Hi I’m back!

Right now I’m in between Central American countries traveling around and teaching and I’m noticing so many similarities between the cultures of these countries and African countries.

The main observation is the lack of boundaries overall.

Africans have more emotional boundaries, but none when it comes to hospitality and family.

The cultures here while similar, seem to have no boundaries with each other at all. I’m learning a lot about the social and familial dynamics here, and both cultures tend to over give but this culture in particular tends to overshare as well. African cultures tend to be more emotionally reserved, physically conservative, while here as I mentioned in my first post about Guatemala there is a constant emotional connection between the people here.

It seems to make the families extremely close to one another and extremely protective of each other as well. African nations don’t have that same sense of protection of their people, and even of their families. They are very strong in their connection to community, and the connection to family is strong as well. Families just do not naturally over share emotionally with each other.

This is why I find Latin American cultures so fascinating, because they don’t have the eastern sense of conservatism and boundaries emotional wise, but they do politically and religiously.

Another similarity I see is the biodiversity of the land , and the diversity of the people.

The people in Honduras are absolutely nothing like the people in Guatemala, even with looks, and it’s the same with African countries. West Africans are nothing like East Africans and South Africans are nothing like the people in North Africa. It’s fascinating!

Even in the regions of Honduras and Guatemala, there are colder regions and warmer regions and there is so much biodiversity with lakes and volcanoes and white and black sand beaches. In El Paredon, I experienced so many differences than I did in Guatemala City and Panajachel Antigua, in behavior, and in communication style.

The same can be said for the experiences I had in Honduras in the mainland versus the islands. These differences remind me so much of my time in Cameroon from 2018-2022.

I also had these kinda of experiences in India as well.

In different regions of a country, you get to see how different people can be based on their environment.

The people I meet in the cities are always on the go, with no time to think things through about their daily activities.

Outside of the city I have time to reflect more and sit and speak more with people and hear about their experiences.

I want to also talk about the migration communities here from the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe, to the Caribbean, people have migrated from all over to Guatemala and Honduras. There are some who respect the local culture and communities and some who don’t. I see many similarities between those who migrate to Africa and those who migrate to Central American countries.

I have met so many people who come from so many different backgrounds and places, and a lot own businesses and are contributing to the local economy and do volunteer work , similar to what I do.

So for those interested in learning more about how to immerse yourself in these cultures I would suggest start by volunteering and learning about the economy and the local people.

Also become aware of how your currency affects their own, and consume and buy consciously because the last thing I will mention between the two is the vulnerability to have their cultures erased by migration and economics.

The land of Africa is at risk the same way the land of Central America is at risk, and we must be careful to not into consideration that our currency and economics will have lasting effects on the people in these countries.

Thanks for reflecting with me!

Until the next adventure,