I have already wrote about nicknames people gave me - with and without my consent. One thing I have been called since I was growing up, was the brother of someone. First I was called “Sina’s brother”. Then when I grew older, it suddenly changed from my older brother to my younger brothers and I was suddenly called “Kamal’s brother” and later “Soheil’s brother”. Now, it is changing again and more and more I’am called “Ana’s husband”. It stings when my niece knows my wife’s name but not mine.

What maked the whole thing a bit awkward is that when Ana and I started dating, I could not spell her surname. I’m embarrassed to say it took me sometime to learn it. There is more. When I was doing the paper work for our wedding, the civil servant and I were curious how someone from Nicaragua is called in German. The next time I was in the office, the civil servant told me it’s called “Nicaraguanerin” - which I have trouble to pronounce - and spell.