The Finer Things in Life

Things you certainly don't need to survive or even be happy, but they're just nice.
Cold water.
Perforated TP.
Pads with wings.
Cake with icing.
Percolated coffee.
Real, cold milk.
A well-inked pen.
Pillows.
Trash cans.
High Quality Q-Tips.

Local Remedies

There are some local things I've come across since being here that I hadn't heard of back in the States, even if they are used.

Crabwood Oil - from the Crabwood Tree, it's also known as Andiroba. It's yellowish in color and used for all sorts of skin issues like sunburns, rashes, bug bites, dandruff. You can even ingest it and it's supposed to be healthy. Supposed to help as a laxative, too.

My PCV buddy Nick swears by it, and my neighbor, Lucy, gave me a bottle to use. It's sold unofficially and in official bottles as well. It has a pleasant musky scent to it. (Tastes terrible though. don't ever accidentally use it instead of regular oil for brownies.)

Shilling Oil - A clear, minty liquid sold in small bottles used for colds or headaches. You smell it or rub it on aching muscles or your forehead and it's supposed to relieve it. Made of camphor and menthol, sorta like Mentholatum or something.

Honey - Maisie, our HM, swears by honey to help heal cuts and scrapes. She says it dries out the wound, so I suppose it's similar to Iodine in that regard.

Garlic - Since coming down here, I've seen garlic used on warts, in ears for aches and eaten to help with gas, or as they call it being 'locked off with wind.' Lucy suggests to make a tea of garlic, with milk to help cure wind. I know it as a detoxifier and as a sinus opener and overall healthy thing to consume, especially raw (Dad used to say so and we'd sit around the dinner table, daring to eat small bites of the cloves.) I looked it up online, and it says that garlic contains a substance called Allicin, which has anti-bacterial properties that are equivalent to a weak penicillin. It appears that cooked garlic weakens the anti-bacterial effects considerably, however. Says to also be good for wounds, skin irritations, flu, high blood pressure, kidney and bladder issues, worms and more. A repellant for mosquitoes and more. And then BAM - per one website: Garlic works as a cleanser of the digestive system, helps in curing flatulence, kills internal parasites and is an excellent internal antiseptic. Heck yeah, garlic.

These are all pretty easily available here, Shilling Oil is widely used. Other plant products, like aloe, are used, too. I've heard of a couple other local plants (bush medicine) that are said to help with different issues such as diabetes or high/low blood pressure, but I don't know much about them.

Some of the expressions heard down here:

That's a must/ a moose/ a mosquito. Sure, you bet, of course.
Ya sight/ yes ay. Yes/ do you see? understand?
Yo got for catch it, ya sight. 'Ketch it' is to take advantage of something, make the most of it.
You dun-no/ You dunno, child. You have no idea, yes, definitely
Exactly my point!
Ena-do! (yes-do) A way to say yes, Makushi-English.
Don't feel no way. Don't be upset, don't get vexed.

Catch yuhself. Get your bearings, wake up, sober up.
De pon y'heights. Watch how you're behaving, chill.
Ee.... Another way to say yes.
I doubt!/You lie. I don't believe it! That's surprising.
So I hear/so you say.
Ardey!!! I think it literally means 'dirty' but it's also used for when someone's done something you don't believe or like. Like maybe a 'no way!'
Fo' trut! Seriously! For real! Really!
Isn't that so? Don't you agree? Of course you agree, because I tell you it is so, so you might as well just say 'yes' or ena or ena-do.
Ya undastand? See what I'm saying? Know what I'm talking about?
Go long (bai)! Get out of here! Keep on!
Umthing. When you can't think of the word you want to use, you say the... um... thing.' it gets contracted/compounded into 'umthing' This can be for a person, place or thing.
You make I friken!/You make I laugh! They say me when ur supposed to say I and I when you're supposed to say me.
Please for your pencil, please for some pepper sauce, etc. Please give/lend me your pencil, please hand me or pass me the pepper sauce.
Waro up! Emulgang! Eat! Come and get it! Wapishana and Makushi, respectively
Scunt! Sckite! Scores! Oh shit! Wow, whoa! Ooops! Gosh!
De 'pon. Literally 'there, upon' "Where's the book? It's de 'pon the table.' But also when used like 'What u de 'pon?' It's like, what's bothering you, what are you doing right now, what's your task. If someone says 'Hey, dis banna de 'pon skunt' they're saying he's being stupid, doesn't know what he's doing or talking about.
I tell youuuuu!!!!!! If you'd believe this story, whew! As in "Watah comin high, rainy season de 'pon, I tell youuuuuuu!'
Whaaaaaa!!!!!! or Whaaaaaa???????? This can be an 'ooooooooh! a woot woooooo! a heyyyyyyy! or a what's goin on HERE? it's normally said with a twinkle in eye.
I like DA! It's a good thing, I'm liking the vibes that's happening here. 'da' as in THAT.
Wha tha ras? WTF??????

Adorably good things to eat that are fresh and/or simple:

Bananas, oranges, tangerines - nature's little snack packs
Tomatoes/cucumbers with vinegar, salt and pepper
Fresh bread
Glass of cold milk
Mango with salt, pepper sauce and/or vinegar
Roast fish
Roasted nuts
Popcorn and pepper sauce
Crackers and honey.
Mashed banana and milk
Mashed avocado and milk

Well, I've never done THAT before...

Cleaned a fish on my own, from life to death to plate.
Eaten a whole loaf of bread in one day.
Walked across hot coals.
Table-danced.
Biked 7 miles one way and then back.
Sexed a caiman.
Chain smoked 5 cigarettes.
Slept for 30+ near-consecutive hours.
Openly declared feelings for someone.
Cooked a Thanksgiving Dinner.
Made my own alcoholic beverage.
Had a jigga bite - worms in a sac.
Traveled by bike with using only the moon as a source of light.
Used an apple as more than just an apple.
Stolen from the family of a Very Influential Person in the country.
Eaten reptiles.
"Rode" a motorbike.
Got an exhaust burn from a motorbike.
Eaten armadillo.
Blown smoke rings.
Seen a cow slaughtered.