Transfer Day

Friday was Transfer Day - a local holiday celebrating the transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States. The transfer took place on March 31, 1917. By next year - the 90th anniversary, the local government hopes to have a Transfer Day monument. This year there were a number of celebrations around the territory - speakers, singers, bands, and dancers. But it's one of those local holidays that the federal employees don't get as a vacation day, and I was a bit busy at work so I missed it all. We'll make an effort next year since it seems celebrations will be even bigger!

To celebrate transfer day on the blog, I thought I'd point out a few random factoids about living here that make it different from the U.S., even though we were transferred to be a part of the U.S..... Some of them we may have pointed out before, but they are worth repeating. [Most of the links in this post point to articles in the V.I. Daily News.]

• The Quaker Oats we buy at one store curiously says "Made for Export Sale Outside of the United States Only"
• Road names here don't exist for the most part. Construction just began in front of the federal building and you should have heard the discussions while people were trying to explain the detours. Some of the roads would now be one-way roads only. See, people use their own names for roads, so on multiple occasions I heard "Droningens Gade? i thought the road behind Veterans was called Norre Gade?"
• Speaking of construction, there are pot holes all over the roads. Everyone just drives around them, so it's good to know where they are, as it helps to know when on-coming traffic might swerve into your lane.
• Speaking of driving here.. Our roads are steep and narrow. After picking up Dave's parents at the airport and bringing them to our house for the first time, as Dave turned from the main road onto our road, the road drops down the steep hill quickly. Dave's dad thought we'd driven off a cliff. On a similar note, our driveway is a loop, with the ingress is uphill and the egress is a steep downhill. At least once the ingress was blocked and I couldn't get the car up the egress. It definitely couldn't be done with more than two people in the car.
• Passing someone over double yellow lines is a common activity. All the roads that have a painted line in the middle have a double yellow. Before I moved here, I'd done it maybe two or three times in my life. I probably do it two or three times a week here. You have to be careful though when passing the big trucks!
• Drivers frequently stop in the road to talk to a pedestrian or another driver they recognize. Since the roads are narrow, there is no point in pulling over, as noone could get by. Cars behind the chatty driver either sit patiently - really, no honking - or if the opportunity is available, crossing the double yellow of course.
• St. Thomas only has one movie theatre. The good news is you can just call one place or look one their website and that's all your options. No endless decisions or paging through options on movies.com. And the website even has some movie reviews. I like to pretend i can read spanish and try to choose a movie based on which one has the most "buena"s in the reviews.
• We have our own olympics teams, but only one representative in the 2006 winter olympics - Grandma Luge!
• Not even the locals plan to visit the doctors here. Locals seem to use doctors here just for when they suddenly get sick. Planned visits or checkups are done on Puerto Rico or Florida, or in the states while visiting people.
• Why do the chickens cross the road? I don't know but I see them do it all the time. Chickens and roosters are everywhere. That's why we give our guests earplugs...
• Beer is cheaper than soda in quite a few restaurants. Sometimes $1 for beer and $2.50 for soda.
• There are bars where you pour-your-own drink, however strong you like.
• We like it when it rains because that's our water source. Yesterday someone on our street was getting their cistern filled up by the water truck. Then, last night, it rained.
• The public schools all have uniforms. One or two private schools don't have uniforms.
• We're closer to South America than Florida.
• Last week it was hazy because dust from the Sahara Desert had blown over the Atlantic Ocean and was hanging around. Sometimes the haze is from Montserrat's volcanic ash.
• Stores are often out of things, so if you see something you want, buy it, because when you go back for it later, it won't be there. K-Mart has been out of 16 of its 20 Bonne Bell Lip Smacker flavors since Christmas (including watermelon!).
• On a similar note, restaurants are often out of key ingredients but don't think to mention it until it's time to bring your food to you. Dave heard once "Sorry, we're out of guacamole for your guacamole burger, would you like bacon instead?"
• Gas stations don't have pay-at-the-pump. It's cash only!
• For those of you who visited us this winter and thought the water was too cold for swimming - the coral sadly disagrees. About one-third of the coral in monitored areas in the USVI and Puerto Rico has died recently because the water has been too warm, according to a CNN article.
• It's 83 degrees and we've got 65% humidity right now. The heat index is 87. It's only the first weekend in April. Summer is here again.
• We don't have air conditioning. In the summer (i.e. mid-March to mid-November), I am really glad to have an indoor desk job with my own thermostat in my office. On the weekends, around 1pm, it's too hot to be at home, so we go swimming, shopping, or to the ice cold movie theatres. Upon leaving the movies, condensation forms on your toes as you step outside and eyeglasses get fogged.
• While we still have to file our federal tax forms, we mail it to the V.I. Internal Revenue Bureau on St Thomas. Taxes are calculated the same, but the money stays on the island. No taxation without representation I guess.

I'll work on a photo post later this afternoon. I know it's long overdue! Happy April!