Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller covers a range of topics that highlight the cultural, social, and health challenges faced by expats and travelers in Latin America. He begins with a discussion on supermarket baggers, who are typically not paid and rely on tips. Expats and gringos are often the best tippers, while some locals, particularly older women, are also generous. Johnny shares his personal experience of resisting help from baggers but now gives small tips, usually under a buck. He also highlights the social aspect of these interactions, such as the connection between baggers and elderly locals who may not have cars and appreciate the help.
Next, Johnny discusses the habits and etiquette of backpackers, drawing comparisons between modern and historical practices. He highlights the contrast between current expectations and the more rudimentary, yet structured, etiquette of the 16th century. He references Giovanni del Casa, a 16th-century etiquette writer, who outlined rules for sharing a bed with a stranger, including how to handle unpleasant situations like foul-smelling sheets. Johnny notes that modern backpacker etiquette has changed significantly, with more formalized rules and the presence of Bibles in hostels, which are less common in commercial hotels. He contrasts this with the Japanese culture, where social withdrawal is a recognized phenomenon, and mentions the term 'hikikimori' for individuals who avoid social interaction and remain in their rooms.
Johnny then recounts a story about an elderly woman who lived in a house for 30 years without leaving, highlighting agoraphobia. He shifts to a story about an English teacher couple in Guatemala who became shrimp farmers, selling shrimp to the US but not consuming it themselves due to health concerns. He also discusses a recent article about a shrimp factory in India that sold contaminated shrimp to US grocery stores, revealing poor working conditions and lax US food safety regulations. Johnny touches on the issue of contaminated bottled water in Ecuador, emphasizing the need for consumer awareness.
In the next segment, Johnny discusses a report about contamination in seven brands of water sold in Ecuadorian food markets. These brands, including 'Fresh Water' and 'Your Clean Water,' were found to have high levels of E. Coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause various health issues. He provides the website where the contaminated brands can be looked up and lists the seven contaminated products, which are typically sold in large five-gallon jugs used in many Latin American households. He warns against drinking or cooking with these jugs due to potential bacterial contamination and suggests using a water purifier. Johnny also addresses the issue of plastic bottled water in restaurants, noting that while it's common, he prefers glass bottles like Pellegrino or Perrier to avoid plastic contamination. He shares a personal anecdote about bringing his own water to restaurants and the compromise he made with his girlfriend to avoid embarrassment.
Finally, Johnny discusses a letter from Dave, who shares his experiences with alternative health care in Latin America, particularly colon cleansing (colonics) and naturopathic doctors. Dave mentions his past experiences with colonic clinics in Guatemala, including the use of cold water and coffee, and even a diagnosis of intestinal parasites. He also talks about naturopathic doctors in the region who prioritize natural treatments over pharmaceuticals. Johnny acknowledges Dave's insights and mentions positive feedback from seminar attendees, including a humorous comment comparing attending the seminar to seeing a new lover naked for the first time.
Episode Notes
Johnny Mueller unpacks the social dynamics of supermarket baggers, the etiquette of modern backpacking, and the health risks of contaminated water in Ecuador. He also shares stories about alternative health care and the expat experience.
