The importance of knowing the culture and lifestyle of your desired study abroad country is that you do not have to worry about getting embarrassed once you are there. This is a pivotal part of the process of immersing yourself into a new environment and country! As you should expect, the US Virgin Islands culture is diverse and unique in its way to your host family.
On this guide, we have set information that will open your mind and widen your appreciation of the US Virgin Islands culture and lifestyle compactly! US Virgin Islands culture combines modern American influences with centuries-old Caribbean traditions. Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and other popular American fast food franchises compete for business with family-owned Caribbean restaurants.
Quelbe, however, is a truly unique music and dance form not found anywhere else on the planet. Island musicians play American blues and jazz alongside reggae, calypso, and many other traditional Caribbean rhythms. The United States Virgin Islands, not surprisingly, are perhaps the most Americanized of all the Caribbean islands.
American food products line the shops and American fast food chains line the streets. However, visitors can still find many tastes of the Caribbean here, from the reggae and calypso tunes played alongside American Top forty hits to the cricket and soccer matches followed with as much fervor as baseball, basketball, and American football.
Despite these strong influences from the US and other Caribbean islands, there are some aspects of US Virgin Islands culture which cannot be found anywhere else. First and foremost among these is quelbe, declared the official traditional US Virgin Islands choral form in 2003.
Scratching sounds produced from hollowed gourds are the signature sounds of quelbe, whose singers are known as scratch bands. Green fruits called kenips and mockojumbies stilt dancers are other unique US Virgin Islands cultural contributions. Many Virgin Islanders still sum stories about jumbies and other ancient superstitions.
