Personality Puzzle

Lee is not a name that comes along very frequently in Nicaragua. I'm fairly confident that, at least in Puerto Cabezas, no one has ever been named Lee or anything similar. When I tell people my name, I often get confirmatory responses like ¿Luís? or ¿Jim? (Yeah, I'm not sure where Jim comes from either, but I'm just assuming Jim is a more common name and since the "i" is pronounced like an "e", they just go with what they've known). When they catch on, many people like to say, Ah, como Bruce Lee (Oh, like Bruce Lee.) or ¿Como la marca de jin? (Like the brand of jeans?), and I've actually taken to putting these examples out there immediately, rather than wait for someone to ask me if my name is Luís. But after six months here, I've been given various nicknames or called by various descriptors to the point where I feel like I might soon develop a personality complex. Here's a peak into how I'm known in Port.

Prof./Profe./Teach - Short for Profesor, Prof. and Profe. are among the most common addresses I receive. Being that we foreigners stick out like a sore thumb at the schools, most all the kids know our names, even though we may not know all of theirs. Sometimes kids are identifiable when they're wearing their school uniform with their insignia (at least for Colegio Niño Jesús), but I'm more likely to be seen by kids when they're not in uniform and their Hola, Prof. comes as a surprise since I don't recognize them. Kids that I've actually had for English class sometimes like to call me Teach instead. I don't have a problem with that, but on 9th grade's test last month, there was a question that said Can she teach? Everyone was totally confused because they apparently never learned that teach is actually a verb (and, by the way, it's really hard to explain that teach is a verb when they don't understand the concept of a verb) and that Teach as a way to address someone is the English equivalent of Prof.

Agua - Yes, some people like to call me Water. In the indigenous language Miskito, li (pronounced like my name) means water. I do get some Profesor Agua from some students sometimes. I'm still pretty amused by the people that like to point this translation out to me when I'm meeting them for the first time. Really? My name means water? No, no one's ever told me that.

Mister Lee - You can't prounounce this like any old Mister Lee. This is Mee-stare ehLee. I get this from a few different people, including one of the watchguards at the convent, Juan (the vice-principal at Niño Jesús) and one of the ladies that has a snack booth outside the gate to Niño Jesús. Kathryn recently told me that this lady's name is Jessica. I kind of felt bad not knowing her name, but as I walk through the gate she is often trying to tell me how lonely she is and how she needs someone to keep her warm at night. It's pretty much extremely awkward, so I try to keep interaction with her to a minimum.

Jesucristo - Only one person - Loy, the carpentry workshop teacher at Escuela Maureen - actually calls me Jesus Christ, which is probably a good thing since I don't want to be a widespread source of blasphemy, but the Jesus references have come on pretty strong whenever I let the beard grow out. In Kathryn's religion class with the 11th Graders at Niño Jesús the other day, she asked What does Jesus look like? One of the students responded Like Lee! I'm both amused that people think I look like Jesus simply because I have a beard and long hair and somewhat distressed that the image of White Jesus has been pounded into their brains to this extent. Loy's been telling me recently that we all have to come to school on Good Friday, even though there's no class, so I can get crucified. Something to look forward to, I guess.

Chele/Gringo - These two I put together despite their distinct meanings because they often come from the same source - people I don't know. Chele is a reference to a light skin color (much in the same way someone with dark skin would be called moreno), whereas Gringo is a reference to a foreigner, typically the light-skinned ones (although there are those who will tell you Gringo applies specifically to Americans). Going for a run in the morning, passing through the market or even just walking down the street, friendly people like to throw out a "Oye, Chele" (which, now that I think about it, doesn't translate well into English, other than Hey, light-skinned guy). Chele (or Chela, for females) is also used to refer to other Nicaraguans who are of light-skin, so this is by no means particular to me.

Licenciado - Literally this would be "Licensured", but I'm pretty sure that's not a word in English. In any case, to be a licenciado one has to have completed university studies in a chosen profession. Since going to and graduating from college is not as prevalent here as it is in the U.S., completing the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor degree is more notable than it might be back home. Some people are surprised when I tell them how much more common a university degree is now than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Anyway, I mainly get this name from one of the guys at choir. He also likes to play word games and call me Silenciado (silenced) from time to time.

Lee Valentín - It occurred to me recently that, in the States, I get the occasional Mr. Valentyn, but rarely get addressed by my full name. Here, there seems to be some entertainment value to it. The Valentyn in English becomes Valentín in Spanish, which is actually more commonly a first name. As I mentioned before, most people know the name Lee from Bruce Lee, and obviously that's a last name. So some people seem amused that my first name is a last name and my last name is a first name. Plus it carries the same vowel sound so it kind of rhymes.

So that's my story. I guess I can add these to the shorter list of "nicknames" I have in the States - Unclee and Bruddah. I'm kind of getting used to the Agua thing though, so don't hesitate to keep that one going.