How to speak Cruzan ... I wish that after almost six months of living in St. Croix I could say that I have become a gifted Cruzan speaker ... but I still find myself in situations where someone will have been speaking to me for several minutes, and I still have no idea what has been said. (this happens MUCH less than it once did though ... so at least there is improvement).
So to show some of what I have learned and what has been slowly sinking into my everyday vernacular here in the islands, here is a list.
Bana = one of the children's most favorite words, it means someones bum.
Cookoo= the children's second most favorite word, it means numero 2
Wha?! = literally means 'what' but it's said quickly and is usually only pronounced this way when referring to 'say what?!' situations.
Cheese and Bread! = think 'sacre bleu!' it's used to express exasperation, "How many times do I 'ave to tell da children dem to put up dem towels! Cheese and bread!!"
Clear skinned = white. sometimes people feel that calling me clear (instead of white) is more PC.
Mehsan= i.e., You can't even know de kind of day I been having, mehsan! (think Jamaican 'mon' ... only MUCH cooler).
Gey-url = Girl ... but with Cruzan pronunciation, the word becomes a lot more fun to hear ... and instead of being a boring one syllable word, it becomes a two syllable word.
Current= electricity
Bush = wilderness, untamed areas
Cornflakes = any type of cereal (just like in the states someone might say Kleenex but they really mean any kind of facial tissue).
Gongolo = red and black millipedes
Breed = to get someone pregnant, or to refer to someone pregnant, "Dat man dere, he breed her mehsan!"
Season Rice = rice made with herbs and pigeon peas mixed together
Cheetos (pronounced: cheet-os) = any kind of chip ... doritos, tortilla chips, any kind will be referred to as Cheetos.
Mash up = broken. i.e. 'Miss Molly, dis been mash up before, I not do it' to which my usual reply: "you tellin' me untruths?" (untruths = lies).
Gravy = any kind of sauce
Cus = to cuss at someone, "Miss Molly, I dun cus nobody today!" (usually said with a proud smile).
Bam! = (my little nine year old says this to me all of the time) it's a way to make fun of someone's not so funny joke ... the Cruzan version of my 'bud-a-bum schh' (fake drum thingy), i.e. my dad makes a sweet, but corny joke, my reaction would be, 'Bam!'
Pampers = any kind of diaper.
Bush tea = a type of lemon grass tea ... and some of the best tea in the world, especially considering it's made essentially from the flotsam and jetsam of people's yards.
Vex= angry; i.e. Dem children makin' me so vex!
Paté= can be made with either beef or saltfish (saltfish is best) and it's in fried pastry dough, it like fair food ... only it's AMAZING ... the only consistent place I've found to sell it is Kmart. This would make me feel silly, but people will go to Kmart just for lunch here ... it's a relatively schnazzy place.
Briss = nosy ... in someone's business (which can be quite the problem on such a small island)
Rastamon= a male member of the Rastafarian religion or a guy with long 'locks'
Locks= dreadlocks
Okay, well ... there's more ... but I'm tired of typing ... but it's been fun learning all the new vocab, and it's been surprising to me how quickly I move into using the local words for things even in my colloquial conversations with my stateside roommates.
