Kleenex: The Final Frontier

Semi important detail from my experience here in Egypt:

My name, Matt, in Arabic means "He died." Not only does that start most conversations off with either 1. confusion 2. confusion and sadness, it 3. gets really old after a while explaining my name to people. There is another Matt (Sir Matt Groh), as well, with me in Egypt. He too was confronted with the naming predicament. Thus, we went a-looking for new names together.

Thankfully, Sesame Street provided the solution. Burt and Ernie in Egypt are Shadi and Hadi.
Thus, for the past three months my name has been Shadi (not shady as in under a tree shady or could be in the mob shady) and Matt G. has been Hadi. It's been strange. Hearing my real name is now a shock.

Shadi has a much better meaning in Arabic. It means song bird. Sweet, huh? Light and fluffy, just like me. The connection to Sesame Street also goes over really well with Egyptians. They get a kick out of it. Hadi, on the other hand, means quiet. For those of you who know Matt, I hope you feel the irony (and the love).

Sadly, however, because Matt G. and I are of similar build, we are often confused. On any day I can be Hadi or Shadi.

New place, new name, does that make me a spy?