How "West Injun" are Yuh?

I compiled this list from various other lists of different nationalities. One thing I have noticed about us Caribbean people (read: West Indian) is that more often than not, we have many attributes in common. Below is a very condensed list. Being that I myself am Trini and Bajan, you might find more of that than others. However, I have tried to be as fair and impartial as possible. Despite the way we sometimes behave, we are all one.

With that disclaimer written...come selector!



You know you're from the West Indies when....



- Any hot beverage is considered tea...cocoa tea, bush tea, coffee tea, tea tea, green tea...

- You hate to throw away empty containers for they might come in handy for pepper sauce.

- Cheese on bread ain't got nuttin to do wid being hungry.

- Yuh refer to a bank holiday as a bank holiduh.

- You have 'knick knacks' all over your home.

- You call all hard candy 'sweety'.

- A 'lime' is definitely not a fruit.

- You wash the 'wares' after having dinner.

- You have a bad fall and ya either lick up, break up, skin up or catspraddle.

- Yuh constantly explaining dat de dolphin you does eat is a fish and not a mammal!

- When someone sympathises with you, you comment "Yuh tink it easy?"...OR, when dealing with someone sarcastic, fresh, humorous, or all of the above, yuh get "Oh God yuh ain't easy..."

- You're standing next to plenty luggage and boxes at the airport.

- You point with your lips, or end a conversation with, "Mmhmm".

- You tell the host 'Good Night' when you arrive at someone's home in the evening.

- You think eating salt fish or shark and bake is a great morning meal.

- You drink tea with milk from an enamel cup.

- You show disappointment by sucking your teeth (steupsin).

- You wash and rinse plastic utensils and stryofoam cups and plates.

- You bring home food from a party.

- You chew the ice when you finish your drinks.

- When somebody call ya pon de phone and sa 'wait you still home'? or when da see ya pun de road and ask ya if ya still living.

- You say 'whappenin' even at a funeral.

- Yuh know dat 'hard wine' ain't got nuttin tuh do wid liquor.

- A rubber is an eraser.

- You can feel cold when it is 60 degrees.

- When you ask for pepper you don't mean ground black pepper.

- You have at least one relative living in either England, Canada, or the US.

- You go to school with green mangoes and salt and pepper in your pocket.

- Yuh best friend is yuh girlfriend's bruther.

- You know the difference between a ginnip and a jamoon.

- When you ask for directions, it's something like: "go da'side and tun lef, den go pass de coconut tree and jump ovah de trench and yuh reach" or "make a right at de mango tree. Go all the way down till yuh see three rude boys liming on de block. If yuh see a green house, dat not it, go straight...its the blue house in front of de two dunk trees..."

- You could sing an entire Parang song in Spanish word for word, but if someone asks you, "Como estas?", you say, "Whahappen?"

- You know that using 'blue' makes clothes whiter.

There are so many more, these are just a drop in the bucket. So...how West Indian are yuh?

Posted in: