Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller shares a variety of stories and insights about expat life in Latin America. He begins by discussing his experience with coconuts and dogs, explaining that dogs love raw coconut meat and that expats often have gardens where they can grow coconuts. Johnny mentions that coconuts are cheap in Latin America, with some costing as little as 10 cents each. He noticed that his dogs were eating the coconut husks, which led to cleaner teeth. A vet was surprised by his dogs' dental health and explained that people in Latin America prefer to eat the coconut meat themselves rather than give it to dogs. Johnny also addresses an emailer who found coconuts too expensive in New York and encourages expats to take advantage of the affordability of coconuts in Latin America.
Next, Johnny discusses the challenges of feeding dogs with coconut husks, noting that small dogs can't clean out the meat as effectively as larger dogs, only managing to scrape out 10-20% of the meat. He then shares a story about an expat who moved to Panama and encountered a severe cockroach infestation in her rented apartment, finding cockroaches in the fridge, stove, microwave, and dishwasher. Johnny provides a detailed recipe for a cockroach bait using borax, flour, and brown sugar, suggesting it can last up to three months. He notes that cockroach infestations are common in Latin American households and are considered part of life, with no complaints from locals. Johnny also comments on the prevalence of flies in food settings and the coexistence of bees and flies in different environments.
In the third segment, Johnny discusses his humorous interactions with bees and flies in bakeries and pastry shops in Cuba. He mentions that while bees are common and often seen in display cases, he is not bothered by them because he eats honey, which is essentially the same thing. He also notes that the owners and workers at these shops are not bothered by the presence of bees or flies, but he, as an 'irritable gringo,' brings it up. Johnny shares a joke about cheesecake and flies, which is usually met with laughter. He also jokes about the presence of bees and the idea that they bring good luck. Later, he shifts to discussing the potential for classic car collectors to buy 1950s and 1960s cars in Cuba, but he argues that most of these cars are not worth the investment due to the lack of original parts and the need for extensive restoration. He mentions that only rare models, like the 1953-1956 Packard Caribbean, might be worth bringing back to the U.S. He also talks about the cost of restoring these cars and the potential value of rare models. Finally, he mentions an upcoming expat wisdom seminar and encourages listeners to sign up for early bird discounts.
In the fourth segment, Johnny discusses a book and its adaptations into a movie and TV series titled 'Sintetas no i paraiso,' which translates to 'Without Tits, There Is No Paradise.' The book is about a Colombian barrio girl who becomes involved with a cocaine cowboy, leading to a story involving plastic surgery and the darker aspects of the drug trade. The series is popular in Latin America and has been adapted into a TV show and movie. Johnny notes that the show is a hit and has been syndicated in several countries, including Colombia. He also mentions that expats have used the show to learn Spanish. The segment also touches on the challenges of accessing such content in the U.S., where it has not been widely adopted due to cultural and media preferences. Johnny highlights the entertainment value of such content for expats and the ease of understanding TV shows over movies for language learners.
Finally, Johnny discusses his experience with Spanish movies and TV, comparing them to American productions. He notes that Spanish movies often have mumbled dialogue, making them harder to understand, especially for non-native speakers. He contrasts this with older, lower-budget Latin American films, which had over-the-top performances and clear enunciation, making them easier to follow. Johnny also mentions that he has written an e-book about learning Spanish, with a focus on Guatemala, and is working on formatting it for Amazon Kindle. He plans to send a free PDF copy to Jack and promote it through a website. The conversation ends with Johnny thanking Jack and expressing his expertise on Spanish learning methods.
