Day 547 "Prize Day"

On Tuesday morning, in the midst of the ongoing VPN and computer crashing fiasco, I had a grade level assistant come to my room to tell me that I had been awarded a prize today, and I needed to come to a 'very important meeting' which was happening in the next hour.  (That is SOOOO the Chinese way- to find s**t out at the last minute).

I was very confused.  Why was I receiving a prize?  Then the grade level assistant read to me an email that was submitted on my behalf and why I should receive such an honorable 'prize'.  The email said some very lovely things (I have no idea who it came from), but in my mind, I am thinking this prize must be something like this:

Then I realized that it was March 8th, International
Women's Day, which really was an honor to me,
as I have never been an International Woman before!

I reported to the science lecture hall at
the appointed time, and was immersed in
a sea of Chinese teachers.  I was the only
Westerner being recognized.  Our seats
were all labeled with our names, so it wasn't
 hard to find where I was supposed to sit!
The Chinese teacher sitting next to me spoke
very little English, but she asked what my
Chinese name was.  I told her I didn't have one-
at least not yet....

Lovely speeches were given, Principal Li spoke, too, and then
we filed row by row to receive our certificates and have our
photos taken.  We filed outside for more photos.  The Chinese
love to take photos, and this laowai stuck out like a sore thumb!

After the group photo, I grabbed Principal Li
for a selfie...it's the closest I will get to a CPM!

We then all filed to another building to receive
our prize.  It wasn't a leg lamp, or a new laptop,
but two large jars of imported Spanish olive oil!
(which I do love to cook with, btw)

The following morning, I showed my certificate to my grade 12's.  I have had these kids in class for two years, so we have become quite close :) I explained my dilemma in that I did not have a Chinese name, and they quickly responded with, "We will name you, Miss!!!"   Now, I don't know what all was said, but there was a flurry of activity on WeChat for the next 24 hours. It was all in Mandarin, of course, but these kids were blowing up my phone taking this task very seriously in naming their teacher.  The following day, they proudly announced my name, and how they arrived at it:

It is pronounced Oh Kuh Yeen.  They chose ou as my family name, as my boyfriend's name begins with O.  As Michael explained this, the girls all began blushing and giggling. It was adorable. ke means lovely and kindness, and they said I was the kindest person they have ever known.  Besides, it sounded similar to the start of my English name, Karyn.  They chose yin for my green eyes, and it means nature, life, and energetic, which they said suited me perfectly.  The girls were teared up, as they really took this task to heart. Given the rough few weeks I have had, I teared up, too.  Their gift of naming me was better than any 'prize' from the school. 

Then, just for kicks, I put the Chinese characters
of my new name in to Google translate, and this
is what I got.  I laughed until I cried, and it
felt good, y'all :-)

I am working my way back to happy, one day at a time.

G'nite, y'all!