What is the spoken language?
Enlgish is the official language and most used, but Spanish is also very popular. St. Croix is a U.S. territory, as is Puerto Rico. You’ll need a government issued photo I.D. (driver’s license) to enter and leave St. Croix from the mainland U.S. and visa requirements are the same as for the U.S. Starting January 1, 2007, a passport will be required. You CAN practice your Spanish with a lot of people on St. Croix but English is the official language, and of course our currency is the U.S. dollar.

What’s it like?

St. Croix is sometimes called ‘The Sleeping Giant’ for its quieter atmosphere of the Virgins, its historic sites, and hundreds of windmills left from the colonial Danish sugar plantations of the 1700s.

St. Croix has tourist acitivites to do like snorkeling, SCUBA diving, deep-sea fishing, golf, and great beaches, but isn’t as “hyped up” and commercialized as other Caribbean islands. There is a lot of local culture and flavor (what is called “callaloo” i.e. “mixed up") from a very mixed population of around 50,000: among others you’ll meet Dominicanos, down-islanders, Puerto Ricans, continental snowbirds, rastafarians, studious marine biologists, oil refinery workers, French kite-surfers, and old time Crucians.

St. Croix boasts chickens roaming the streets of our two towns and everything is laid back and slow-moving, island-style. You’re in a new place, so between classes, take the time to enjoy the slow pace. if you greet those you encounter with a smile and a polite “good mooooooahnin’ ” til noon, “good AHfternoon” thereafter and after 6pm “good night,” before any human transaction, you will feel the friendliness of the local population.

How’s the weather?

The surrounding sea regulates the temperatures to the 70s and 80s all year round. Bring: sunblock, a good sunhat, long sleeve shirts and pants for cover, and a light jacket to stay warm in the evenings when the temperature might dip as low as the mid 60s in the dead of winter.