Glenn C.W. Ames, Director, International Public Service and Outreach
Jorge H. Atiles, Associate Dean for Outreach and Extension, College of Family and Consumer Sciences

The goal of Cross-Cultural Studies: Honduras 2007 was to help Agricultural and Natural Resource agents, Family and Consumer Science and 4-H agents and specialists to understand the cultural basis for interacting with Georgia's Latino community. The program was designed to provide the participants a broad set of cultural experiences while in Honduras, so that these Extension professionals can better understand, communicate with, and ultimately work more effectively with the Latino clientele in Georgia.

Funding for cross-cultural seminar participant travel was provided in part by the USDA-CSREES International Science and Education Competitive Grants Program.

SEE ALSO
	• Cross-Cultural Studies: Honduras 2007

Santa Lucía, a colonial mining town, became an ideal location for cultural immersion in Honduras.

Local street vendors prepare tortillas, a staple food in El Valle de Ángeles and throughout Central America.

The objectives of the cross-cultural studies program were designed: (1) to provide participants with a knowledge of social, cultural, and environmental issues in Honduras; (2) to compare and contrast cultural values between Honduras and the U.S. and to interpret these values relative to the Latino and non-Latino communities in Georgia; (3) to learn about globalization and its impact on Honduras; and (4) to be exposed to basic Spanish language instruction to improve their language skills. The Office of International Education at Zamorano University organized a two-week program that included home stays with local families, language classes, visits to local schools and universities, social service centers, and manufacturing associations in Honduras.

The agents' cultural immersion began immediately after their arrival in Honduras. Within an hour of their arrival at Tegucigalpa's airport, they were meeting their host families in Santa Lucia, an old mining town in the mountains, and practicing their Spanish. They were assigned to live with families for most of the first week and were quickly introduced to la comida típica, which everyone seemed to enjoy, and the sights and sounds of a host family environment. Whenever the participants got together, they would immediately start comparing their experiences in a different culture and environment. They attended mass with their host families, a quinceañera (a young woman's fifteenth birthday celebration), visited local schools, farms, churches, and attended Spanish classes.

Sondra Fortner, 4-H and FACS Extension Agent in Johnson County, talks with students at the National Pedagogical University Francisco Morazán's lab school.		Two girls at the National Pedagogical University sand their manual arts projects prior to applying a sealer.
The agents conducted a 4-H leadership meeting with the staff and children at ProNiño's La Montaña home for orphans in El Progreso. Leonard A. Anderson, North DeKalb County 4-H Youth Development Program leader, Menia L. Chester, Fulton County, and Sondra Fortner, Johnson County 4-H and FACS Extension Agent, donated 4-H materials to their Honduran counterparts for leadership rewards.		Two boys at ProNiño's La Montaña home for orphans share their 4-H work with Emily Pitts, CAES Web Developer Specialist. The boys received donations of pencils and notebooks from the Georgia delegation, which they put to good use.

The first week's program included a visit to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras' capital, where Ms. Leslie Marbury, Deputy Director, Office of Trade, Environment and Agriculture and former UGA graduate, discussed USAID's initiatives in crop production and marketing with Honduran small-scale farmers. Clifford Lubitz, Population, Health and Nutrition Officer, discussed USAID's health education-family planning, and HIV outreach programs. The participants quickly began to relate information to the small farms and communities around Santa Lucia where they stayed with their host families. They also visited the National Pedagogical University (Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán) and its accompanying nutrition and child development laboratories where issues regarding human nutrition, education and public health were discussed. Later the UGA team moved on to Zamorano University, the Pan American School of Agriculture for the next segment of their program.

Dr. Kenneth L. Hoadley, Rector at Zamorano, greeted the participants and explained the university's mission. The school's educational principles emphasize academic excellence, learning-by-doing, and character formation and leadership. Zamorano graduates are known for their discipline, sense of responsibility, integrity and work ethic. These qualities are engendered through the invisible curriculum which emphasizes demanding classroom and work responsibilities, a personal code of conduct, and a university environment of high expectations. The cross cultural studies participants experienced the learning-by-doing curriculum through participation in student work rotations starting at 5:30 the next morning. Work rotations included aquaculture, organic farming, dairy processing, fruit trees, bee keeping, and forestry/sawmill operations.

Ing. Timothy Longwell, Technical Director for Forestry and Sawmill operations, explained why he sent four students of both genders to cut grass and weeds with machetes in a stand of new trees. "When Zamorano graduates become managers of agribusinesses, plantations or agricultural enterprises, they will be directing employees to wield a machete and they need to know what they are demanding of their workers and what constitutes proper safety procedures." Tony Tyson, Director of County Operations for the Cooperative Extension Service in Georgia, wielded a machete for a few practice strokes but he was amazed to learn that Tim planned to clean an entire field of grass, weeds and brush by student labor before replanting it to higher-valued products. A UGA exchange student at Zamorano discovered that the invisible curriculum was more demanding than she expected but she seemed to be adjusting to the campus environment. As part of the learning-by-doing activities, the UGA team conducted visits of community development projects around Zamorano. These projects emphasized technical assistance for youth business development. Our county faculty shadowed Zamorano outreach faculty and were able to provide input during these visits.

