Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller provides a comprehensive look at expat life in Latin America, covering a wide range of topics from cultural norms to personal reflections. He begins by introducing the show and discussing the concept of a 'Renaissance man,' critiquing the overuse of the term in the region. Johnny shares a story about a PhD educator and a student who overcame significant obstacles to achieve academic success, only to be disillusioned by the US educational system. He also reflects on his own decision to move to Latin America and the overuse of the word 'genius' in American culture.
The segment then shifts to cultural differences in parenting styles, highlighting how Latin American parents are less likely to brag about their children's achievements compared to gringo (American) parents. Johnny also touches on the behavior of gringo families in Latin America, who often bring their children and may engage in overly pampering behaviors, which can lead to spoiled children. He mentions the traditional role of the firstborn son in Latin families, which can create challenges for American women who marry into these families.
Johnny discusses the cultural and business practices in Latin America, particularly the role of strip clubs in business dealings and the prevalence of illegal activities within them. He contrasts this with the United States, where strip clubs are more regulated. He also touches on the broader context of political corruption and violence, highlighting how strip clubs can be hotspots for illegal activities and power struggles. He ends the segment by shifting focus to Uruguay and its president, Jose Mujica, praising his humble lifestyle and integrity.
The segment then delves into Uruguay's government and its challenges, noting that a significant portion of the population works for or is involved with the government. Johnny highlights Jose Mujica's character and policies, including his vegetarianism, atheism, and donating half his salary to Uruguay. He also discusses Mujica's criticism of Mexico's government, calling it a failed state due to corruption and drug cartel ties, which led to a diplomatic backlash from Mexico. Mujica later retracted his statement, showing his diplomatic approach. The segment also touches on the impact of Argentina's economic issues on Uruguay's tourism and the government's efforts to promote the country through a costly publicity campaign.
Finally, Johnny discusses cultural norms and practices in Latin America regarding change, phone usage, and work environments. He highlights how businesses often lack change, prompting cashiers to use their own money to give change back to customers. He also talks about how phone usage is common in workplaces, even during transactions, and how this has evolved with the introduction of cheap family plans by local phone companies. Johnny mentions an upcoming expat seminar and encourages listeners to sign up.
Topics
Expat experiences in Latin America, Renaissance man and the overuse of the term, Academic success and disillusionment in the US educational system, Johnny Mueller's personal reflections on moving to Latin America, Parenting styles in Latin America vs. the United States, Cultural norms and traditions in Latin families, Behavior of gringo families in Latin America, Cultural practices in Latin America, Business and illegal activities in strip clubs, Political corruption and violence, Contrast between Latin America and the U.S., Profile of Uruguay's president, Jose Muj,ica
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:26 Overview of the Show's Content and Purpose 00:00:58 Johnny's Critique of the Term 'Renaissance Man' 00:03:03 The Story of the PhD Educator's Student 00:05:22 Johnny's Reflections on Moving to Latin America 00:06:05 Parents Bragging About Kids in the U.S. vs. Latin America 00:07:36 Gringo Families in Latin America and Their Impact on Children 00:09:57 The Traditional Role of the Firstborn Son in Latin Families 00:11:45 Strip Clubs as Business Meetings in Latin America 00:13:06 Strip Clubs as Hooker Joints in Latin America 00:14:05 Violence and Illegal Activities in Strip Clubs 00:17:10 Shift to Uruguay and Its President 00:17:36 Introduction to Jose Mujica's Character and Lifestyle 00:17:49 Mujica's Humble and Principled Nature 00:17:59 Challenges in Uruguay's Government Structure 00:19:50 Mujica's Criticism of Mexico's Government 00:20:54 Mujica's Retraction and Diplomatic Approach 00:21:54 Impact of Argentina's Economic Issues on Uruguay's Tourism 00:22:20 Uruguay's Publicity Campaign to Boost Tourism 00:23:26 Change Handling in Latin America Businesses 00:24:13 Cashiers Using Personal Money for Change 00:25:49 Phone Plans and Their Impact on Work Culture 00:27:00 Workplace Policies on Cell Phone Use 00:27:21 Upcoming Expat Seminar and Registration
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 I wonder 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 Alright, let's get started with an email from a PhD educator up in the States Who's also a radio TV host and a writer too not to mention an ESPN commentator talk about multitasking, huh?
