Taiwanese Hospitality

At aikido, my friend, a sophomore, is always helpful--she is the secretary for our club, collecting money and making announcements (in Chinese!). She is minoring in English, and her English is pretty good. I see her on campus, and say hi. But I don't remember her name.

So, I start calling her Beth in my mind. For some reason, every time I see her, the name Beth comes to my mind. Finally, I ask her her name. She says her English name is Katrina.

"Katrina?" I respond. I tell her that in the States, if your name is Katrina, there is a 91% chance that your hair is blonde, an 98% chance you are Christian, and a 72% chance you are a cheerleader. I am feeling bold, so I tell her my honest thought: "It really doesn't fit you." After all, my friend is Taiwanese.

"Really?" she responds. I tell her that for some reason, I always think her name is Beth.

If you know Taiwanese people, you know that they sometimes change their English names often. "Oh, that's fine. Call me Beth when you see me," she says.

Oh my, I love Taiwan.