i am writing this entry in siguatepeque — a high altitude city, so the climate is cooler…although still not as nice as san cristobal de las casas, mexico. the honduras vs. us world cup qualifier match is going to start soon, and many many people are wearing honduras shirts, waving flags, etc. i wonder what it’s going to be like when they lose.
before embarking on this trip, i knew little about central america, and thought of all countries as more or less the same…just at different stages of development (i.e.–costa rica is relatively wealthy and safe….and guatemala will be like costa rica in a few years).
and, for the most part, the countries are very similar. they share similar environments/climates, diets (same basic ingredients, although cuisine does change slightly), language (spanish, except for different native dialects and accents) and ethnic background (usually spanish, mixed with some native ancestry).

however, it’s also interesting how different each country can be, especially across an arbitrary border…which is relatively easy to cross. words and slang will change (tire repair stores are called llantera’s in mexico/honduras but pinchazo’s in guatemala). fashion will change (in guatemala, and a little bit of belize, corona’s — or gold framed teeth — are very popular). accents will change (in guatemala v = b….so you say bibera instead of vivera…which means greenhouse).
perhaps one of the most interesting differences is in the kindness of people. it seems that every country accuses their southern neighbors of being ruder and more dangerous than themselves. Americans say Mexico is dirty (…well, that one’s kinda true). Mexicans accuse guatemala of being unsafe, and guatemalans say that honduras is similar…but rougher. however, almost the opposite seems to be true. Thus far, the people of honduras are really nice, outgoing and helpful. this is especially true of the women here, who are by far the warmest women i’ve met on the trip thus far.