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Topics
Cultural norms in Latin America, Supermarket baggers and their working conditions, Tipping culture in Latin America, Social interactions between expats and locals, Backpacking etiquette, Historical backpacking practices, Cultural differences in backpacking, Social withdrawal in Japan, Agoraphobia, Shrimp farming and food safety, Consumer awareness and regulation, Bottled water contamination
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:48 Cultural Heads-Up for Supermarket Baggers in Latin America 00:02:23 Baggers in Latin America: No Salary, Only Tips 00:04:21 Tipping Culture: Expats and Locals 00:05:32 Upscale Latina Moms and Their Kids' Habits 00:05:35 The Financial Habits of Upscale Latina Moms 00:05:39 Kids Eating Junk Food at Checkout 00:05:46 Tips and Backpacker Etiquette 00:06:40 Etiquette Rules for Backpackers 00:07:12 16th Century Backpacker Etiquette 00:08:18 Backpacking Dilemmas in the 16th Century 00:08:35 Modern Backpacker Etiquette 00:11:27 The Agoraphobic Lady Across the Street 00:12:20 The English Teacher Couple and Shrimp Farming 00:13:39 Contaminated Shrimp from India 00:17:06 Contaminated Bottled Water in Ecuador 00:17:24 Contamination in Water Brands in Ecuadorian Markets 00:17:30 Irony in Water Brand Names 00:17:36 Bacterial Contamination in Water Brands 00:17:44 Health Risks from Contaminated Water 00:17:52 Website for Contaminated Water Brands 00:17:57 Website URL for Contaminated Water Brands 00:18:01 List of Contaminated Water Brands 00:18:09 Contaminated Water Brands 00:24:06 Introduction to Dave's Email on Alternative Health Care 00:24:28 Explanation of Colonics and Their Use in Latin America 00:25:49 Discussion of Naturopathic Doctors in Latin America 00:27:05 Humorous Feedback from a Seminar Attendee
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 out to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad 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 Right back in the saddle again Even though I don't much like horses. Oh, I admire them. All right and the people who ride them But somehow I just look at those spindly legs and I'm thinking the physics there just doesn't look right
[00:48] Anyway, here's a little cultural heads-up for anyone who comes down here to Latin America and goes shopping in a supermarket if you've noticed any bigger medium-sized supermarket has baggers and Note that especially in the bigger supermarkets You can hardly bag the stuff yourself They'll always be some guy they're doing it or even if there isn't by the time you're all tallied up and paying the bill chances are out of nowhere a little guy will run up and start packing your stuff in your cart and Sort of take command of it and follow you into the parking lot Whether you like it or not and some of these guys seem kind of forceful I didn't like that at first. Now. I have to admit when that first started happened to me. I started to resist I'd say nah, nah, I'll do it. I don't need any help. What am I an invalid or something? Hey, I might be old but I don't actually look like a senior citizen. I don't look my age
[01:37] Of course, no one cards me anymore, man It's been years nor does any establishment ever offer me a senior discount People do say I look 10 years younger than I really am. That's what people tell me. Anyway, unless of course, they're just being kind So anyway, you know for a long time. I resisted I wouldn't let anyone help me take my bags out to the car Oh and one more thing those little guys know if you're just buying one or two items They're not gonna help you take it out to the car. That's not gonna happen They're gonna concentrate on people who've got lots of stuff and lots of bags There's a good reason for that besides the obvious It would look pretty lame if all you bought were some grapes and a papaya and someone else carried it out to the car for You that would be ridiculous and downright rude Well, here's what I didn't know and I'm giving you a heads up on it right now
[02:23] Be advised that in the grocery store the little guys that bag your stuff and try to take it out to the parking lot for You in most all cases they get no salary at all Now, of course the cashiers do but if you notice they'll never offer to take your stuff out to the car They may bag one or two things if you're just buying a small amount of stuff, but they're not gonna take it out to your car They cannot leave the register. They're on salary. It's the other guys a little bagger guys And I didn't realize this for a long long time. They make no money at all except on tips But there's no signs to indicate that no one mentions it now, of course How you gonna know that the only reason I found out is because one of my Latin American girlfriends told me that her own brother Spent his free time when he was going to University Bagging for a big grocery store. She said that some days around lunchtime. She'd go into that grocery store
[03:14] Just to give her brother half of her lunch because he made so little dough on tips Some days he couldn't even buy lunch By the way, her brother graduated as an industrial engineer and has a pretty good job now But he suffered all the way through college and barely had enough to eat. So anyway after I found that out I Developed a little soft spot for those baggers, but I still resist having those bagger guys Take the stuff out to the car and put it in my trunk I do let him pack my cart though And I hand him the change right there a tip that works out to under a buck usually But anyway, they do flash a genuine smile and are happy about it Who knows maybe only one out of five people tip them by the way If you come down here to Latin America, especially off the gringo trail You'll see lots of little lunch counters that serve breakfast lunch even dinners for two bucks or less
