Catching Everyone Up in Tampa

Because of the fact that we have been having trouble with our internet here in Panama, I decided to give everyone an update on what we have done so far in Panama. Within our first couple of days we took a tour of the city, including the Panama Canal, which ranks on one of the more interesting things we have done. It was amazing to see such a huge operation go through its process, with a ship of about 300 to 400 crates.

Once we started our classes, the days have been about the same. Our schedule usually consists of Spanish (which is extremely hard) from 8:30 to about 10:30 and then Doing Business in Panama (which is a very interesting class) from 10:45 to 12:00. Then we have a company tour from about 2:00 to 4:00 every day. So far we have gone to Digicel, Dr. Tinta, Insurance Company, Banks of Panama, City of Knowledge, and a flea market area (great for souvenirs!).
This past weekend we had our first break away from Panama City when we went to El Valle. Here we got to do some horseback riding, mud baths, and zip lining through the rain forest. It was really a great weekend and we got a lot of amazing pictures to go along with it. My favorite was the zip lining in the forests, not only was it my first time experiencing zip lining, but we got to do it over a rain forest.

Steven Schertzer
June 17, 2009

Our Trip So Far!

We are having a great time in Panama so far! We are learning a lot, but having tons of fun at the same time! It has been an unbelievable experience to this point, and I'm sure it will only get better from here. We still have a few weeks left...thankfully! We're having a blast.

Pic on the Top: Our monkey friend in El Valle

Village. There was a wild monkey on the bench

in front of our hotel, and we all thought it would be pretty cool to get a picture with it. It was well worth it! The monkey was pretty cool actually!

Pic on the Bottom: This is all of us before our ziplining experience. We had a lot of fun in the

rainforest ziplining and just hiking the mountains for all the sight seeing. That was my favorite trip so far! It was the best part of El Valle!!
Well, time for some dinner I guess...hope you all enjoy the pics and blog as much as we're enjoying Panama! I'll do another one sometime next week.

Talk to you then,
Frank Cabano

First Impressions of Panama

After two and a half hours of flying over the Gulf of Mexico, I finally looked out my window to see land. This land was not the land that I was accustomed to seeing. It is surrounded by water like Florida, but the terrain was much different.

My first impressions of Panama came while I was still on the plane, as I was shocked at the many mountains that cover the small country. My first impression was that Panama is a beautiful country with amazing views. After I enjoyed the scenery of the rain forest and the mountains we came into the big city, where it felt like home again. Then came my second impression: Panama is not the third world country everyone thinks it is. How can a country be considered third world with a city like Panama City? If you did not know better you could mistake it for many other American cities.

Then we were finally off the airplane and on the road with the diablos rojos. This is when my third impression of Panama came about, and that impression was crazy and busy. About 1.6 million people living in the city of Panama scurry from place to place to get their jobs done. After day one was finished I had many impressions on Panama: beautiful, developing country, and busy. Then came day two when we got to see the most profitable companies in the country operate, and they did not disappoint. I knew the Panama Canal was a very successful operating service before coming here, but I was unaware that they were the most successful and that they profited over 4 million dollars a day. So my final first impression of Panama is that it is successful. Successful in the way they run the canal and their country. While things may look different on the outside, this country is just like America; it is trying to make money off its resources.

So after only a few days I have many first impressions: beautiful, developing country, busy, and successful. While some of these first impressions might change a little over the three week period, one will definitely stay the same: the crazy diablos rojos will still control the roads.

As far as the places where we are leaving, they are really nice. The only downside of the villas in which we are staying in is it is almost impossible to get internet constantly. That has perhaps been the toughest part of the trip so far. But now after over a week of being in Panama everyone is having a really good time!

Steven Schertzer
June 16, 2009

The next group of Bulls Business Community students (along with a couple from the Bulls Business Network) depart for Panama this Sunday with USF College of Business advisor Katie Elverson and instructor Walter Andrusyszyn leading the study aboad adventure.

A few students will blog about the trip and share their adventures with us. We're looking forward to reading about the excursions, classroom lessons, and out-of-class learning experiences. Be sure to post a photo or two!