"Honduras" Honduras by Rodan44

I spent one month living in San Pedro Sula, Honduras during the Summer after my Sophmore year in high school, June 1992. It was a sort of cultural exchange program sponsored by my school with a sister school there. Four other American students from my school went as well, and we each stayed with a host family of a student in the Honduras sister school. The program was sponsored by my school's Spanish department and was meant to help us to learn better Spanish.

Well, sorry to say that a month in Honduras didn't do too much to boost my Spanish, but it was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. My first extended stay in a foreign country and first visit to a third-world country (not counting an earlier day-trip to Juarez, Mexico). There is no middle-class in Honduras, either you are wealthy or you are desperately poor. I saw both extremes, and it was quite shocking for me at the time. I also had my passport and travelers checks stolen on arrival at the airport (nice little welcome), and we all discovered that being 16 did not prevent us from being served liquor in bars... woo hoo! Then there's the strip clubs and brothels... oops, I've said too much. The highlight though was definitely the Mayan ruins at Copan. Simply astounding!

I went back to Honduras again a year later with my mother for a shorter visit, and she loved it as well. Hopefully, one day I will be able to return again, this time with my wife.

I'm sure I have some photos tucked away somewhere, but I can't seem to find them at the moment. Oh well.

• Pros:Copan, underage drinking
• Cons:thieves
• In a nutshell:probably not the best place to send a stupid teenager for a month.