[00:46] Matter of fact on that subject of male multitasking I noticed a lot of people who listen to this show and a lot of people who come down to my expat wisdom seminar Are what you might call real Renaissance men and women now? I know the definition of a Renaissance man, and I ain't one first of all a Renaissance man has to have one peculiar quality before any of that Renaissance jargon can be applied to him and what's that well he or she has to be able to multitask You know have about six or seven balls up in the air while driving talking on the phone and scratching your ass at the same time You know what? I ain't that guy I can drive and maybe do a little scratching at the same time, but that's about it But you know I have the other half of that Renaissance man equation down and what's that curiosity?
[01:32] certain accomplishments in the arts and the sciences along with a healthy dose of Fearlessness when trying new things so far so good right, but if you can't multitask well you get pretty frustrated by the way I never overused that word Renaissance man as people go overboard with that word genius and that drive you nuts Oh, and by the way the word Renaissance man if you use it in Latin America No one knows what the hell you're talking about because there just aren't any around down here at least I haven't run into one yet the fact is that few I've met have been gringos or Europeans Europeans by the way are also Classified by Latin Americans as gringos go figure, huh, however. I'll never figure out how women activist groups Haven't jumped on that Renaissance man term itself kind of sexist now, isn't it?
[02:19] I'm referring to up in the first world of course, so then why aren't there so-called Renaissance women? Have you ever heard that term before I haven't not that they're not out there. I'm just saying you know Renaissance woman come on Where's big bad Oprah when you need her huh oops? I shouldn't have said that cuz I can't stomach her and no to me She's no Renaissance woman at all to me She's just a large big-mouthed lucky woman who has enough money to buy a couple of countries Anyway, here's an email from a real Renaissance PhD educator up in the States who's got a real interesting education story He starts by saying great show John felt like you were talking to me personally the one about creativity comedy and the neglected Advice you give to Latins about education the fact is he says my favorite student in 30 years of education
[03:11] Grew up with a single parent in Mexicali He came to the States on a football scholarship learned English study with me and got a BA and masters and then a PhD and was valedictorian and then ran into the horror of US higher education with its politically correct but venial self-serving politics and after six years he resigned and Boy, did it take a lot of guts for him to do that? Of course throughout our association I knew the academic culture and hoped and prayed he would alight in a place where he could thrive But alas, he didn't to this day. I feel angry and very despairing over this This kid had the heart of a matador and was emasculated by a delusional structure and people less noble
[04:00] Who had little character? Of course, he's talking about the US educational system there Then he goes on to say in any case your show Reinforced in my mind how hard the decision to resign must have been given the expectations of his Extended Latin family. He was the beacon in that family, but the system let him down Anyway, you packed a lot of great stuff on a lot of levels in that last show Johnny I really appreciate it and what you do on your show is truly like Howard co-sells cliche Tell it like it is for people about to go down there It's helped me a lot in terms of my going to Nicaragua and other countries with more realistic Expectations and knowledge about how they perceived our world
[04:46] You've got some priceless stuff there Keep doing it and hit them at every level all the best Doc we'll call him Doc X. Well, thanks for that doc always trying to hit those home runs, right? It's not easy And by the way, I mentioned Renaissance men and Renaissance women and of course the word genius Which I personally only use with great sarcasm these days Anyway, you know Like when I see someone on a motorcycle down here in Latin America driving down the road with two flat tires now to me That's genius. How does he balance that rusted piece of junk? You know 20 something years ago when I was deciding to come down to Latin America for good actually I hadn't exactly decided on Latin America I didn't speak Spanish But I decided to go around the world for a year and see which countries I like best
[05:35] I did want to get the hell out of the US even back Then it was a very strange thing to bring up in front of mixed company and believe me when people ask me why? There's a thousand reasons a thousand little straws on the camel's back along with a dozen or so very big logs And I'll tell you one of those tiny little reasons. It's that massive Overuse of the word genius now I know it sounds like a petty thing But every single time I'd go over to my sister's houses and meet the nephews all over again for Thanksgiving or whatever It seems like I'd get a report on every cute little thing those kids did in the last week Down to this stunning ways in which they drooled and crapped and finger-painted that made them of course to their obsessed parents Outstanding gifted little geniuses now
