[HelloTalk and my name]
I installed the app HelloTalk again yesterday. It’s been more than 6 months since I uninstalled it. It’s a good language exchange tool. Most people using it for learning a new language or helping others practicing languages.
I met Jeffery on HelloTalk before we went to the U.S. He was a college student majoring in performing music. His dream is to be an interpreter of Arabic. He can speak English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.
We learned a lot from each other. When he graduated, he went to Egypt for teaching English and immersing himself in the Arabic language environment.
Then, we lost connection. We moved to the U.S.
Yesterday, after installation, I posted a short journal saying that I was back here. Soon, some users left welcome notes below it. I felt encouraged so I decided to continue practicing short writing there.
Today, I received a message from an American. He/She (I don’t know because the username is “American Person”.) said “You’re famous. There is a character in my Chinese textbook. Her name is “雅婷.”
I couldn’t help but laugh immediately. I replied “Oh, yes. 雅婷 is a very common name in my generation.” I was actually flattered.
I used to hate my common name when I was in the elementary school because there were 9 or 10 雅婷 in the same grade. Everyone has a friend named 雅婷. People said you have a market name. (菜市場名)
My parents asked me if I wanted to get a new name or not. I remembered I said no without a doubt. I began to like my super common name and thought it’s a really good one. Everyone felt familiar with it. Everyone has a relative, a classmate, or a friend named Ya-Ting.
My husband told me “Now, Ya-Ting is Ya-Ting of the world” today after I told him the textbook Ya-Ting story.
I imagine maybe one day people in the world will know the Chinese characters “雅婷” and can pronounce it correctly.
I think of the famous quote by Wayne Dyer.
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
To my common, famous name.