“Honestly you have to make the best out of your AFS experience. Honduras is a beautiful country that so many people over look due to its poverty. AFS tries is hardest to place you in a family that has a comfortable financial background, sometimes it doesn’t happen but that’s the whole point of AFS: to learn to live in conditions and in a culture you never thought you could before. Honduras is filled with such nice people who are always willing to say “hi” and invite you over. The kids are nice and the night life is awesome. I absolutely do not regret picking Honduras and for any student who does choose Honduras it will be completely worth it.”
(Justin, Semester Program, 2007)
Follow the jump links to learn more about Honduras:
Lifestyle and Family Living
Teen Life
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts
Lifestyle and Family Living
No matter where you live you will experience the cheerful and warm hospitality that unites the Honduran people. No matter who you visit – Mestizos, Europeans, native Hondurans and Garifunas (black population) – you will be always invited to stay and share a meal.Students are mostly placed in urban or suburban areas, with just 10% placed in small rural areas. Many students are placed in the northern plain of the country, and a small percentage are placed in communities near the beach and the Garifuna villages. About half go to the central part of the country, which is mostly mountainous, and just a few are placed in the west.
Honduras is quite conservative compared with most western countries. For one thing, Latin parents tend to be very protective. Teenagers are expected to respect their parents and elders and to live by the family’s advice and rules. In general, you will be expected to show care and appreciation to all sorts of people.
In many families the father goes out to work while the mother stays at home and runs the household. Although it is common for host families to have a maid, a daughter is normally expected to help her mother with running the home while a son runs errands and does odd jobs. When children date, parents tend to be stricter with their daughters.
Although punctuality is not of major concern among friends, it is important for school, church, or formal occasions. br>
Honduran host families, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.
Teen Life
Most Honduran teenagers are serious about their studies and little time is spent on extracurricular activities during weekdays. Few teenagers are sports-minded, but there are sports (soccer, basketball and volleyball) and other activities in which you can become involved.
Teenagers go out together as a group; they may go to a party, a movie, a disco or other social gathering, play sports, or simply hang out together in a park and talk. Honduran teenagers are noisy, playful and warm; there is often a lot of good-natured teasing and they will be glad to share a smile and make a new friend.
Dancing and music play an important role for Hondurans of all ages and they often reflect different ethnic heritages.
Dress and Appearance
In general, it is best to bring casual clothes such as jeans, T-shirts, slacks and skirts.
Honduras is a tropical country but it may get chilly during winter an in the mountains.
You should bring one or two nice outfits (dress shirts and ties for men, dresses for women) and clothes for the rainy season.
Don’t over-pack: you may want to dress like your friends and buy clothes during your stay.
Most schools require students to wear uniforms. Please bring about US$150 to cover this cost.
Diet and Meals
Honduras is one of the largest exporters of bananas in the world and you will of course gain knowledge of the subject while eating the typical fried plátanos (a starchy variety of banana cooked and eaten like potatoes). Fruits are an integral part of the diet as they are used in many dishes.
Typical foods include frijoles (beans), eggs, rice, tortillas (similar in appearance to pancakes but made of corn and not sweet) and white and red meats combining Caribbean and Latin American cuisines. Equally characteristic of Honduran food are some beverages: Honduran coffee is highly appreciated and natural fruit juices are popular.
Usually the whole family eats together. It is considered inappropriate for individuals to request special foods for themselves or to raid the refrigerator.
Educational System
In an effort to increase the national level of education and provide everyone with the best instruction possible, Honduras offers an extremely wide and diverse variety of schools and study programs. Attending high school is regarded as valuable and prestigious in Honduras since not all teenagers have the possibility. Host families will expect their AFS students to take school seriously.
Honduran secondary schools can be ether public or private, bilingual or non-bilingual, Catholic or Laics, academic or vocational.
Whether you will be placed in a College Preparatory, a Commercial Education or an art-oriented school will largely depend on the schools available in your host region, your music or art skills, and the school affiliation and location of your host family. Grade level placement decisions are up to your school and will be partly determined by your academic record from the US. Most AFSers are placed in the junior or senior year.