[06:20] I know a little thing like that might be somewhat aggravating But it shouldn't drive you to leave the country and it wasn't like I said It's just the torture of a thousand cuts along with a couple of big knocks that said here's what I've noticed On that issue in Latin America when you're talking about the lower middle classes and the middle classes Which make up about 85 to 90 percent of the entire Latin population You just never hear parents going on and on about their brilliant genius kids And you know even in the upper middle and wealthy classes in Latin America parents Don't brag about their kids like that Not at least until you bother to ask them first how the kids are doing and then you only get the very abbreviated version They're not cataloging and archiving and photo shopping tweeting and of course my favorite Facebooking
[07:09] Every little moment of their kids life. Come on Do you think anybody but grandma is actually interested in your kids sixth grade art project? But I suppose maybe with that first world lag time effect the event of it takes a village and every kid's a genius Just hasn't arrived down here yet. God. I hope it doesn't but I'll tell you who it has arrived with Gringos who've come down here and have started families or brought their own young families down The fact is the only time and place I've ever heard parents bragging on their genius kids is When I'm at an event or party and I run into some gringos with kids, isn't that funny? So know that when you come down here to Latin America You will not see kids pampered and spoiled by their parents and nannies now
[07:57] I did say nannies there So you'd think if you have a nanny living 24-7 in your house a cleaning lady slash nanny usually The kid or kids in the family by the very nature of the fact that they're every little needs being catered to 24-7 by that Made at least you think these kids would grow up to be intolerable Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian types But you just don't see that now, of course I do have a few long-term gringo friends who teach at those so-called expensive private helicopter schools and more than One of them has told me the kids are so pampered and spoiled that they just like to slap them sometimes along with their parents But they do admit it's not the kids fault It's the parents and the maids and the bodyguards and the two or three trips a year to Disneyland in Miami to go shopping
[08:42] You know the type well, maybe you don't we call them down here extreme gringo wannabes So do note that if you do have kids down here or bring your young kids down. Those are the kids They're gonna be going to school with and hanging with because you know at first glance You're gonna want to send them to one of those helicopter schools because it's really so damn cheap And a third of the teachers are from the States But believe me after seeing those kids at those schools and talking to some of my gringo teacher friends It makes a real great case for homeschooling what homeschooling you say who's got time for that Well, you do gringo and gringo because when you come down here, you're gonna have a lot of time on your hands Why not use that to homeschool your kids good idea, huh? Because let's face it if you're smart enough to get it all together to come on down here yourself
[09:28] You know what's happening up in the States You know how things are falling apart and you're tuned in to you and your family surviving in style come what may Obviously, you're the perfect kind of parent then for homeschooling aren't you? So anyway, I'm not saying that every gringo family down here spoils the hell out of their kids and thinks they're walking little geniuses All I'm saying is that's the only place I've ever encountered that kind of mentality That's something think Buddha that Latin's just have not picked up on yet Oh, but there is one caveat and it's a big one You see the oldest boy in any Latin family is the absolute king and prince of the palace But that has nothing to do with gringos or the first world. In fact, it's kind of reverse It seems that all that Prince first boy child in the house stuff started with the Spanish
[10:14] Colonials well before Columbus even got here and funny enough It's so entrenched down here in all classes that no one even seems to notice That's the way things are family business as usual and you know I found the only person in the world that's capable of breaking that legacy of that first boy child prince king of the realm thing Is guess who an American gringo woman? Yeah, she comes down here and hooks up with a Latin guy She finds out soon enough. He's the prince of the palace Well early on in the relationship most gringos think it's cute at first But when she sees the extent of it when she sees his family thinks his feces is not odiferous That's when the battles begin and normally she'll only put up with that crap for so long because she's not gonna pick up after the guy
