Hi guys I'm Kay and I blog over at The Kay Times. I'm stoked that Olya let me take over her blog today.
One of the things I love about Olya is her cultural background, being born in Siberia and living in the U.S. I love hearing about the unique things from different cultures. I myself am not from the U.S. (in case that wasn't fairly obvious) and there are many eccentric (and frankly comically weird) things about people who grew up in the Caribbean. You can spot us a mile away I tell ya!
... You think anything Under 30 degrees Celsius (70's F) is freezing!
... 36 - 40 degrees (90's to 100) is legit unbearable and RARELY ever happens (if ever).
... You work with people you went to school with ... Or who knows someone you went to school with
... You wash 'wares', you don't 'do the dishes'.
... You put ketchup on your pizza ... and pepper sauce (this may just be Trinidad ha!)
... You eat everything with 'pepper' (hot sauce)
... And you know someone who 'makes pepper'
... Sunday lunch is an occasion
... You know that a 'sweet drink' is 'soda' and 'coke' is coca cola or Pepsi
... You say 'old years night' instead of 'New Years eve'
... Growing up it was drilled in you that a good education is the best thing you can have and you probably know this rhyme: 'learn little children before you are old; for a good education is better than gold; for gold and silver may fade away; but a good education will never decay'
... As a kid, you knew better than to talk back to your parents because Caribbean parents don't play.
... You know that just because the sun is up in the morning, it doesn't mean that it won't be a rainy day by noon.
... You went to Secondary School, not High School and each class was called a Form and not a Grade (unless you went to an International School in which case - disregard).
... No one ever leaves your house thirsty, hungry or empty handed. Food for all.
... Rich, poor, middle class or in between - you greet people politely when you enter a room
... You know what "chicken and chips" means
... A "far" place might mean an hour's drive
... You don't consider going to the 'beach' a vacation. It's called the weekend. If you're taking a vacation you're leaving the country.
We're a weird and cool bunch I tell you!
Thanks again to Olya for letting me take over her page while she's on vacay!
Yay!!! People will legit think Caribbean folks are crazy after this but ... eh! Arent we all?! Thanks for letting me guest post!
ReplyDeleteSo much fun! I love hearing about other cultures, and what makes each of them unique! And even though I'm not from the Caribbean, I still think that anything below 70 is cold! Living in the South definitely makes for "difficult" winters.
ReplyDeleteUnder 70 is cold!!
Deletei'm not from the Caribbean but heck yes anything under 70 is freezing! I feel you girl ;) but I don't think 90-100 is unbearable, that is heaven!
ReplyDelete100 is really ridiculous though. I just cant do 100!
DeleteI'm peeing my pants here laughing at anything under 70 degrees is cold! haha. For me anything under 20 degrees is cold.
ReplyDeleteUnder 70 is winter over here! lol
DeleteKetchup on pizza?! Love the rhyme, school is very important. It has been in the 90's here and that is too much!
ReplyDeleteKetchup on pizza?? That sounds like something my sister would have done when she was younger. She used to dip bread in ketchup! So fun hearing what is the norm for you :)
ReplyDeleteUm yes to every-single-thing. I laughed out loud a couple times in this post…
ReplyDeletePS. Olga, I've actually been to Siberia--- if Ekaterinburg is Siberia like I think it is :-)
This is fantastic! Love that the gorgeous beaches are the weekend for you :)
ReplyDeleteLove this post!! Makes me want to come visit you even more :) some similarities with Italian families here too. We consider it a personal failing if someone leaves hungry!
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this and reminiscing of home! K knows what she's talking about. The culture and lingo is very unique to other countries! I'm so grateful to be born and raised in the Caribbean and the same country as K.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Such a great list. All those sayings that I grew up with. In Jamaica, chicken and chips was my all-time favorite thing to eat. Now in the U.S., it's called Chicken tenders and french fries. But it's still the same dish! With some ketchup and pepper sauce on the side. Yup!
ReplyDeleteGreat post as always, Kay!
Love this! I am counting down the days till we are in the Caribbean again. We have secret dreams of moving there one day.
ReplyDelete