A New Spelling of My Name

It is not surprising that the people I encounter daily have problems pronouncing my name.  In America people have the same problem.  “ON DREE TAHHHH” I hear my self repeating over and over each day only to hear in response "ON DRETTA?"  Having given up the fight, I now answer to anything including the calls of "Anjolina" that I hear from the neighborhood children.  Michael, who gets quite a kick out of this, has decided that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.  So now, I even hear “Aundretta” at home. 

 

There is a restaurant right around the corner from our apartment in the city center called Beyaz Saray.  Our friends at Beyaz Saray decided to forego wrestling with the pronunciation of my name, all together.  When I walk in the door, I am greeted in the customary way “hoş geldiniz!!” which is Turkish for welcome and I then hear “nasılsınız, Ayşe?” which means “how are you, Ayşe?”  You see, my friends at Beyaz Saray have decided to completely rename me. 

 

As a lover of Turkish carpets, I was truly grateful for this mini version given to me by a class at Meram Anadoğlu Lisesi, a high school where I volunteered some of my time.  Even though it says Aundretta instead of Aundreta, I will cherish this gift and the memory of the children that I met there for many, many years.