[11:03] like a maid and she's not gonna let him disappear every other night with the boys wherever they go to the bars playing golf to The strip clubs etc etc first world American ladies are not gonna put up with that kind of crap Not the ones that I know anyway, and here's something that's kind of funny Did you know that every upscale and wealthy latin woman? Believes that guys go to those strip clubs because that's the traditional place for lawyers and accountants and executive types To get together have a few drinks and do business and here's how it goes when one of these latin business types gets caught red-handed In one of those strip clubs, you know, someone spots his car or sees him walking in and reports back to the wife He uses the same excuse and it works he says my lawyer or my accountant or whoever called a business meeting with some people from out of town and the out of
[11:52] Towners insisted that it be at a strip club and you have to go with the flow because that's how high rollers do business Down here at strip clubs. It's common That's what latins will tell their wives when caught in a bind like that And when caught in a bind latins will often blame gringos for that They'll say gringos do it all the time. Have a look at those gringo cable TV programs every night You see all kinds of executive types going to strip clubs. And so therefore I just had to go I couldn't nix the deal and you know what the guy's wife falls for that every time Boy, these macho guys have these latin women trained. Don't they now that's not to say up in the first world There are isn't some real business not funny business going on in the strip clubs, too So these guys with that claim gringos do it are half right
[12:39] However Like one gringo told me going to certain high-end or well-known strip clubs in the states in California and such to do Real business not the business of hanky-panky is kind of common and not that big a deal But remember up in the states most strip clubs are strictly strip clubs up there with the exception of in and around Vegas There's no touchy feely stuff allowed. It's against the law and against the rules of the club Whereas you see down here in Latin America Every single strip club is a hooker joint There it just is no distinction between a stripper only club and a so-called house of the rising sun They're one in the same mostly legal, too However, one thing you'll notice in every medium and large-sized Latin American city There'll be an area where they have a lot of these strip clubs and at night those places are buzzing
[13:29] There's cars everywhere and bodyguards and government cars as you would expect But oddly enough in the daytime these places look quite deserted However, every once in a while when you're driving by these areas in the daytime You'll see one or maybe even two of these places on the strip that have been closed down and taped off quite liberally with police evidence tape You know that yellow tape Why do you think that is because of drug deals going on in there or something else quite illegal go ahead and guess Time's up Turns out these places get closed down and blocked off with evidence tape because you see every so Often there'll be a shootout and someone will get killed even in high-end clubs that have imported girls from places like South Korea Even Russia. Oh and by the way, I doubt these ladies traveled
[14:17] 3,000 miles or so to come to Latin America to become strippers and hookers all for the pleasure of fat smelly mannerless Disgusting politicians and narcos how it happens is that they're actually strip club franchises throughout Latin America They have middlemen that put ads in Russian and Korean newspapers as well as the internet and these young ladies answer Want ads in their home country for theater jobs and dance jobs and tourism jobs, etc And when they get to Latin America the so-called company rep meets them at the airport with their visas And then they become well, let's say temporary property until they work off their debt That is airline tickets visas expenses, etc But back to that question why the occasional shootout in a strip club
[15:07] Well, that's because strip clubs are the melting pot or mixing bowl for the biggest pretentious jerks in any Latin city And of course, it's a regular night out for most married guys, too Anyway in the mix you always have your pretentious ass white politicians and most of those guys own these clubs on the side So why wouldn't they go and take their friends? It's on the house, right? Then combine that with the wealthy cowboy Landowners that come in for the weekend and they're studded out pickup trucks and bodyguards often with ten gallon hats, too They're all pumped up that they're in the big city on the weekend and don't forget your up-and-coming narcos They'll pull up with not one but two bulletproof SUVs The second car filled with rumpled bodyguards packing big heat now note all these type of guys totally
[15:55] Testosterone doubt trying to out macho each other with their money and their bodyguards and their perceived power now I ask you with a mix like that and everybody packing don't you think people are gonna get shot once in a while? Especially if you got two politicians from opposing parties in the same place because down here in politics these guys play for keeps So why do politicians kill each other? Why not once you're in elected to anything you're on the gravy train big time It's not only the politicians sucking off the public trough But his friends and family are sucking off it too So once elected you better stay elected or all your friends and family will lose their jobs to the next guy's family and note The pay is two or three times what the average person gets in about a tenth of the work
