exchange student

The dorms are pretty old fashioned- no men allowed in the women's dorm, for example. The rooms are small but airy, no a/c. The biggest plus is being within 2 minutes of a very nice beach with great snorkeling. One thing about the exchange students is that they are here on a pass/fail basis, which encourages many of them to get involved with the seamy underlife that is available. Some of the serious full-time students will hold you at arm's length so as not to get sucked down the toilet. But if you keep your head on straight, you should have a great time. The Crown Bay cruise ship facility is fairly close to campus. You might check with Deliver It, the ship's agent, for possible work.

no a/c?? I live in Texas so that's unheard of here, but there it probably wouldn't be so bad right?

cparker6002: Well, living here is nothing like living in Texas... 😉 although we do have a chili cook-off in September. Most people here live without air-conditioning, at least without central a/c. The trade winds keep things cool most of the year and homes are constructed to take advantage of the breeze. The dorms at UVI are perched on a hill above John Brewer's Bay with louvered windows on the windward side.

ok that's what i assumed. i'm so excited about coming! again, i'll be looking for an internship so if you have any ideas, lemme know! what is the blackbeard thing? I'm really into piratical history and since that has a lot to do with tourism i'm sure, it sparked my interest.

I've just been going back through old messages because I just got my internet back on the island I live on in Belize-after 3 months. Anyway, I stayed in the dorms at USVI supposedly for a semester, but I met my boyfriend and stayed with him most of the times. Anyway, the dorms are not too bad, yes there is no a/c but it doesn't get too hot. Definitly go to home depot and get a huge fan and it won't be too bad. The nights are really ok but the days do get hot. its very very easy to get involved in drugs and alcohol-the students from the states go out about 4 times a week at least. And that is who you will mostly be hanging around with as the islanders aren't too likely to start new friendships-especially if they know you are only there for a little while. I was lucky and had a native islander as a roommate so I made tons of islander friends which made it great. I dropped out after a semester, but stayed there for three years. Oh-the bathrooms kind of suck. But its better than dorm bathrooms in the states. There are two rooms per bathroom-one shower, two toilets. So you have to work out a schedule with the other people you share with. The cafeteria really sucks. I remember them calling for a hurricane and all the people from the island and surrounding islands went home, it was only a few of us left. They gave us styrofoam box with two sandwhiches, a juice box, an apple and some french fries for the whole weekend-and most people didn't have refridgerators. Plus, they serve goat and ox tail a lot!!! The pasta bar wasn't too bad. The cafe is nothing like the states, its all open to the elements and very, very small. The campus on whole is beautiful, but don't expect anything like in the states. The classes are interesting, but a little easier than what I had when going to university in the states. If you have any other questions, pm me or e-mail me. Melissa