Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller discusses the economic realities of life in Latin America, particularly focusing on the practice of selling children's hair as a means of income. He references a recent conversation with Richard Martin from the wake-up call show, where the topic of selling body parts was brought up. Johnny explains how, in some parts of Latin America, families, especially mothers, sell their children's hair to make ends meet due to low salaries. He provides examples of how this practice is common, even among expats, and highlights the cultural context of pooling family resources to survive. Johnny also mentions the low cost of living in off-tourist areas and the importance of family support in managing financial challenges.
Johnny Mueller discusses the practice of selling children's hair in Latin America, particularly among lower and lower-middle-class families. He explains that mothers sell their children's hair to beauty salons, which then resell it on international websites for a significant profit. However, these websites are primarily in English and cater to first-world buyers, making it difficult for local mothers to access them. Johnny suggests that expats could potentially enter this market by advertising in local areas and working with beauty salons, though he acknowledges the ethical concerns and notes that it's not illegal. He also touches on other business ideas, such as beekeeping, which he believes could be a viable option for expats with access to land.
Johnny Mueller discusses the prevalence of bees and wasps in Latin America, emphasizing that having even a small piece of land with vegetation means you're likely to encounter these insects. He explains that while they can be unsettling to first-world expats, they generally don't pose a danger. Johnny shares personal anecdotes about how expats initially react with fear but eventually grow more tolerant, making an uneasy truce with the local wildlife. He also mentions that while some insects like mosquitoes and cockroaches are always a concern, others like bees and wasps are generally left alone as long as they don't interfere with human activities.
Johnny Mueller recounts an experience at a restaurant where a family of bats lives in the rafters, describing the uneasy coexistence between the bats and the restaurant owner. He notes that the presence of the bats is mostly unnoticed by regulars, especially Latin American locals, but can be startling for first-world tourists, particularly American women. Johnny also discusses the broader context of nocturnal creatures like bats in outdoor restaurants and businesses, and transitions into a discussion about bees and wasps, their behavior, and the impact of African bees on beekeeping practices. He concludes by suggesting that beekeeping is a viable and low-cost business for expats in the region.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the differences in bee behavior and allergy prevalence between Latin America and the United States. He notes that bee colonies are easier to maintain in Latin America due to the absence of harsh winters and frost, but warns about the aggressive nature of Africanized bees. He also contrasts the prevalence of allergies and the use of antihistamines and inhalers in the U.S. with the apparent lack of such issues in Latin America, suggesting that factors like environment, diet, and lifestyle may contribute to this difference. Johnny highlights that while some expats and the wealthy may have allergies, the majority of the local population, especially the middle and lower classes, do not carry such medications, and he questions whether this is due to environmental factors, diet, or cultural habits.
Topics
Economic realities in Latin America, Cultural practices of family support, Selling children's hair as a means of income, Comparison of first-world and Latin American economic conditions, Hair selling in Latin America, Expats and business opportunities, Beekeeping as a business idea, Insects in Latin America, Expatriate experiences, Cultural adaptation, Living with wildlife, Bats in restaurants
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:23 The Practice of Selling Children's Hair in Latin America 00:01:30 Organ Selling Ring in Costa Rica 00:02:47 Cost of Living in Off-Tourist Areas of Latin America 00:06:06 The Hair Selling Market in Latin America 00:10:54 Class Divisions and Wealth in Latin America 00:11:22 The Inevitability of Insects in Latin America 00:12:43 An Uneasy Truce with Local Insects 00:16:56 The Bat Encounter at the Restaurant 00:18:27 The Broader Context of Nocturnal Creatures in Businesses 00:19:47 Beekeeping and the Impact of African Bees 00:22:18 Bee Behavior in Latin America vs. the U.S. 00:22:56 Allergies and Antihistamines in the U.S. vs. Latin America
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 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 Okay, as far as my upcoming expat wisdom seminar, we've got one or two spots left So if you want to jump on at the last minute, just go to expat wisdom comm click on the Latin seminar link and get the Full details it's getting close. We're a little over three weeks now from the day. I'm recording this
[00:48] So you do have time to jump on but make it quick now Here's something that caught my attention as you might have heard me mention I always listen to Richard Martin's wake-up call show on PRN, but you see I don't stream them I download them all once a month and stack them up and listen to a whole month's worth sometimes more in one long string as I'm traveling and Yesterday as I was listening to wake-up call I heard him talk about people selling their hair women selling their eggs and people selling their kidneys on the internet or at least trying to Now I've known for some years there are internet sites where women sell their eggs and like Richard said they get big money for it like $8,000 a crack. So what does all that have to do with Latin America? Well, if you remember just a few shows ago I was talking about how cops broke up an organ selling ring in Costa Rica
