Good morning, Lucifer.

I'm constantly surprised by some of the English names that kids (and even adults) have here. At our kindergarten, we have a kid named Soccer, a kid named Seven, and another named Lucifer (really.) There are also students named Cicada, Virginie, Pony, Dabby, Queeny, and Alvis that roam the halls of Hess.

I've heard of friends teaching kids named Computer and Free Pizza (because 'everybody likes free pizza!') and I've met adults with such unusual English names as Ariel, Maximo, Buster, and Allister. I talked with a woman last night named Taco (I even checked the spelling.) I think with the kids, their English names are picked out by their parents or English teachers and they stick. With the adults though, they have the ability to pick their own names. After all, it's not like their English name is their legal name, but rather a convenience for English speaking Chinese when talking to other English speakers.

Still, with any sort of fluency with another language, you would think that they would pick names that sound a little more normal in conversation. I laugh every time I hear Christina tell little Lucifer to stop running or sit down, and I think about what it would be like for him if he lived the rest of his life with that unfortunate moniker.