Today is the day I return home to the US. This experience has been more than what i anticipated. Along with gaining knowledge and opportunities to connect with ambiguous CEO’s and leaders that contribute to Latin America’s GDP, this opportunity develops you as a professional and help develop your soft skills to be successful in the business industry. It pains me to leave the beautiful country, but I am already planning to come back. There will be situations that you will not be comfortable in at first but that is part of developing yourself in an ever-changing world. While engaging in various activities you come to realize that even though we are separated by ocean many people share the same goals and aspirations as you in some way. Many of the interactions that I encountered while abroad allowed me to connect with each individual realizing that we shared more in common that I originally thought. The Panamanian people are very friendly and are eager to engage in conversation with you and will assist you with whatever your questions or needs may be. While abroad we visited high school students to converse and play a friendly game of soccer. This was a refreshing switch up from the professional conversations that we were engaged in which allowed us to connect with students around our age and exchange information and thoughts. Many students were worried about college, so it was nice to give them advice and relieve any stress they accumulated from the huge change that is upcoming in their lives. For students who are looking to study abroad, I highly recommend applying to go to Panama. When I first was applying I had doubts but I am glad I did not let those doubts persevere because I wouldn’t have made critical connections, practiced my soft skills, and further developed my personal traits.
