of plain, nerdy, kind girl who had a crush on the Gaston character in class (who, by the way, during his 'maturing' story arc, turned into the Beast, I'm thankful to say.) She was someone who put others first almost all the time, but when need be, she stood up for herself. She stayed true to herself and kept her kind heart. And I loved her character best out of all of them.  Her name was 'Qi Zhen' (奇珍)(or Chee Jen in American English.) Her name means 'Unique Treasure.'  I decided I would adopt the name of this admirable literary character as my name and those of you who have heard me wax on about what I would name my own children, if I wasn't too old for children, should not be surprised that I chose a 'literary' character, yeah?    

So, if need be (cos I still haven't figured out the culture of foreign teachers, what staff and students call them, etc.) I will use the name Jin Qi Zhen while I am living in Taiwan (although, obviously I'll always be Loralee.  So, now you have it.  My name choice is:

津津奇珍 or Jin Chee Jen, or Ferry, Unique Treasure.