At school, everyone is “Miss.” Miss Karen. Miss Cathy. Miss Deborah. Miss Brenda.
Miss Cathy — L’s favorite — works in Toddler I. L no longer sees her on a daily basis, but her eyes light up when she sees Miss Cathy coming.
Miss Karen, Miss Deborah, and Miss Brenda work in Toddler II, where L spends her days now.
I wondered whether L thinks “Miss” is just part of their name, but it’s become obvious that L has separated the “Miss” from the name. She understands it as a prefix, but she still doesn’t understand its significance. It’s a term she uses with individuals she really likes.
Hence, I am often “Miss Tata” now. K is “Miss Mama.” Our cat, “Miss Bida.”
…and here, by school age, the kids start calling you Mrs. Last Name. At the same time that everyone else on the planet — nurses, bankers, construction workers — call you by your first name. It’s easier in Poland. You’re a Pani to everyone except the select few.
And oh is it a nightmare for foreigners (who grew up speaking a language without those strict formal distinctions) to figure out when/if one can refer to someone as “Jan” or “Pan Kowalczyk.”