Hi my name is Katy and I have had the
awesome experience to work alongside Amanda in Clinica Esperanza. I am a newly
graduated nurse that is volunteering in Roatan for 6 months before I join the
“real world.” I have loved getting to spend time here getting to know and work
alongside the people of Roatan! I have learned so much from the people and the
culture and want to share a little bit about what I have learned. Currently, I have been in Roatan for 3 months and have had many chances to get to know several of the locals. One of the first things you notice quickly while on the island is the difference in time. In the United States, I was used to rushing from one task to another and if anyone is over 10 minutes late it is considered rude. Here people are not as strict with time. It leads to a more relaxed atmosphere and easier to take more advantages to talk with people or take time to help people. You get your task done in whatever time it takes then move on to the next thing. At times this can be frustrating because I am used to the idea in the States that work comes first and socializing is only if you have enough time. Other times it can be quite refreshing to not have to feel that I have to hurry and finish all my tasks as quick as possible and rush off to the next thing. It has worked wonders for anxiety!
Time can also be seen differently when looking at the clinics in the United States in comparison to the clinics in Roatan. In the United States, people are given an appointment and tend to get very frustrated when they have to wait for 30 minutes beyond their appointment time. In Roatan, Clinica Esperanza does not regularly give appointments but instead the patients arrive early in the morning to get in the front of the line. Some of these patients that need to be seen by the pediatrician and the family practice doctor easily wait 1 hour or more to be seen by the doctor. For the most part, the patients do not complain about having to wait so long to be seen. Instead they are grateful to be given the opportunity to have good and affordable healthcare, and culturally it is not rude to make someone wait or not have an appointment.
Being from the United States, it also
amazes me how happy the Hondurans are with so little materialistic goods. I got
to visit with a family up in the colonias that was living in a small 2 bedroom
“house.” The insulation was simply cardboard boxes shoved behind chicken wire
and the “rooms” were sheets thrown over a rope. Another couple of guys I talked
to were telling me that they didn’t have any money, yet they were not worried
or stressed about what would happen. The people in Roatan learn how to live off
the land a lot of the time. Coconuts are everywhere that you can drink the
coconut water out of or eat the meat. Fish are plentiful in the ocean and many
fruits and vegetables that can be found on the island.
What it all comes down to is that Hondurans view life with a
present focused view. It is common to hear islanders say, “We don’t know if we
will even be here tomorrow so why worry about it?” They are thankful for each
day they live and do not dwell on what the future will hold. In the United
States, people tend to focus more on the future. We have to have a good job and
lots of money so that we can have a secure future. We worry about what job we
will have in the future, and we schedule things out for months. Is one way
better than the other? Who am I to judge? I believe there are pros and cons to
both and people from both cultures can learn something from the other. Maybe in
the United States we should learn to be more thankful for each day we live.
Maybe we should enjoy the here and now more rather than always focusing on the
future. At the same time, maybe Hondurans should consider the future more when
going to school to get a good job. Or maybe make plans to ensure that basic
living standards can be provided all the time not just when times are good.
Again, who am I to judge?
I hope this post has helped to show you a little bit about life in Roatan!
Thank you Amanda for letting me post this and share my insight. I hope this was
informative and interesting. If you would like to follow my blog while I am in
Roatan, Honduras you can find it at the link below.
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