Regifting...Hondu for "I love you!"

Growing up in the states one learns that regifting heirlooms or special items is very kind; while regifting standard new presents can prove rude and insulting. Honduran culture and finca kids have granted me new perspective on this strange phenomenon.

My older sister Ann sent me a package of snacks and crafts to share with the kids right before my vacation. I was saving them for a special day with students and my special friends here on the farm. When I returned from Ceiba this past weekend I found out that my special friend Elena (7) had gone through a tough weekend where nurse Deirdre had to remove a small worm from an infected bug bite on her head. No worries, she was just fine, and actually made Deirdre walk her to all the houses to show off her scar. Nonetheless, I decided to indulge her and show up Sunday afternoon with a little doorknob hanger craft project to pamper her a little after a long weekend.

She loved it, and we used half the stickers right away. She then told me she wanted to finish later and gave me a hug. Then today, Monday, about 24 hours after I gave her the present, Francesca, her social worker, showed up at the house with a smile. She told me that Kimberly, another 7 year old in house one had given her a present, and I wouldn’t believe what it was. It was the door hanger. Elena had regifted it to her, and then she to Francesca, all in the past 24 hours. We simply laughed and could not help but smile.

Our kids don’t have much extra, so what little they do have they love to regift, it is essentially hondu for “I love you.” So translated, my sister Ann loves me, I love Elena, Elena loves Kimberly, and Kimberly loves Francesca. So in the words of the great movie “Love Actually”, “love really is all around us” here at the finca, and it exists in the form of a sticker covered doorknob cover.