Meet Ana, one of our Spanish teachers from Honduras!
Greetings from my beautiful country Honduras (Central America)! My name is Ana and I'm the youngest of four sisters. Spanish is of course my native language 😃
I live in Tegucigalpa (also known as Tegus) which is Honduras’s capital city set in a central valley surrounded by mountains. It's known for its well preserved Spanish colonial architecture, majestuous eclesiastic edifications in Tegucigalpa show the strong Spanish influence during the XVI century up to independence.
I am blessed to have a great precious small family, I'm married and we have a daughter. Having an only child in Honduras is not so common and people tend to criticize for not having more children.
We spend time together as a family. We love to travel around the country and visit friends and family. It is common also that nearby friends and family visit every now and then. When we get together we talk about different things, cook and eat, play games, dance, sing karaoke, take pictures, etc.
I also like meditating and soft exercises like Qi gong (it's like meditating and exercising at the same time), even though I don't practice as I should. As well as my teenage daughter I like social media and sometimes join my daughter's friends through their social media, kids are so funny, nice to share moments with, they have so much to teach and give so much love...
I enjoy nature, we have a dog and a parakeet which are part of our family. The moon is one of nature’s beauty that I love seeing the most. When traveling watching the sunset is also wonderful, especially at the Southern Coast of our country, the Gulf of Fonseca is said to have the best sunsets, and if I have my camera (which lately is not working so well) with me, for sure I'll take some pictures, even if they're not the best.
As any place in our world you can find a great diversity in Honduras, it is one of the most ecologically protected nations in Latin America. Twenty National Parks and two biosphere reserves are paired with dozens of smaller reserves. Some of this beautiful places are:
Copán, mostly known for the Mayan archaeological ruins which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
On the Atlantic Coast:
Cayos Cochinos Archipielago made up of two small islands and 13 even smaller ones. The black coral reefs that surround them are a Marine Biological Reserve, they are accessible only by boat from La Ceiba, Roatán or Utila
Bay Islands, are part of the second larger barrier reef in the world; all 3 islands (Roatán, Guanaja and Utila) have great dive spots and beaches.
Punta Sal National Park now named Jeannete Kawas after the environmental activist who fought during her life to preserve its rich ecosystems. The park stretches along a peninsula at the western end of the Bay of Tela and supports diverse habitats, from tropical jungles, mangroves, and wetlands to sparkling beaches and coral reefs.
Lancetilla Botanical Gardens are the second largest tropical botanical gardens in the world.
Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve is another UNESCO world heritage site. Recognised as a nature conservation gem, it harbours acrchaeological and cultural values, with numerous Pre-Columbian sites and petroglyphs, as well as the living cultures of various local and indigineous communities.
Lago de Yojoa is the largest natural lake in Honduras and it's bordered by two mountainous national parks; Santa Barbara National park on the northern shore and Cerro Azul Meambar National Park to the south.
Comayagua is the largest colonial church in Honduras, Cathedral of Santa María has one of the oldest working clocks in the America's and it's one of our most impressive examples of religious and colonial art!
Parque Nacional La Tigra, first protected area in Honduras sits 16 miles northeast from Tegucigalpa, with 238 sq. km. of rugged forest, cloud forest and dry pine forest.
El Rosario, San Juancito. Mining anticque Paradise of Honduras at Parque Nacional "La Tigra"
These and many many more places in this wonderful place on earth, offer you a variety of experiences to visit and explore Honduras´s history, identity and culture. Adventures include visiting Spanish Colonial architecture buildings, mangrove forests, waterfalls, dolphin encounters, birding tours, kayaking, hiking, rafting, diving, snorkeling, swim with the gentle whale sharks, among many other activities.
The best time to visit the country is from February to June, when there is less likelihood of heavy rainfall. You should learn about your destination before traveling and always be careful of not leaving valuables unattended. Supporting local businesses during your ecotravel is appreciated. During this time you might see some fires, unfortunately this is something that affects us all and nature, environmental consciousness is needed.
Our official language is Spanish, and knowing the language as you travel gives you the wonderful opportunity of opening doors to many experiences. Hondurans are most likely to be helpful and give you an honest warm smile always.
Food is another thing we enjoy whenever we travel anywhere. Traditional Honduran food includes seafood, tortillas, beans, enchiladas, baleadas, rosquillas en miel, atol de elote, corn tamales, nacatamales, mondongo, grilled meat, chorizo; fruits such as mangos, pinapples, avocados, bananas, and many many other delicious food.
We also grow one of the finest coffees in America. Many people have bread and coffee as their breakfast every day, many people drink again in the afternoon and they say “es la hora del café” which means it´s coffee time, or it´s very common that someone tells you “vamos a tomar un café” let´s go have a coffee, and you talk about anything you want while you enjoy your coffee.
Whenever you go to a restaurant you are most likely to be received with a “buenas” greeting, which is a short way of saying good morning, good afternoon or good night. And when you are eating you may listen people say “buen provecho” which means enjoy your meal.
The true pleasure on knowing other languages is that you can communicate with people that don´t speak your native language, exchange conversations and if you are able to travel know more from locals, and that´s one of the many reasons why teaching in LanguageConvo is fulfilling for me. I´ve taught preschoolers before and now I´m enjoying teaching different ages from different places, and will be glad to help you with your Spanish lessons anytime. Hope you can visit and enjoy Honduras while speaking Spanish; too many places to know makes it difficult to recommend just one!