Howdy, my name is Carsyn Katzenmeyer. I am currently 7 days into our trip to Panama with global business brigades. I have experienced so many different cultures, and experiences on this trip. Beginning with Panama City, seeing all the city’s infrastructure and bustling life was such an amazing thing to witness. We took a trip as a group to a Halliburton office and got to experience a slice of the corporate world in Panama. This company visit was so different from the company visits of the rural communities of Panama we are currently in. There are so many cultural differences between The United States and Panama such as the food, clothes, and language. However, diving even deeper into culture one thing I have noticed is how much of a cultural difference there is between Panama City and the rural community we are currently in. In the city, everyone we met has been very outspoken with a strong personality. However in the rural communities (Altos del Coco and Membrillo) I have noticed that is not often the case. Most of the clients we have worked with in the communities while very kind, have also been much more reserved and have taken a little bit more effort to get to open up. The way of living is also vastly different in terms of education, transportation, and homes. Being able to experience both these different cultures and get to do hands-on work with the people of the rural communities has been such an amazing experience. I have learned so much about community, consulting, teamwork, and perspective from this trip. I have also learned how to navigate doing business through a translator which is a very interesting experience that has taught me a lot of patience and understanding and I value the lessons it has taught me. I am very excited to finish the last couple of days of the trip and its safe to say I’ll be back to Panama!