Topics
Coconuts and dogs, Expats in Latin America, Dental health in dogs, Affordability of coconuts in Latin America, Dogs and coconut husks, Cockroach infestations in Panama, Cultural acceptance of cockroaches in Latin America, Flies and food safety, Bee-fly coexistence, Cuban bakeries and pastry shops, Bees and flies in Cuba, Classic car collectors in Cuba
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:32 Coconuts and Dogs: A Strange Relationship 00:01:20 The Joy of Having a Big Dog 00:02:18 The Cost of Coconuts in Latin America 00:04:24 The Vet's Reaction to Clean Teeth 00:05:35 Addressing the Emailer's Concerns 00:06:16 Why Small Dogs Can't Clean Coconut Husks Effectively 00:07:18 An Expat's Cockroach Infestation in Panama 00:10:04 Cockroach Infestations Are Common in Latin America 00:12:16 Bees in Bakeries and the Joke About Flies in Cheesecake 00:13:15 The Problem with Day-Old Bakery Items and Cockroaches 00:14:31 The Challenges of Restoring Cuban Classic Cars 00:18:08 Personalized Support in Central America Travel Groups 00:18:25 Introduction to the Book and Its Adaptations 00:18:59 Translation and Meaning of the Book Title 00:20:12 Popularity and Adaptations of the Book 00:20:59 Hollywood's Interest in the English Version 00:22:03 Expats Learning Spanish Through the Show 00:22:42 Cultural Preferences and Media Consumption 00:24:30 Johnny's Preference for Simple Comedy 00:24:36 Why Johnny Finds Spanish Movies Harder to Understand 00:25:06 Johnny Agrees with Jack on the Difficulty of Understanding Spanish Movies 00:25:19 Johnny Talks About Older Latin American Films 00:26:18 Johnny Discusses His E-Book on Learning Spanish 00:26:57 Johnny Concludes the Conversation with Jack
Transcript
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 up to play and now as I wander Hello there all you expat 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 Okay, first off today. I was asked to mention once again that strange relationship between Coconuts and dogs now. I don't know if you remember I hardly remember but a long time ago on this show I mentioned that dogs
[00:46] Absolutely love raw coconuts now. I'm not talking about the coconut water or the coconut oil sure They'll eat that stuff too, but they're absolutely nuts about the hard white coconut meat now You know down here in Latin America many expats have big pieces of property If not, at least they have a garden because really that's one of the joys of living in Latin America If you don't have a garden or some kind of green space, you're nuts You don't need a green thumb. You just stick a twig in the ground and it grows. No lie Anyway, since most of us expats have gardens or pretty big yards. It's not a bad thing at all In fact, it's pretty cool to have a big dog. Now. I gotta tell you for years I've been buying coconuts for the coconut water in fact everywhere you go down here There's little guys with wheelbarrows and corner carts selling coconuts and they'll chop it right there for you
[01:33] Freshes can be and they'll stick a straw in and you can suck down the coconut water right then and there if you like However, I don't recommend that you take that straw the guy gives you and use it bring your own straw Why well all you got to do is look where he's pulling that straw from and you'll know what I mean They're not I repeat not individually wrapped like when you get them from a restaurant, for example Which is by the way why I generally have some straws in the glove compartment of my car Johnny on the spot, huh? So anyway, you could drink it on the spot or you haven't cut the coconut until you can just see the white meat meaning It's not perforated yet. Then you take it home and put it in a cool dry place Then you got about a week to tap into it and it's still absolutely fresh Anyway, for years, I was just buying those coconuts for like 50 cents each or less
[02:23] In fact, if you're anywhere near the coast in Latin America, and most people are you can even get coconuts as cheap as 10 cents a piece Anyway, the trick is to never just buy them whole because it's so much work to tap into them You have to buy them with the husk partially sliced off yet without being perforated So anyway for years I've been buying them off and on for the coconut water and that was it because you know As for the white coconut meat itself. I'm really not big on it Even as a kid things with shredded coconut in them never really turned me on like coconut cookies or mounds bars Remember those yum. Yum, right? Well for me yuck Anyway, maybe it was a year and a half ago when I had a visitor at my place now after we had some coconut water She went outside unbeknownst to me and slammed those two coconuts on the cement and cracked them in half
[03:13] She then took a spoon and scraped out the kind of gelatinous Coating that clings to the white meat in some coconuts can't eat it myself looks too much like snot to me Sorry about that. Hope you're not having dinner right now or a mounds bar Anyway later that night I noticed where the dogs sleep and where they hang when it's raining on the floor beside them or the two split coconut husks Completely hollowed out no white meat left in the shells at all But I also note it must have been a hell of a lot of work for them to scrape that stuff out with their teeth Because there were dozens of deep teeth marks and lines on the husk where the white meat used to be Obviously no matter how long it took those dogs to scrape that stuff out and eat it to them It was worth it In fact all that next day or two those husks became their toys little by little they just kept on tearing at them and playing
[04:05] With them until they were shredded all over the place So if you try that trick and give your dog a split coconut be sure to collect the pieces After a day or so or you'll have shards of it all over the yard and possibly in your house Anyway after that happened every time I bought coconuts I did the same thing I would break them in half and let the dogs have at it Then a funny thing happened about four months later when I took my two dogs to the vet the vet was puzzled and said to me I can't believe how clean your dog's teeth are last time. I saw him. What was it a year ago? I had to really go after that tartar and believe me. It wasn't a pleasant experience for me or the dogs What have you been feeding them or better yet? What have they been chewing on so naturally I told her about the coconut trick now all the while I assumed well
