“I go by the name…”

I am called Konrad no longer. For the first time in my life, I have been graced a nickname that has seriously stuck. Through school, sports teams and summer camps, none of my previous characterstic-inspired or nonsense names has ever received this type of reaction and popularity. Although I would have preferred if the short-lived ”Kon-is-rad” to have grown into a regular nickname, eventually giving birth to a underclassman cult following turn rap career. I guess it didn’t have the right ring to it.

But here in La Ceiba nicknames rule over given ones. I attribute this phenomenon to the fact everyone has the same seven names written on their birth certificates. It was only a matter of time before I was given a nickname replacing Konrad. For the past four months the kids have had considerable difficulty in pronouncing my German originating first name, mutating it into ”Contra,” “Konra,” ”Konat” and many other augmented forms that were plain wrong.

So you can now refer to me as Corn Flakes. Yes, the cereal. Where did it come from? Well… I’m not too sure myself, but I know Matt is a full sponsor of the conversion from Konrad to Corn Flakes

 Next time we chat, feel free to call me Corn Flakes. When you are feeling lazy, you could drop the “s,” calling out a shorter abrupt name; Corn Flake! Or maybe you are in the joking mood: stick my maker in front, “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.” Try it. The name sounds pleasing to the ear if you say it in a Latin-American accent. To achieve the desired effect, try yelling it, putting all the emphasis on the “a” in “flake” as you can muster. Or adding “¿Qúe Onda?” to the outburst usually gets me in the right tempo and the slang flow I’ve come accustom to these past four glorious months.

Following is a photo album of a few kids in the Community and their nicknames.

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