[04:04] Now you won't see any gringos and expats eaten there though the occasional scruffy backpack girl Find a joint like that and chow down So if you tip one of those guys 50 or 75 cents, that's a half a lunch already By the way after I found out those guys do not get a salary. They only work for tips I asked my girlfriend's brother who were the best and worst tippers as if I didn't know already He said of course the gringos and expats He said Latinos are bad tippers with the exception being very old gray hair ladies who often are pretty slow moving and really do Need the help they really do appreciate you bringing their stuff to the car He said you'd be surprised how well they tip even if they're not well off at all And you can tell that by what they're buying what he's packing in their bags and putting in their carts By the way, he said there were a couple of regulars old ladies who lived in a neighborhood two or three blocks away
[04:53] He'd take that groceries all the way to their houses He just walked the cart there The ladies didn't have cars, but they didn't want to take a taxi three blacks either He said oftentimes the ladies would make him a cup of coffee and give him cookies There are some lonely old people out there just longing for a conversation with anyone. That's right loneliness Yeah, well, it's an epidemic up in the States down here in Latin America Not so much because down here extended families generally live in the same house But I digress as usual. Where were we? Oh, yeah tippin and The worst tippers my girlfriend's brother the ex-bagger says upscale Latina moms with entitled kids They got the money to buy junk food and anything else their kids want in the store
[05:39] He says often the kids are opening up and eating junk food and chocolate right at the checkout counter and all I'd get out Of it. He said was maybe a 10-cent table a 10-cent tip. Oh, and he says backpackers never tip either Well, he didn't have to tell me that So tomorrow that story is do tip those guys. That's the only dough they make By the way, speaking of backpackers, you know the art of backpacking is nothing new It's been around for thousands of years Of course, they didn't call it backpacking. But even back in the days of Marco Polo There were certain well-traveled roads and very cheap hostels You could stay at but you'd have to share a room or even a bed sometime with a stranger Yeah That was a very common occurrence if people did it all the time with no gender mixing either
[06:26] Turns out if you were backpacking in the old days traveling on the cheap You could very well expect to sleep in the same bed with someone you'd never met before Sounds pretty rough pretty crude, but there was a certain kind of etiquette even back then That you had to conform to if you were staying at one of those hostels So as not to ruffle any feathers, you know and my how backpacking habits and etiquette have changed You know when I'm researching and reading stuff, I come across some very obscure but very interesting things, too How about this? For example, did you know I bet you didn't in 1558? Florentine etiquette writer Giovanni del Casa Recommended those who share a bed with a stranger at a hostel
[07:12] They observed the following rules of etiquette. He's talking about the 16th century version of a backpacker Sharing a bed in a hostel with a complete stranger which happened quite often He points out there's a certain etiquette to be observed He says it's not a good habit for example when you're in the bed with a stranger and you come across something disgusting in the sheets as Sometimes happens. He says it's not good for him to turn at once to one's companion and point it out to him It's not proper He says to hold out the stinking thing for him or another to smell or inspect even if you so desire It's not recommended. You must resist that urge to lift the foul-smelling thing up to your nostrils or his
[08:00] He says it's not good for him to say look here, sir This stain here that stinks is not mine. What do you propose to do about it? Hmm. So what do you suppose that was all about? Was he speaking to a tubercular guy hacking up phlegm? Yeah, that's right He's talking about the 16th century backpackers dilemma when sharing a bed with someone you've never met One must put up with and tolerate little inconveniences Now, of course in modern time the etiquette rules for backpackers have certainly changed Yep, it may have taken a couple hundred years But backpacker etiquette has come a long way though. I've never seen misspelled out in formal way Now if you're a problem solver, I think there's a niche to be filled here Someone needs to write a book or pamphlet outlining the rules of etiquette for backpackers. What do you think? Hey, you know
[08:50] If I was a younger guy backpacking through Europe in my 20s, I think a rules of etiquette book for backpackers would go viral Don't you? I have one stuffed in each bed stand along with the Gideon Bible translated into four languages Hmm. They still have those Bibles in backpacker hostels. Don't they now? I noticed in big commercial hotels like Sheraton's Hilton's and Holiday Inn's They don't have a Bible in the room anymore They certainly used to I'd see them in hotel drawers and bed stands all the time though I have noticed in mom-and-pop boutique hotels Especially here in Latin America in some places You'd still see an old multi Bible in the drawer and man I hate to admit it, but I'm old enough to remember alongside that Bible. There'd be an actual physical telephone book
[09:36] Should I admit that hmm? Hey, you know who have the least backpackingist people in the world? Take a guess. You might say the Indians or the Chinese Not true. It's the Japanese In fact, they've got a huge group of people millions who advocate just the opposite According to Japanese sociologists up to a million Japanese adults suffer what's called social withdrawal syndrome Yeah, right There's a syndrome for everything and shot or a pill from Pfizer to manage it too The only kicker is you got to take it the rest of your life God I hate Pfizer. I think everyone who works there ought to get vexed weekly. What do you think? Are you on board with that? Anyway, Japan has the least backpackingist people in the world
