Cultural Differences

About Honduras Honduras is located in the North Central part of Central America. Guatemala is to the west El Salvador to the south Nicaragua to the east  Second largest country in Central America (about the size of Tennessee)  Population - 8,598,561

Economy  Second poorest country in Central America.  More than half of the population lives in poverty and per capita income is one of the lowest in the region.  One-third of the people are under employed.  Most Hondurans work very hard to earn, on average, $183 a month. (less than $300 a month)

Greeting  Kiss on the right cheek  A hug and pat on the back  Children will often say ‘hello’ with a big hug  buenos días – good day  buenas tardes - good afternoon (buenas)  buenas noches – good evening  Adiós – good bye  ¿que tal? – hello, how are you?

Transportation

Time  Most Hondurans are relaxed on time.  The norm is being 30 minutes late.  There is no importance placed on getting to an appointment early  Individual needs are more important than schedules.

Gestures and Mannerisms In Honduras  Pointing with the finger is seen as rude  Backing away when someone is standing to close is considered rude.  Refusing refreshments is considered impolite.  Hand and body language are important forms of communication.

Honduran Finger Flapping

Gestures and Mannerisms  It is inappropriate to be loud and obnoxious.  It is polite when you give a gift to one person, you give to everyone.  Because Hondurans are family oriented, conversations should began with asking about the family, rather than getting down to business.  There is a great respect for people especially the elderly.

 Eye contact depends a lot on social status.  People will almost never say "I don't know" because they don't want to sound unfriendly/unhelpful, and often times people will tell what they think you'd most like to hear.  Most people tend to communicate in an indirect manner. Communication Styles

Living Units  In the city, most houses are made from brick or cement, and some wealthy homes are large and impressive.  In the poorer, rural areas, houses are made with floors of packed earth, walls of adobe, and roofs of clay tiles, thatch, and some with zinc.  The kitchen is usually a special room on the outside of the house, with a wood fire built on the floor or on a raised platform.  The ideal household of a couple and their children is not always possible. When young couples cannot afford housing, they may live with their parents until they have several children of their own.

Dress Men  Church services: clean pants/or nice shorts and a nice shirt  Restaurant: shorts/pants and a nice shirt (jeans okay)  Shopping: shorts or pants and a shirt  Work projects: old pants/ athletic shorts(boys only) and a shirt  Swimming: shorts, swimsuits, shirtless is acceptable Women  Church services: clean skirt/slacks/capris and a blouse/nice top  Restaurant: skirt/clean pants/capris and a blouse/nice top  Shopping: pants or skirts and a shirt  Work Projects: old pants and a shirt  Swimming: one-piece swimsuit (must be conservative)  Not recommended: too much make-up, tight clothes, short shorts or skirts

Gender  Honduras has very strong gender roles, and the power and authority in most situations resides with men.  It is generally not considered appropriate for a woman to be walking by herself in an unpopulated area, out on the streets alone at night, or to be anywhere near an establishment where alcohol is served.  Smoking is also considered "risque" behavior by women. This tends to be the case in rural areas more than urban.  Interestingly, many women do wear flashy clothing in public (except in the rural areas) and this is considered acceptable.  Some Honduran men tend to be sexist and often make catcalls or other comments that would be seen as very rude and tasteless to a foreigner.