Space, this is such an important term on our daily lives, but almost no one thinks about it. What does it consists of, what makes us feel safe, in danger, why sometimes we feel uncomfortable towards a certain person getting to close to us, why do we want someone we like closer. All of this questions have an answer, and this answer varies from culture to culture.
First of all I would like to talk about the space here in Panama and how I think it differs from the Colombian perception of space. Here, even though they also are Latin Americans, their perception of space differs a bit from the perception I have of space, due to my Colombian heritage.
One of the biggest differences I am able to notice right away is how do men say hi to women here, many of the women here extend the hand for the salutations when you meet someone new, this has always been hard for me, since in Colombia we are used of just kissing the cheek of the person we are meeting, no matter who that person might be. The second thing I am able to notice is that sometimes when I talk to Panamanian girls, their perception of touch is different than mines, what I mean by this is that sometimes when I talk with a girl and I make an emphasis on a comment, usually I touch their leg or arm. Many times this has brought some misunderstandings, since they tend to believe I want something else from them, but the real reason is that since I am Colombian, we are used to touch more the person we are talking to. I am able to see that this happens only with the Panamanians, since when I do the same with a Venezuelan girl or someone from other Latin American country, their reaction is not the same. my theory is that since Americans used to be here for a long time, their culture which is almost lack of touching affects their Latin American one which is warmer.