[10:22] They have a group of people up to a million sociologists say called hikikimori It's a club of people who refuse to leave their bedrooms unless Physically compelled to do so now get this it's not that they won't leave their homes They won't even leave their bedrooms The definition of a hikikimori is a person who cannot make connections with other people they insist they cannot blend in with other people or groups They're beyond anxious about what others might think of them and thus stay locked up in their bedrooms for years most die alone Turns out there's at least one in every Japanese family or extended family and everyone knows who that guy is. I Guess in the West we'd call that simply in agoraphobic You know, I read about that term way back in high school, but I never personally knew an agoraphobe
[11:11] That is until I was in my early 20s and started working as an engineer across my office There were some other office buildings and a couple of stores and every so often wedged in between all those buildings was a pre World War two house in pretty good condition Well right across the street there was an Italian Italian next door was one of those old pre World War two houses And every once in a while I'd see a 50-something lady walk out on the porch in a pink bathrobe She'd pop out really fast going to the mailbox pick up her mail and jump right back into the house well that went on for a couple of years and one day two or three years later an Ambulance pulled up lights flashing and they took the lady out on a stretcher And of course when that happens a lot of people stop and stare and gape I walked across the street to have a look and I asked a guy who I saw cut in the grass there a couple
[11:58] Times he was right out in front. So what happened? He said that was his mother They think she had a heart attack and if it wasn't her hired He said she'd certainly have a heart attack when she wakes up and realizes she's in the hospital Because he said my mother hasn't left the house in 30 years And that's what my young 20-something self knew that agoraphobia was a real thing enough said about that Alright changing gears now you long-time listeners might remember me telling a story about an English teacher couple I know in Guatemala. They both taught at a private helicopter school. They didn't know each other They just met while they were teaching down there. Well sparks flew they got married and he being a biology major Somehow got into the shrimp farming business in Guatemala now
[12:44] If you remember the story you'll also remember that They sell millions of pounds of that stuff a year to the big markets up in the states Yet the best part of the story is they do not eat any of that shrimp themselves and they never let their kids eat it either Because they're just chock full of pesticides and antibiotics and they live in their own poop Sort of sad when you make a ton of money on a product you wouldn't use yourself Anyway after they explained the shrimp business to me. I was curious. I wanted to know it all I made a point of never eating farmed shrimp again I'll occasionally eat wild fresh caught shrimp But it's getting harder and harder to find this stuff unless you're on the pier when the boats come in and in the restaurants They'll idea they'll tell you it's wild caught shrimp and they have no idea if it is or not and 99% of the time
[13:33] it's not anyway, I'm revisiting this topic because an article just came out today an International story with this headline quote Indian Company sells contaminated shrimp to US grocery stores According to an insider whistleblower Let me just paraphrase a little bit of it for you It says Josh Farinella had been working in the seafood industry for eight years when he received an exotic job offer too lucrative to pass up Managing a shrimp factory in southern India salary 300 grand more than double what he was making previously But he said just a few months into the job and he arrived in October 2023 He became deeply disturbed by what he was witnessing His new company choice canning supply shrimp to US major grocery chains Walmart Aldi shop, right and many others
[14:23] His new company touted state-of-the-art processing plant and a commitment to international standards of quality All that nice rhetoric stamped on each and every box of the product Farinella said he soon discovered choice canning operated unsanitary off-site peeling sheds and Routinely approved the export of shrimp that was heavily tainted with antibiotics Well beyond US safety standards in violation of US food safety laws Yeah, right, and if you have any confidence in US food safety laws, I've got a new kind of shit coin to sell you Anyway, the article goes on to say the company's treatment of workers was equally jarring to mr. Farinella Migrant workers rarely had a day off and slept in overcrowded
[15:08] Bug infested dorms and were restricted from leaving the company's walled-off compound unbeknownst to others at the company though for an Ella Recorded conversations with senior leadership and captured secret video footage of the conditions at the plant at the off-site illegal peeling facility he says quote customers need to understand what they've been purchasing is a Contaminated product that was made by people working under terribly unhygienic and unsanitary conditions He says consumers must understand this is an industry-wide problem. Not just at this particular plant The disturbing fact is Americans love shrimp It's the most consumed type of seafood in the US and 40% of all shrimp comes from India
