Cinco Cosas:Hondurenos…Five Things:Hondurans

I have been in Honduras for 6 weeks and traveled along the North Coast and Western Honduras to over 5 different cities. I definitely wanted to write a post about Hondurans as a people, touching on their culture and various customs. So I decided to break it down by the 5 things that I feel most describe Hondurans. Clearly this is just my observation, and is not meant to offend anyone. It’s all in love people…

1. Religion

Honduras is an overwhelming Roman Catholic country with a small population of Evangelical Protestants. In El Porvenir, there are several churches, but the main church is located behind the futbol field, where various activities are held daily. Many of the services are held at night, and there is often music, signing, and dancing. When meeting people, it is very normal for most Hondurans to ask if you believe in God. Many of the non-religious, agnostic and/or atheist volunteers have had trouble explaining to the people of El Porvenir their religious affiliation, or non-existence thereof. When majority of the country all believe in the same thing, it can be difficult to understand the existence of other religions, or everyone not believing the same God.

I attended a few services here at the Missionary Church near the beach. A couple from the States (Mississippi) hosts the services, where they have praise and worship, testimonies, and a sermon. Many of the foreigners in El Porvenir attend the church as well as some of the locals. I enjoyed the service, very similar to protestant services at home. The Missionary also hosts volunteer groups from all over the US to do various service projects within the community, like building schools, bathroom facilities, desks and tables for schools, etc. I can see how the church services spiritually motivate those volunteers who are working day-in and day-out on various projects.

During my time in Honduras, I have had several encounters with the “bus preacher.” Not exactly sure what they are called in Spanish, but basically, these men come onto the bus and deliver a sermon. They read a passage from the scripture and interpret the meaning. Sometimes they will give a testimony. After they finish, they walk up and down the aisle, and ask passengers to give money them money. I also have come in contact with many missionaries here from several denominations. I met a young woman from the Church of Ladder Day Saints. She told me she was from Utah, and that during her time here in Honduras, the LDS community has made several advances. She also invited me to visit their church in La Ceiba.

One of the local Churches

The Missionary

Inside the Missionary

2. Respect

In the Spanish language, there are various verb conjugations for the subject “you”, formal and informal. In essence, I would use the formal verb tense when speaking to my parents, and the informal verb tense when speaking to my friends. We do not have this rule in the English language, so it’s a little difficult to explain. But to my point, Hondurans rarely use the informal verb conjugation. Even amongst friends or close relatives, they always use the formal verb conjugation. When I asked my neighbors why they always use “Usted” (the formal verb conjugation) when speaking, they told me it’s out of respect. I did have some difficultly with it when I first came to Honduras, because it’s so much easier to speak using the informal verb conjugation, but clearly I had to adapt…

3. Hard Workers

Watching Hondurans work makes me embarrassed to be an American. Honduran life is not easy, especially for those that live in El Porvenir. Imagine waking up at 5am with the roosters, feeding all the animals in your house, washing a load of clothes by hand, hanging them out to dry, catching an hour bus ride to work and back, and then cooking dinner on an open fire. And that’s not even the most of it! Most of the people in El Porvenir work at the Dole Pineapple Farm down the road, but during rainy season, there is little work, and many people have to find odd jobs just to buy food. Commonly families end up separating, with one parent going to a larger city or even an adjacent country (Guatemala, El Salvador. etc) to earn a living. When I was talking with a Honduran about my observation, he thought the opposite. That in America, we work our butts off, and that Hondurans don’t work as hard. In a way we do, but most of us are lazy as hell. Sitting in front of the TV, eating chips and cookies, complaining about “ALL THE WORK WE HAVE TO DO”; like driving to work in our personal car with air conditioning, picking up the kids from day care, and then having to stop at a restaurant for dinner. It’s a huge generalization, but the amenities we have in the US are not even a fraction of what Hondurans have. I am sure there are many Americans who could not last a day in the daily life of an average Honduran. All the physical labor sin air conditioning… yea right….

4. Futbol

Like many Spanish-speaking countries, futbol (soccer) is the National sport of Honduras. There are infinite amount of teams, from professional levels to local levels. No words can explain how this country lives and breathes futbol. Everyday, all day, all the time, morning, noon, and night. At school, at home, in the street, on the field, at the bar, on TV, on the radio…. You get the point.

My friends and I went to the Vida vs. Olympia game in La Ceiba this past weekend. We were rooting for Vida, the home team. The game was nuts! People screaming, shouting, and singing. Hondurans are intense when it comes to their futbol, and one can definitely feel the emotion in the stands. When nobody had scored all game, we decided to leave early. As soon as we left we heard the infamous, “GGOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!,” as Vida had scored in the last minute of the game. Wow… How did we miss that???

The Futbol field in El Porvenir

Olympia vs. Vida

Me, Heide, and Hector at the game

5. Loud

Hondurans are loud. Point blank. I thought my family was loud-- you don’t want to get both my mom and dad in the same room… But these Hondurans, forget it. Yes I know I work at a school, and children are generally louder than adults, but that rule does not apply here. The adults are louder than the children. My ears are bleeding… like seriously… lol

Some of the loudest Hondurans you'll ever meet! David being the loudest! lol

From left to right: David, Angela, Fernando, Keenia, Harol, and Alinger