[01:34] You remember that Greek pizza parlor owner that was recruiting right out of the restaurant. Anyway I just wanted to mention that I wasn't jumping on Richard's bandwagon there talking about the sale of human body parts Just because he brought up the subject. So for any of you expect gonna bees or wannabes out there who might be thinking that it Was just a coincidence. Believe me But since he brought up the fact that women can sell their hair online and get around a thousand bucks for it Judging from the examples he gave of a woman who did just that I'd like to mention that in my years down here in Latin America, I've met quite a few young Latin girls who've told me their own mothers have done just that No, the mothers didn't sell their hair they sold their children's hair and kept the money of course because after all the whole family benefited because it probably went into the
[02:22] Family pool of funds which is normal down here That is because salaries are so low like 300 bucks a month The mother works and the dad works and often the kids work part-time or sell this and that on the street And of course, there's the occasional bonanza of selling your kids hair That way they can pull enough money monthly to buy that basic what they call canasta of monthly expenses Which by the way down here now in Latin America off the tourist trail That is is around four or five hundred bucks a month for a family of four that includes food housing transportation everything So for those of you who have seen that four or five hundred dollar a month canasta Basica, which means basic canasta or basic basket of monthly expenses And we're wondering how a family of four in Latin America could make ends meet on 300 or 400 bucks a month
[03:08] That's how they do it Everyone in the family pools their money just like many American families did before the so-called American age of affluence which hit Right after World War two the fact is if you ask your grandparents or great grandparents Many of them remember those days when they'd pull the money with the rest of the family to make ends meet anyway So again mothers sell their kids hair and it doesn't matter if straight beautiful long hair or really curly beautiful long hair both of those types are in demand and Unlike that thousand bucks or so that women get on the internet for selling their hair according to Richard's wake-up call report down here Mothers are perfectly willing to sell their children's hair for Latin American prices Which are generally 10 to 30 percent of first world prices in fact in talking just the other day with expat Eddie's girlfriend
[03:57] Her mother sold her hair two times while she was a kid and she's about 25 or 26 years old now And the last time her mother sold her hair was when she was around 14 Which by the way caused a huge feud between her and her mother because that's just the age when girls start wearing makeup and thinking About boys and stuff and starting to be very concerned with their looks and she told me she'd cry herself to sleep for weeks She says she didn't have a civil word with her mother for about three months after that though when she was younger like 10 or 11 Years old she didn't put up such a squawk because she remembers how her mother talked her into cutting her hair She said she'd buy her a Barbie doll and take her to the circus, which she did and expat Eddie's girlfriend Distinctly remembers that day because that was the very first day she ever rode a roller coaster the wild mouse
[04:43] El raton loco, you know one of those mini roller coasters And by the way the generic Spanish word for any roller coaster at all is Montania rusa, which means Russian mountain That's Montania rusa Montania, which is mountain obviously and rusa Which means Russian which absolutely makes no sense at all to me. But what do I know? So how do mothers sell their kids hair? Well, first of all, it's got to be nice hair really nice hair And if you have a few kids in the family and lens usually have more than a few kids There's always one kid with a great head of hair. Maybe more Now like I said in the past show only about 15 at most 20% of Latins have Internet connections in the home and about 90% of those who do don't really investigate anything at all
[05:34] They just get on Facebook look up the Spanish gossip sites and check out what's happening in the popular media Which means of course no one's figured out they could sell their hair on the internet for a thousand bucks a crack That is not the people actually selling the hair the mom selling their kids hair That is because face it if they're that desperate to sell their kids hair They surely can't afford internet in the home. So who do they sell it to? Well, they make deals with certain salons de bieza Which you may have figured already is a logical translation meaning beauty salon That's salon de bieza and you better believe that these salons de bieza that buy the hair from the mothers for a hundred to 250 bucks they immediately posted up on one of those buy sell hair websites and make four or five hundred percent return on their money
