Noorita Menchu…

Like most places in the world, the United States included, in Guatemala my name seems to confuse people, eliciting what I personally find to be the most entertaining expressions ever, and pronunciation is nearly impossible. Additionally, without divulging too much of my personal information, for those of you who 1) know how to correctly pronounce my last name (clue: the “h” is silent) and 2) know any Spanish, you will notice that the first part of my last name sounds like a bad word in Spanish. When I first introduced myself to the Peace Corps Spanish teacher conducting my oral interview for placement in Spanish class, she paused for about a minute, then told me that 1) my first name would be too difficult to pronounce for the average Guatemalteco, and 2) my last name sounded like a bad word in Spanish. She suggested I use a new name when I conduct my workshops (yes, I will be holding trainings and workshops in the not too distant future!), since I would most likely be working with children (who would definitely snicker at my name, especially those loveable, but oh so predictable high schoolers—they are the same in every country I find…wow I feel old typing that…!)

Flash-forward two days when I am being dropped off to my family or training site where I will be for the next three months until I get my permanent site…of course my family could not pronounce my name, but they were really awesome about it, and my host madre asked if she could call me Noorita, because that was easier for her to say, plus she said she liked nicknames (especially diminutives, that is what she uses with her own daughters). Then my host dad offered his last name jokingly (Menchu), since after all, I am his daughter now. Thus, Noorita Menchu was born…That is now how family talks about me…Although I find this pretty comical, one thing I have noticed with Guatemaltecos, especially, my host family, is that they are warm and actually have an awesome sense of humor. Also, when they say I am now their daughter, my host parents really mean it, and they already feel like family that I have known all my life.

My host parents are amazing—very generous and kind. They have two daughters, Lucy and Rosita; each one is married, and with their families, they live in the house, which is like a compound with a central courtyard. Lucy has three children: Ana Belen (14), Guillermo (10), and Luz Maria (8), and Rosita has two children: Andre (7) (or Andrecito as we all call him) and Alessandra (1 year 10 months) (Ale) ( I LOVE HER!!) They call me their aunt, and they are all so fun. Today I played futbol with the boys (they didn’t believe me when I told them I used to play goalie!), then Luz Maria joined in, and the boys decided we should play boys vs girls (hombres contra mujeres) Although they said they won, they totally cheated and didn’t count our goals…! I sense a rematch soon…