Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores various aspects of life in Latin America, including cultural lag, energy independence, and the feasibility of going off-grid. He begins by introducing the show, which focuses on both the positives and negatives of living in the region. Johnny discusses the lag in the spread of U.S. culture to Latin America, using mega malls as an example. Despite technological advancements, the lag remains, with new mega malls being built in Latin American countries. He also highlights energy independence in several Latin American countries, noting that even Costa Rica, often seen as energy-independent, actually imports a significant portion of its energy. Johnny then discusses the affordability and reliability of solar energy in the region, suggesting it's feasible to go off-grid for under $20,000. Solar panels still produce energy even during rainy weather, making them a reliable option.
In another segment, Johnny shares his experiences with scorpions and geckos in Latin America. He explains that scorpions are generally not aggressive unless provoked and shares a personal anecdote about being stung, which caused temporary numbness. He also talks about geckos, which are harmless but can be a nuisance due to their droppings. Johnny reflects on his changing views about geckos after realizing their droppings can be a problem inside the house. He also touches on his interactions with Latinos, noting that those who speak English with slang may have been deported, and shares a story about a recently deported Latino who became friendly after the incident.
In a different segment, Johnny recounts a story about a man who was pulled over in New Jersey for having an open beer bottle in his car. During the stop, the authorities discovered he had never entered the country legally, raising questions about how he obtained a truck driver's job. Johnny shares his personal opinion that most Latinos deported from the U.S. were caught during routine traffic stops. He then discusses an article about the dangers posed by unqualified migrant truck drivers, citing a warning from Shannon Everett of the American Truckers United group. The article highlights the surge of unqualified drivers, including those with fake licenses, leading to a national security threat and public safety crisis. Johnny also mentions the Trump administration's efforts to enforce English language proficiency for truckers. He then shifts to discussing the busiest airport in Latin America, noting that Bogota's El Dorado Airport is actually the busiest, despite common assumptions about Mexico City. Finally, he touches on the deadline for customers of 23andMe to file claims due to a bankruptcy restructuring, and shares a personal anecdote about his brother's DNA test results revealing Neanderthal genes.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses the data breach of 23andMe, a DNA testing company, which exposed users' personal information, leading to multiple lawsuits and bankruptcy. He highlights that 23andMe's DNA data is not protected under HIPAA regulations because it operates outside the healthcare sector. The segment also touches on the financial implications of relying solely on Social Security benefits, noting that even in the least expensive states, these benefits would run out within a month, making it nearly impossible to live comfortably. The segment concludes with a comparison of Social Security benefits to minimum wages in the U.S. and Latin America, emphasizing the significant disparity in purchasing power. Johnny also criticizes the use of the term 'patriotism' by politicians, arguing that it is often associated with land grabs and lacks genuine meaning.
In the final segment, Johnny critiques the concept of patriotism, arguing that it is a form of land grabbing and a tool used by successive owners to justify their claims. He contrasts the United States with Latin America, suggesting that the U.S. is not a melting pot but a salad bowl, where cultures remain distinct. Johnny also discusses the lack of full assimilation among expats in Latin America, including gringos and Asians, and shares anecdotes about bathroom conditions in various countries, highlighting the differences in restroom facilities across Europe and other regions. He recommends paying for restrooms in Europe, where some facilities are maintained by attendants and are cleaner than hotel bathrooms.
Episode Notes
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller discusses the spread of U.S. culture in Latin America, energy independence, and the feasibility of solar energy. He also shares stories about scorpions, geckos, and interactions with Latinos, while touching on data privacy, Social Security, and the concept of patriotism.
For more episodes, seminar information, resources, and the full archive, visit ExpatPlanB.com.