[06:20] Instantly or at least you'd think they would but guess what it looks like they don't it seems like those websites that pay the big Bucks are first world websites in English since a couple of the hair stylists that I talked to that work at beauty salons down here Say the salon suppliers that come in will often make the deal and buy the hair So maybe it's those guys that are putting up on the website But like I said, I doubt it because down here off the tourist trail That is only about one out of a hundred maybe a thousand people speak good enough English to go on an English website and figure it out so it looks like we have another great expat business idea here if you don't mind getting into what some people might consider a Kind of a strange if not quite respectable business. So how can a gringo or expat hope to get in on this? Well, for example, I've never ever heard on the radio or seen in the newspapers ads saying come on in and we'll buy your hair
[07:09] It seems to be kind of a gray market word-of-mouth thing You know a mother makes an appearance at a beauty salon with a kid or two and one of the workers says my what beautiful hair Your daughter has, you know, if she'd consider parting with it, I could get you some good money for that. No harm done It does grow back. So basically those deals only get spoken of at certain beauty salons So just for speculations suppose you the expat gringo put the ad in the paper or on the bulletin boards and beauty salons Concentrating on the poor and lower class sections of town since these are the people that really need the money Yes, poor and lower class people use beauty salons, too But they use them more infrequently and they use cheap and run-down beauty salons, too Though very cheap and shabby looking ones, of course and believe me
[07:55] No way am I saying this kind of business is for everyone and some of you wannabes and gonna bees up there might think it's Borderline exploitation of the poor again. It's not illegal and no one's forcing anyone to do it And the reason why I'm bringing it up is because I get so many emails from people asking me about business ideas down here For gringos and expats now, I'm certain that's one business So you guys and gals up in the first world would never have thought of and I wouldn't have either But like I said, you need boots on the ground to see those opportunities like that And please don't send me emails saying I've reached all-time lowest by suggesting this business idea All I'm saying is that there are a million and one legal ways to make money here And yes, you may think Johnny scrape in the bottom of the barrel with a lame-brain business idea like buying and selling hair
[08:42] But after listening to that recent Richard Martin show about Americans in desperate economic straits selling their hair on the internet I thought I'd just have to mention that in Latin America It's quite a commonly accepted thing among lower and lower middle-class families And like expat Eddie's girlfriend explains a young girl from the lower middle classes might only do that two or three times in her Life, but when she does like in her case, she said her family had an unusually nice Christmas So if any of you guys and gals are listening to this program right now sitting back in your leather upholstered audience Poo-pooing this whole idea just ask yourself who's being the Grinch here? Okay, enough said about that now speaking of business ideas More conventional business ideas for gringos and expats. That is I did get a couple of emails recently
[09:30] Asking me about beekeeping down here in Latin America since I mentioned it quite superficially on a show Maybe I don't know six months or a year ago now specifically these folks want to know a couple of things one if the bee colony Kill off has gotten down here to Latin America yet like it has up in the first world and to have the African bees made it Here yet well I'm kind of glad they asked those questions because I actually happen to know a couple of beekeepers here and there's a gringo Expat teacher friend of mine who not long ago gave me a DVD video on how to do your own bee colonies anywhere Since he's very interested in the project and has done the numbers and has figured with enough colonies on his little plot of land Which is only about a quarter of an acre He will never have to teach again since he figures he'd make at least twice as much just doing the bee thing
[10:17] Then he can make doing the English teacher thing at a private school here only averaging about one or two hours a day with the bees That as an alternative to doing a full day boring grind at the school teaching the spoiled Obnoxious kids of corrupt politicians and the stinking rich and by the way down here in Latin America The rich really are the stinking rich as opposed to the rich up in the first world Many of whom are regular people who do actually have a heart since a lot of wealthy people in the first world came up the hard Way self-made guys and gals and believe me There's not much of that at all in the rarefied wealthy classes here one thing you should never forget There's a very strict division between class systems here The sad fact is you don't meet very many wealthy Latins at all who don't eventually turn your stomach after you see what they're really
[11:04] Like I'm talking about how they treat their kids like royalty to the man or born Versus how they treat their help basically like they're not even there like slaves or robots, but I digress as usual So what about keeping bees down here? Is that a good business opportunity for gringos and expats? well one thing I can tell you if you've got a piece of land no matter how small even a quarter acre or less and You've got any kind of trees or vegetation on it Which you certainly will because you're in Latin America, and there's just amazing plant growth down here The only way that's not gonna happen is if you're living on a sand dune or a rock Anyway, if you've got some land no matter how small I can guarantee that you're gonna have bees and wasps and other flying insects Not that they're gonna bother you they won't they'll generally build their nests high in the trees somewhere where nobody will bother them or in
