Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller provides an honest and unfiltered look at living, working, and navigating health challenges in Latin America. He contrasts the idealized portrayals often found in travel magazines with the real-life experiences of expats.
The episode begins with an introduction to the podcast, emphasizing its goal of offering a realistic view of expat life in the region. Johnny discusses common health issues like Montezuma's revenge, a condition many expats and backpackers experience due to consuming cheap street food or being part of a Spanish immersion program. He highlights the cultural expectation for expats to eat and drink whatever is offered, even if it leads to illness, especially when staying with local families during language immersion programs.
Johnny also describes the often poor hygiene conditions in these homes, the lack of privacy, and the social nature of Latin American families, which can make it difficult for expats to find a private bathroom, especially when they're unwell. He notes that many middle-class Latin American homes have only one bathroom, which is shared among multiple family members and guests, and it is typically not well-maintained. Some families may have an additional toilet in the backyard, usually near a cement wash basin called a Pila, which is used for washing dishes and sometimes for other purposes.
The episode then moves on to discuss the typical bathroom and kitchen setups in middle-class Latin American homes. Johnny highlights the use of a cement Pila as an outdoor utility basin and the prevalence of cheap, flimsy stainless steel sinks. He notes that these sinks are often so weak they can be ripped out easily and become unsightly due to hard water. Johnny also describes the lack of privacy in bathrooms, with many having no doors or only partial ones, leading to awkward situations for expats. He contrasts the cleanliness of Latin women with their male counterparts, attributing public mess to men and noting that even wealthy men often have bad breath. He concludes by advising expat women to be prepared for these cultural norms when dating local men.
The segment then shifts to a discussion about Eddie's dating habits in Latin America, highlighting his preference for women with 'pretty faces' and the cultural perception of his attractiveness due to his blue eyes, referred to as 'blue-eyed syndrome' or 'ojos clados.' It also touches on Eddie's personal hygiene practices, such as flossing, which he learned later in life after losing a molar, and how this habit is appreciated by Latin women. The segment then moves on to a discussion about drinking water in Latin America, emphasizing the lack of regulation and trust in bottled water, and suggesting alternatives like imported first-world bottled water, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi. It also mentions the common practice of drinking tap water and the prevalence of intestinal parasites due to poor water quality.
Johnny then discusses the use of small ice packs in Latin America, which are sold for a low price and are used by laborers to stay cool. He explains that these ice packs are supposed to be pure water but are often filled with tap water that may not be clean. He warns expats about the risk of drinking the water from these ice packs and suggests alternatives like bottled water, soda, or portable water filters for extended stays. He also talks about the habits of astute travelers who avoid illness by being cautious about food, drink, and hygiene.
The episode continues with a discussion on hygiene practices and common pitfalls expats face in Latin America. Johnny highlights the dangers of cloth towels in restrooms, the importance of using paper towels to avoid cross-contamination, and the need to avoid touching handles with bare hands. He also emphasizes the importance of checking kitchen hygiene by peeking into the kitchen and avoiding food that may have been contaminated by workers. Johnny mentions the lack of doggy bags and the potential for misunderstandings when expats request them, as well as the risk of cross-contamination from waiters handling food with their fingers.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses various dining etiquette and health concerns for expats in Latin America. He highlights the importance of wiping plates with a napkin before using them, as even seemingly clean plates may not be hygienic. He also shares a story about Eddie Bean, an expat in Salvador, who observed that kitchen staff often steal leftovers from customers' plates due to low wages. Johnny also discusses the issue of hepatitis A outbreaks linked to raw shrimp dishes like ceviche, emphasizing the importance of removing the black vein from shrimp, which contains bacteria. He explains that while well-cooked shrimp is safe, ceviche, which is marinated rather than cooked, can pose a risk if the vein is not removed.
