I've lived in several countries in both the Caribbean and Latin America. It's very different and very refreshing. We tend to think of third world countries as

I've lived in several countries in both the Caribbean and Latin America. It's very different and very refreshing. We tend to think of third world countries as primitive. They may be lower on the Maslov hierarchy than people in the US or Western Europe. They may also earn less dollar wise. However I find there is a sophistication in economic thinking, including the adoption of new technologies in many of these countries that you don't see in the US. For example in the very early days of the web I lived a couple of places in the Caribbean and I saw internet use sky rocket faster than lesser educated groups in rich groups. One of the main reasons was that everyone had family abroad. Email etc was just a much more economical way of communicating than paying $6/min lines with local telecom providers. I was baffled when I arrived in Panama in 2002 and everyone was paying 50c a half hour in an internet café to video chat with friends and family abroad. I didn't even know you could do that in MSN/Yahoo messenger at the point and I'm a computer geek. Another thing I like is that people tend to be instinctively more sophisticated about economic transactions. I've seen people with probably no more than a 6 grade education instantly negotiate and quote prices for a bag of oranges in 5 different currencies at once. The innocent little old ladies you see in markets in the Caribbean are known as Higglers. Little did I know that many of them are more sophisticated in dealing with international markets, currencies and local market trends than the traders in the international banks. Fascinating overhearing them talking about their latest purchasing trip to Panama or Miami to buy products to sell in the market. International trade connections as a whole are incredibly interesting in the third world. Europeans and North Americans tend to think everything is focused around them. Yet living in Panama you learn about all the different trade routes. Israelis importing garments from China to export to Syrian and Lebanese traders in South America. Poor Indian immigrants selling repackaged perfume in inner city Panama contrasted with the Indian gold traders based in Hong Kong with a net of distributors and stores throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Fascinating stuff. I'd never have learnt about this if I had stuck it out in the "1st world".