What's in a Name

I had a really interesting experience yesterday, followed up by some usedul information. First, the info...
As it turns out, culturally in Korea, your name means a LOT. Not just 'good name, bad name' type of stuff, but it actually tells something about you. Supposedly you have certain elements about you that are strong. Your name is supposed to be the thing that balances out those elements, making you a well rounded person. So, people will actually go to someone and pay a lot of money to get assigned a name in order to fit their personality and their element traits. Now, this is all very foreign to me, but it will help you understand the story I'm about to tell you a little bit better!
Yesterday, I was sitting for coffee with Ashley (one of the English teachers) and Sukhee, one of the math teachers. We began talking about English names, and Sukhee proceeded to tell me that she has been searching for a good English name for ten years. She said that since her personality is one that is always changing, she found it hard to choose a name (which makes sense now, but didn't at the time). Ashley brought up the name Sue, and I shot that one down pretty quickly. So, Ashley said, "Why don't you give her an English name?" Geeze, no pressure or anything. "Here Tori, pick a name for the girl who hasn't been able to decide on one for ten years." So, I thought very hard about it. Then we had 5 minutes before class started, so I really needed to come back to my office. I had decided to give her the name Kristi. This is a good traditional English name, but it also suited her well. So, I said "I think your English name should be Kristi." All of the sudden, she starts beaming, ear to ear. She stood up in front of the other teachers in her office and said "Hello, my name is Kristi." It was so precious, and she was SO happy about this name! I was glad that I had chosen well for her. Later on, I heard the information about how important a name is to someone, and I felt so honored that I got to choose her name for her! Anyway, I don't personally believe that your name changes who you are or balances out your elements or anything, but it was cool to be part of that process for someone else who was so thankful to me. I think it was the best gift I've given thus far in Korea, and I didn't even know it!
So, there's my story for the day...now I have a friend named Kristi here...but I'll probably still call her 숙희...