[04:50] Here's a vet and she's been treating dogs all her life, and this is the land of the coconuts So how come she didn't know that and when I joked with her about her lack of coconut dog dental hygiene knowledge She just laughed and said you know that's a very good idea, but unfortunately it'll never catch on down here Then I said of course why not look at the results and she said you know people down here Buy coconuts drink the water and scrape out every last shred of the white coconut meat for themselves Not to mention they just love that gelatinous coating inside that reminds me of you know what then she said they're not gonna Give that to the dogs coconuts are a three-for-one food treat for humans not dogs Then I nodded and said okay
[05:35] I get it anyway to the emailer that wanted me to explain about that coconut thing and dogs He also stated in his email that it was pretty much Financially impossible for him to do that up in New York where he comes from because coconuts are way too expensive to give to a Dog three to five bucks depending where you get him anyway all you expect gonna bees and wannabes if you come down here and have a dog and Like me are hot on the idea of feeding them the raw coconut husk no problem at all when they're 10 20 30 even 50 cents a piece However note that with small dogs 40 pounds or under let's say as much as they love that coconut meat too And as much as they try They're never gonna be able to scrape more than 10 or 20 percent of it out of there only around the edges
[06:22] Because they can't maneuver around the inside curve They have the teeth all right But the jaw just doesn't open wide enough to get a good grasp or purchase point on it No matter they too will use it as a toy all day long and they'll rip it to shreds as best they can However, they'll never clean out that white meat down to the dry husk like a big dog will so there's a bit of news For all you dog lovers out there and here's another animal related story in regards to the fresh gringa Expat that just moved down to Panama in a phone consultation with me She had a couple of animal experiences. She really didn't appreciate and by the way, I do give phone consultations Just go to the expat wisdom comm website and check it out for yourself
[07:07] We can talk for an hour or a half an hour and discuss anything You need to know about coming down to Latin America yourself and whatnot Anyway in a phone conversation just the other day She told me how disgusted she was when she rented a furnished studio apartment in Panama City in one of the residential towers She says the place was practically new only had one renter before look clean enough when she got in there And as it turned out the very first night she stayed there She got up about midnight to get a snack out of the fridge and lo and behold There were cockroaches everywhere. She said living in the refrigerator in the stove In the microwave and in the dishwasher now during the day She said never saw one and yes
[07:55] She did hear my show a long time ago about the kookaracha or cockroach cure Which really really works and that recipe goes like this you take an empty soup bowl You put a level teaspoon of flour in it Then you add a level teaspoon of borax You can buy that in hardware stores and you can get it at welding supply stores because borax is used as a flux It's powdered white then you add a pinch of brown sugar Take an eyedropper full of water and start adding water a drop at a time and knead it with your fingers until it's about the Consistency of cookie batter then you proceed with your fingers. It's no problem It won't hurt you and make little balls about a quarter inch in diameter You should be able to get 10 or 20 balls out of a mixture like that. Then you start placing them unobtrusively around the kitchen
[08:47] Best place is being in corners and where walls meet floors Since cockroaches like to run along the wall and the floor edge Then stick one little ball behind each leg of your microwave oven because that's how the cockroaches get in there They somehow have to climb up one of those rubber leg mounts to find a way in and as for your stove You can stick a couple of those in the corners of your oven Of course, you don't want to do any baking with those things in there. Not that they'll damage anything or do any harm It's just that you'll kill their effectiveness after they crisp out. Hey now, here's an idea Why not make the bait look like golf balls and put them around the White House? So anyway, once you've made these little quarter inch balls, they'll be a little tacky like cookie dough So they'll stick pretty much anywhere you put them now after a couple of days
[09:36] They'll seem to dry out kind of hard like a cookie No matter those things will still remain appealing to local cockroaches for up to three months But don't expect miracles if you haven't thoroughly cleaned out your microwave and your oven and your closets and all that before you do This now, you know what kind of slob you are but you never really know what kind of slob the last tenet was However, if he or she was Latin expect the worst that said here's my ironclad guarantee I'll bet you all the coconuts you can carry that every single Latin family has a cockroach problem And they don't complain about it. They don't even mind to them It's part of life and they live with it In fact, I've yet to be in a Latin kitchen where I couldn't find in two or three minutes
[10:21] About ten different places that cockroaches will be feeding at night the sinks the refrigerators The microwaves are just loaded with gunk dishes left overnight in the sink pots and pans with soups and beans and rice Left on the stove overnight all that stuff the kookarot is just feast on every night and to think that's how some years ago Tupperware made millions down here by promising that if you sealed up your food with their products You could achieve the impossible do what no Latin man or woman has ever done before live a life without However, as you know after a month or so, all you've got are mismatched lids seems there's a Tupperware black hole in every kitchen I know it's those cockroaches. They're in on it, right?
