What's in a Name?

Pumpkin. Boo. Dear (although, in many households it is usually preceded by a "Yes.") Baby. Sweet cheeks.

Some of you may know that I am fascinated with terms of endearment - especially in other languages. I think they are a riot, and that they give us insight into other people and other cultures.

Slovakia had wealth of terms of endearment. One of the more common ones was "chrobacik" which means bug. Another, one that I use for my boyfriend is "zlato," which is the Slovak equivalent of our "honey" and means "gold." Unfortunately, my boyfriend is a smart aleck and returns the favor by calling me "Mega-phone."

When I was in Austria, I learned from Heidi's old host brother that, in German, a common term of endearment is "schatzi" which means treasure. Another, one that is used for a little child, is hosenscheisser which means "my little pants-crapper." HA! Can you imagine?! (I'm sorry mom, but I am totally adopting this for your future grandchildren.)

Two weeks ago, I was having dinner with my host mom and Pia, my sister. Charito asked Pia, "What are you doing with gordito tonight?" I was shocked! "Gordito" means "the little fatty." I thought Charito liked Pia's boyfriend, Gonzalo (who is NOT fat), but after hearing this, I assumed that was not the case.

A few minutes later, after Pia shared their plans, she got a phone call. "Hello gordito," she said. At this point my jaw about hit the table. "Charito," I hissed, while Pia was talking, "Why are you calling Gonzalo gordito?" Charito looked at me blankly and said, "Because in Peru it's what we call people we care about." I was flabbergasted. Who in their right mind would want to call someone they loved "my little chunker?!" But, it's true. Gonzalo even calls Pia, "Gordita." Both Charito and Pia thought the fact that I was appalled was hilariously funny.

A few minutes later when Gonzalo showed up at the door, Charito asked him and Pia if they would like to stay for dessert. Both said no, and when Charito reported this to me in the kitchen, my response was to shake my head and say, "Go figure. The gorditos don't want dessert."

Charito died laughing.