The First 5 Questions Asked to a Gringa in Honduras

So, I've discussed this point with other PCV's and it seems as though Honduran men always go through a certain series of questions when they meet a gringa....

1. ¿Cómo se llama?  (What is your name?)...the most simple of the questions.

2. ¿De dónde es?  (Where are you from?)...no one has ever heard of Connecticut.  The first thing they do is look at me like I'm crazy.  Then they try to repeat the word Connecticut and pronounce it something like "Caneneca."  Then I follow up with "close to New York" and then they understand.

3. ¿Está casada?  (Are you married?)...you wouldn't think that this would be one of the first 5 questions asked of you, but it ALWAYS is.

4. ¿ Tiene un novio? (Do you have a boyfriend?)...relationship status is very important to Hondureños.  So that they know what level of flirting is acceptable.

5. ¿Porqué? (Why?)...When you say you aren't married and don't have a boyfriend, they ALWAYS ask why.  This question always baffles me because never in the United States has anyone ever asked me why I'm single.  Because I've been asked this question so many times, I have developed a go-to answer.  The first thing I say is "No sé" (I don't know.), but they usually don't accept that as an answer.  So then I go with "Porque no he encontrado el hombre perfecto" (because I haven't found the perfect man).  Usually this is followed up with some kind of compliment like "you're so beautiful I can't believe you don't have a boyfriend."  Really I think the whole question is a ploy so that you can set them up to give you a compliment.

So, to all my friends who plan on coming to visit...get ready to answer this set of questions because you will most definitely be asked every one of them.

On another note--recently I've been curious how many people read my blog.  The friends that I talk to say they've been keeping up with it, but I've been wondering who else reads it.  So, here's a little experiment...if you read this post, comment on it so I can figure out how many people are actually reading.  And thanks so much for taking the time to learn about what I've been up to!