Keep exploring
Related guides: Healthcare in Latin America · Cost of Living in Latin America · Residency in Latin America · Renting and Buying Property · Safety and Scams
Related episodes
Search the full episode archiveBrowse practical guidesExplore the Expat Insider SeminarAsk about a consultation
Topics
Introduction to The Expat Files, Cultural lag in Latin America, Energy independence in Latin America, Feasibility of solar energy in Latin America, Scorpions in Latin America, Geckos and their impact, Johnny's interactions with Latinos, Illegal immigration and traffic stops, Safety concerns with unqualified migrant truck drivers, National security and public safety, Airport traffic and travel, Genetic testing and personal anecdotes
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:14 Introduction to The Expat Files 00:01:05 Cultural Lag in Latin America 00:03:15 Energy Independence in Latin America 00:04:33 Feasibility of Solar Energy in Latin America 00:05:52 Solar Panels and Scorpions 00:06:01 Changing Gears to Scorpion Facts 00:07:28 Scorpion Behavior and Reactions 00:08:13 Geckos and Their Impact 00:11:02 Deported Latinos and English Slang 00:11:33 The Illegal Driver's Stop 00:11:51 The Cost of Fake Papers 00:12:07 Johnny's Personal Opinion on Deportation 00:12:27 The Article on Unqualified Truckers 00:14:28 Airport Language Instructions 00:16:05 Johnny's Thoughts on Bogota's Airport 00:16:54 The 23andMe Deadline 00:17:36 Subscribers and Data Breach 00:17:37 Data Breach and Legal Consequences 00:17:41 Exposure of Personal Information 00:17:47 Types of Data Exposed 00:17:48 Impact of Data Breach 00:17:57 Bankruptcy Result 00:17:58 Implications of Bankruptcy 00:18:03 Legal Status of DNA Data 00:23:19 Patriotism as a Land Grab 00:23:52 The Salad Bowl vs. the Melting Pot 00:24:44 Assimilation and Cultural Identity in Latin America 00:26:17 Bathroom Conditions in Europe and Beyond
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 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 Okay, first thing is I don't have much of a voice today. Let's see how long I can last before I poop out There's a strain of flu going around kind of knocks it down a little bit and takes away your voice But other than that Life goes on right, you know how occasionally we talk about lag time here in Latin America
[00:49] And how things that are very popular and famous up in the states don't get down here for a while And you might have thought with the advent of mass cell phone usage down here in the speed of the internet That lag time gap would have been closed shut by now. Well, it hasn't Case-in-point super malls mega malls, you know how up in the states years ago probably 20 years ago now You'd be reading all over the place that the mall scene, you know shopping mall scene was dead Even way back when super malls and strip malls up in the states were losing clients Businesses and storefronts were closing up and they especially got hit hard when Amazon took off Well, the odd thing is here in Latin America It's just the opposite if you read the local newspapers in Spanish, of course, you'll see practically every day Some grand opening for a brand new mega mall
[01:36] for example I'm looking at the local ad section in one of the big Latin American newspapers and his big ad for the opening of a mall de alto plan for 2026 with the executive in charge saying there's gonna be 180 commercial spaces 150 kiosks or islands not one not two but three food courts to movie theaters bars discos restaurants gyms recreational spaces for all the agent and this one says it's even got a seniors gym where Doesn't matter if you've got a Walker crutches canes wheelchair They have a geriatric specialist gym trainer that'll train you up. Wow, that's a new one. I mean anyway, just so you're in the know down here in Latin America giant shopping malls are going up everywhere with no slow down in sight and
[02:22] When I spoke to one of the general contractors who builds those things a Canadian company, by the way He says the reason why he thinks malls are big. They're on the upswing with more and more going up every day They're bigger and better all the time is because the roads and streets in the big cities in Latin America are so congested roads So narrow so difficult to navigate the parking so terrible that Plopping a big-ass mall on the boonies a couple of kilometers nearby with all kinds of space and open parking Well, he said that's part of the draw wide open spaces plenty of parking plenty of security Anyway, so something to think about. All right moving on. Here's something people want to know which Latin American countries are energy Independent in other words, if shit hits the fan worldwide
[03:10] Which countries in Latin America won't be scrambling to meet their energy needs? Well, some of the countries on the list might surprise you starting with Colombia Did you know that Colombia is such a huge energy producer that they export about half again what they use? Next in line you probably guessed Venezuela after all it has one of the biggest oil reserves in the world Even though it's badly mismanaged. They still managed to export more than twice what they use then there's Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Argentina and Paraguay That's the list of self-sufficient Latin American countries. That's it Every other Latin American country imports some of its energy to make ends meet Yes, surprisingly enough. Even Mexico is a net energy importer
[03:56] 16% of their energy is imported and for those of you who are so high on Costa Rica Be leaving the hype about how their hydroelectric facilities supply all the green renewable energy the country needs Well, you'd be wrong. Oh, I know it was a big story way back when lots of publicity on it But they were lying to you Costa Rica imports 53% of its energy. It never was energy self-sufficient so much for a slipshod PR Anyway, in case you were wondering that's why I always say man come down here get that plan to be going and get off The grid it's so damn cheap to go completely solar and off the grid these days Down here where the Sun's always shining you could easily set up a complete whole house energy Self-sufficient system for under 20 grand and never ever have an electric bill again
