11 (Interesting?) Facts About My Life in Honduras

Some of you may be wondering what my life is like here in Honduras. If not, why are you reading this? If so, continue on. You may be thinking, "I wonder if things are completely different than in the States or if there are similarities." Well rather than bore you with all the things that are the same, I have compiled a list of interesting little quirks about life in El Hatillo (the mountain I live on).

1. The electricity was out for a few hours on 5 different days in the first 13 days I was here. Candles and matches abound in our apartment.
2. You cannot flush toilet paper. Anywhere in the country. You put it in a trash can next to the toilet. This takes practice.
3. There is no hot water in our apartments (or on campus as far as I know?). This takes some getting used to.
4. We have electric showers in which the water runs through a heated coil in the shower head. It is also known as The Widowmaker because it's an accident waiting to happen.
5. We cannot drink tap water due to bacteria and amoebas. I don't even think most Hondurans do. Most people buy purified water, but we have a natural filter in our apartment.
6. We soak our fruits and vegetables in bleach water to sanitize them because of the bacteria in the fertilizer and water used to grow and harvest them.
7. The construction going on in the high school has pushed back the start of school about a week and a half. Last week we were able to get into our offices and classrooms for the first time, but the abundance of dust and noise does not allow us to stay there for long.
8. Our maid, Rosi, is a magical woman. It is expected as professionals that we have a maid or we look very cheap and stuck up. Rosi is a blessing because she cooks for us twice a week (which I hate to do), does laundry, keeps our apartment clean, and helps us practice Spanish.
9. Hondurans are very relational and it is expected that we greet everyone with a holy kiss. This makes some people uncomfortable and provides entertainment for the rest of us.
10. Our school/apartment complex is gated and there are guards that keep watch 24/7. This is great because we can walk around campus safely after dark, which I take for granted in the US. In Tegucigalpa, it is very unsafe to walk around after dark.
11. Many, many things come in a pouch or plastic bag - cooking oil, condiments, refried beans, crema (kinda like sour cream), licuadas (smoothie-ish), water, tomato sauce, hot chocolate mix, etc.

This is all I can think of for now. There are many wonderful and interesting and quirking cultural differences to note. However, they are simply adjustments that need to be made and hopefully they will become habit soon.