SOME UNIQUE ASPECTS ABOUT HONDURAN CULTURE THAT I HAVE OBSERVED INCLUDE:
Dat lip thing. I have noticed that many Hondurans use their lips to indicate where something is like U.S. Americans would use their fingers to point. I actually find this motion pretty sexy when it is done by an attractive woman such as my wife Lisa. The lower part of the mouth kind of curls into the direction pointed to, with the lips assertively reaching out.
Food items on teeth: Having a piece of food on a tooth, even the tiniest particle of a bean or the most microscopic fragment of a tortilla, is definitely taboo in Honduras. As someone who eats voraciously, I frequently succumb to this bad habit unknowingly, and almost every instance will be loudly pointed out by a Honduran friend or even stranger, to inform everyone in a five-foot radius that I am a SLOPPY EATER. Perhaps, I need to invest in a tiny little mirror that I can carry around in my jeans pocket and pull out at the end of every meal.
Nose picking: In contrast to being obsessed with having food particle-free teeth, Hondurans pick their noses constantly, without any fear of judgment, and some do it with such finesse that this nation would surely get the gold medal if Digging for Boogers was an Olympic event. In Honduras, I have seen every type of nose pick by every sort of person. There is the awkward, off-balance fumbling of the drunk´s nasal spelunking, the completely smooth and orderly process of the professional´s dig, and the carefree yet forceful quest by kids to pull out from their nostrils whatever tasty nuggets might be lurking. In addition to ubiquitous picking, the requisite disposal of found boogers is readily observed. Once, on the bus to Lago de Yojoa, I sat next to this brutish-looking dude who picked every morsel out of his nose for twenty minutes, and wiped it all liberally on the back of the school bus seat in front of us, lining the puke-green plastic with the remnants of his recent cold. GROSSS!
Soccer at any time: A commonly observed trend is for adults and kids alike to stop in their paths to kick any object that remotely resembles a soccer ball. These vaguely roundish objects will be launched by either the left or right foot with some force, in no particular direction, hopefully not decapitating some poor abuela walking across the street. If it is a particularly good kick that would have been a goal during proper play, then an animated "Olympppppiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa!" or "Maraatttthhhhoooonnnnnn!" will ensue, announcing to the entire neighborhood that anybody at all can be Ronaldinho for five seconds.
Bumping and grinding (by accident): On any bus or in any crowded public space, you can expect to be bumped or ground by at least one person, in some part of your body. Nobody ever seems to really watch where they are going in Honduras, yet they seldom get into fatal accidents, as if there is some ingrained homing device that lets a Honduran know when and how he or she needs to avoid danger, without even having to look. And when a person here is bumped or ground, an apology or asking for a pardon can only be expected when there has been enough force to tip the victim over.