[16:41] Which is why most of the year not even election time a lot of these eligible contenders get bumped off and not just at strip clubs Either the fact is a week doesn't go by when you read one of the big Latin papers down here You don't see a politician getting bumped off from mayors to senators to city councilmen They all get shot at which you gotta admit it's a little harsh But in the end all of us long-term expats agree. It's a good start Who knows maybe if we're lucky it'll be a future trend up in the first world So now with that upbeat news, let's change gears a bit this time. Let's go to little Uruguay This comes from the president Jose Munjeka now people in the know realize that he's probably the only President of any country in the world who's actually got a heart of gold and deserves the job now
[17:30] You know a long time ago I mentioned on the show that he's the guy that drives around in an old Volkswagen Without anybody guards at all and his wife rides a motor scooter to work every day He's a vegetarian and an atheist. So what's not to like about the guy and get this He donates at least half of his salary back to Uruguay But all is not well in paradise because of his socialist tendency government at Uruguay is massive So he's a good humble honest guy with a good heart Unfortunately about a quarter to a third of the people are working for the government or are involved in contracts for the government So I don't recommend the place at all However, a lot of people are going down there and they do find it nice and laid-back and expensive first world expensive now
[18:16] That's what you get when you have so many Liard asses working for government that have to be supported by tax dollars Now if you remember Uruguay is the only country in Latin America that has legalized marijuana Taxing it is quite a wise idea after all which leads to why directly or indirectly Jose Mujica is in the news so often like this time and by the way for those of you who speak a little Spanish Mujica is not Mujica. I know I know Mujica sounds an awful lot like Mujica Now the word Mujica is the word for doll in Spanish So when you say a girl's a Mujica, she's a doll of which Uruguay's president is definitely not and also It's the same word they use for wrist now
[19:01] Don't ask me why but if you for example sprain your wrist in Latin America You've sprained your Mujica go figure, huh? But we're talking about the other Mujica the president of Uruguay now you think a very humble principled guy like that Who drives an old Volkswagen and help get that marijuana? Legalization legislation through a guy like that wouldn't bow to anyone and would never be politically correct Well, here's what happened down in Uruguay on the 24th of November President Mujica said on the record that in the case of those 43 missing Dead students that disappeared in Mexico You know that story with all the cops and the politicians in the drug cartels up there in bed together Mujica went on record and said the incident was the last straw for Mexico and now it qualified
[19:50] Totally as a failed state and of course, that's why Mujica pushed so hard to get that marijuana legislation through He didn't want his country to turn into a narco state Why of course because narco's make no money in places drugs are legal now He not only said that Mexico was a failed state on the record He also said that it was a worm infested den of corruption now It didn't take two hours for that news to reach the halls of injustice up in Mexico Meaning the executive branch in Mexican government is truly pissed off at what he said so when big bad Mexico that's got about 35 times the population of Uruguay gets pissed things happen fast And by the way, Mexico is the number one trading partner for nearly every country in Latin America
[20:38] So if they want they have the power to damage smaller Latin countries like Uruguay in the wallet So anyway a few hours later when Mexico's diplomatic hammer came down Mujica got up made another statement this time on the official presidential web page He took the whole thing back. He said nope. Sorry about that. Mexico really isn't a failed state So in pussy footing around he sucked up to the Mexican diplomatic corps and now all spent smoothed over kind of So then is Mexico a failed state of course it is are there other failed states in Latin America plenty of them But Mexico is beyond redemption and the case that beats all the other failed states throughout Latin America Well, you might call them stable failed states because when you live with them
[21:24] You realize what you do doesn't matter to anyone as long as you're not committing a crime Basically, we have a tremendous amount of freedom the government's just concerned with its own graft and its own corruption It doesn't bother you if you don't bother it It's kind of like having a skunk living next door. You don't bother it. It doesn't bother you. I take that back It's like having a skunk dipped in shit living next door by the way That's another gem I stole from expat Eddie, but I digress. There's still more news on the Uruguay front it turns out 60% of all the tourism into Uruguay is from Argentina And now that Argentina is in the crapper again and defaulting not to mention they've slapped currency controls on the dollar Well, wouldn't you know it tourism in Uruguay is down 10% from last year?
