What I Learned While Living On "Cruzan Time"

Over my winter break I got to go to a place like no other! I went to St. Croix, a US Virgin Island, where my boyfriend’s family is from. Of course it reminded me a lot of Brazil but there were something’s that were different. On the island people always would say that they live on “Cruzan time” and I had to learn very quickly what that meant. Like in Brazil and other tropical destinations, natives are never in a rush like in the USA. They live a very relaxed and easy going life.

Most of the days we were waking up around 9:00 am or 10:00 am then we would eat or get breakfast an hour later or so. We often would just lounge around the house for a few more hours then eat some more food. There were certain days that we would just go to the beach after breakfast and stay there until dinner time. Even at restaurants our food was running on Cruzan time, most times it didn’t bother us since we would be relaxing or laying on the beach while the food was being made.

While I was there, it was considered Carnival season which means a lot of things to see or do but nothing was promised since we were just living on Cruzan time. Some nights we would plan to go to downtown but wouldn’t actually leave till later, because we were running on Cruzan time. My very first night there we planned to go The Village which is just a huge party that they have at night with performers, dancers, lots of food trucks and food huts around. I was showered and ready to go but 8:00 pm but we didn’t leave the house until 11:00 pm.

The three things that I learned about living this life style was…

1. Nothing is ever set in stone

Our plans could change at any minute and were not always scheduled on the dot. Even though I was getting ready right away that did not mean that we would leave in the next 30 minutes. So, naturally I started getting half ready and then waiting till everyone else was a little more ready to finish my makeup.

2. Order early

If you wanted food or some specific dish get it early. We would order our food early in the day or make reservations to specific restaurants before they book up or run out of our favorite island dish.

3. It’s just very relaxing

Even though I love to plan my day and know what outfits I will need. It was so nice to just let go of all of that and go with the flow. I just got used to wearing either a dress, shorts with a tank and sneakers.

I was not accustomed to this new way of living, it did teach me that not every part of life needs to be planned.