Hi, there!

My name is Karla and I was born and I'm still currently living in Honduras. I know you might be asking yourself: What the hell is that? We're located in Latin America, and more specifically, in Central America. Honduras is like the belly button of Central America, right in the middle.

I have never seen a Honduran character in any story ever. And honestly I feel like there should be more diversity when it comes to writing Latino characters. I know Mexican is the first thing you think about when the word Latin comes to your head, and it's kinda the easy route to take.

So, if you're into diversity and want to try out a Central American character, here is one for you! Also I apologize beforehand if you get confused with my choice of words, English isn't my first language and I know slang better than the real thing.

I think people have this conception that every Latino is the same (hairy, tanned, brown eyes, etc) First of all, there are different races in here. I am a mestiza. What does that mean? It mean that I am a mix of two races, and more specifically, my ancestors are Spanish & Indians (but not like from India, the country) (more like Native Americanish) and mestizo/a is mainly used to determine people who come from those two descents. I live in the North Region of the country, and you'll find many people with that race.

Still in the North Region of my country you'll find different people. Like, for example, there is (like a state) Santa Barbara where most of the people there are cheles which is a nickname given to people who are white, with blonde/clear brown hair, and blue/green eyes. So when you see someone like that around my city you immediately know they're from Santa Barbara (and we know)

There is also a very rich history of Black people in my country. Very few of them live in my city but you'll normally find them around the beach areas. There are different races around here but the most popular one are the Garifunas. The Garifunas are descendants from Africans, Caribbeans, and Aruhuaco. I don't want to make it too long (since I told you they have a rich history) but the Garifunas are not only located in Honduras, but in different countries in Central America (and also in the USA) They were brought as slaves, but they managed to escape to the Caribbean and the story just goes on from there.

PS: If you wanna know more about them, please do, and google them up!

For Latinos, now a days, it's really important to know more than one language. At least in my country, it is required for you to be bilingual. Our native language is obviously Spanish, the second language you learn (if you're lucky) is English, and then most people decide to learn another language, I have a few friends who can speak either French, German, or Mandarin additionally.

I'm going to mention the Garifunas again because they will serve me as good example here. The Garifunas you normally find at the coasts (and even in the city if they do live here) speak their native language which is the same, garifuna. And if they do live out of where all of them live (which is at the Gulf of the country) and decide to go to the North Coast or the city, they speak Spanish. I've even heard some speak English.

There are two types of Education in my country, public and private. And no, it is not the same as in the USA. Personally, I don't how education works back there but Public Schools seem to have a really good education. Here, it's different.

I recently graduated High School and I assisted to the same school throughout all my life as a student. And I attended a Private Bilingual school, which is a blessing because they're really expensive. There are many schools like that in my country which most parents who are financially stable decide to put their kids in. There are also regular Private schools who don't teach you English, they're just private ??? And then there are the public schools.

The Public School system in my country is really weird and kinda messed up, but most kids whose parents aren't economically well at all go there. Even though I feel like the education in Public Schools isn't great, you'd normally see students from that type of school in the news because they've done something important or they have the best grades in their city, etc.

And also, there is only one Public University here in my city (and generally, only one in the country) and the rest are private and expensive.

I love my country's tourism. It's a really beautiful country when you go deep on it. Like, our beaches for example are the best. A normal family trip for people in my city would be going to Omoa, Tela, or Cortes and have a fun day at the beach and eating some seafood (cooked by Garifunas who are, to me, the best cooks ever) People from the North Coast have this privilege where the beaches are an hour away from us. People from the capital, for example, don't have the same luck because it would take them 5-6 hours to get there, if there isn't traffic.

Also, very important! The Mayans used to live here, and if you know about the Mayan culture you know they were located in Mexico, Guatemala, Belice, and El Salvador. The Mayans left a very big part of their history here in my country. And it's a perfect place to visit if you're into that stuff, I've honestly been there twice and it's beautiful! You only see tourists there. Btw, remember when they said the world was gonna end in 2012? or 2010? I don't remember, but yeah, a lot of people traveled to Copan (where the Mayan Ruins are located) to see if anything happened. It was live and I watched it lol.