[22:12] So basically the Uruguay government is panicking about that So what they've done is they've spent four and a half million bucks in an international Television publicity campaign that speaks of Uruguay's marvels Whatever they are now as it turns out this is really big money for a country of only about three million or so They've never had a big publicity campaign like that before Of course, it's aimed at Argentinos, but they know Argentina is crashing and burning So they're spending half that money in ads in Brazil and Portuguese, of course now when you interview Argentinos about this they say the reason why they're not traveling to Uruguay like they used to is because it's gotten so expensive Of course, they're having real difficulty in obtaining dollars
[22:57] So what they're saying basically is they get a really terrible exchange rate when they use Argentine pesos versus the US dollar Argentina is in technical default. So no one wants their peso anymore more on Argentina in an upcoming show So stay tuned now I'd like to switch gears just for a second and tell you about something you're gonna see down here in Latin America that you'll never See up in the States. I know I know there's a million things that are different down here And I've spoken about half of home But here's another one don't be surprised when you walk into a little tien de or you walk into a coffee shop or a Department store or a gas station or whatever when you buy something there, they just won't have the change the first rule You learn when opening a business, right?
[23:43] Double duh and many times what they'll do is they'll take your money and say wait just a minute No, run across the street or next door and come back in five minutes with your change I mentioned this on a past show a long time ago And I also mentioned that they'll often leave you alone in the store for that five minutes because there's only one person working in a small Tien de that's how friendly and trusting the people down here are off the gringo tourist trail That is you won't see it much in Costa Rica, for example, but what I didn't tell you is this Oftentimes when you need change and they don't have it the teller or the cashier will pull out his own wallet or her own purse And proceed to give you your remaining change out of their own dough And of course at the end of the day when the numbers are counted in the tills they get that money back
[24:31] But imagine that happening at a Shell station or Starbucks up north fat chance, right? Oh and be prepared if it's a lady teller or Kahira cash register person a good percentage of the time Especially when you're talking about a small pharmacy or a variety store often especially in a mom-and-pop shop There are few people in line So the cashier could be on the phone with her boyfriend or girlfriend and nope down here in Latin America There's no shame to that or embarrassment at all They'll just do the transaction with you give your receipt etc etc while gabbing away on the phone now It used to be a few years back You'd see these people working in these department stores etc using a company phone You know the one with the wire Connected to the handset in the box for all you guys who haven't seen those kind of phones lately
[25:17] So it used to be whenever they could Employees would sneak in phone calls whenever the boss was out or sneaking in a personal phone call of his own In fact that used to be quite the perk when the boss wasn't around or sleeping in the back room or whatever But these days stealing time on the boss's phone is no longer a big issue because all the Latin American telephone companies That would be Movistar, Claro, Tigo, etc. Etc Have now instituted very cheap family and friends plans even with those $15 throwaway phones And here's how it works You'll get a text message saying that they're offering you a friends and family plan And you send a message back and it costs you maybe $6 a month to have unlimited phone calls with one two or three friends depending on the phone service
[26:06] So you sign up via text message and you put in those numbers of the friends you want and from then on Well, you just talk your ass off and believe me these plans have caused a virtual Revolution among the lower middle class and middle class populations down here in Latin America Just walk down the street and you'll see people are absolutely glued to their little telephones So do be prepared everywhere you go every kiosk on the street all the little department stores and hot dog stands You're bound to be waited on by people who are still engaged with the phone And you know as it turns out down here The boss often doesn't give a damn because as long as they're not using the company phone while it's okay with him Which is why when I was walking through an upscale mall the other day I just had to take a picture of the help wanted sign on the glass front door
[26:55] It said help wanted hard-working industrious salesperson No cell phones allowed. Yep I did take a photo of that and it will show up in the PowerPoint of my next expat wisdom seminar Speaking of that when this show goes out will be about a month away from liftoff on that January 2015 Seminar in Central America if you're interested in signing up We have some spots available. So just go to www.expatwisdom.com click on the seminar link at the top of the page and check it out If you haven't got a plan B or just now thinking about it, you won't want to miss this south of the border You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border
[27:42] Email me the expat files at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expat wisdom calm to sign up for your free reports on Latin America See you next time. Nos vemos