[11:56] The rafters of your house and in some cases right above your door And I'm telling you it's an eerie feeling standing on someone's front porch and hearing a low drone of a massive Insects with a hive or a nest near enough that makes first-world people like us very nervous And let me tell you although there's really no danger It's not a good feeling at least that's what we've been brought up to think from watching Winnie the Pooh yogi bear and Bugs Bunny Cartoons where someone's always being chased or stung by bees and I mean it There's so many wasps nests and beehives down here that yes at first they make you a real nervous They sprout up overnight and in the oddest places So you really do eventually throw in the towel and figure live and let live though There is such a thing as too close for comfort
[12:43] So all of us gringos and expats end up making a kind of uneasy truce, but a truce nevertheless In fact once you're down here You'll be making unofficial truces all the time with the local insects And if you're like me the only exceptions will be mosquitoes flies and cockroaches I'll have no truces with them and will kill on sight though I'll admit when I first got down here I kept a long broom handy to smack down every beehive and wasp nest within sight which ends up being a bit futile Because you know if you smack down every wasp nest and beehive when it's still tiny and manageable Chances are in a day or two it'll pop right back up again in a different place Maybe even in your garage or right above your front door and by the way when I say smack it down Most fresh gringos and expats are deathly afraid of that so they rope in their gardener
[13:30] Maintenance man or cleaning lady to do the dirty work, and they just laugh at us nutty gringos for being so afraid since for them It's no big deal all in a day's work So anyway, I know plenty of business and homeowners who've really relaxed their war on insects So now they just live comfortably with their nearby wild hive or wasp nests Even when they've set up shop very close to the home or business in fact I've seen big old hives and nests in places gringos would never tolerate up in the first world in the rafters under the roof Overhang in your garage on the trees close to your house even attached to the electric meter no less now in my experience back in Chicago when a wasps nest or a beehive appeared somewhere on your property or within eyeball distance of your property
[14:17] You'd either try to get rid of it yourself or call the exterminators well down here in Latin America sure there are exterminators for severe cases But most folks like I said just leave those nests and hives alone and everyone kind of respects their own territory in fact in Honduras I once went into a cafe internet That was a pretty active little business with about 15 computers mostly all occupied and in order to go to a restroom I had to dodge a Basketball sized wasps nest yes with lots of wasps going in and out about three feet above the bathroom door up in the rafters And believe me stuff like that absolutely freaks out first world people who haven't been in Latin America for very long in fact I met some first world ladies that would not go into that internet even though it was only 50 cents an hour
[15:03] Because just having that big wasps nest around gave them the willies and after a while I can't say that you grow numb to that stuff though you do grow more tolerant and you quit commenting on it to whoever's around For instance in the beginning when I first came down when I'd see a big wasp ball like that glued to someone's kitchen window I'd say to whoever was around nearly always a Latin person I'd say wow look at that thing and they'd always give me a shrug and a look that said yeah, so what? What I'm saying is you have to shed some of those sensibilities or get a little bit thicker skin when it comes to the usual Creepy crawlies that would drive you nuts up in the first world now as for me I no longer freak out at all when I see a big wasp ball like that no matter how close it is to somebody's house or Front door and I no longer freak out when I detect that oh so obvious sound of a hive or nest with
[15:52] thousands upon thousands of wasps or bees Living somewhere very close nearby because let's face it in order to hear thousands of those things making racket They have to be pretty damn close probably no more than a hundred feet away And I'll give you this challenge right now Anytime you're in Latin America and you're walking around where there's a group clump or stand of trees And I'm not even talking about jungle here just your average big yard Well all you have to do is take about 30 seconds and study the big Branches on some of the larger trees, and I guarantee you you'll see the smoothness of some of those branches Suddenly erupt into a big football or basketball sized object and that of course is home sweet home to thousands of bees or wasps And believe me by the time a nest is that huge even your maintenance guy won't knock it down for you
[16:38] It's best to just maintain that uneasy truths. I was talking about they won't bother you unless you bother them Now if things like that do give you the willies Imagine what would happen if you were eating out at a pretty nice garden style restaurant And as you were taking a walk under a sheltered passageway through the garden to the bathrooms You suddenly saw someone standing there right in the path with a hand over their mouth looking up at the rafters in this case Let's say it's an American gringa a woman with an absolute look of shock on her face And you just have to check it out yourself, right? Then when you looked up you suddenly realized that there were about a dozen or so bats Sleeping upside down in the rafters about three feet above your head And you had to pass right under them twice every time you went to the restroom
