Zulu stone circle to appease the spirits
Expat

Sticks and Stones May break my bones, but Expat Names won’t Hurt Me

Expatorama

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ

Many of you will have heard the saying sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me. ย 

When people fear and distrust things or consider them foreign and strange, what do they do? One way humans deal with things they are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with is to name them. To label them.

As expats, we’ve answered to a few names over the years. But rather than feeling offended, we’ve chose to embrace them.

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ช

Sticks and Stone may Break our Bones

Severe prejudice or xenophobic violence is truly awful and can cause real harm. These things really could break our hearts and our bones.ย Absolutely, words too can be incredibly powerful and hurtful, especially when used by someone in a position of privilege and power towards someone who is powerless and vulnerable. This is absolutely not the kind of situation I’m trying to describe, so bear with me.

This is about situations where there is no major power imbalance and somebody just aims a label at you based on their culture and the resulting preconception of people from your culture, religion or nationality.ย  In this situation, we are effectively ambassadors for our own kind and have an opportunity to challenge a stereotype by taking ownership of the word and defusing or redefining the preconceptions attached to it by countering with positive, inoffensive and relatable behaviour, reactions or responses.

 

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฒ

But Expat Names won’t Hurt us

Most countries have a name for foreigners. ย Buitenlander, Ferang, Oyibo, Yabanci, Gweilo are but a few of the expat names we have answered to over the years. ย Gringo, grockle, guiri, and gaijan are just a few more I’m aware of.

Stranger. Alien. Peeled skin. Ghost.

These are the meanings of some of the expat names given to us.ย  Often used in a friendly manner and uttered to catch our attention by a stall holder wanting to sell us fruit or trinkets. ย Other times the word is used with a scowl of dislike or mistrust.ย  Perhaps mumbled as part of an insult that we do not understand, and yet still we understand just by reading their unwelcoming body language. We can fill the rest in by interpreting their tone and perhaps translating a lone word that we recognise.

The names will have come from somewhere. ย Maybe they were derived from someone or a group of someones who behaved poorly. Yes, there is often an uncomfortable truth behind the names. We are different, outsiders who often look or sound ย different to the locals around. But rather than take offence, it is an opportunity.ย  An opportunity to be an ambassador, to challenge the stereotype.

Yabanciย โ˜•๏ธ

In Turkey a foreigner is a Yabancฤฑ, meaning stranger or foreigner.

In coffee shops in Istanbul, I would order my drink โ€œBir late lutfenโ€ย  the barista would ask my name โ€œademni?โ€ย  But despite numerous repetitions โ€œNicolaโ€ could easily become Bob or Nahila or Wicklenslwefnt and my coffee would go cold while I was waiting in vain for my name to be called.

I changed tack and subsequently when asked what name I would like scribbled on my coffee cup I would smile knowingly and say Yabanci.ย  The penny would usually drop quite quickly and both relieved and amused my โ€˜nameโ€™ would be scribbled on my coffee cup. The barista was happy, I’d made a small attempt at speaking their language, I had been polite and I had made a joke, I would get the right cup and my coffee would be hot and all was well with the world.

We all laugh the same. ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคฃ

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ช๐ŸŽŒ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช

Oyiboย ๐ŸŒ

In Nigeria we wereย Oyibos.ย ย One explanation behind the origin of this word is that it means peeled skin or skinless.

The oyibo name comes from the idea that a pale skinned person looks like their outer (darker skin) has been peeled off leaving a pale pasty version. It’s true, that regardless of the colour of your skin on the outside, just beneath the surface we are all the same colour. Regardless of our skin colour on the outside, when we cut or โ€˜peel backโ€™ our outer layer skin it all looks the same colour, as does the colour of blood that runs through our veins.

We all bleed the same. ๐Ÿš‘๐Ÿ˜ท

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท

Gweilo ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ‘ป

In Hong Kong foreigners are nicknamed Gweilo.ย  The meaning is foreign devil or ghost in Cantonese slang.

A local brewery in Hong Kong, founded by foreigners, is called Gweilo. They brew a number of beers, including their flagship Gweilo pale ale. ย It’s a huge success. ย And guess what – in most countries – we all like beer.

We all drink beer the same. (Unless we are under 18 or don’t drink for religious or personal regions – it’s metaphorical, we can substitute it for tea or coffee or whatever, but I’m sure you get the point).ย ๐Ÿป

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฌ

We are different and yet the same, make sure your actions speak louder than their words

I am a ferang. ย I am a gweilo. ย I am an oyibo. I am a yabanci. ย Call me what you like, but judge me only by my actions. Itโ€™s amazing how quickly you can diffuse a situation with a smile, with an acknowledgment showing thatย we are different and yet the same.ย 

As expats we are ambassadors representing our countries, and have the power to either reinforce negative stereotypes by conforming to the preconceptions attached to these names. Alternatively, far better yet, we have the opportunity to alter perceptions by embracing these names. Nod. Smile. Own it. Rise above it. Make sure your actions speak louder that their words.ย 

ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ

What other names have you been called on your travels, expat or otherwise? ย I’d love to know. ย Did they bother you? ย What did they mean. ย 

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ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย  ย ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ

If you enjoyed reading ‘Sticks and Stones’, you might also enjoy our Trailing Spouse Poll where you can have your say on the can of worms that is the Trailing Spouse label. ย Would a Trailing Spouse by any other name sound sweeter?ย Or if you need a light-hearted chuckle at some of our expat stereotypes, check out Charity Charity, Entrepreneurial Emma and Botox Betty.

Published by Expatorama

From dodging stray bullets in Lagos, to dodging stray cats in Istanbul, we are now getting cosy in Jozi. Far flung travels and further fetched tales of expat life.

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