[04:43] Well, you'll have a meter bill because you always want to have on standby Your regular grid power so you'll have to pay for the hookup charge, which is about a buck and a half a month Yeah That's the meter fee about a buck and a half a month And for example, if you have to do some repairs on your solar system, you just flip a switch and you're on the grid again Now you might wonder how often is that gonna happen? Well almost never even during the rainy season when it seems there aren't many completely sunny days at all The thing is people don't much understand your solar panels are still producing energy even when it's raining and overcast Though naturally the average person would say well, it's dark the clouds are black in the sunlight But I'll tell you for example my last solar system I had about 12,000 kilowatts of solar panels and four or five hours a day
[05:30] It would put out 12,000 kilowatts and of course nothing at night. That's why you have batteries anyway even if it rained all day in the heaviest of rain it would still put out maybe 2,000 kilowatts continuously and that's enough to run your refrigerator your lights your computer your TV In other words when there's heavy clouds and it's raining not to worry your solar panels are still putting out not at the maximum They're rated for but they're still putting out another reason to get more solar panels than you initially Decided on when it comes to solar panels more is better All right changing gears. Here's an article that caught my eye The article starts with this question. Are you seeing more and more scorpions skittering about? Here's what you should know about scorpions By the way
[06:15] I never saw a scorpion live and close up except in a zoo or in a James Bond movie Until I came down here to Latin America and yes I've seen a lot of them since then but never one of those big black ugly ones always tiny ones about two or three inches at Most sure the small ones are ugly, but they're not all that scary So what should you know about scorpions because you're gonna see them? Well for one thing they're not gonna sting you or attack you unless you step on them or brush against them or startle them somehow Like what happened to me one time. I had one in my pant leg Left my plants on a floor in a cheap hotel overnight got up took a shower put my pants back on and whoa Got jabbed the scorpion fell out of my pants my instant reaction was to stomp on it But I had no shoes on so I grabbed the sandal and whacked it anyway
[07:03] You longtime listeners heard me tell how my tongue went completely numb for about four hours Like when you go to the dentist have a shot and they work on your lower teeth one of the weirdest sensations I ever had I got in a car drove to a nearby medical clinic. They told me nothing to worry about That's a common reaction Paresthesia of the tongue Nothing permanent it'll go away and it did but you never forget the fact that one of those horrible little creatures Had its way with you. The thing is they're like answer bees. There's never just one There's a colony of them nearby a revolt and thought to be sure now Honestly, I can say I haven't seen a scorpion for a couple of years now up close that is but they're around They like dark places in cupboards under rocks and such and it is true. They won't bother you
[07:49] They won't attack unless you prod them or rub against them bother them or step on it by then It's too late again. Just remember what I said. I haven't seen one live and up front in personal in a couple of years now But believe me if you're down here long enough, you're gonna see one or two or a dozen of them speaking of uninvited house guests You may have heard me on a previous show talking about geckos You know those little lizards you see down here everywhere They're way too fast to catch. So it's not worth trying Latinos call them Lara Cartillas Lara Cartillas They're harmless, of course nocturnal though. They make funny little noises at night and for some reason they like to hide behind wall clocks and Way up in corners where the wall meets the ceiling. Anyway, I don't like uninvited guests in my house
[08:35] So if their ants flies kookaracha bees, I'll shoo them out or kill them Oops, I take that back. But if they're kookaracha mosquitoes or flies, I'll always kill them. I won't shoo them out You know, I've got a couple of gringo acquaintances that don't kill anything. They shoo everything out of the house I don't get it Why would you want to pass like a fly or a kookaracha or a mosquito to live to pester someone else another day? You know, you see creatures like that. It makes a doubt the existence of God I mean why would a supreme being allow those horrible disease carrying things to exist unless he just likes With us could be he's a jokester. You never know now as far as uninvited guests those little geckos those Lara Cartillas Seem to be the most innocuous and harmless and though I occasionally booed him out of the house
[09:22] I never kill him except just recently I found out my cleaning lady doesn't like him She's not frightened. They don't scare her. They're too small They never confront you they scamper out of the way before you get anywhere near him So then why does she have an aversion to him? Well, she walked out on the patio and showed me the lawn furniture There are a couple of little black match heads size discolorations on the furniture She said watch this as she tried to scrape it off with her fingernail and she couldn't it was solid like a rock like a poxy She says that's Lara Gartia poop. She says if it sits out in the Sun for a while It sets up hard as a rock Then it suddenly rang a bell in my head I've seen those things around the house before those little match head size mounds Mostly around the kitchen sink in the laundry room and suddenly I wasn't feeling very good about those geckos either
