Today is Dominica's Independence day! The last few weeks have been filled with Creole dress, Creole talk and lots and lots of Caribbean plaid fabric all around the town! The schools were closed today. Broc didn't have school either... but has a test tomorrow so he got to celebrate with his books!
I flew into Dominica on Thursday 10/27 and on our way home our driver Ren, told us that on the Friday before Independence day (which was the next day) Dominicans will dress in their native Creole dress and speak more Creole. He taught us a few things to say. But really the only thing I retained from this lesson was "Sa ka fete" which means "how are you" and I think it was because I had already learned this when we first arrived to the island. But just for fun here are a few phrases in Creole!
| Simple Sentences in Creole | |
| What is your name? | Sa ki non’w? |
| My name is Paul | Nom mwen se` Paul |
| What is your age? | Sa ki laj ou? |
| I am twenty years old. | Mwen ni ven nannè |
| Good Day, Sir | Bonn apwé midi |
| Good night Paul | Bon Swé, Paul |
| What is your nationality? | Ou sé moun hód ki péyi? |
| I’m a Dominican | Mon sé yon sent Dominican |
| What do you want? | Ki sa ou vié? |
| I want a drink. | Mon vié yon bwé. |
| I am thirsty. | Mon Swéf. |
| Give me some water, please. | Ba mon tibwen glo souplé |
| I am hungry. | Mon fen. |
| I am not hungry | Mon pa fen. |
| I am going to eat my food | Mon ka alé manjé manjé mon. |
| Where are you going? | Wéla ou ka alé? |
| I am going to the market. | Mon ka alé an laplas-la. |
| Where can I find a church | Wela mon sa tape yon légliz? |
| Today is a beautiful day. | Jódi sé yon bél jou. |
| It is raining | Lapli ka tonbé. |
| It is very hot today. | I byen cho jódi. |
| How much is it? | Kouma pou sa? |
| I have no money | Mon pa ni lajan. |
| Good day | Bon Jou |
| Where is the toilet? | Oti pwivi la |
| Thank you | Mes |
| Goodbye | Ovwa |
| How are you? | Sa ka fete? |
With it being Dominica's Independence day, here is a little Dominican history for you.
"The Caribs, who settled here in the 14th century, called the island Witikubuli, which means 'tall is her body'. Christopher Columbus named the islad after the day of the week on which he spotted it - a Sunday ('Domenica' in Italian_- which fell on November 3, 1493."- {www.wikepedia.com}
"On November 3, 1978, Great Britain granted independence to Dominica. However, because Dominica is located between two French overseas holdings, French culture is prevalent, and French Creole is spoken by some of the population." - {http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Delightful-Dominica-257883.html}
Population is 72,969
The Arawaks were the original inhabitants but the Caribs came later and wiped the Arawaks out in the 14th century.
The Sisserou Parrot is the national bird (bird on the flag)
About 1 out of every 3,000 Dominicans are over 100 years of age. I am pretty sure this is because of their diet... and they are one of the hardest working people. You will see older people working just as hard (if not harder) than younger people doing the same thing. One day I passed a lady who looke to be somewhere between 70 and 80 years old, who was carrying a few huge buckets of water about a mile to her house. And she did it like a champ.
One of the worlds largest boiling lakes is in Dominica.
Broc hiked there with a few other guys over the break between first and second semester.
Catholicism is the predominant religion.
Pirates of the Caribbean had many scenes filmed in Dominica.
There you go! A little Dominican history to ring in the 3rd of November! Happy Independence Day Dominica!
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