The other day, I bought a Baruch sticker to put on my car window. I peeled it off, and proudly stuck it on the freshly windexed glass. Now everyone on Staten Island will know that the girl in the red Volkswagen Jetta goes to Baruch. My nonna, or “grandma” was beside me, and I asked in Italian, “Hey Nonna, do you know what college I go to?” She thought for a second. “eh, no.”
“I go to Baruch.”
“pah-acka” I giggled at the sound of her struggling. She did too.
“Bah-ruke” I phonetically emphasized.
“Parrucca!” She exclaimed. I laughed even harder this time because that means “wig” in Italian. Now every time I tell someone I go to Baruch, or walk into Baruch, I can’t help but imagine myself walking into a giant, hairy wig. Thanks Nonna.
Apparently, “Baruch” gets confused with other things too. I was telling this story to a classmate, and he told me his mother asked him, “you’re going to a Baroque music school?”
“So, Alessandra. What college are you going to?” When I answered my family friend who was visiting from outside the country, he asked, with a puzzled expression, “eh? Bar-uhck Obama College? Good for you!”
Apparently, to other cultures and tongues, Baruch can mean a number of things. What does “Baruch” mean to me? A wonderful, state-of-the-art college that is full of open doors and hundreds of unique cultures. Despite the confusion, I am proud to have this name gracing the window of my car. But I’m also glad that people associate it with the president of the United States, an ornately sophisticated genre of music, and a wig.
By the way, you can click here to listen to how “Baruch” is pronounced in Italian:
http://translate.google.com/#it/en/parrucca
Its not really my week to comment, but that was amazing! I enjoyed reading that so much. Your work is just so fluid and easy to understand. It was quite funny too.
Haha thank you! :)
I really like how at the end you took Baruch and described what it meant to you. It was a twist for me and I wasn’t expecting that. I love the stories you tell about people and what they think Baruch is. I’m interested that Baruch sounds like wig in Italian, it’s clever and added more humor to your encounter. I’m glad you like Baruch!
Many people have difficulties to pronounce names of minorities or the food on the menu of ethnic restaurants. When we first met, you emphasized that your name is Alessandra instead of Alexandra, and then I had to correct you that my name is Sifan instead of Stefan. Your “Baruch” dilemma with your Nonna is humorous, realistic, and most importantly, relatable. Like Nastassia, I enjoyed this piece of writing. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I loved this anecdote and could definitely relate to it! People have such different reactions when I tell them I go to Baruch. Some will give the silently disapproving, “Ohhhh,” meaning Oh you go to a CUNY. When I say Macaulay Baruch, everything suddenly changes and “Ohhhh” become “Oh, that’s great!” When I told one of my managers at work that I go to Baruch he said, “I wonder why every time I hear that name I think it’s a foreign country.” In many ways, I think it is almost like a separate world of its own, with its own culture and traditions.
A lively piece –that really makes a point, too!
The word Baruch also means Blessed in Hebrew!
I can definitely relate to this cultural encounter, as many family friends and distant relatives have not heard of Baruch College. The humorous approach you chose allowed me to feel like I was experiencing the dialogue first hand. I really enjoy the way you bring everything together with your own perception of Baruch, and you really tied everything together nicely with your closing statement!
I loved the funny anecdote in the beginning of your post, I feel like I was right there in that hilarious conversation with you and your Nonna. Coming from a family where my grandparents do not speak English very well either, there are similar instances where my grandparents will say an English word in a Chinese way changing the meaning. And I also liked how you also included the link of the way to pronounce Baruch in Italian, it really helped make the dialogue even more realistic.