1. Cultural Differences

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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?

5. Transportation

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Honduran Finger Flapping

9. 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.

10.  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

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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.