As I crunched my way through a bowl of funchi fries with hot pepper sauce at a cafe on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, an exclamation from a neighbouring table caught my attention: “Dushi!”
The word emanated from a stylish young Curacaoan woman who was having lunch with a group of friends. I couldn’t make out the subject of the conversation, but with a soft “d” at the beginning of the word followed by a long cooing vowel and a melodious pitch rise at the end, I felt that dushi must mean something wonderful. After I left the cafe and began exploring the capital Willemstad, I realised the word “dushi”seemed to be on everyone’s lips.
Chefs boiling vats of goat stew at Plasa Bieu told me their kabritu stoba was the most “dushi”, while hipsters sipping cocktails made with bitter blue Curacao liqueur assured me that Pietermaai was the most “dushi” nightlife district on the island. According to my quick Google search, dushi means “sweet”, “tasty” and “sweetheart”, but I soon learned that it encapsulates so much more. Dushi is not only a mellifluous adjective or noun, itis a uniquely Curacaoan philosophy of recognising the sweetness in things that sums up the island’s identity in just one word.