[11:10] Anyway, that's why I think every time I get invited over to dinner at a Latin person's house. I end up with a stomach ache I don't know if it's the flies or the kookarotches or just the thought of the flies in the kookarotches That does it. Oh and about those flies. I'm telling you You just can't go to someone's house or go to a party where flies aren't absolutely everywhere landing on all your food and glasses Etc. No one ever seems to protect or cover the serving dishes And that's why it always drives me nuts when I walk into a bakery or a cake shop And I look into the display window with all the goods laid out and the flies are just walking around Looking at me and giving me the finger. Well, anyway, they would if they had fingers Now here's an observation. I wonder if you've ever had it. I doubt it Now I've noticed in those bakery display windows when there are flies
[12:01] There are never bees and when there are bees there are never flies You say what bees what you're talking about, Johnny? Well, I'll tell you it's very common to go into a bakery or a cake shop And you'll see a few honeybees buzzing around in the display case Now as for me, I'm not bothered because you know, if you eat, honey, it's pretty much the same thing, right? And the owners and the workers at those bakeries and pastry shops They don't seem to be bothered one bit about flies or bees until the irritable gringo. That's me brings it up It's not like i'm on the attack. I try to make a joke of it. I say that cheesecake there 20 pesos a slice is that with or without the flies to which the lady usually laughs and goes along with the joke And by the way Once I said that about a piece of cake and there were bees hovering around no flies as usual and I said the same
[12:50] Is that with or without the bees and you know what she said? She said oh, no the bees stay here They're very good luck and that wasn't the only time I heard that Here's a tip for you. I don't recommend at all that you buy day-old bakery Don't do it. Why because you'll be eating more than day-old pastry. I'll tell you that what I mean is every night at every bakery It's some cockroaches quinceaños party. So that day-old stuff is likely sprinkled with cockroach Then again grandma always said eat a pound of dirt a year. Don't you wish it was just dirt? That said let's change gears with an email from robert. He says don johnny I was just watching a video of some street scenes in cuba and it occurs to me that once trade is normalized
[13:41] Classic collectors are going to come down and scoop up all those 1960s cars. Okay, robert. Thanks for that I get your point, but I think you mean 1940s and 50s cars because cuban revolution was in 59 and that's when car importation from the u.s Stop. Well, I know in a past show I talked about cuban cars But just to repeat if I didn't say this already I know for a fact no one's really going to be able to make money off those cuban classic cars because Even if you could get them out of the country free without taxes or import duties, whatever You'll find that although a lot of those cars look cherry. They look really nice on closer inspection and believe me I've been to cuba twice and i've seen these cars. The real problem is for 56 years. That's 56 years
[14:31] There have been no original replacement parts available and cars have a way of deteriorating rapidly and twice as fast in latin america So the only way cubans who own those vehicles could keep them running and on the road Was to fabricate in their own makeshift machine shops the necessary basic spare parts when cars broke down So i'm telling you on the outside. They may look good But as soon as you open the hood or look in the driver's seat You'll see dozens upon dozens of odd parts that don't quite fit sure They do the job, but they don't quite look right or match Yep, old rube goldberg would be proud of cuban creativity But non-standard parts like that really destroy the value of a classic car
[15:19] Which means if you were able to ship one of these cars to the states the cost of restoring it with original replacement parts would kill you But if you were to find a very rare model type things would be quite different. Let's say for example in 1953 through 1956 packard custom caribbean with that word caribbean You got to know some of them ended up in cuba Now they only made less than 500 of these cars a year And i'm sure there's probably one around cuba somewhere if you can find it No matter what condition it's in or how many bastardized parts they put into it It would be worth bringing back. Believe me. The last restored one at auction went for about 165 000 bucks So as far as just going down and picking up some old chevies and poniacs and stuff
[16:05] Well for 95 of the cars you see chugging down a havana boulevard. It's a losing proposition Sure, you can buy yourself a nice 1954 chevy and bring it back to the states just remember you'll have to replace about 50 of what's under the hood and Complete interior and upholstery you're looking at one hefty restoration bill at a cost of about 10 to 15 grand Okay, so what maybe it is worth it. Well, check the net and you see you can buy completely restored 54 chevies for from 12 000 to 20 000 bucks. So what do you get out of it? Unless you're a car freak and it's a labor of love remember you got to buy the car too and ship it Pay the taxes the duties the insurance etc Unless of course you happen to be a cuban american into nostalgia and it reminds you of the old pre-castro glory days or something