College Preparatory is oriented to preparing for university studies and in these schools students are highly motivated in their studies. Academic courses include math, physics, biology, languages, and history.
Commercial Education schools are business schools offering accounting, statistics, and secretarial skills. There are also technical schools that teach students to be mechanics, electricians, and woodworkers.
The school year lasts 40 weeks beginning in February and ending in November, with a two-month vacation in December-January. Bilingual schools, on the other hand, run from August to June. Classes are normally from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
As part of classes you will be required to take tests, give speeches, and do daily homework. The teaching method is direct and simple and will involve a lot of note-taking and the use of textbooks, which will be provided by AFS but should be returned at the end of the program.
All students attending the last year of high school must complete 144 hours of social work. This is a great opportunity for you to get acquainted with the social and economic reality of Honduras. High school students will help poor communities provide free assistance in such areas as education, health, and construction. This assistance, together with completing classes, is a requirement for graduation.
Though not common, some schools offer extracurricular activities usually related to school bands and sports. Or, they may have dance and drama groups available.
You will meet a lot of people and make friends at school but remember that students are expected to keep good manners and respect school rules while in school (and in school uniform).
All instruction, with the exception of foreign languages, is done in Spanish. In the beginning, you may find it hard to follow, but as you learn more of the language, school will become less challenging, so be patient, work hard, and keep at it!
While it may be possible to obtain academic credit for the coursework you successfully complete abroad, AFS cannot guarantee this. Please discuss your plans with your school before you go abroad.
Geography and Climate
Honduras is a small country located in the heart of Central America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua on the east and west respectively and El Salvador on the south. Honduras has a short coastline on the Pacific and reefed coasts on the Caribbean to the north. Mostly mountainous, Honduras also has lowlands and flourishing wildlife.
The climate in Honduras is tropical but varies from region to region owing to the diversity of the nation’s topography. The northern coastal zone is generally warm and humid, while the mountainous central region is dry and cool with maximum temperatures of 25-30ºC (77-86ºF).
Honduras has two seasons: the rainy season from June to October and the dry season from November to May, although on the Caribbean coast may see rain all year. Temperatures during the rainy season are slightly cooler than during the dry season.
Population
With a population of approximately 7.6 million, Honduras has several interesting minorities. Ninety percent of the population is classified as mestizo, a mixture of Spanish and native Honduran Indians.
Approximately 7% are pure native Honduran Indians differentiated in several groups as Lencas, Chortis, Payas or Sumos. Another important population are the Garifunas, a mixture of African descendants and native Caribbeans who live on the north coast and islands.
Forty percent of Hondurans, or Catrachos as you may hear them refer to themselves, live in urban areas.
Language
Spanish is the official language spoken throughout the country. The various ethnic groups also have their own languages. English is widely spoken, particularly along the northern coast and among the inhabitants of the Bay Islands, with a broad Caribbean accent.
Government
Honduras is a democracy with a President elected by popular vote. The Constitution of 1982 establishes three branches of governmental powers: the Legislative, represented by a National Congress of 128 elected deputies; the Executive, made up of the President and the 13 members of his cabinet; and the Judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and nine Judges chosen by the Congress.
Religion
The great majority (97%) of Hondurans are Roman Catholic but there are also many other Christian sects and denominations such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, Pentecostals and Evangelicals.
The indigenous tribes have their own religions, often existing alongside Christianity and incorporating elements of African and Indian animism and ancestor worship.
Spending Money
The Lempira is the official currency in Honduras.
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about $100-$300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- Honduras has one of the oldest working clocks on the American Continent, built in the 12th Century.
- Honduras lies along the world’s second largest barrier reef.
- Honduras is the only place in the world where whale shark can be seen all year long.
- Despite its modest size, Honduras is considered the second “lung” of the world, featuring the Biosphere del Rio Plátano.
- At the Copán Ruinas, you can see the largest stone book of the Mayan Culture: Escalinata Jeroglíficos (the Hieroglyphic Stairway)