[10:11] Mystery solved. So now I guess I'm gonna have to rethink my benevolence Towards those little supposedly innocuous creatures Latinos call Lara Gartia's Gecko poop outside the house any poop outside the house sets nature's way But inside the house you can't unsee that alright moving on just yesterday I ran into another Latino who spoke pretty good English big city USA slang English He was most likely illegal up in the states caught and deported if you've got a good here You can almost always tell by the quality of a latinos English if they use street lingo Talk a lot of slang then most likely they never had a formal English class and this learned all the English They know on the street in the barrio in a big city US ghetto. So anyway, just yesterday
[10:58] I ran into another Latino. I had a sneaking suspicion He'd been recently deported another clue that someone's been recently deported is they warm up to gringos really fast and start speaking in English They are not humble like native-born Latinos who've never been anywhere saying things like where'd you from? Chicago Chicago Bulls, man. Yeah, and of course now we were best friends. Anyway, he was pumping gas at a shell station So while he was filling up the tank we got to talking he finally admitted he got deported and when I asked him how he got Knapped he said he was driving a company truck in New Jersey got pulled over at a routine stop had an open beer bottle in The car and one thing led to another they checked up on his papers and background
[11:44] Found out he'd never entered the country legally and then I said, well, how'd you get that truck driver's job in the first place? If you were any legal, he said getting good papers is no trouble at all for a couple hundred bucks You could get all the papers necessary to drive a big rig and they passed too He said which is kind of scary too, isn't it? Considering fact that I'd say and this is my own personal opinion Based on all the Latinos I've met down here who have been deported from the states I'd say that the vast majority of them the ones that have been caught and deported were nabbed in a traffic incident Pulled over for a routine traffic violation And even though they've got pretty good papers the papers are false and some deep digging by the cops the authorities Whoever will uncover the truth which brings us to an article on that subject that just came out
[12:32] So here goes the headline says American truckers issue dire warning on unsafe highways Due to the flood of unqualified migrant drivers Let me just read a couple of highlights from this article It says Shannon Everett of the trucking advocacy group American truckers United warns of the surge of migrant drivers with non-domiciled commercial drivers licenses or fake licenses and or no valid truck license at all he warns the influx of unqualified truckers has transformed US highways into a national security threat and a growing public safety crisis Citing multiple fatal crashes month over month involving migrants behind the wheel of fully loaded 800,000 pound big rigs he says let this be an urgent wake-up call for Americans on the road citing concerns that lacks
[13:23] Or no licensing standards have put unqualified non-English speaking drivers behind the wheel of trucks and heavy construction vehicles of all kinds including 80,000 pound semi-trailer rigs He warns our highways are no longer safe citing reckless immigration policies and weakened Licensing standard have unleashed a deadly crisis on our roads He says special interest groups have flooded our roads with unvetted unqualified untrained drivers The article goes how to say American truck driver unions have previously noted that the Biden-Harris regime bragged about bringing 876,000 new truck drivers into the market Effectively doubling the average annual output of new drivers most of these new drivers not proficient in English
[14:11] Then it says the Trump administration has signaled it takes the issue seriously last month President Trump through the US Department of Transportation Enforced the new English language proficiency rule for truckers to crack down on unvetted migrant drivers operating big rigs By the way in this article They show a photo of a Walmart loading dock with instructions for truck drivers to stay to the right and pull forward Get this printed in English Spanish and Arabic So then why am I mentioning this just in case you were wondering the future direction of your country? All right, speaking of travel international and otherwise Here's a question for you. What's the busiest airport in Latin America in all of Latin America all 20 countries Well, I bet if I polled 20 people even 20 expats they'd say Mexico City, of course most popular country for tourists
[15:02] Stands to reason right wrong almost no one gets this one, right? But guess what? Bogota's El Dorado Airport is the busiest airport in all of Latin America at least for 2024 It saw forty five point four million travelers last year Edging out Mexico City's main airport which had forty four point nine million last year and Number three the third busiest Latin American Airport Sao Paulo Brazil forty three point one million visitors So there you have it number one Bogota Colombia number two Mexico City number three Sao Paulo Brazil So why do you think Bogota gets the most traffic? Could it be because of Colombia's reputation for drug trafficking or maybe it's all those gringles flying down to meet the Colombian girl of their dreams
