Life as a Honduran Wife

Life in Honduras, for women, is very different from that of men.  That's just a fact - maybe it's a bit different in the major cities, but in little ol' Yusguare, there is no such thing as equal roles.  It's traditional, traditional, traditional.

In all honesty, sometimes it's relaxing.  Here in the U.S. I sometimes feel confused by what I want and what I was taught to want and what society wants - I've spent my entire life educating myself and working hard to succeed professionally.  This felt great until I realized I also wanted a family. - I can't work and stay home and take care of my (future) kids.  Now that I'm married - life has become more confusing.  The drive I have at work is competing with the drive I have to create a home for my husband.  At times all I want is to have kids and stay home with them and not think about daycare and working until 7pm and missing out on their childhood and having another person raise them more than myself.  Other days I want to learn more and work hard and touch people's lives.  Yes, living in my head is confusing!

However, in Honduras it is simple.  I know exactly what my role is in Honduras - and I'm fine with that because I only have to do it for a short period of time

So, here is what my average day was like in Honduras:

1. Wake up at around 6:30am.

2. Soak clothes in bucket with detergent.

3. Make breakfast with Heydi (Honduran sister) for family (including my husband).

Baleadas - a traditional Honduran breakfast food
(toasted flour tortilla with beans, eggs, avocado, and Honduran sour cream)
Yum-a-licous!!

 4. Clean up dishes.

5. Wash clothes by hand in pila.

This is the pila - where the water is (no running water in the house).
One side is a wash board for washing clothes (we also wash the dishes here) and the other side is the shower - the middle is a big cement basin of water.

6. Sweep and mop house.

7. Take a shower and get dressed.

8. Get started on lunch.

Pollo guisado - this is one of Ivan's favorite.  If I make it this weekend I'll be sure to take photos!

 9. Clean up lunch.

The kitchen gets dirty really quickly and in about 5 seconds everything is covered in ants.
Not pleasant.

10. Visit with friends.

Every afternoon I headed off to visit old friends - this is Dinora, one of the health center nurses I worked with when I lived there.

11. Relax for a bit.

My favorite place to relax is the hammock.  Trust me - after all that work, a short cat-nap in a hammock does a lot to revive you!

12. Start cooking dinner.

Usually dinner is a small meal with less preparation than lunch, but this particular night I was teaching everyone how to make lasagna - lots of effort and we had to turn the stove on which made it extra hot (it's already like 95* without the oven), hence my shorts and tank top.

 13. Clean up after dinner and spruce up house.

14. Take another shower.

15. Go to church (if there is a church event that night).

Heydi is Baptist and they have a lot more nightly activities than the Catholic church.  On this particular night it was a Youth Service where the youth competed in activities (like being able to recite as many Bible versus before a match goes out).  You always put on your Sunday best for church - I had to borrow Heydi's as I didn't bring any of my "best" clothes.

16. Come home and go to bed (after watching numerous novelas).

17. Repeat the following day.


And although that probably sounds so horrible to many of you, I actually loved it.

I loved knowing what my role was and fulfilling it.
I loved the simple routine of it all.
I loved cooking and cleaning with my Honduran family.
I loved taking care of my husband and making him proud.
I loved the feeling of completely belonging in an adopted country.
I loved actually being a Honduran wife.

However, keep in mind I was only there for TEN DAYS. 

This is what hubby did all day...

 ...tooled around on his motorcycle all day and visited friends.

I think I would have gotten really annoyed on day 11 or 12.  But luckily we didn't stay that long so I was completely content!

So, I guess that gives you an idea of what my days were like on my "vacation"!