[17:23] What I'm saying is the owner of that restaurant has come to an uneasy truce with that family of bats Obviously the only people that are bothered by their presence are first-world people Mostly American women that happen to look up and see them hanging there and believe me unless someone tells you or points them out You'd never know they were there since they blend in so well, you know nature's camouflage and all So I guess at places like these Dozens if not hundreds of people go by each day and don't even know they're there talk about a case of out of sight out of mind And to everyone else who happens to know they're living there I'm sure I'll repeat customers know about it meaning Latin customers, of course, because we're talking about off the tourist trail now Anyway to the regulars a family of bats like that. It's just another interesting element to the scenery
[18:12] So in this case again, it's live and let live and the only people that don't seem to appreciate that tenuous Coexistence are gringo and gringa tourists mostly the women who often freak out so much They can't finish their meals and then there's the help who have to clean up the poop So now you might be wondering how many outdoor restaurants and places of business have nocturnal furry creatures like bats living there 24-7 kind of right up in your face Well since I've been down here I've run into eight or ten places like that and that's only because I knew the business or restaurant had those kind of borders But in fact, I'd have to say there probably been dozens and dozens maybe a hundred places I've been in that have borders like that but I just didn't know about it and of course there are some things you really don't want to know like for example a few
[18:58] Years ago when I first heard biologists talking about the fact that the average human has more foreign bacteria Viruses and spores living on any in him or her than the actual number of cells in his body In other words, each of us is more symbiotic parasitic than human a revolt and thought if you ask me Which could really depress you if you thought about it too deeply Now I have to say that was something that did not go down well with me at all I still don't like thinking about and I wish I wouldn't have found out that fact Like I said, there are some things best not known and you know before I heard that fact I thought only politicians were more parasite than human. Oh well Anyway for those of you wannabes and gonabes who are really queasy Let me reassure you that you're unlikely to run into places where the bats are in your face
[19:45] I wouldn't worry a bit about that It's the wasps nests and the beehives that you're gonna see on a regular basis and believe me It doesn't matter if you're living in the city in a high rise or you're living way out in the boonies Bees and or wasps will find a way to set up shop Now if you talk to any Latin American gardener or maintenance, man, they'll tell you wasps themselves are no problem at all Even when you your maintenance man or gardener just has to knock down a nest for whatever reason the wasps generally don't attack you They're just so worried about their damn home being smashed They panic and just lose their bearings then eventually try to relocate and of course There are many different kind of wasps big and small But the locals don't seem to be afraid of them at all and some 10 or 20 years ago They weren't much afraid of bees either
[20:31] But these days the African bees have mated with the locals. No, not the local Latin humans, but the local Latin bees It's something you just can't avoid They're here and now the bees are a lot more aggressive than they used to be and I'm talking about both the wild bees and the domesticated Ones, but that fact has not at all stopped people from keeping bee colonies and making good money with them, too Only these days beekeepers wear the protective clothing And as I understand 20 or 30 years ago, most beekeepers didn't have to sure They always carried around a little smoke pump because that seems to calm the bees But now with the African strains moving in they have to use more protection and as far as bee colony collapse Which seems to be happening everywhere up in the first world None of the beekeepers that I know are reporting it yet though. They're all keeping a close eye out. It's not happening
[21:21] Now most beekeepers think it's because of a lack of GMO plants down here But who knows some say it's due to the nicotinamide insecticides. They use up north There's a lot of speculation But one thing you're sure to notice if you keep bees down here or you know anybody who does there's just so Much wild vegetation here with so many different kind of flowers that from one bee colony to the next the honey always tastes a little Different depending of course the kind of flowers those bees are harvesting from so is it a good business for gringo expats? I think it's a great business. It's got a very low startup cost and all you need is a little land so if you're interested just do a little research by getting yourself some DVDs off the internet and when you get down here talk to Some of the people from the honey co-ops because that's how most people sell their honey down here