[15:49] Chapiadores they've met on those Cupid dating sites or perhaps could it be Colombia's tourism sectors blooming? Well, maybe but I can't think of anybody Gringle or otherwise who's dying to go to Colombia because of the tourism by the way I know that airport in Bogota. I don't like it It's just so spread out and takes so long to get from place to place You go to one building to check in drop your luggage there Then you have to walk a half mile to get to a tram It'll take you to another building where you walk another half mile I'll tell you you really do need an hour or sometimes two between connecting flights when you're hitting a big airport I especially hate those airport trams people movers, whatever they call them whose idea was that Packing hordes of sweaty people into tight little trams. Don't get me started on airports or I'll be talking till next week
[16:40] Anyway, today is sort of a sad day for some seven or eight million people Today's the deadline for customers of the genetic testing company 23 and me to file a claim as part of a restructuring in its bankruptcy case Yep, 23 and me you remember that company, don't you? You may have invested a couple hundred bucks to get your DNA tested now. Why am I bringing this up? It has some special significance to me since my brother had his DNA tested spent the two or three hundred bucks Whatever it was only to find out the bad news that we had I think one point seven percent Neanderthal genes in the family could be more. Maybe they're just being kind Anyway, if you signed up for that service 23 and me got sucked in Like my brother did you probably remember in 2023 they send out a notice that they were hacked
[17:28] They were nailed with a cyber attack that compromised the sensitive personal information of seven million subscribers Seven million users in that letter that disclosed the existence of a data breach in 2023 and acknowledged it had exposed users personal information including names relationship labels Ancestry reports and a percentage of DNA shared with other relatives which is resulted in multiple class action lawsuits leaving them bankrupt So then what's up in a bankruptcy when you have all that sensitive data at stake? Well turns out after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy 23 and me Receive permission from a judge to sell its most valuable asset customer DNA files
[18:14] So there you have it if you paid them to analyze your DNA They're gonna make money by selling your DNA to others turns out according to court documents a customer's 23 and me DNA data is not protected under the health insurance portability and accountability act known as the Which is a law that protects a person's private health information from being shared without the person's knowledge or consent the court ruled that 23 and me is not subject to HIPAA regulations because it's a direct to consumer company outside of the legal health care realm like a hospital physician's office or clinic You can go on that site now and delete your account, but you cannot delete your DNA They own your DNA and genetic data You'll find it in a fine print wherein you signed up your DNA is being sold to whoever is buying the company and they'll use it
[19:06] as they see fit So while you seven or eight million people out there aren't you glad you signed up for 23 and me Yep, it was a cool thing to do when it first came out Just like getting that first round of the facts when it came up, man I remember quite well how those gringles and experts down here We're proud to show me their fax card that they'd been jabbed So proud were these idiot gringos some took selfies with their fax cards put it up on fake book and insta crap Hey, look at me first on my block to get vexed big smiles big grins. I'm protected forever. Dr Falsy said so you know who you are boy, don't you feel stupid now? All right moving on finally There's an honest article that talks about how if you're living on social security alone
[19:51] Your funds will run out in every US state you happen to be living in in much less than a month's time According to a new study by go banking rates calm they source the average social security income for a person filing single or solo and Calculated the average mortgage and expenditure costs for each state to determine total cost of living for a retired person living on a social Security check so get this they broke it down to how many days in a month your social security dough will last Depending on which state you live in for example the state where your social security check will last you the longest is, West Virginia It'll last you twenty one point five days out of thirty two thirds of the month The next least expensive state number two in Mississippi
[20:37] Your social security check will last you twenty point nine days out of thirty The question is how you supposed to live the other ten days of the month when your social security dough has run out now Here's where it really gets sad makes you want to cry The most expensive state to live in if you're on social security Well, I guess it doesn't matter if you're on social security or not. It's still the most expensive state. It's Hawaii Turns out if you're a single person on social security your average social security check will last you 7.3 days in Hawaii again that includes your mortgage and cost of living etc So how is a person supposed to live in Hawaii on a social security check? You just can't well you can for seven point three days. Oh in 49th place. That's California the second most expensive state
[21:22] Days per month your social security check will last a single person 8.7 next in line the third most expensive state Massachusetts the days per month your social security will last a single person about nine point seven days I think you're getting the point There's no state in the union where you could live a nice decent life on a social security check Well, you could live a good life for a few days anyway, but not the whole month doesn't that make you sad Doesn't that give you the incentive to have a plan B? Doesn't that make you want to get the hell out of Dodge? Here's an easy way to look at it the average social security payout for a year for a single person's around 24,000 bucks turns out according to chat GPT anyway the average yearly minimum wage income for a full-time worker
