Koontai

Koontai (pronounced Quan-tie) has become my new nickname, lovingly given to me by the students. In Tamil, it means bun, which is fair because wearing a bun, usually on the top of my head, has become my Indian go to hairstyle. I confirmed with one of the house moms that Koontai really does mean what the kids say it means too. It started with just a few girls the other day at playtime, but then today at playtime a girl came up to me and asked me what my name was. When I said it was Ashley she corrected me and said, No, you are Koontai. They nailed it though. Look for yourself:

 Along with Koontai the children sometimes call me grandma. I didn't understand that one for a while until one of the nurses told me that grandma's are usually the only ones who wear buns as a hairstyle in India. The young adults wear braids, the school age children wear short hair or pigtail braids and even middle aged women tend to wear braids--so obviously, I have earned the name of grandma as well. Koontai or grandma, I made out pretty well because some of the nicknames they give to one another are kind of risky sounding-my favorite being Princess Jaguar. Raaarrrrrr.