#989 – The Expat Files: Navigating Cultural Nuances, Water Filtration, and Travel Restrictions in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here So let's get started just a little off-topic comment here You have to realize I get lots and lots of emails messages But I don't get some of these scammers and Nigerian princes who start out their emails and messages with my dear

[00:46] Or dear or dear friend my dear come on. I'm nobody's dear My mom doesn't even see my dear you have to know when the first two words the introduction starts like that They're setting you up for a scam and that's why you know here in Latin America too It completely turns me off when I'm walking down the street, or I'm in an elevator I'm walking through a lobby somewhere and some Latino tries to get my attention by saying hey amigo of course meaning friend But I'm not his friend And so I'm very leery and you should be too when someone walks by and says amigo You got to know he wants something from you. Oh and by the way though. I've heard that come on a thousand times here in Latin America I've never once heard it from a Latina a female somehow the ladies down here

[01:32] I born with three times the culture and manners that the men though don't get me wrong But Latinos in general male and females are much more friendly and sociable than the usual suspects up in the states Oh and another thing Latinos and Latinas do not like personal confrontation Not that as screen goes and expats like it all that much either The thing is if you've got the balls the brains and determination to come down here and have a plan B You're very much more likely to be pretty assertive You will hold your ground and in life there are lots of things to get pissed off about But it's common down here to see Latinos go overboard in the politeness department where there's some kind of situation where feathers are being ruffled for example I've been in many meetings when there's been a lawyer or two present and no matter how rough or accusatory the conversation gets

[02:20] Seems Latinos will always remain nice and polite the whole time Whereas I've seen gringos and expats explode in a rage when things get testy Hey, I've done that especially the first couple of years. I was down here and my Spanish really sucked Therefore obviously there were lots of communication breakdowns still Latinos keep their cool In fact, one of the most often heard terms here in Latin America is Tranquilo, which is a derivative of the word tranquil You'll hear it all the time. It means calm down. Take it easy Relax, however Note that the longer you're down here in Latin America less likely are to blow up or get ticked off at things That might have really bothered and set you off before Because you know yelling screaming blowing your stack and getting all worked up that you'll find does not advance the argument

[03:09] Or provide a solution any quicker than keeping calm. In other words Tranquilo gringo is good advice though It is a bit amazing to see how Latinos just sit and take it as a gringos oftentimes in the same room Just explode with rage. Oh and in the beginning When gringos first get down and what usually sets them off right off the bat is the realization that Latinos are never on time and when they are it's usually a mistake though If you're doing business with a first-world transplanted company or franchise, they've usually conquered the manana time thing That's part of the reason a franchise is successful enough said about that Okay from the now I've seen everything department. I was just on Amazon and I noticed they're selling vegan dental floss

[03:57] Vegan dental floss. Yeah, there's really a market for that right though. I guess in a way it could be a good idea I mean look regular dental floss and practically everything these Days is made out of petroleum products and plastic and vegan dental floss is made out of tada Caravan and a drum solo, please. Are you ready for this hemp? H-e-m-p though. I understand now that practically everything that can be made out of petroleum products and plastic can be made from hemp But you knew that already, right? Hey, believe it or not my grandpa who had a farm outside of Chicago grew that stuff for the army in World War two because Makes the best rope for the Navy and Army Air Corps Of course when the war was over they shit can this stuff and drop the contracts because hemp back then, you know

[04:44] And even up to just a few years ago was a dirty word and now hopefully it's gonna replace petroleum and plastic Well, at least we can dream right? Oh and remember a couple of shows ago. I was talking about contamination of fish tilapia shrimp and the worst of all North European farm salmon of all things as it turns out once again I was slightly ahead of my time because just yesterday I was reading an article published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology With the focus of the article stressing that every single seafood species They've ever tested including wild blue crabs oysters prawns squid sardines and every kind of fish you could think of they have throughout their bodies Microplastic remnants. That's what they're called Microplastic remnants you see according to the journal medical news today

[05:32] And I can give you the link if you like the headline says studies found plastic in every single seafood sample it analyzed Saying that microplastics have invaded the entire food chain to an extent that was never previously documented Then they talk about certain bits of plastic less than five millimeters in length the size of a sesame seed or less Those are the plastic pieces in fish and seafood that you can see much worse They say are the plastic bits you can't see with a naked eye Then they say in this article if you eat an average serving of oysters or squid you're eating about one milligram of microplastic And if you're eating sardines up to 30 times that 30 milligrams of plastic with all samples It said containing an amount of polyvinyl chloride with the largest concentrations of plastic being polyethylene

