When abroad in Costa Rica I was able to see how businesses were conducted differently compared to the United States. In Costa Rica, many businesses depend on other foreign country connections to grow their brands and businesses as Costa Rica is small. I also noticed many businesses strive to be as “green” and “eco-friendly” as possible due to the mass use of the natural resources they are surrounded by (rainforests, mountains, animal life, etc.). Additionally engaging with others was another apparent difference from what I initially expected. I believe because we looked foreign to the local people of Costa Rica we were approached more. These interactions were usually a simple hello or comments in English as nice greetings. We had to try our best to speak in Spanish because despite our host families commonly knowing some English, when in the town English was not spoken so we had to articulate what we needed or questioned in their language. Being able to travel to Costa Rica and encounter new experiences has changed my perspective on differing cultures and allowed me to see how knowing other cultures can play an important role in professional development and growing a business. Understanding, how different countries can work together to reach new targeted audiences was a lesson I took away from speaking and hearing from Costa Rican businesses. While I was able to see the beauty of Costa Rica in sightseeing and hikes in volcanos, I also saw the streets of low-income, felt the lack of AC in buildings, and experienced not being able to communicate with those around me. These are important to point out because I saw how the cultural norms and social norms were very different from what I initially expected. My personal and professional goals have shifted to now include making sure when growing a business or personal development to consider how other regions would be affected by certain decisions and to start thinking more conservatively for the land and products we make and use from it.