The episode ends with Johnny providing advice on health and dining etiquette while living in Latin America. He mentions that hepatitis A is less severe than other diseases like mumps or chicken pox, as it does not recur. He advises listeners to be cautious about eating shrimp with mud veins, which can be a health risk, and notes that restaurant staff may not understand or be able to accommodate requests for shrimp without mud veins, even if explained clearly. The segment concludes with a reminder to email The Expat Files with questions about Latin America.
Topics
Introduction to The Expat Files podcast, Challenges of expat life in Latin America, Cultural expectations and social norms, Health issues faced by expats, Living conditions in Latin American homes, Bathroom and kitchen setups in Latin America, Hygiene and cleanliness in Latin American culture, Cultural norms and gender roles in Latin America, Eddie's dating habits and attractiveness in Latin America, Cultural perceptions of beauty and attractiveness, Hygiene practices and flossing in Latin America, Water quality and safety in Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:24 What's it Really Like for Expats in Latin America? 00:00:26 Setting the Stage for the Discussion 00:04:31 The Outdoor Cement Pila as a Utility Basin and Toilet 00:04:47 The Flimsy Stainless Steel Sinks in Middle-Class Latin Homes 00:05:54 The Lack of Privacy in Latin American Bathrooms 00:06:41 The Hygiene Gap Between Latin Women and Men 00:07:45 The Cultural Norms of Cleanliness and Litter in Latin America 00:08:44 The Impact of Bad Breath on Dating in Latin America 00:09:08 Eddie's Dating Habits and Attractiveness in Latin America 00:10:25 Water Safety and Hygiene in Latin America 00:13:43 Introduction to Ice Packs and Their Use 00:14:30 Warning About Water Quality in Ice Packs 00:15:33 Recommendations for Expats on Water Safety 00:17:09 Hygiene Practices of Astute Travelers 00:18:10 The Dangers of Cloth Towels in Restrooms 00:18:59 Evaluating Kitchen Hygiene 00:19:52 Avoiding Contaminated Food 00:19:59 Understanding the Doggy Bag Misunderstanding 00:22:02 Cross-Contamination by Waiters 00:22:30 Plate Hygiene and Dining Etiquette for Expats 00:23:20 Leftovers Theft in Low-Wage Restaurants 00:24:56 Hepatitis A Outbreaks and Raw Shrimp Dishes 00:26:57 Hepatitis A and Immunity 00:27:05 Shrimp and Health Risks 00:27:16 Dining Etiquette and Communication
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:03] Hi everybody, I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America. The show that tells you what it's really like to live, work, play and or retire in Latin America. I tell it just like it is, not the version they give you in those glossy travel magazines or the picture they paint for you in those international traveler websites where they're only trying to sell you something. What's it really like for expats living in Latin America? Well, if you stick around a while you'll find out, so let's get started. You know I often get emails from people asking me what they should and shouldn't eat and what they should and shouldn't drink down here in Latin America. Because as I'm sure you know, everyone who's ever been down to Latin America, or out of the country for that matter, has had a case of Montezuma's revenge or two.
[00:48] And of course for all you people who do the backpacking thing, it's kind of par for the course when you travel the low budget way. It's just what you get when you buy cheap street food. And all of you who've been through a Spanish immersion course, which I talk about from time to time, which of course involves living with a humble Latin American family for a couple of weeks or even a couple of months, that's one of the best ways to learn your Spanish in a hurry. But not only do you learn your Spanish, you're also stuck at their dinner table eating the local food. They expect you to chow down for breakfast, lunch and dinner because that's part of the plan, whether you like it or not. And most times you're not going to like it. In fact, it would be an insult and very rude to refuse anything they put in front of you because you're in their home as a guest, even though you're paying. And any house guest anywhere knows that when you're invited for breakfast, lunch or dinner,
[01:35] you better put a smile on your face and at least act like you like it. Because the lady of the house that prepared it is surely going out of her way because she's got you, a gringo, as a special guest. And you know, that's the thing I don't like about those immersion courses. