My version of " You know your Palauan when"

You know your Palauan when....

1. Your grandmother, mother and probably yourself use the word "Honest" (however we pronounce it more like Onnnneeesssttttttta!) before every sentence...even when they or you are telling a lie. :)

2. You have no idea how to catch a fish with a rod and a reel, but give you an empty Mayonnaise Jar or Tabasco bottle with some fishing string wrapped around it and you could provide fish for the whole village.

3. You have been knocked in the head by your moms middle knuckle too many times to mention.

4. A pigeon lands on you kitchen window and your mother yells for you to run out and catch it for her dinner...Belochel..(its a delicacy..at least that's what my mom says)...

5. You have a jar of "urekerk el wasch" (pronounced = "ru-kel-er-wash" or something like that ...its a thick fish paste made when your mom boils the left over fish soup for hours on end till the liquid evaporates and you end up with a very fishy smelling pasty black stuff) on your dining room table...and you are suppose to spread this on your rice and eat it...for a meal....

6. You kiss your bf goodbye or hello, or for no particular reason at all, in front of your mom and she proceed to call you "Mekekad" and twists your ear while digging her long nails into it...and it was just a kiss on the cheek! (Makekad= English translation= Itchy..but not itchy as in you have to scratch...itchy as in you cant keep still around men..)

7. Everyone else from Palau is your cousin, aunt or uncle.

8. When you started pre-school and the teacher asked you to say your A B C's you stopped at "Y" because you never knew the alphabet had a "Z" in it...(why? Because your mom pronounced things as Jeebra, Jipper, Jero, etc.)

9. Explaining to you life's lessons or about something you may think is very simple sounds something like this " Your like the fish bait which can be eaten or pecked from top and bottom" (and you are expected to know that your mom means, "You don't know where to start because you have so much to do") or " Your like the sea urchin between Ngiwal and Melekeok, on the ocean floor with its cover" (which in English means, "Your secure with your wealth without having to work for it") By the way, you're expected to know what your parents are talking about without asking for the English translation..otherwise prepare to be knocked in the head.

10. You meet someone first the first time from another pacific island and the minute you tell them your Palauan, they make a comment about the "weed"...even before introducing themselves or saying hello they want to know if you have any???

11. Your mom knows 1001 recipes for tapioca and you have tried them all..more than once...in fact you're the one who had to grind the tapioca for 999 of those recipes...

12. The stuff in the open soda can on your table, IS NOT SODA!!! That's the Olbaol!! (Olbaol= the container, usually an empty soda can or milk carton where your mom spits her beetlenut)

and for those belauns who live abroad...You know your palauan when..

13. Every other weekend you fill an ice chest with chicken, hot dogs, meat, bread and can food and sent it off..then you get it back the following week with Fish, taro, MORE TAPIOCA, Eremrum (sea cucumber) and Belochel in it...

and last but not least ..You know your Palauan when

14. You walk into USSP Club and you know that the beer/soda can on the table is NOT a free drink..