We also have islands here who have the most beautiful beaches ever. It is called Islas de la Bahia, and it's (before the Mayan Ruins) the most popular tourist place in my country. People who come from other countries end up falling in love with it, they even end up moving there. For us, the Hondurans who don't live there, the trip is kinda expensive and things there are honestly really expensive. The people who live there speak both English and Spanish and most of the places inside are named in English (like the towns, streets, etc) Since these islands were found by the British who installed their colonies there but in 1859 they decided to give the control back to my country.

PS: Please google it, Islas de la Bahia, is beautiful. And I really wish people could look at these sides of my country.

PS: A few celebrities have been there before. Ke$ha loves it lol.

There are different religions here but the most practiced ones are the Catholic and Evangelic. There are also groups who come out of them. We also have Mormons, and they're getting popular (they're churches are really beautiful) and you'll see people from other countries who are on a mission here. There is only one Muslim church in my city. We also have Jehova's Witnesses (there is a church in my Neighborhood) and it might sound mean but a lot of people decide to ignore them when they go to your house. And yes, there are Atheists and Agnostics, I myself know a few.

· The Spaniards conquered us. Cristopher suck my ass Columbus fucked everything up. Honestly, why??? We were rich and you took our damn gold and killed our Indians with your slave labor. Fuck you, nobody should be celebrating ur ugly ass.

· In races, we also have Arabians here. We all call them turcos because of Turkey, but they all come from different parts.

· If it helps, they're all rich.

· Okay, not really. But like a 95% of them are really rich here because they handle the Industry (my city is the 'capital of the industry') and you'll mostly find them here and in the capital.

· If there is one thing my country is super passionate about is football (Soccer, for people in the U.S) My country has gone to the world cup 3 times and every time they play against any Country, everybody watches. Everybody. And if we lose (which we normally do lol) people get mad.

· Like honestly they're really passionate even Dunkin Donuts gives free donuts around here if they win a game.

· Oh, yeah, that. We have A LOT of fast food restaurants here and also regular restaurants from the states.

· My uncle (who is from the U.S) says he likes how much we appreciate restaurants from the states because honestly, Pizza Hut is one of the biggest chains here and (I've been to the states) back there it looks dead af.

· My country is becoming a really Industrial country, everything is getting more modern and stuff so no, it's not like a desert here.

· People are really close minded here (at least the old generations) who won't find many things appropriate, like even seeing a gay guy makes them start to whisper to each other (my parents are like that)

· Our food is bomb af and it makes me sad there are not many Honduran Restaurants in the states because y'all need to try it !!

· We have a lot of slang and it's really rude. I don't find most of it funny and I don't use most of it but I do use the basics.

· We're in the equator which means, it's really hot here (Summer is like all year long) It only rains in certain months and it depends on the phenomenon.

· My country is slowly getting adapted into different customs. I watch the NBA (go GSW) and there are people who are now into the NFL (go Cowboys lol)

· The politic system here is really fucked up and the presidents sucks.

· Like honestly, nobody voted for him and he's somehow there.

· Also, if you have heard about my country you might know that we are apparently the most violent country. Which isn't true.

· But yeah, there are a lot of murders. But it's mostly because of hitmans killing people who messed with the wrong person. And, I know, it sounds like a movie but that's the easiest way to explain it.

· Poor people are leaving the country to emigrate to the U.S looking for a better life, it's always been like that but now more than ever.

I know I missed a lot more things because as I said, my country has a very rich history and I wish I could talk about everything but even myself has yet things to discover! And honestly, google us up. Search about our culture. Our tourist destinations. Our food (please) and you'll be delighted. Sometimes I feel ashamed of being Honduran because of the Politics and Economics but I remind myself that we're not the only country like that. I love being Honduran and I enjoy it. I like explaining to people who don't know about us and I took the opportunity of the Writing POC because it's finally time people acknowledged all of us !!

I hope you enjoyed reading, even if you won't write a Honduran character, at least you know about us or maybe learned something new! If you do have more questions, PM me and I'll gladly answer :-)