[06:23] Said Johnny as he sipped his organic coffee from a plastic straw in a styrofoam cup. Nah, just kidding I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid Then it says with roughly 17 to 20 percent of all the protein humans consume being seafood The findings suggest people who regularly eat seafood over time their bodies are accumulating a lot of plastic with much of it the small Microscopic bits which only makes you wonder how many trained cars full of fish Do you have to consume before you can be an honorary member of the retired ASEAN family for some people? You know plastics are a okay as long as they end up in the right places, right Kim? But I digress as usual now as far as the noceum Microplastics not being expelled from the body That along with previously found microplastics and nano plastics the very small stuff on the molecular level

[07:14] Now get this being found in all sea salt beer honey and bottled water too and everything else They've tested not only that it says it's pervasive in the air. We breathe It's found to a degree in all dust particles meaning there are microscopic bits of plastic Settling on all the food and drink that are left out in the open for any period of time Thank you, DuPont Monsanto Colgate, Palmolive and a host of others Yup, even toothpaste baby formula and mother's milk and everyone's favorite pizza have plastic bits in them So there you have it more fun things to talk about next time you're at Starbucks Sucking down a double cafe mocha de java latte through the opening in the plastic top in that so-called organic paper cup That's also loaded at the microscopic level with plastic bits

[08:03] Oh and one more happy piece of news a brand new Extensive study reveals that all fast-food packaging all contains high levels of a man-made chemical known as PFAS It's a plastic used to make materials grease and water resistant commonly found in products such as apparel carpeting Apostrophe and food wrappers. That's why the grease from your Big Mac doesn't get absorbed into the wrapper Not to mention half of all food packaging samples tested positive for fluoride The hell's that doing in here? So then what's wrong with PFAS chemicals? That's you know a shortened term for a very long chemical substance Well, you'll like this PFAS is referred to as the forever chemical because it has a super long half-life

[08:48] stays in the water supply and the human body for years and According to a recent National Geographic report after testing 44 different city water supplies in 31 states They found that 43 of 44 Exceeded the so-called safe limit for the previously mentioned forever chemical found in fast food wrappers So did you get that only one out of 44 water supplies past federal and state standards? Whatever those are the question always is can you trust those standards? I doubt it when by the way, we're talking about organic toxins now That means they have a carbon chain on them and the only way or I should say the cheapest and most effective Way to get that stuff out of your water supply You need a carbon black filter because you know carbon block filters absorb organic compounds anything with a carbon chain on it

[09:40] So the question is are you filtering your water? Well, if you're not, you know, you can put together a three canister very simple system for under a hundred bucks So how's it work? Well the first stage the first canister is a sediment filter You know to get the dirt and larger particles and rust and stain out of the water And the second canister stage a ceramic filter that'll filter out bacteria and viruses Sis etc and the final filter a carbon block filter. I'm not talking about a granulated activated charcoal filter Those are available too and they're usually less expensive The trick is to get a carbon block filter. That means like it says the carbons in a solid block So if you want complete information and details on how to set up one yourself That is what to use and where to buy the stuff

[10:27] Even a set of not so professional pictures of my own setup that I have under my kitchen sink under the counter I've got those for you. And though the pictures themselves might look a little crude you have to remember I Travel a lot and when I'm renting an apartment for a couple of months. I'll take that system with me I've set it up. So it's got three quick disconnects on it So I can disassemble it in less than five minutes That allows me to move it and remount it under anyone's kitchen sink in less than 30 minutes And the only reason why it would take that long is because it comes with its own dispenser spout You got to drill a hole for that somewhere in the sink That is if it's a stainless sink and I hate those stainless sinks talk about oxymorons. There's nothing Stainless about a stainless sink nor a stainless stove or refrigerator unless it's got some kind of transparent

[11:17] Coating on it. It'll be some kind of transparent plastic. Of course again with the plastic, huh? Well, at least people don't go around licking their stoves and refrigerators Hmm. Wait a minute. Hey, but you know stupid is the new norm, right? Anyway, if you're cursed and have a stainless steel sink You can drill a hole in that and mount the little goose neck spout And if you've got a porcelain sink always the best choice But you can't drill a hole in a porcelain sink So you've got to drill a hole in the counter right next to the sink though Most porcelain and stainless steel sinks will have a knockout a little hole you can punch out of it You just look underneath the sink and you'll see it pre-etched and with a porcelain sink You just tap it with a small hammer and it pops out from the other direction So there are cases when you don't need a drill but most cases to do

