I was having a discussion tonight with my brother about Panamanian culture and I started to compare it to my time in China and how I felt much more comfortable here in Panama. At this point I've considered staying here after for some time because I enjoy it so much. I went on to blame various aspects of China on why I wouldn't want to live there but after ten seconds of following this thought I realized how completely wrong it was. Almost all of my dislikes of the country have stemmed in some part due to my inability to speak the language. Situations I couldn't understand, I tended to fill in the blanks with what I thought fit without ever asking questions to people who could knowledgeably answer because I didn't possess the vocab to do so. I have come to realize that if you don't learn the language of where you're living or traveling, you'll forever be on the outside looking in with a distorted view of what is actually going on. I've grown to love it here in part due to the fact that I can question many things and get a reasonable answer in return. More likely than not, there's a reasonable answer to "Why is X this or that way?" and I encourage you to push to receive an answer instead of making assumptions on your own.
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