[16:59] Now if you've got a couple months to spare you can go down to cuba because they've relaxed the traveling restrictions And search for the odd rare one. Now. There's a one of a kind adventure, huh? But if you really don't know anything about cars forget about it Unless of course you brought down your own car nut slash mechanic. Anyway, thanks bob for the email I hope I didn't throw too much dirt in your carburetor I'm sure there are some gringos out there finagling ways to make money on those old cars But right now the numbers just don't work that said get a load of this email This one comes from jack brett one of my expat wisdom seminar alumni and speaking of expat wisdom seminars Remember i'm planning on having one. I think in the second week of july 2015
[17:45] So if you're interested send me an email at the expat files at gmail.com Or johnny at expat wisdom.com I should have all the details in a week or two And I know some of you will want to get in on the early bird discounts So do send me that email and start making those plans And by the way people have asked me about group sizes and with all the seminars so far The groups have ranged from about 12 people to 30 people. So it really is a personalized hand holding affair Anyway, we'll be roving around central america again So there'll be a lot of boots on the ground enough said about that back to jack brett's email again We'll paraphrase this a bit. It's pretty long. Hey, johnny caught your show on columbian dash cocaína
[18:31] That's cocaine fashion the other day It reminded me of a book in spanish. I picked up in chella guadamala, which is basically about the same topic That is columbian drug lords and their voluptuous tastes. The title of the book is Sintetas no i paraiso and I guess you don't need a translation for that, right? All right. All right. Let's stop there a minute It's me again, and you probably do need a translation like jack said the book is called Sintetas no i paraiso, which means without tits. There is no paradise I'm not kidding you. This is the exact english translation now Come on bear with me a little bit because this gets interesting believe me and it's not porn So don't jump to conclusions here. Anyway, jack continues
[19:20] Johnny, you know, I haven't gotten around to reading past the first few pages, but it looks like it's the classic columbiana Colombian girl rags to riches story with by the sound of it a not so happy ending In a nutshell columbian barrio girl meaning low-class neighborhood girl meets rich cocaine cowboy The way it plays out She's willing to do anything to hang with the rich cocaine cowboy culture But finds out from her better endowed friend that a cocaine cowboy stood her up because she lacks Tetas don't have to spell that out, right? Anyway, presumably she remedies that little problem in later chapters with plastica that's plastic surgery and has a ralicking good time for a while
[20:07] Anyway until the convolutions of the cocaine culture take their toll Anyway, johnny, I found out this book was pretty popular in columbia In fact, they made it into a movie and a hit television series in spanish, of course Go ahead look up the wikipedia entry for it. It's huge the entry that is Yes, I checked it's there along with lots of other peleculas espanol, which are spanish movies Okay. Okay. It's me again. Johnny. What jack doesn't know is that that book Sintetas no i para isso became such a huge mega hit all through latin america That they continuously run that movie and syndicate the soap opera in columbia and many latin countries It's the highest rated tv series of all time
[20:54] Remember this first came out in columbia nine years ago now Wouldn't you know it nbc and hollywood have snapped up the rights for an english version Get this a new york magazine article called it an almost unbelievably perfect title for a show Although it looks like it'll never air because nbc's been getting so much flak For example a dallas morning news editorial said nbc will be without a shred of dignity if the show ever airs in the us And you know, that's a very rare thing for hollywood to snap up anything latin The only other time that ever happened was with ugly betty. Remember that series And note that hollywood is certainly the goal of every no talent actor actress producer screenwriter director
[21:42] Grinding out the usual moronic trash in latin america So anyway, what i'm pointing out is jack has stumbled on a hugely famous tv show and movie All columbian and all completely based on boobs plastic surgery and narcos based on a true story, too Oh, and by the way think about this for a second Expat eddie says that's how he learned a lot of his spanish by watching that tv series And he's definitely not the only one. He said a few years back when the show was really popular He'd occasionally pop into one of the famous expat bars in san salvador And as usual he'd run into a lot of expats that were seedy ragging around the edges gone native You know the usual suspects with a drinking problem and guess what was on the tv?