[12:03] So if you want my complete setup and pictures of where it's sitting under my sink right now Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com then how often do I change the filters people ask me that all the time Well, I'll tell you when you first set it up It comes out really fast from the spout you can fill up a gallon jug in about a minute or less by the way I've got all stainless and glass containers at my house. So when I fill up a gallon jug, it's a glass jug That's for in the house and for in the car a stainless steel bottle or jug now after a while some months Depending on your water quality coming in you'll notice the flow getting a little weaker and whether the flow is weaker strong The water is still very pure though when it's noticeably weaker and your mom wife or girlfriend complaints about it

[12:51] That'll light a fire under your ass in a hurry, huh? Even if you're a procrastinator now, that's when I'll change the very first filter the sediment filter the cost generally no more than three bucks By the way, I usually use a five or ten micron filter for the first one Then you should have great flow again Like I said, check the first canister filter when the flow gets slow 90% of the time that's the only one you have to change now if you change that one in the flow still remains slow Then you carefully pull out the ceramic filter from the second cartridge And I'm sure you'll noticed some scum is built up on the outside of it It's usually a brownish rust colored scum So you just take one of those plastic not metal pot scrubbers and scrub off the crap Yep, I'm sure you've noticed again with the plastic, huh?

[13:38] Anyway, you clean it rinse it and put it back in and normally you're as good as new In fact, one of those ceramic filters, which is the most costly part of the system That's probably gonna be 30 40 bucks that will last you a lifetime By the way, some of them are impregnated with colloidal silver. That's great. The one I use is it's from Dalton DAL TON So what's the colloidal silver for? Well, if you haven't used it a while Let's say you're out of the country for a couple of months like me That'll make sure that the water that's been sitting in there all that time Doesn't build up any bacteria because silver kills bacteria and viruses, you know any water That's been sitting stagnant for weeks and months is gonna get a growth of bacteria or algae or something And you know if you're careful and you don't drop that ceramic filter or bang it around it can last a lifetime

[14:28] You just clean the outer surface as mentioned every six months to a year when the water flow slows down and it gets loaded with Gun now as far as the final carbon block filter One way to find out if you should change that thing is if you've got chlorinated water because when it's depleted You'll start tasting and smelling the chlorine again. So the carbon black takes out chlorine it also reduces fluoride and takes out all the organics like pesticides and Those disgusting plastics we were just talking about though I have to tell you in many cases that final filter that carbon block filter which costs around 10 or 15 bucks in my experience those filters can last a year or so though after a year I always change it just to be safe Even if it's still doing a good job taking out the chlorine by the way

[15:13] You'll find down here in Latin America almost all the water supplies are heavily chlorinated They overdo it because in the past they used to underdo it so much that people would get sick That's why when you turn on the faucet in almost any Latin American household or take a shower Man, the chlorine stench could be overpowering and of course I get a lot of questions about fluoride to how to get that out of the system Well, I'll tell you there isn't a single Latin American city that fluoridates their water So you don't have to worry about it unless of course it's seeping in naturally But I haven't come across that yet and about heavy metals Well, you know, that's a problem anywhere in the world if your water supply is being taken from a lake or a river That's downstream from heavy industry. It rarely shows up in well water Especially if your wells down 200 feet or so my advice if you're worried about it have your water tested first

[16:01] By the way, I put together a little report It's called all about water filter heavy metal and organic chemical removal It's for people who think they might have heavy metal contamination in their system So I'm not talking much about down here in Latin America I haven't come across that yet, but I am ready for it when I do So if you're wondering about heavy metal contamination and how to get it out of your water if you have it Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and I'll ship you off my info and how to do it by the way It's very simple to do it to it Just add another canister to your water filter setup and you fill it with a certain kind of medium One's called KDF 55 and one's called KDF 85 It's a processed media that takes out heavy metals of all kind. It kind of looks like coffee grounds or granulated dirt again

[16:51] You can buy that stuff right on Amazon. It's cheap though personally. I've never had the need to use it myself I've been to many Latin countries I've used my water system for many years now and believe me it's infinitely better than buying bottled water Oh and you'll find out with my normal setup three canisters The final one being a carbon block filter even without that special medium just mentioned It'll also reduce fluoride and heavy metals, too. Just know there's an easy cheap solution Though I do recommend if you're worried about it have your water tested before you get into the heavy metal removing part Because you know you can get carried away with these things Sometimes people go well beyond the call of duty and get kind of obsessed about something. That's not really an issue Then of course some people say then why don't I just buy one of those big old Berkey filters?