[22:08] And those honey co-ops have very cheap supplies, so you don't have to bring anything down with you It's all here And you remember since you're in a tropical climate the actual beehive Structures that you buy don't have to be weatherized like up in the states It's actually much easier to have bee colonies down here because there's no frost ice snow or harsh winters to deal with but do remember this if you get too close to a beehive and Agitate those bees since they're africanized they get pissed off in a hurry and will attack or rather defend their territory Depending how you look at it in fact I've heard plenty of stories like that from gardeners and maintenance guys Especially gardeners and house builders who have to clear land and brush on occasion Every one of them's got bee stories to tell and though I've heard tales like that
[22:55] I've never heard of anyone actually dying But who knows depends on your sensitivity to bee stings so if you do have severe allergies or bee sting Sensitivities be sure to bring your meds down if that's what you've been told to do But here's another take on it that I'm sure you'll find interesting if not controversial Speaking of antihistamines like pseudofedron and epinephrine injectors and inhalers for those who are sensitive to anaphylactic shock Now you know you hear and you read about that stuff all the time especially on the internet and the big ones are always bee stings Shelled seafood and peanut allergies in fact every year a few hundred people die from the peanut thing But being down here in Latin America I just don't get it in fact I've never once met a local Latin who carried around inhalers or antihistamines or even benadryl or pseudofedron
[23:43] In fact the average guy has no idea what that stuff is and the majority of these guys and gals Come into contact with bees and wasps even peanuts all the time and yes peanuts are a pretty big crop down here You see them everywhere in fact every day I see nut vendors on street corners since they grow so many different types down here including peanuts So you tell me why is it that every family up in the state says some kid or some relative who carries anaphylactic shock Medicine around with them everywhere. He goes am I right when I say that practically every family up north has a kid with an inhaler of some sort and that's not to say people down here don't have allergies sometimes you'll hear a person sneeze and I'll say alert he has a Lear he has sounds just like allergy right and it's written just like it too anyway like I was saying There's always a kid in every family who is loaded with allergies. He's allergic to everything in fact
[24:33] I have a sister like that She actually as a kid used to go to the allergy clinic every week and get shots Most of you know what I'm talking about for all you guys living up in Cleveland and Boston I'm sure you all have a friend or know someone who went through that too and as for my sister a lot of good at Dinner she still considers herself. Just loaded with allergies, and that's 30 some years later I'm sure there's a kid like that in your family You know he's the kid that can't eat peanuts or shellfish And he's ever ready with the inhaler and the Benadryl, and I'm not saying that stuff doesn't save lives But get this you just don't see that down here in Latin America Local Latin is especially the middle class and the poor ones which make up 60 or 70 percent of the population They'll eat anything you give them peanuts you give them shellfish They never turn it down and guess what when you give them shrimp they eat the whole damn thing tail head shell and all
[25:24] So you tell me what about this anaphylactic shock business and allergies in general? How come you don't see it down here? Is it because of the environment is it the natural food? Is it because there are almost no GMOs now? I'm not saying I haven't met a few kids here and there who don't have allergies or asthma But they're not carrying around inhalers either unless their mommies and daddies have money down here Like I've mentioned many times before that upper three to five percent of very wealthy and upper middle class They try to copy everything that comes out of the first world so as soon as their kid has a sneezing fit They bring them over to the allergist who follows first world protocol and then loads the kid and the parents down with inhalers Benadryl and epinephrine injectors and like and
[26:10] In my 20 plus years down here how many suffering asthmatic or allergic kids have I met like that an astonishing zero? And another thing to consider is that I've been to ton of parties and quincea annuals gigs and weddings and Baptisms everything and I've met hundreds of local latin middle-class families with their usual tons of kids And I've never seen a kid go into an asthma fit that is stop everything and go into a panic Where they typically wheeze and gas for air you know the drill you've seen it up in the states Everyone with an inhaler up there goes through it once in a while Which is why they have the inhaler in the first place right now just because I've never seen the poor or the middle class Families and their kids go through an attack like that that doesn't mean it doesn't happen But if allergies were as prevalent as they are up in the first world
[26:59] I'd see people suffering from it all the time, but I just don't it's as if severe cases Just don't exist at all the average middle and lower middle class lens have little idea What an inhaler even is or what it does in fact? There was a movie on television recently where a young kid was using his inhaler all the time and one of the adult Latins in the room asked me if the kid had cancer how about that? But I know quite a few expat English teachers who teach at expensive bilingual private schools And they tell me they have kids with inhalers. What does that say? 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 calm to sign up for your free
[27:51] Reports on Latin America see you next time. Nos vemos You