Miss Anna

Everyone has an alter ego, but how far you take it, how real it is, certainly depends on who you are. Some of us are one, predictable, entity, while others are internally hosting both Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.

Imaginary friends like my brother’s buddy Gilles go away as we get older, but alter egos can follow us for the rest of our life. Lately I’ve come to wonder whether it’s a healthy pattern... or something resembling a mental disorder.

My alter ego is the real deal. More so ever since I’ve been living in Korea. Her name is Miss Anna and she is a superstar! For the sake of the argument, let’s take a look both personalities.

The real me is Anne-Marie, but my alter ego is Miss Anna. Through no fault of my own, I inherited this nickname because Koreans cannot pronounce my name correctly and the way my boss says “Aaaaaann” (sounds like “aaaaaand”) is extremely annoying. It’s just easier for everyone to call me Anna.

The real me is a sociology/polisci bachelor, but Miss Anna has been teaching English for 3 years now.

The real me speaks French. Yes, I’m francophone. But my alter ego speaks, thinks and even dreams in English 24/7.

The real me is average-looking for Western standards, but Miss Anna is a hot babe for Korean men and a role model for Korean kids. Nothing Miss Anna does goes unnoticed, and like a superstar she’s being photographed and stared at every single day.

The real me eats bananas and goat cheese, stuffs on big fat juicy steaks with mashed potatoes (salt and butter mmm) and starts the day with muesli/fruit/yoghurt, but my alter ego never eats breakfast and is constantly craving fermented spicy cabbage (kimchi) and rice. Nothing but kimchi and rice. And seaweed soup.

The real me doesn’t drive at all, except maybe a bicycle, but Miss Anna is a road warrior, driving for an hour to work every single day. Miss Anna is even learning to drive manual.

The real me is lazy as a cow on the beach, but my alter ego is freaking out of the house 12 hours a day, “working” 9-6 and trying to repress road rage for almost 2 hours a day.

The real me is awkward with kids cauz they look so fragile, I’m afraid I might… break them! But Miss Anna is a super teacher, a loving and caring one who gets hugged, massaged (Korean custom…), followed around, praised and even kissed all the time.

And the list goes on.

I know Miss Anna is probably a more mature Anne-Marie, but I like referring to her as my alter ego because she’s so much cooler than Anne-Marie! Hell, she’s living in Korea, traveling the world, she has tons of friends (and is a party animal…), she’s rock climbing, meditating, learning knitting and parading naked in saunas, she’s even gonna be a certified diver and she’s getting pretty good at the guitar!

But Anne-Marie is nothing like that in Canada. She has no career, and 3 years of living overseas have somehow estranged her from most of her friends and family. I guess Miss Anna is the price Anne-Marie is paying for to be a citizen of the world ;)