Honduras

Greetings

Men greeting Men – A firm handshake is the norm in most all situations. Good friends and family may add a light pat on the back or hug.

Women greeting Women – When meeting for the first time a handshake is common. Sometimes a nod and verbal greeting will suffice. Good friends and family usually kiss on the cheek and engage in a light hug. In rural areas, many women will pat each other's upper arms with both hands as they say hello.

Men greeting Women – Informally, just a nod and/or verbal greeting is the norm. A handshake is common if it’s a bit more formal. It's best to wait from the woman to extend her hand first. A light hug and a cheek kiss are common for friends and family.

Communication Style

• Most people tend to communicate in an indirect manner. For example, if you ask someone a question, their answer may not only depend on the objective reality but also on the nature of the question, social circumstances, their relationship to you, etc.
• 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.

Personal Space & Touch

• Most Hondurans prefer standing a little less than an arm’s length apart during conversations. This distance may be less between good friends and family
• On buses and other forms of public transport people sit very close to each other and those standing are often crammed in with little to no personal space between them.
• There is a decent amount of touching during conversations. This includes arms, hands, and shoulders. There tends to be less touching between genders, especially in business and formal environments.
• It is common to see couple holding hands in public, the same goes for female friends.

Eye Contact

• Eye contact depends a lot on social status. People from the poorer class tend to avoid eye contact and act humble in conversation, whereas people from the upper class are much more direct and self-asserted. Age and community leadership have a lot less to do with it than economic status and power.
• In any event, having direct eye contact with someone is never really seen as unfriendly or rude.

Gestures

• Many people point by turning their head and pursing out their lips in the direction of the object they are pointing at.

Views of Time

• One of the most famous necessary adjustments for any traveler, student, or expat is getting used to a new concept of punctuality. If something happens the day that it's planned, then things are going pretty well. If you ask when a bus is going to arrive, 9 times out of 10 people will say "ya viene" which means "It's coming already" and could mean anything from 5 minutes to 3 hours.
• Another good example of this is the meaning of the word "ahora" in, which literally in Spanish means "now", but in often replaces "hoy" to mean "today".
• In most business or social situations, people tend to like to take the time necessary to do whatever they're doing rather than think about finishing within a certain time frame, and people are almost always happy to sacrifice some of their time to talk to you.

Gender Roles

• Honduras has very strong gender roles, and the power and authority in most situations resides with men. The woman's domain is the household, and the man's domain is everything else. Foreign NGOs and grassroots efforts are working to change this, but at the current moment women still have a restricted role in society compared to men.
• Many women hold positions of power in various industries, although salaries do tend to be lower and many people still defer to the men to make executive decisions.
• 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. Catcalling, while definitely a manifestation of the machismo culture, is often done in the spirit of a compliment and many Honduran women do not mind it. It should not necessarily be taken as an implied threat (though it can be if done in a sketchy situation).

Taboos

• Avoid tossing things to people as it is seen as a gesture reserved for dogs and animals (i.e. throwing table scraps onto the floor for them). It’s best to hand things to people rather than tossing them.

Law & Order

• Although Honduras is a huge vector for drug trafficking, possession of illegal drugs is enforced, and for a non-Honduran would probably result in heavy fines or lengthy jail sentences.
• The legal drinking age is technically 18 but is not enforced that heavily.
• One interesting facet of the drug situation in is how cheap, socially accepted, and generally non-controversial the use of cocaine is (at least among the upper class), whereas marijuana is seen as a "hardcore" and dangerous drug.

Dress

• For Men- In formal business situations, a suit and tie are appropriate. Dark colors and somewhat conservative styles are the norm. For informal situations, khakis, nice jeans and a collared shirt is usually appropriate.
• For Women- In formal business situations, skirts or slacks, nice shoes and a nice shirt are acceptable. Stylish yet conservative is the way to go.
• Shorts, sneakers, and overly revealing clothing tend to be unacceptable in business situations.
• Being well-groomed and having clothes nicely pressed is appreciated.

Titles & Business Cards

• Hondurans use titles a lot. It is common to address teachers as "profesor/a" and doctors as "doctor/a", and anyone with a 4-year college equivalent degree as licenciado/a or ingeniero/a.
• If someone is introduced using a titles, it's a good idea to use it when you address them.
• Senor, Senora, Senorita, followed by the surname is common for those without professional titles.
• There is no specific ritual surrounding the giving of business cards although it is advisable to treat the card with respect and have one side translated into Spanish if possible.

Meetings

• It is best to always show up on time, even though most Hondurans often don't. and you will most likely be kept waiting.
• Everybody is greeted as they arrive and discussion is usually done in an informal way, with the strongest personalities asserting themselves and speaking.
• Small talk is not necessarily expected, but as a friendly gesture it is always appreciated and useful to strengthen an existing or newly formed relationship.
• Meetings don't tend to follow strict agendas and can go on for longer than scheduled.

Negotiations

• Hondurans value relationship building and harmony so it is important to avoid hard selling, pressure tactics and any sort of conflict or confrontation.
• Decisions are usually made from the top down and take awhile to be reached.

Gift Giving

• Gifts in business situations are a tricky business and it probably best to avoid giving gifts at initial meetings as they might constitute some sort of bribe.
• Gift giving is very common in social situations and one important way that people are friendly with each other - for example, if someone invites you to lunch, that usually means they are buying.
• If invited to a Honduran home, it is is appropriate to bring a nice bottle of wine or good quality candy.

In the Classroom

• University students tend to dress well. Shorts and flip flops are looked down upon.
• Grades generally follow a 0-100 scale, with 100 being the highest and 60 being the pass/fail mark.
• Lecture is the most common form of teaching.

Other Observations

• If you speak Spanish, don't be afraid to engage people in conversation - Hondurans love to talk, and they especially love to meet foreigners and ask them questions. Personal contact with Hondurans will make your experience there much more enjoyable and is sometimes the only decent way to get important information.