[17:39] You've heard of them that come from England They take out everything but they're also two or three hundred bucks and you're stuck with that system and buying replacement parts from them, too Which aren't cheap. It's a nice system All right But I prefer to assemble my own because I know I can always go online with Amazon or whatever or go down to a local Pool store and get all the replacement parts and most often the filters, too And one more thing I do mention in my report the exact filters that I buy and I usually buy them three at a time Why not then you're good for a couple of years and as far as the ceramic filters I have two one that's in the canister and a spare just in case that one breaks because they are fragile once you Take them out and start cleaning them. You got to be real careful because they are as advertised pure ceramic And for example, if you take it out and are cleaning it in a porcelain sink

[18:26] When porcelain and ceramic battle each other the porcelain always wins and those filters are slippery when you take them out I've dropped one before in a porcelain sink and the porcelain one, so I'm speaking from experience Here's a tip when you're cleaning that ceramic filter when you unscrew the canister have a plastic bucket half filled with water Directly under it when you remove it then it won't get banged around I had to learn the hard way when I took the canister apart over the porcelain sink Oh, and by the way before you put your canister back in inspect the thing really well for hairline cracks There's not a big chance you'll find one But you never know because some people can over tighten the canister and when you over tighten it that compresses Ceramic filter in its housing even though it's got a rubber gasket at the top and bottom that does cushion it a bit if you

[19:15] Overtighten it you could produce hairline cracks by the way That's the only element or canister you have to be careful with the other ones are very durable Even if you've got butter fingers, they are slippery when wet as mentioned, but they can take quite a few knocks and bumps I repeat order extra filters when you first send it up I suggest three carbon blocks and three sediment filters and two ceramic filters Like I said with care one ceramic filter lasts a lifetime But the world's not looking too good these days and supply chains are all screwed up So it's best to have extras around oh and here's a typical email on the water subject It's from mr. JL. He says hola Johnny. I'd love to see the pictures of your underwater purification setup Ideally along with names and brands and products used yep. I'll send that to you. Don't worry

[20:05] Then he says I'm guessing you're not using a UV light system ultraviolet. What's your take on it? Everyone who's using water purification in my neighborhood has installed these UV light systems The problem is we have high concentrations of naturally occurring arsenic and fluoride in our area and UV doesn't seem the right way for me Although these systems do include filters as well Appreciate your take on it your avid longtime listener. Mr. JL. Okay, JL as far as ultraviolet systems You know UV only kills bacteria and viruses does nothing to remove chlorine fluoride or anything else It just kills simple organisms. I'm not saying it's a bad idea However, you have to maintain the thing and you never really know if the UV lights killing it all

[20:51] Meanwhile as mentioned a ceramic element like the Dalton brand I use from Amazon It's impregnated with colloidal silver as mentioned some aren't you know, that thing's rated at less than one micron Oh, and by the way on Amazon, you know people are always writing in and giving their criticisms and opinions on the product, right? Well, it makes me laugh when I hear people say that those ceramic filters get clogged way too fast That's what they're supposed to do if they're clogging that means they're getting the crap out of your water Yeah, cold idiot. Just remember if you take care of them, right the last lifetime as for me I end up cleaning my ceramic filter about every six months and it only takes about 10 minutes Hey the time to get worried is if your filter never clogs Cuz then it would be letting all the gunk through now wouldn't it?