[22:08] Minimum wage now in the US is twenty six thousand bucks a year So in the US your average social security yearly payouts around equal to the average minimum wage yearly payout Around twenty four to twenty six thousand bucks a year now Let's talk about Latin America where the average minimum wage is five to six thousand bucks a year That's a quarter of the US minimum wage That means if you're living in Latin America on a social security check making 24 or 26 thousand bucks a year You're making four times as much as minimum wage in that country That makes all the difference in the world because in the states if you're on social security You're making what the average minimum wage state-side worker makes you're the working poor Whereas if you're getting an average social security payout and you're living in Guatemala
[22:54] You're making four times the average minimum wage in Guatemala So instantly you'll be four times better off than the guy on minimum wage Whereas in the states will be no better off than a guy who's making a minimum wage All right, let's take an email. This one's from jr. He says Johnny Patriotism I'm sick of hearing politicians use that word any patriotic movement is just full of irony Patriotism what BS it's a word that commemorates a land grab There isn't a foot of land in the world Which doesn't represent the ousting or reausting of a long line of successive owners who each in turn? Hail themselves as patriots with proud and swelling hearts and chests Defending it against the next gang of robbers who come to steal it then become swell-headed heart clutching flag saluting
[23:46] Patriots in their own right patriotism. I'm sick of it then junior says besides that Johnny in the USA We're not a melting pot. Everyone says we are but we're not we're a salad Bowl You know how a salad has got individual little chunks that you can identify tomatoes onions lettuce And it all kind of works if a salad Bowl was a melting pot. It would be like mush bland as hell I repeat Johnny. We are not a melting pot. We are a salad Bowl signed jr. From New York Well, thanks for that jr. You know, I suppose Latin America is a salad Bowl to every big Latin American city has its Chinatown Has its Haitians who live in crude body? Oh, it's Venezuelans who congregate together in a section of town? Indigenous people have their little towns bodyos and districts where all you see is indigenous people
[24:34] So come to think of a junior Latin America is not a melting pot either Nor have they ever claimed to be like the US always seems to do besides that down here in Latin America Gringo's almost never completely melt into the local society though We blended much much better than Asians do Asians are called chinos down here and Asians don't much like that term But everyone uses it because it basically means Chinese Every Asian here is considered Chinese until so corrected by the way Even gringos who marry into Latino families We don't a hundred percent assimilate nor do we want to and of course Latinos like to include us into their social gatherings and such They like us. It's that gringo wannabe thing, but only outside the tourist areas We've certainly found ways to wear on the nerves of Latinos in tourist areas
[25:23] You can hardly blame them for not liking us stomping around with our big footprint in their tourist areas But again, even if you marry into a Latino or Latina family and you speak Spanish perfectly, you'll never 100% assimilate And finally an email from Dudley. He says Johnny you think bathrooms are disgusting in Latin America a Few years back. I was an exchange student in Windsor in the UK Windsor You know where Windsor Castle is in the house a nice old Victorian house. The bathroom had wall-to-wall carpeting Yeah, so naturally, you know how guys piss even when we're aiming, right? Sometimes we miss and the bars and pubs in the UK have pissed troughs for a man pretty disgusting Same thing goes for Greece even the nice
[26:09] Restaurants they've got nice marble and polished chrome fixtures and just occasionally a big hole in the ground with Impressions on the floor so you know where to put your feet Oh and Johnny and Istanbul Turkey home of the world's biggest indoor and outdoor bazaar You definitely want to do your business in your hotel before you spend the day out in the bazaars Imagine the worst restroom you've ever seen the bizarre restrooms are worse than that Well, thanks for that Dudley But there is one thing I really like about certain European cities and European public restrooms in places like Germany Austria Norway, Sweden, Switzerland They've got a 24-7 bathroom attendant living adjacent to or in the bathroom in a nice sitting area with TV and stuff And you pay to use the restroom assuring that the restroom will always be sanitary and up the snuff
[27:00] It's really wild. Imagine you're in the center of Berlin a huge city You're walking down the stairs to take the subway You see a sign that says bathroom or water closet as they like to call it and there's a 50 or 60 something lady Sitting right out in front holding her cat You give her a euro you walk in and it's cleaner and nicer than the bathroom in your hotel So my advice when traveling and in doubt about the restroom facilities always elect a restroom you have to pay to use But really imagine you're a 60 year old lady and that's your line of work your permanent job 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
[27:46] And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week long expat insider seminar in Central America Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com