Cell Phones in Central America

I have to admit that when I first got to Central America, I was nearly ecstatic at the chance to ¨disconnect¨ from technology: I couldn`t wait to leave behind constantly ringing cell phones, hourly facebook status updates, and annoying reality television for a piece of tranquilidad. One of the things that caught me most off guard in Honduras, and Central America in general, is the access to and use of cell phones. Everyone has at least one, if not two celulares- and is costantly calling and texting!!!

My $15 Cheapie cell phone

There are 3 major cell phone plans:

• Tigo¨Yours¨- Their Slogan is Con Tigo, Todo es Mejor: ¨With You, Everything is Better¨
• Claro ¨Clear¨ or ¨Of course¨- Their slogan is Claro que Si!: ¨Yes, Of Course!¨
• Digicel (Boring corporate name)- Even though it is my carrier for their competitive US call rates, I can`t tell you the slogan= bad foreign marketing... possibly the reason it has the least users (??)

While there are many similarities between cell phone usage here in Honduras and the States, using a cell phone in Honduras is a whole different ball game. Probably the biggest difference is that even though phone plans exist, no one buys them! Instead, we all buy phone cards to charge up. (I eeeeaaaassily spend $15 or 10% of my monthly budget on phone cards!!!)

Buying your minutes has its perks: you are never faced with hours of haggling on hold with your service provider over outrageous phone bills. Buying minutes; however, means you eventually run out. For this reason most people talk suuuuuuper fast on the phone and exchange very few pleasantries other than the 5 mandatory good byes at the very end of the conversation. The following is the average phone conversation:

¨Hey, it`s Santos, so...¨ (even though I was supposed to be there 30 min ago) ¨I think I am going to be late.¨ ¨Ok, see you when you get here¨... and the good byes begin...¨bueno, vaya pues¨ ¨vaya, vaya...¨ ¨ ok, ok, vaya pues¨ .... are you still there??? ¨ hasta pronto, vaya pues¨ Speaking on the phone is not for new Spanish speakers. Most conversations last 2 minutes or less!

Another interesting Catracho cell phonism is the exchanging of cellphones. People are changing and exchanging phones for a number of reasons:

1. Theft of cell phones is super common
2. Phones that don`t get stolen are really cheap and brake all the time... especially if you are in the habit of dropping them :)
3. Many people that live in areas without electricity exchange cell phones with family and neighbors before they head down to towns with electricity to charge up.

Constantly changing numbers makes it is impossible to use caller id to screen calls, making every phone call an adventure... picking up is also strategic in that if you call someone back, you have to pay! A breakdown of my adventure calls:

70% of the time it turns out to be someone I want to talk to

20% of the time it is someone I really rather not talk to... ie sketchy guys I gave my number to back in the early naive days

10% of the time I don`t know the person! (yet!)

Quite possibly one of the craziest phone stories I have resulted from an unknown number. The person on the other end greeted me and asked if I remembered him... to myself I thought ¨this conversation is off to a sketchy start...¨ but when he said he was family of my host family, my defenses eased a little. Digicels talk to eachother for free, but b/c no one has a Digicel, there is no one to talk to- that is except Selvin, who also happens to have a Digicel and got my number from his cousin. (!!!!) After what turned into a 45 minute phone conversation, I found out that Selvin is 28 and works for a non profit in Tegucigalpa while studying to get his masters in teaching. Selvin has been to the states but didn`t like it much and doesn`t plan to go back. We talked about family, religion, the differences of living in rural and urban areas and the political state of Honduras. It was a great conversation with someone that to this day I do not remember meeting. While I don`t have time for conversations like this daily- it was a good reminder that if we let our busy guards down, we might just meet... or at least talk to... some pretty interesting people.

As for me, while I still don`t miss reality TV, I have slowly reintegrated into the digital age, Catracho style!