Monday, September 20, 2010

What's in a Name?

Before I came to Guatemala, I liked my last name... Most people I know even call me by it, instead of my first name. It never occurred to me that "Sola" being a Spanish word--even though its an Italian name--would pose any sort of problem. Well... it does down here. Every time someone asks for my name I tell them "Andrea", then they ask for my last name and the problem begins. When I respond "Sola", which for all you non-Spanish speaking people means "alone" or can mean "only", they think I am telling them I go by only Andrea (like Madonna or Cher). Its all very confusing and is only cleared up when I pull out some sort of ID and show them that, in fact, Sola is my last name. To which they ALWAYS respond, "funny name". :)