[15:54] The article finishes off by saying Farinella's allegations are part of a larger systemic problem within the entire shrimp industry The report by the way was based on interviews with more than 150 workers. So it's not just a one-off problem Now if you think the US FDA cares about this problem at all, listen to this It says the European Union samples 50% of all shrimp from India and other countries They do test for antibiotic traces Meanwhile, the FDA in the US inspects just 1% of shrimp imports That's 1% inspected compared to Europe's 50% inspections. And even at that they refused 51 shiploads of shrimp in 2023 and 70% of those over the limit of antibiotics involve shrimp exported from India
[16:44] Hmm. If you think the shrimp you're eating are contaminated and tainted, believe me, you don't want to know about tilapia Speaking of contaminated stuff to keep away from For you guys and girls out there who take this contaminated bottled water thing kind of lightly Thinking, you know, if you can buy bottled water in a store, it must be good They must have checked it out or some agency checked it out Well, listen to this brand-new report from Ecuador's biggest news source. So now we're talking about bottled water in Latin America It says in Ecuador the ahencia nationale de Regolación control y vejillancia sanitaria ARCSA has detected high levels of Contamination and bacteria in seven brands of waters sold in local Ecuador food markets
[17:30] Some of these water brands like freshwater and your clean water have irony built into their names It also goes out to say all seven of these water brands had high levels of E. Coli and pseudomodias aruginosa Which are bacteria that provoke health conditions such as stomach aches intestinal problems urinary tract infections and skin infections and more It says you can look up these contaminated brands on the site www.control sanitaria.gov.ec Which I did and here are the seven contaminated water products that you can buy anywhere in Ecuador fresh water agua vital Eco vital your clean water Eclipse and said agua another thing you should know is that these are not the small
[18:20] 500 milliliter bottles, you know the small bottles you buy in stores These are the big five gallon plastic Carboy jugs or got a phones that you load into kitchen water dispensers now if you notice here They didn't mention a single thing about micro or nano plastics, which are all the rage these days, right? You see articles about those things everywhere. Well, there you have another example of lag time severe lag time They're not even talking about plastics and nano plastic contamination By the way, those big five gallon jugs you see in every corner market in Tienda That's how almost all Latin American families buy their water Of course when people are out to lunch or at a restaurant, they drink out of those small 500 milliliter plastic bottles But the point is here just to wise you up on those big five gallon jugs you buy
[19:10] Oh and a lot of neighborhoods have home delivery service a big truck will pull up and drop off a few of those things a couple Times a week you trade them for the empties bad bad idea though for the plastics that we bought of those things and you end Up drinking the problems easily and permanently solved though. You can buy those jugs Just dump that water into a decent purifier and you're all set But never ever drink that stuff straight or cook with it. And you know people say Johnny What do you do when you go to a restaurant? That's all they have is plastic bottled water And of course, they're cooking with water out of a plastic jug, too Well, you can't do anything about their cooking methods You have to kind of close your eyes to that But you can buy the expensive bottled water that comes in glass bottles like Pellegrino Perrier and others Now how much of that went through plastic tubes and containers in the bottling process?
[19:59] We'll never know but at least it hasn't been sitting in a crate or on a pallet in plastic bottles in a warehouse for weeks And weeks at a time. It's good to know for however long it's stored at least it's in glass bottles Now you probably heard me say I keep a couple of glass bottles of pure water in my car Don't think I haven't tried to tote a bottle or two of that into a restaurant now and again I'm not embarrassed to do that. I don't care what the management thinks. It's my water I know what's pure and good. I filtered it myself But unfortunately, I learned in a hurry when I do that the girlfriend gets embarrassed She does not like it when I bring my own water into a restaurant makes me look cheap and by extension her My standard comeback was look if you bring a baby into a restaurant you bring the formula in a bottle with you All right, but no dice. She didn't buy that
[20:46] So the compromise has been that I buy water for myself in a restaurant in glass bottles You know Perrier Pellegrino and others. I know I know it's very expensive water Especially when I've got a couple of bottles of extra pure water virtually free water to sit in my car right on the parking lot Sure, it's a compromise, but it beats getting into a dust-up with the girlfriend Alright moving on. Let's take an email from the original Dave Dave number one. He says hi, Johnny Dave number one except no substitutes is back again imposters You know who you are will just have to wait in line because Dave number one is chiming in He says Johnny about that show you just did about dogs I have a secret weapon to avoid people's annoying untrained dogs myself It works very well to get the dogs to stay away from you and it's discreet. It's an ultrasonic dog training device
