Someone invites you to their house for the opportunity to taste delicious home-cooked local cuisine at its finest. You can’t resist the urge so you accept the offer, but you’re a little concerned about everything. Why? Because you worry about everything. (This doesn’t apply to all – only the nervous stick-in-the-mud type travelers.) What if you suddenly have an allergic reaction to the food? What if you forget to take off your shoes when entering the house? What if your tire catches a massive nail, causes a horrific flat and by the time you reach the house all the jerk-chicken is gone. It would certainly stink to be you. Perhaps it’s time to take a deep breath and relax?
Today’s word is a Patois word from Jamaica:
satta – sit in, rest
Before digging into a mouth-watering meal someone might suggest relaxing a bit and making yourself at home. The word may be accompanied by a hand gesture or laughter if the accent and word throw you off completely. Either way don’t be shy and count on having a good meal, conversation and overall good time. After all you’re in the land of ‘irie.’This is a personal favorite of mine that I tend to over use.
You can pick up some ‘Rasta Patois’ of your own several ways. The most rewarding way is straight from the horse’s mouth, so you may wish to seek the knowledge from some West Indian folks in your neighborhood. If you can’t learn anything that way due to the low number of West Indian peeps in your circle, try watching films. The Rockers is an awesome starting point. The 25th anniversary edition DVD has great features, including a small Rasta Patois dictionary. A good source on the net is Jamaicans dot com and Jahworks seems decent.