[22:33] Nope, not oprah. By the way, that's reason 2426 why it's a very good idea to relocate to latin america. No oprah Oh sure, like most things first world. She hit the airwaves down here some years back, but she never caught on No, oprah. What a relief, huh? Anyway about that famous book and movie we're talking about I personally know of many many expat gringos and gringas Who've tuned in to that series and show to bone up on their spanish, too For some odd reason american gringa expats are very curious to see that show Even perhaps more than the gringo guys if that's possible Okay now for more of jack's email jack says now the good things about watching this kind of stuff on youtube instead of netflix or
[23:21] Cable if they even offer it or on spanish tv are one You get to watch it whenever you want Two is free three You can rewind rewatch and re-listen to anything if you didn't get it the first time around and that's a big plus believe me Four you can always find something more interesting than those boring formulaeic melodramatic Tally novellas the ones you always warn us about johnny So it's a win-win-win gringo And by the way, i'm not an expert on spanish TV by any means But one show that i've found on youtube that I find pretty entertaining is called la familia Peluche, okay. Let's stop there When jack says the name of the program is la familia
[24:10] That's a play on words because you see the term In spanish means a stuffed toy animal So it's a family of stuffed toy animals so much for a sophisticated spanish humor Anyway jack goes on to say at least for me. It's easier to understand television shows than movies Dumb borderline slapstick comedy like peluche are the easiest for me I think it's because the tv characters enunciate their lines more clearly usually facing the camera and the plots are simple Ridiculously unbelievably simple and therefore easy to follow Anyway, I find spanish movies are like american movies these days Everybody seems to mumble a lot and even when they do speak clearly half the time you can't hear them
[24:59] I suppose it's more realistic, but then it's just harder for me to understand now jack. This is me johnny again I have to agree with you 100 percent I've been down here a long long time and there are still movies where I can't understand a thing They say but that's only with movies that have appeared in the last let's say five years Before that when latin american movies were really low budget and trashy with older movies The actors were such bad performers so over the top They just chewed up the scenery so much and over enunciated everything just like you said That it really made it easy for us gringo is to understand what they were saying But unfortunately for me, I could never sit down and watch that stuff for too long because it's just so embarrassingly bad Anyway at the risk of sounding like a big pretentious jerk
[25:48] Just remember you've never seen one of these imbecilic things yourself. Have you? Let me just be kind here for a second and say the actors and actresses and media personalities in about 98% of tv and movie productions Have all the talent depth and intensity of that great internationally famous acting troupe responsible for that Unforgettable production bozo's circus and like I said i'm being kind here That said jack changes gears in his email johnny on a different subject now I actually went ahead and wrote that e-book. You might remember I joked about doing a while back originally, it was going to be about studying spanish immersion and otherwise In chella guadamala, but I kind of expanded it to be about learning your spanish in general with an emphasis on guadamala
[26:37] Now that my book is done I'm still working on getting it formatted and uploaded to amazon kindle and as promised i'll surely send you a free pdf copy as Soon as I get the formatting issues resolved now It's got a couple of mentions of you and your seminar and of course i'm planning on putting up a website for it Anyway, all the best johnny. Hope all's well down there signed jack brat Well, thanks for all that jack And you can be sure when you get that ebook done i'll let everyone know about it because you know That's one topic people quiz me on all the time Everybody wants to know the best ways to learn your spanish And they want to know all about those immersion courses down here in latin america, too And I know you've done the immersion family personally and online courses and you've checked out private spanish tutors, too
[27:28] So you really are the expert just keep us all posted. Okay You've been listening to the expat files living in latin america coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me the expat files at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expat wisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on latin america See you next time. Nos vemos