[21:36] It emits a high-frequency sound that only dogs can hear and dogs hate it So they'll move quickly away and stop barking Dave says these devices have been around a while and they used to be bulky and require a 9-volt battery They would fit in your pocket, but we're kind of bulky and hard to hide now on Amazon there are small devices that easily fit in your pocket where they can be charged and recharged like a cell phone and There's stealthy too when I met my sister's house and her annoying undisciplined dogs bother me I hit that button and the dog gone dogs are gone dog gone it However, I'm still looking for such a device with a hold button so that I don't have to keep my finger on the button all the time that would be a great feature when I'm walking in areas with low-class people who allow their dogs to bark constantly as
[22:25] We know Johnny low-class people come in all income levels as Far as untrained dogs as much as I would like to silence them I do feel sorry for them since their crappy owners never take them for walks and feed them cheap Crappy dog food like Walmart no-name dog food Dave number one says he also has a dog barking deterrent device that looks like a birdhouse and hangs in a tree that shoots ultrasonic pulses into the neighbor's yard that keeps their unruly dogs from barking to In fact, he says I saw a YouTube video where a guy hooked up one of those devices to an amplifier and had an array of Speakers pointing towards his neighbor's yard to quiet their pack of dogs Well, there's more to Dave's letter. I'll get to it Dave. You read my mind
[23:11] I almost bought one of those things the one yeah hang on a tree and the ultrasonic pocket device man I was looking at those two Never got around to buying one because the dogs in my neighborhood that are annoying are quite far away You know how you can hear a dog barking way in the distance and you think oh man When is he gonna shut up doesn't he ever sleep and I was thinking? Unfortunately one of those sonic devices wouldn't project that far We're talking blocks and blocks away and when you're living out in the boonies You can hear sounds from dogs and driveway chickens and kids from such a distance You can't even pinpoint where they're coming from Sometimes I'm thinking you know, there's got to be a way to shut up those crowing roosters, too Maybe at night when the Sun goes down There's some kind of clip or rubber band you could put around their beak who knows there's got to be a way to
[23:58] Shut those guys up because you know when a rooster crows at four in the morning, man I'm thinking where's that pellet gun when you need it? Anyway, now we're on to the second part of Dave's email. He says here's a topic that some of your audience might be interested in alternative health care Specifically colon cleansing or colonics in Latin America He says since bidets and Montezuma's revenge etc have been discussed extensively on the show I think you'd safe to go down this new rabbit hole or up another kind of hole I suppose known as colonics as you probably know Johnny. It's all about putting a hose up into the large intestine It's filled with water and the stuff that's stuck up there is Somehow gently removed. He says the hoses are disposable and not reused for other patients
[24:45] Thank Buddha for that. Could that be why Buddha is always smiling The fact is Johnny modern processed foods get stuck up at our large intestine and cause all kinds of problems It's not just a first-world problem either. I've seen colon cleansing clinics all around Latin America He says I used to go to a place in Guatemala City that used a colonic machine that was made in the US That place went out of business though. The clinic I go to now uses a not so fancy machine But it does the job they use cold water instead of body temperature water and they alternate the cold water with coffee Yes, this clinic pumps coffee into my large intestine Thing is Johnny. I've never had coffee the traditional way So if the topic of coffee comes up in conversation, I can truthfully answer that Guatemalan coffee helps me get up and go
[25:32] By the way Johnny last time I went to this clinic for a colonic in the middle of the procedure They told me I had intestinal parasites Then the clinician filled me up and drained me again and said want to have a look Mmm, I think we'll skip over that part. Anyway, let's just say I was very happy to have them out of me Finally Johnny speaking of alternative health. He says have you ever seen a naturopathic doctor in Central America? He says when I attended your seminar one of your attendees happen to be a naturopathic doctor What I like is that naturopathic doctors identify the lifestyle changes that a patient needs to be healthy and base their treatments on the avoidance Of use of industrial chemical based medications All the best Johnny signed Dave number one Alright Dave. Thanks for that good info there
[26:18] And yes Dave, you're right. There are quite a few naturopathic doctors here in Latin America And of course if you go to a stem cell clinic here in Latin America, most of the doctors there advertise themselves as naturopathic doctors they rarely resort to traditional pharmaceuticals. They always suggest a natural approach first Now speaking of past expat insiders seminar attendees like Dave, you know, I always get good feedback after the seminar from all the attendees comments trickle in days and weeks after the seminar Some of those comments are rather fun and interesting like this one We won't say who it's from but he says Johnny my first trip to Latin America off the tourist trail was your seminar
[27:03] It was a revelation Like my dear old dad once said it's like seeing a new lover naked for the very first time It's the make-or-break moment for any relationship In the case of the seminar and Latin America in general. I'm smitten I saw my naked new lover in the stark light of day and I'm all in Hmm. All right, that's from our mysteries seminar attendee his take not mine You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B we can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat
[27:50] Insiders seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com