35 Random Things about Living in Honduras
In honor of the Random Things running rampant on Facebook, I came up with this for the blog! Sorry I went over the normal 25, but there are so many random things here!
**Disclaimer: Although some of these randomn things may seem unattractive, this country has some of the most beautiful jungle / river scenery as well as island perfection. The people are great and it is just a wonderful place. Please do not be turned off from a visit from here, life is just different here than in the States.
CLICK ON PHOTOS BELOW FOR SHORT ALBUMS!
1. One of the best things we have discovered here is Licuados, fruit shakes made from fresh fruit, ice and if you do not monitor it, a lot of sugar. As Jason would say, “Very refreshing!”
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| 2009-Feb Licuados |
2. We live less than 2 blocks from the market place and buy veggies, fruit, and tortillas fresh, which is awesome, but we have no idea what kind of pesticides were used to grow the veggies/fruit or what kind of products are used to make the tortillas. They all still taste great, so we really do not care!
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| 2009-02-12 – Fruit – Tortilla Stands |
3. Nightclubs are actually strip clubs here; a discothèque is where you dance with your clothes on. We learned that from some visiting friends. Important information is always needed!
4. Men of any age (even under 18) will sssst, whistle, comment, look, and stare at women, even when they are with their husbands (Okay, maybe they do the last bit more with the Gringos because a Latino man would not stand for that)!
5. There does not seem to be an urgency to do get most things done here. Manana manana! I like it because it makes for a more laid back feeling, but it also means things do not get done when you want them to be done!
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| 2009Feb – Tranquilo workers & Night Club |
6. We live near/on a beach, but no one goes to it to swim or sunbath because neither the beach nor the water is clean enough, but take a boat 1 hour away or drive only ½ hour away and you are in nature’s wonderland from small lush islands with turquoise colored clear water, to jungles in the mountains with waterfalls and rushing rivers.
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| Beautiful Honduras |
7. We have never seen so many pregnant women before…many very young and not married. I guess not too far off from America.
8. The children are beautiful, all of them, rich, poor, dirty, clean, educated or not.
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| Honduran Kids |
9. Evangelical churches dominate the religious sector of this country; since we have seen good and bad, we have not decided what we really think about it all.
10. Second hand American anything is considered hot commodity here and is not cheap.
11. Plastic items cost a lot and furniture costs even more, but you can have a meal for two for under 5.00 and unskilled/semi-skilled labor gets paid only around 5.00 a day.
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| 2009 – Feb. Second Hand American stuff stores – Plastic Furniture |
12. The fashion here is there is no fashion. Anything goes. Don’t get me wrong, there are the more hip/stylish clothes, but it just seems not as important. I like the no fashion thing…it is like uniforms in schools. everyone is equal. One thing that is in common here, most women wear their clothes very tight.
13. Baleadas are Honduras’ soft taco.
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| 2009-02-12 The Art of Baleadas |
14. There are tons of non-profits and volunteers working down here, some of the nonprofits were started by very young people from the States. It is so great to see so many people doing so much good!
15. A lot of kids here are happy with just drawing on a piece of paper.
16. Taxi drivers think the more they beep at you, you just may change your mind, and actually get in their car.
17. When you think your hear gunshots, they are probably fireworks …and vice versa.
18. Not sure if it is officially legal or not, but many men wear guns, and at most restaurants and nicer bars, you have to leave then gun in a locked locker at the front door to get in. A nice thing, we think!
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| 2009 – Feb. Taxis and Gun Lockers |
19. Dive bars here make the dive bars back in Sacramento (and most of the rest of America) look like country clubs!
20. Egg shells are harder than heck, but the chicken is delicious whether fried, boiled, grilled or roasted.
21. Many people walk, but there is either no sidewalk at all, the sidewalks are in really bad shape or they built something right in the middle of the sidewalk (telephone booth, sign post, telephone pole), and if you walk on the street you have to watch for missing man hole covers (why a huge giant slab of cement is missing, I do not know).
