¿Cómo se llama usted? {como-say-ya-ma-oo-sted}: What is your name? 1) Me llamo Yenifer. {may-ya-mo-Jennifer} 2) Some frequently used names that I have come across so far: Paula, Sebastian, Alvaro, Maria, José, Juan, Ana, Carolina, Juan Pablo, Juan Carlos, Yoselin. A few other common names at my school come from English names: John, Michael, Kevin, Brian, & Diana….and often they come with their own unique spelling: Jhon, Maikol, Maichel, Brayon, Boiron, Dahiana, Diahna. Why these names you may ask? A teen today was born in the 90s. What was going on in 90s Pop Culture? Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys, & Princess Diana’s death. 3) It is common for parents to pass their names on to their children. A great example of this are my neighbors to the east: Francisco & Claudia and their two sons Francisco & Claudio. “Hello, Miss.” Teachers are called by their first names, not last names. At my school, this is often preceded by “Profe” or if you’re older “don/doña”or if you’re in the English department “Miss” for females and “Teacher” for males. Where John & Elise teach, teachers are lovingly called “Tío” (Uncle) & “Tía” (Aunt). Apellido {ah-pay-yee-dough}: Last name; surname
In Chile, women do not change their last name when they get married and the children carry two last names, with their parents passing on their first last name to the child. My full name would be: Jennifer Lynn Proeber Stuhr. As you can imagine, this almost always makes for a good conversation: Chilean: “And what is your second last name?” Me: “I don’t have one. We only use one last name in the United States.” Chilean: [confused look] “Mmm…” Me: “When a woman gets married, she usually changes her last name to that of her husband and that is the name passed on to their children.” Chilean: [shock! gasp! horror!] “Qué machista!” Me: [giggle] “Well, it doesn’t seem that way to us. It is our way of showing a new family is beginning...and young girls spend their free time daydreaming how their crush’s last name would sound with theirs…My dream has been to marry someone with the last name Lopez...” [tension eases as we all laugh] Most common final remarks: A) “Wow, that certainly is different, but I just can’t imagine…” B) “No, nuh-uh, never. Just not right. How do you preserve your family names?” C) [dreamingly changing their last name] D) “My brother-in-law’s friend’s cousin has the last name Lopez…”
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