What to know about St.Thomas

St.Thomas is an island apart of the United States. The culture down there is so much different from the culture here in the states. It has many different foods, music, and beliefs. There is a lot of things people do not know about St. Thomas, some people don’t even know about St. Thomas existing.

Food/Drinks in St. Thomas
            Just like in the states, you will find fast-food restaurants like Subway, McDonalds, Burger King, etc. The fast-food restaurants do not compare to the local family owned restaurants. Stewed oxtail, beef, goat, and chicken are popular meat. Typical side dishes are rice, peas, yams, fried plantains, cassava, beans, and lentils. Rum is what the Virgin Islands is known for because it is made on St. Croix, another island apart of the Virgin Islands.  Besides alcohol, there is also popular health and fruit drinks. Seamoss is one. It is made of seaweed, it is boiled until it dissolves and then mixed with milk and spices. Besides seamoss, there is banana punch, coconut water, bush tea, passionfruit juice, and pumpkin punch. Kenips are a type of fruit that is popular in the islands, including Puerto Rico. They have a green outer shell and fleshy edible meat around a large seed inside. They are usually sold off of fruit trucks and fruit markets in St.Thomas.

Music

            In the Virgin Islands, you will hear steel drums, dance music, spiritual music, soca, reggae, blues, salsa, meringue, jazz, and other music genres. Most popular ones are calypso, soca, reggae, and steel pan beats. Calypso and soca music are very similar but soca has more soul into it. Reggae is heard all over the world. Bob Marley is one famous reggae artist. The Virgin Islands hold various music venues throughout the year. The biggest festival in the Virgin Islands is Carnival. It’s a month long of different activities and concerts. Carnival celebrates freedom through dancing, singing, parades, pageantry, music, food, friends, and fun. Mocko Jumbies are colorful stilt dancers. They are seen for carnival parades every year.

Beliefs

            There are many superstitions and beliefs on the island. There is stories about spirits called “Jumbies” that roam around in homes, the streets, and anywhere the storyteller want them to be. Jumbies is ghost-like spirits of the West African belief. The stories are a tradition used for children. Bru Nansi is a popular character in jumbie stories. Bru Nansi is a spider man who is haunted, kind of like the states “boogie man”. In the islands, saying Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Night are not the same as saying hi to someone. It is a much warmer greeting. Manners mean a lot in the islands, especially to elders. Other beliefs include walking backwards into doors at funerals, not eating bananas at night, women who have just had a baby should not leave their homes with the baby for a month until the baby receives their first month shots, and do not cut your child’s hair before they are a year old.