Amy and I have been together for over a year now. I’ve known all along that Amy isn’t her real first name. When she arrived in America several years ago, she was persuaded to adopt the name Amy because it was easy to say, spell, and remember. She was told that Americans might have difficulty pronouncing her real name, and that having an American name might make a better first impression on others. She received all of that dubious advice before I knew her.

A few days ago I asked her if she likes the name Amy or if she’d prefer to be called her real name, which is Chengmei (pronounced sem-MAY). She said that she prefers Chengmei if that won’t cause difficulty for me or our American friends. I assured her that Chengmei is not difficult to pronounce. Therefore, from now on, I’m making the effort to call her Chengmei instead of Amy. She’d be thrilled if you’d do the same. She understands that it might take a while for others to get used to using her real name. She’ll take no offense if you call her Amy. Here’s a brief video in which you can hear her say her name…