Karina Yan Glaser: Hi, my name is Karina Yan Glaser. Karina is pronounced like marina but with a K instead. My family is Chinese and Yan is my Chinese name and also my middle name. When I was little I asked my mom what my Chinese name meant and she told me it was the word for a young flower blossom. I spent my whole life telling people that's what it meant, but then a few years ago, my dad overheard me telling someone that, and he interrupted and said that wasn't the real translation, but he couldn't explain what he thought it was. So I'm still confused.

Also, my middle name is pronounced differently based on what Chinese dialect you say it in, but to make it easy for English speakers, I just say Yan which rhymes with tan. I also took on the last name of Glaser when I married my husband, and actually this is the part of my name that people mispronounce the most. The best way to remember it is it rhymes with laser.