The Georgia delegation of Agricultural and Natural Resource and Family and Consumer Science agents planned a full day of activities at ProNiño's home for orphans at Las Flores and La Montaña. Víctor Manuel Ordóñez, Director ProNiño Las Flores and José Pedro Peña explained the ProNiño mission to the Georgia group before beginning the day's activities.		Janet Valente, Northwest District, Family and Consumer Science Program Development Specialist, poses with the ProNiño boys and their teacher, immediately after they finished baking some delicious sweet rolls (semillitas). Learning a trade is a key component in the boys' development at ProNiño.
A little girl displays her cornhusk dolls to tourists at the Copán Ruins. The Georgia group responded to her sales approach and filled the bus with a "community of dolls."		George Boyhan, Horticultural Specialist, Statesboro, GA, and Stephen Garton, Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens Superintendent, Savannah, GA discuss vegetable production with the horticultural specialist at ProNiño's Las Flores orphanage. Bobby Wilson, Urban Gardening Specialist, Fulton County, had helped the Fundación ProNiño establish the garden earlier in the summer to supplement the boys' diet with fresh vegetables.

The next day the group left Zamorano to climb atop the Uyuca Biological Reserve which Zamorano University manages as its primary water supply for the campus. It was a character building but enjoyable experience. Tim Longwell, forestry professor also explained the importance of fire prevention and control during the dry season and Zamorano's arrangements with local communities to control brush fires which can destroy forest reserves in an instant.

On Saturday the group loaded their luggage atop the bus again for a long drive to the Mayan ruins at Copán near the Guatemalan border. The trip to Copán was another opportunity to observe subsistence farming, learn about local culture, and the arts and craft industry supported by charming little boys and girls selling corn husk dolls and other items in front of the hotels. The bus was soon adorned with "families" of dolls purchased by the group.

The next cultural experience was a visit to Cayos Cochinos, a group of sand bar islands off the Caribbean coast near La Ceiba. These islands are inhabited by the Garífuna, descendants of African and indigenous people expelled from San Vicente by the British in 1797. After snorkeling at a nearby island, the group was treated to a delicious lunch of freshly caught fish prepared by the Garífuna women.

Prior to the cross-cultural trip, Dr. Michael E. Dalmat, Atlanta Liaison to Fundacion ProNiño, contacted UGA Cooperative Extension and IPSO to request assistance in developing a garden to grow vegetables and develop leadership training at an orphanage for boys in El Progreso. Subsequently, Bobby Wilson, Urban Garden Specialist in Fulton County, provided training and hands on guidance in gardening to ProNiño in June. The 4-H, horticultural, family nutrition and other specialists planned on a full day of follow-up activities at ProNiño during the last week of the trip. The 4-H specialists developed a program for the boys at La Montaña. In the afternoon, FACS educators Judy Hibbs, Jessica Hill, Jorge Atiles and others helped the staff at Las Flores prepare a meal and discuss food safety issues. The staff then demonstrated a few dance steps for the Georgia group. Amanda Tedrow illustrated propagation of fruit trees and vegetable cuttings to the gardening staff. The group donated some orange and bread fruit trees for the boys to plant at the garden area. These and other activities were our small contribution to the future of the boys at ProNiño. It was a very rewarding experience for everyone.

The Georgia group visited the Honduran Manufacturing Association in San Pedro Sula to learn about the maquilas, or manufacturing zones for textiles and auto parts in Honduras, and globalization. A visit to Pride Manufacturing, a uniform maker, illustrated how textile material from Honduras and Pakistan was cut and sewn into uniforms for the U.S. market.		The Georgia group poses on a hillside trail after visiting a laboratory which specializes in producing creams and lotions containing aloe from local cacti.
The Georgia group toured Tegucigalpa, including La Iglesia Los Dolores, to learn about the city's history and culture.		The Georgia group was introduced to a wide variety of new fruits and vegetables throughout their travels in Honduras.

The final day was spent with the Honduran Manufacturers Association in San Pedro Sula. Ms. Tesla Callejas de Flores, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, utilized a Power Point Presentation to illustrate the extent of the maquila operations in San Pedro Sula and the importance of the trade zones on the Honduran economy. A brief visit to Pride Manufacturing's cutting and warehouse operations connected the uniform maker to its plant in southeast Georgia and the impact of globalization on the textile industry.

Kim Diehl de Yanes, Coordinator, Office of International Education, Zamorano University, developed an excellent program of cultural immersion and educational experiences for which she and our partner institution should be commended. Estuardo Gomez, a Zamorano graduate, was a patient and understanding guide to Honduras. A few comments from the participants indicate that the Cross-Cultural Studies: Honduras 2007 achieved it goals:

"The experience was wonderful, enlightening, and educational."

"May we never forget what we have learned, use the knowledge to better our programming and never take for granted the comforts we enjoy on a daily basis."

"It was certainly very educational and a great experience that I will remember the rest of my life. I now have a better understanding of the Hispanic culture and I certainly have a better appreciation of the 'comforts of home.'"

"I agree that the experiences of Honduras were life changing. I now understand about how challenging it is to try to communicate when you do not know the language. I realized that for me it was only a short stay and I did not have to shop for food, rent an apartment or try to get a job to support my family. The challenges that immigrants face are overwhelming!"

"I gained more from it than I anticipated. This was great and my perspective on so many things has been impacted. As I share with my peers, family and friends, I am motivated to continue to appreciate everything I have and to work more for the betterment of my community, my country and my world."

"I hope you will take the time to reflect on what you have learned during our adventure in Honduras. I don't know about you, but it certainly has changed my perspective regarding the whole illegal immigration issue. I also have a much greater appreciation for this great country in which we live."