Name
fun and games the
By Phil Guthrie , MAK15 baby
There
are very few things in life that are more exciting than the expansion of a family . We celebrate weddings , births , and the discovery of long-lost cousins ( unless they turn out to be jerks ). There ’ s a similar parallel in the lifespan of a PCV , short though that life may be . We celebrate the arrival of a new group often , if not always , in hopes of finding fresh prospects for romantic conquest . We celebrate weddings of PCVs ( Karli , I ’ m looking at you , congratulations !). And now we get to celebrate a new , somewhat tinier member of the Peace Corps family : Nadica ’ s child . It ’ s my understanding that the most difficult part about being a parent is naming the creature , giving birth to it and raising it is apparently a breeze .* In the spirit of solidarity between Peace Corps Volunteers and Peace Corps Staff , I thought we could all join together to help Nadica out and pick a name for our recently arrived friend .
In a shocking display of trust in Peace Corps Volunteers , the recently pregnant half of our Program Management duo has agreed to honor the outcome of this poll and name her child whatever we collectively decide , with the current name merely a placeholder until our poll results are collected ** Before you start submitting your suggestions for names , though , let ’ s lay out a few ground rules . First , the kid ’ s Macedonian , so let ’ s stick with things that he or she can pronounce . Keep the “ th ” s to a mini-
mum , realize that all “ r ” s are going to be rolled , and let ’ s just pretend “ w ” isn ’ t even a letter . Second , we ’ ll only consider actual names . While I agree that it would be hilarious if Nadica ’ s daughter were named VRF Georgieva , that ’ s probably a bit unfair , we don ’ t want the child to be loathed from birth . Third , foods aren ’ t names . An apple is a fruit , not a child . The only exceptions to this rule are Ajvar or Rakija , because , let ’ s face it , no one could get angry with someone named Ajvar .
Other than that , you ’ ve got free rein ! Get thinking and be creative . Submit your suggestions to pauzamag @ gmail . com , the winner will be posted in the next issue . You can also find my ideas for potential names in this issue ’ s crossword puzzle . Happy christening !
* Note : This is definitely true , I looked it up .
** Note : This is definitely not true , but I figure if we all pretend it is , we might guilt her into doing it .
Winter 2013 Crossword Puzz
46 – Pauza Magazine