Living like a Crucian

it is just what they say to let you know they were born here. i am assuming it to be a crucian thing

@Wanderer, Now that you have lived on STX For a few weeks, what are your thoughts? My husband and I are planning on moving down(from Missouri) in a year or so with our son. What is your thought of the prices of food and living, how do you feel living on the island? I'm absolutely excited! Our 3 year old is even excited, but I just like to hear other people views.

Good afternoon, Ping. Well, I think all my thoughts are already in this thread, so I am not sure what kind of guidance you are looking for. From my perspective, all the frequently asked questions here (such as "How do I move my car?", "What do I bring with me?", "Where is the best place to live on STX?", "What's a good restaurant here?", "What's the price of milk?", "Are there Christians on STX?" ), are the very last questions to ask. The answers to these questions would not give you a sense whether you'd be happy here.

I do agree with the vast majority of people on this board that the best way to find if you'd be happy here is to do a PMV (pre-move visit). Live like a local (or at least in a resemblance of a local), work, shop, cook, drink Rum, smoke ganja, see the real estate, go out, see places, explore beaches, go to the touristy places, go to the "shady" places, talk to people, talk to the ocean and the sand, let the ocean talk to you, talk to yourself, and don't talk to yourself (i.e. liming). The longer the PMV in duration, the better. I felt like one month was enough for me, but some people tell me that they had to stay for 4 years to see what I saw, and to understand what I understood.

With regards to the cost of living, there is plenty of good information if you follow the links at the top of this page.

it is just what they say to let you know they were born here. i am assuming it to be a crucian thing

It's much, much more than that. I could write a whole new thread about what bahn ya means. Frankly, I am surprised that I seem to know more about it than the long time transplants.

please elaborate a bit more.i do say things short and to the point most times.

please elaborate a bit more.i do say things short and to the point most times.

Bahn ya is about the identity, the ancestral roots, the status, the acceptance, the culture, the crime, the genetic relationship to the local police force and the local government officials and the local powers, the unspoken privilege to determine the current and the future affairs of STX, the preference status for a job, and the untold (in this discussion forum) pain and suffering of the people who lived on this island for the last 500 years, with most of these years living in slavery.

So the same social implications just a different pronunciation?

So the same social implications just a different pronunciation?

No, totally different. There is no concept of bahn ya on the continent, and if there is one in some places, it's so subdued that it doesn't mean much.

Everything aside, he is one of the few people who write about their pre-move visit...

Or he may just be a liveaboard or cruiser on his way to the next place.
I hope to work my way down the ditch from Annapolis, the Thorny Path next, and a year or two after that Hawaii and beyond. Just depends if the boat finds me acceptable. 🙂

I HAVE ASKED a few people here and they say it just means they were born here

I think the implications of the phrase vary greatly in meaning from the older generations to the younger, and from one person to the next. The younger don't take it with near as much gravity - for them it generally means just born on St. Croix. Some of the older generation take it as a birthright, others as a matter of pride, many with both. Some could care less as they have invited many transplants and immigrants into their families - St. Croix, while being populated with a significant number of people descended from slaves, also has many people descended from those who moved onto the island over the years and as a result has a melting pot of people and ancestries.

I would definitely say that most of my born Crucian friends do not behave with such gravitas around "Bahn hyah" as Wanderer portrays. But he is seeking deeper meaning and empathy in everything and I think he is reading pretty heavily into the words of the few he's connected with, because he is looking for what he wants to find - like seeks like, water seeks its own level, and all that.

WELL SAID JULIEKAY sorry caps

Some people enjoyed his "writing project" and I do respect that... If I came to strong in my criticism, I do apologize...

No need to apologize, Rowdy. I am well past the stage where I cared about other people's opinion of me. When I do seek their opinions about me, it's for my quest in anthropology, to study their responses as humans. My current project is to stop caring about what I think about myself.

I like simplicity... Life is simple, human beings tend to make it complicated...

I like complexity. Life is complex, and human beings tend to oversimplify it.

I would definitely say that most of my born Crucian friends do not behave with such gravitas around "Bahn hyah" as Wanderer portrays. But he is seeking deeper meaning and empathy in everything and I think he is reading pretty heavily into the words of the few he's connected with, because he is looking for what he wants to find - like seeks like, water seeks its own level, and all that.

That's very fair, Julie.

I've never heard "bahn ya" in my several decades here but, as EE pointed out, "bahn here" (pronounced heeyah) is common. I think Wanderer is probably ascribing way too much to a simple couple of words.

I've never heard "bahn ya" in my several decades here but, as EE pointed out, "bahn here" (pronounced heeyah) is common. I think Wanderer is probably ascribing way too much to a simple couple of words.

Perhaps.

http://cruciandictionary.com/cruzandictionary/b.html

I've never heard "bahn ya" in my several decades here but, as EE pointed out, "bahn here" (pronounced heeyah) is common. I think Wanderer is probably ascribing way too much to a simple couple of words.

Our Constitutional Convention circus would seem to indicate otherwise with special rights and privileges sought for those who are born here.

After a quick consult with my Crucian bestie, she says she goes with, "bahn ya." So the way wanderer is typing it is accurate, as also according to the Crucian dictionary Joan posted. 😉

i have been called briss on a daily basis at work-with love of course and i have been told i have a very nice bana.

thank you islandjoan, aussie-so true. oldtart correct

... and i have been told i have a very nice bana.

Pictures please 😀

lol, best seen in person

I've never heard "bahn ya" in my several decades here but, as EE pointed out, "bahn here" (pronounced heeyah) is common. I think Wanderer is probably ascribing way too much to a simple couple of words.

Our Constitutional Convention circus would seem to indicate otherwise with special rights and privileges sought for those who are born here.

I wasn't addressing the "bahn here" melee which crops up regularly but addressing "bahn ya" versus "bahn here". Setting aside all the political connotation which some factions bring up, it simply designates someone who was born (in this case) in the USVI.

Day 27 (continued).

The STX sand and the STX sky. If not for the light and the colors, and the annotations from the "Google Sky" app, it might be difficult to tell which is the sand, and which is the sky. Pretty cool, eh?

My last sunset on STX. In the center of the pic, there is the boat that I was talking about earlier, with somebody apparently living on that boat 24/7. I took a shot at accomplishing my last project on the island, which is to swim all the way to the boat and to have an unannounced meeting with this guy. But I underestimated the distance and the current. After about 20 minutes of swimming, I was about half way through. I figured that that if I go all the way, it would take me about an hour and a half to return, allowing for swimming against the current. It would be a show of disrespect for the Caribbean sea to think that I am capable of the return trip. So, I turned back, and my last project is shelved.

I think of this guy as a feral human. He no longer wants to do tricks on command, or to be domesticated, sheltered, fed, played with, or petted. I was watching him for a long time from the beach. I had a distinct feeling that he was watching me, too. It was a silent conversation.

It's a good thing you didn't try to swim all the way out. That area has notorious rip tides and currents - a man died swimming (unintentionally) out that way last year. 🙁

Lovely sunset photo. Truly one of the best views on Earth.