22. There is a lot of garbage in the streets, but after awhile, sadly enough, you do not notice it as much anymore. But we still notice every time someone liters in front of us. We cringe and shake our heads, especially if they can see us.
23. There is cable TV and wireless internet, but many streets are not paved. Who needs pavement on the internet highway?
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| 2009 – Feb. Sidewalks, Streets and garbage |
24. Geckos poop, but we so far have not seen any Gary the Gecko poop in our apartment.
25. There is some kind of weird wedding chicken dance they make you do after they sing happy birthday to you!
26. Most drugs (uh…prescription drugs) are cheap, and you do not need a prescription. Most medical needs are low cost as well…can I tell you about our boils?
27. Most homes/apartments do not have hot water, and if they do, it is only in the shower and it is through this little electrical plugged in above the shower head contraption. Fortunately, we have one of those contraptions.
28. Although Spanish is the official language, people from the islands speak English and are taught it in schools. Also on the mainland many people speak English which makes it harder for us Gringos to use our sad Spanish.
29. Although there is some element of danger living here, day to day, it is just like living in a big city anywhere in the world. You have to be careful, know your surroundings, not walk alone in some areas at night and so on. And anyway, if there was no element of danger…would it be as exciting?
30. Personally, our universe has turned upside down because now it seems Jim is stressed more, and I am the one saying, “Tranquilo!” which to the many that know us, I am sure, is just odd.
31. Although some coffee is grown here, it is just not as good as the stuff we can get back in the states. We were told that the really good beans get sent out of the country.
32. Tarantulas in Honduras can not kill you; you will get numb fingers and lips, but you will not die.
33. There are more Gringos here than we expected, mostly retired Canadians and Americans, and young American volunteers.
34. You learn to sleep with dogs barking and roosters crowing at all times of the night. Roosters are our new crickets.
35. Dogs do not get “fixed” here, so there are homeless ones running rampant in the streets, but I have to say I do not see many rats running around.
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| 2009 – Feb. Dogs and Roosters |
.WE.ARE.GNOMADS. 
I’m really glad that Tarantulas cannot kill you. That would suck.
This is an excellent post for the newbie Honduran visitor. Well written.
Lots of gringos? What planet is this Honduras blog on? Must be over in the islands or perhaps La Ceiba (no, not even Ceiba)? Most of mainland Honduras is now just about devoid of gringos… as some folks point out, w/ a 85/100,000 homicide rate (published, but I’ve got my suspicion the rate is higher, think twice as high? vs. 6/100,000 Florida (145/100,000 in San Pedro Sula?) statistically, it’s just a matter of time before you, er, become a statistic… otherwise, I enjoyed your random things (from a gringo in Sigutepeque)
Ha…that post was written in 2009. So, things may be different now, but I still know a bunch of Gringos down there though. Stay safe!
Hey! Its nice what you said about Honduras but you shouldn’t generalize all of Honduras as being the same. These random things you post only apply to the place you visited and you should state that on your post. If you come to San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa you will find that night clubs are NOT strip clubs, in fact most have dress codes and will not let you in if not dressed properly, we do have paved streets.There IS hot water in homes where they can afford it, there is NO weird wedding chicken dance, most of Hondurans, are catholics, etc, etc Although I apreciate some of the things you say, i also find some things offensive. Maybe the problem with the post is the generalization.
Hi! Well, it is MY Blog and it was MY Experience…so I can say anything I want about Honduras! Sorry if I offended you, but you have to realize the good always comes with bad. I could be so much more harsh on my own country and know, generalization or not, it is all true. I never said there was a weird wedding chicken dance by the way. I said there was something like that there for birthdays. And by the way there IS A WEIRD WEDDING CHICKEN DANCE HERE IN AMERICAN AND I AM PROUD OF IT AND LOVE…so not sure why you are offended by that comment at all. Lighten up! ;o)
you confuse “nightclub” (club de noche) w/ discotheque.
club de noche in Honduras is a house of prostitution.
discotheque on the other hand, is a fun dance place.
Yes, I mentioned that in the blog post!