My friend and traveling companion Mayerlin has a very unique name which is difficult for many people to pronounce after hearing it for the first time. To make it easier for us, Mayerlin often introduces herself as May, for short.
In Africa many people want to greet foreigners and this greeting will involve asking your name. For us as three single females traveling many of these friendly greeters are often random men. You’d think that Mayerlin introducing herself by her nickname would speed up this often tedious process (often these guys are harmless but annoying nonetheless) however the conversation will invariably proceed as follows:
Random Man: So what is your name?
May: It’s May.
RM: Oh, ok Mary.
May: No, May.
RM: Like Mary, Mother of Jesus?
May: No, like the month…May, June, July.
RM: So Mary, where are you from?
May: The Dominican Republic.
RM: The what?
May: The Dominican Republic…It’s an island…in the Caribbean…
RM: (dumbfounded silence)
May: ….near Jamaica….
RM: Oh Jamaica!! I love Reggae music! You know Bob Marley?
Sometimes at this point May will claim Bob as a relative, and sometimes I think they might actually believe her.
This Is Africa 
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