Lately, Michael and I have had the chance to observe an amusing aspect of living in Asia: interacting with locals who have, shall we say... interesting names. Oh sure, at first it was just a little odd because someone was named "Gertrude" or "Beatrice," as if after a character from a BBC period piece. Then we started meeting more people - salespersons, agents, random service persons. And then we started to hear names like "Blossom", "Flossie", "Candy" or "Ringo". Michael is really getting a kick out of this. Having cousins who grew up in Taiwan, I'm not all that surprised. Most people choose their own English names, at a relatively early age - though regardless of age, the implications of (sometimes the innuendo behind) the chosen name often do not survive the culture divide.
One of the fun things to note while here is how American companies (read: mostly, fast food) translate their products into Chinese. Apparently a lot of time and effort goes into choosing a good name for their product. The ideal in my mind is something that still phonetically sounds English, but also manages to convey the same meaning and with very positive words. Johnson & Johnson's "Clean & Clear" and Coca Cola (any surprise there?) are the two that always stick out in my mind.
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