Kyle Hepp

December 28, 2009

Annie and Kevin threw the rules out the window on their wedding day. I absolutely adored that about them. Getting married wasn’t about traditions and conventions, it was about Annie and Kevin simply being themselves and celebrating their love in a way that fit them. They even saw each other before the ceremony and walked down the aisle together. So. Awesome.

Really, it was obvious their entire wedding was So. Awesome.  Annie is one of those rare people who has the gift of making anyone in a room with her feel totally comfortable and happy. She’s funny and loud and charming and when I first met her, I could not even fathom what this “cute little gringo,” she had talked about would be like. When I met Kevin, I understood. He’s maybe the only man on the planet confident enough in himself to keep up with Annie. They’re a perfect match.

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December 24, 2009

Feliz Navidad a todos los Chilenos que estan celebrando esta noche, y Merry Christmas to all the Gringuitos opening presents tomorrow morning!

This is us today. Hanging with my doggie and my husband, then family dinner tonight!

I debated long and hard on whether or not to give myself some time off next week. I’ve decided to go ahead and do it. Tonight I have to finish up editing the last photos from recent sessions, answering a couple emails and I’ll probably pre-publish a few blog posts, then I’m all caught up. So after that, this one woman office is closed for the holidays! Well, aside from the wedding that we’re shooting on the 26th — but believe it or not, shooting an entire wedding isn’t really like work to me — it’s everything else that goes on behind the scenes afterward that takes up the bulk of our time. I’ll get back to anyone who contacts us for wedding photography or sessions on Jan. 3rd. Thanks for understanding that photographers are people too, who also need rest time!

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December 22, 2009

My name has always been a thing of confusion, both in the U.S. and in Chile. In the U.S. people expect a boy and then when I show up, they’re all confused. I get “Kyla,” or “Kylie,” a lot, or other variations that sound more feminine to normal people’s ears.

In Chile, there’s no gender associated with Kyle. However, in the Spanish language, the sounds in my name aren’t common. To get people to even come close to understanding me, I have to pronounce my own name wrong — in an accent that a Chilean ear can better pick up.

The other day, Seba and I were out looking at apartments and when we went in I asked the doorman to call up to the apartment we were visiting for us. He said, “De parte de quien,” or “Who shall I say is calling?”

I respond, obviously, “Kyle Hepp.”

He stares.

I stare back.

He says, “uuuh.”

I repeat my name in an even more pronounced Chilean version this time, “mi nombre es Kyle Hepp.”

He asks, “Como?”

I say, “Please tell her that la Senora Kyle Hepp, from Portalinmobiliario, is here.”

He says, “I’m sorry, can you repeat your name one more time?”

KYLE HEPP. At this point I sound like one of those programs that helps kids with speech impediments, where the voice OV-ER EN-UN-CIATES EV-ERY-THING.

Then…

He asks me in English,

“Uh Miss,(pronounced Meeeeeeees) what your name?”

To give him due credit, he is a doorman with probably little education so the fact that he’s competent enough to string together a coherent sentence in a second language is reasonably impressive.

But, I just don’t follow the rationale here. At various points in our conversation, even if he didn’t understand my actual name, he knew that I understood the questions being asked because I was RESPONDING TO THEM. Did he think I was saying my name wrong? I mean, why would asking me in English get him a different answer than asking me in Spanish — would my name change?

Did he really think he was going to get a different answer if he asked me for my name in a different language?!? Next time, let’s try Chinese and see if that works.

These are the kinds of frustrations that make me glad I have a blog where I can vent.

And we did finally get up to see the apartment. It was a piece of poop. Definitely not worth five minutes of my life it took to try and make the doorman understand Kyle Hepp.

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