[21:38] Anyway, as for JL saying he's got arsenic and fluoride in his water Well, then he'll just need an extra stage to his filter as mentioned All right now let's talk about airports here in Latin America and what they're doing when you arrive Well, the good news is that they're coming to their senses and they're realizing they can't keep these places shut down forever For example starting September 15th the Dominican Republic the DR Hoping to entice tourists back after the whole industry has been decimated. You know, that's their main source of foreign income tourism The good news is they're scrapping the requirement of a negative COVID-19 test when you arrive which is what most foreign airports are requiring throughout the world In other words, if you're traveling most anywhere airport officials are requiring that you have a negative cove idiot

[22:26] 19 tests that's been Authenticated within 72 hours Well, the DR has just scrapped that though They'll spot check people who seem to be coughing sniffling and sneezing Otherwise, they'll just let you in and the DR is providing free travel assistance through January 2021 Mexico's airports are open to Costa Rica is open theirs, too However, every traveler there must complete a digital epidemiological health pass form and have a negative COVID-19 test done within 72 hours as mentioned and they won't accept those rapid serological immunity tests But remember in a previous show I mentioned if you're going to Costa Rica You have to have travel insurance and if they don't accept yours you got to buy theirs and for adults You're looking at 500 bucks kids 300 bucks and senior citizens almost a thousand bucks

[23:16] So look out for that nasty trap. Oh and by the way, Costa Rica will not let every tourist come in from the usn As of September 15th, they're only accepting people from 11 different states. Yep in Costa Rica the cove idiots rule Oh and as for Guatemala on September 18th, the airports are open and you'll need that negative COVID-19 PCR test too done within 72 hours before arriving But the rumors are flying that within a month or so most all Latin American countries Will be adopting the same policy as the Dominican Republic seems somehow there's a bureaucrat in the DR Who actually has half a brain though? It is wise these days to check that box and get trip insurance When you're buying your tickets online and checking out and make some hard copies of that

[24:03] Maybe even run it through google translate and print out a copy in spanish, too I'm talking about if you're planning on arriving in any destination throughout the world Be ready to flash that insurance policy stuff. So the good news is that things are loosening up That means by the time my expat insider seminar launches in early January 2021 That's about four months from now I'm certain this cove idiot madness thing will have simmered down considerably. Oh and about the seminar Just go to expat plan b.com Click on the seminar link for complete info and how to sign up for the early bird discounts And here we are about four months away from launch time and the seminar is half full already So if you're planning on coming down getting your plan b on steroids, make sure you sign up soon

[24:49] So you don't get left behind And remember there's a three payment plan with no interest So to make it easier, you can spread the payments over the next four months. All right Now we have an email from chip. He says que pasa señor johnny I first am writing to let you know. I effing love your podcast My wife and I just recently started the expat conversation within the past six months after visiting multiple latin countries I've downloaded as many podcasts as my app would allow The only downside is my commutes are 50 minutes long each way and your show is only 28 minutes So i'm always left wanting for more I'm ready today to get more info on captain mango's intro to crypto course And finally, I'd like to know how you invest in gold silver and bitcoin Our typical investment strategies are every month

[25:36] We invest a little in our 401k and our ira and if lucky a bit more Do you just keep buying crypto and commodities on an automatic basis? Or dollar cost averaging I personally have some gold and silver But i'm not quite sure if I should keep investing or waiting until the elections are over and the media forgets about the corona And moves on of course, they'll find something new to move on to i'm also very nervous about transporting Gold and silver with me when we finally get the hell out of dodge. Thanks for everything chip Then i've got an email from james on pretty much the same thing. He says johnny Thanks for the great advice about purchasing gold coins. I finally bought some one ounce american gold legals And i'm very excited about it However, looking at the coins, I notice there's 50 written on each one even though their market value is around two grand apiece

[26:24] So i'm thinking I can carry 200 gold coins on an airplane without reporting the 10 000 limit Am I correct about that? Can I buy a house with gold coins? Or do I have to exchange gold coins for quetzales or the local funny money to buy a house in guatemala? Do you recommend a certain type of wallet to carry gold coins if I walk through tsa with them? Oh, and you told us about a phone coin ping test where you can do a sound test for real gold coins I did a search on my iphone app store, but couldn't find it. Is it only for android? I know you talked about transporting gold through tsa in the past But I can't find a way to access your podcast about those subjects Because you don't write the complete theme of each podcast down Plus your podcast before july 3rd 2020 are not available on apple podcast

[27:12] Please do something for us so we can search topics on your podcast. Johnny I especially need the one where you're talking about transporting gold coins through tsa. Thanks for everything. James Whoa, lots of stuff there, but unfortunately, we're at the end of the podcast So i'll be picking up with all that stuff on the next show. So stay tuned You've been listening to the expat files living in latin america If you need some help with your own plan b we can schedule a one-on-one phone or skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat insider seminar in central america Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan b. Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com

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