No name? No problem.

Since Linnea's new in town, Jessica and I have recently been introducing her to many of our contacts in Cajabamba. During that process, I was reminded of a cultural difference that really struck me when I first arrived at site: names are much less important here.

In the States, the first piece of information included in any sort of introduction is the person's name: "Mr. Jones, this is Meghan" or "hi, I'm Meghan, nice to meet you." Once names have been established, we then move on to other details like the person's job or the connection that makes the introduction relevant. It would be a bit odd to do otherwise: "hi, I work for Peace Corps, and my name is Meghan." Not so in Peru. Here people are not really concerned about what your name is; they are more interested in your title or your job. You might remember me blogging about how I'm often called "ingeniera" or "profesora" here - this is partially because titles of respect hold more importance in Peruvian society, but also partly because people might not remember my name.

Introducing Linnea around last week, I realized that I am now guilty of the same lack of interest in names. Now that I know I can get away with just calling every single teacher at the school "Profesor," I've allowed individual names to slip by the wayside. I work with a lot of different groups of ladies, and although I try to learn all their names, I first make sure I remember what they're called (i.e., whether each of them is a "señora," a "doña," or a "profesora"). I no longer insist on asking someone's name during an introduction if they do not offer it. While I remember feeling slightly offended when I first arrived in Cajabamba and people wouldn't bother to ask my name, I now enjoy reaping the benefits of this non-expectation. I don't take it to extremes - I of course know the actual name of anyone I work with on a regular basis - but do I smile to myself every time the generic "profesor" saves me the embarrassment of admitting I'd forgotten a name.