Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Shifting Roles

      Lately I've been thinking a lot about roles and titles. I live in a society, where often instead of using the “you” pronoun, people will call you only by your role to them. Most often for me, I'm called “teacher” in either English or Shan, and nobody ever says the Shan word for “you” to me, and that's okay. Generally, I call everyone “you,” because I haven't gotten as used to using a title or role for a pronoun.  
     Yet something has recently been changing inside of me. Suddenly I've found the word “nong” (little sister) slipping out of my mouth when talking to a few of the girls with whom I used to live. And suddenly one has called me “pii” (older sister), and a medic, who's older than me, has called me “nong,” and I've called him “pii.” I am more than just “khuu” (teacher), and for the first time, I realized that's what I've been waiting and longing for. I've waited for someone to not call me “you” really, but to claim me as one of them in a sense, as a “pii-nong” (sibling).  
     Most will continue to insist upon calling me “khuu” out of respect, and that's fine, but every time I hear someone call me “pii” or “nong,” I cannot contain the smile on my face. I am more than just a teacher.