When we first moved to Honduras, we lived in a little town called San Luis next door to a great family. Chandi, Sandra, Ixel, and Maryuri definitely made our transition into Honduran life much more fun. Maryuri (pronounced like Marjori) is now 6, and her class graduated from kindergarten last week.
The Honduran school system has two years of kindergarten (kinder) for 4 and 5 year olds, followed by 1st-6th grades (escuela) and optional 7th-12th grades (colegio). Kindergarten graduation is quite an event, and it is customary for each graduate to have a madrina and padrino present, which are sort of like godparents, but with less responsibility than the American version. Anyway, Chandi and Sandra asked us to come to the graduation as Maryuri's madrina and padrino. We considered it quite an honor to be invited, and becuase we recieved no special instructions, we assumed we were just supposed to go and enjoy the festivities, similar to what would be expected at an American kindergarten graduation.
It turns out the madrina and padrino are expected to do a couple things we weren't aware of, the first being to bring a gift. Ooops. The second involved footwear. Hondurans love to dress up and take great pride in looking nice for everyday life and especially for events. Josh was wearing nice clothes, but had on flip flops, which are considered rather slovenly for men's footwear. So, right at 3 o'clock, when the graduation was slated to begin, Josh had to run back home, get some appropriate shoes, and find a gift. (Keep in mind our car was having some starter trouble such that it had to be stragetically parked on a hill for roll starting, which adds to any adventure.) He returned with better shoes and a Lake County diamond (naturally occuring diamond-like stones found where Josh is from in CA) and wasn't even late. Honduran events tend to begin when all the necessary people show up, which is usually at least an hour after the scheduled time.
The actual graduation was cute. The kids sang several songs and recited the Honduran pledge. No Honduran event, even a kindergarten graduation, is complete with out some sort of dance to modern music, so Maryuri charmed the crowd with her moves. Each graduate had a table for his or her guests, and each family brought a cake. So after the graduation everyone ate cake and visited.
Below is Maryuri getting her diploma. Although the education system in rural Honduras leaves alot to be desired, the people highly value the educations their children receive. The kindergarten diplomas are always framed and displayed in the homes. 
Maryuri and Guildy before graduation.
The Browning's, Sandra, Chandi, and Maryuri.
So that is the story of how we became aquainted with the customs associated with a Honduran kindergarten graduation.
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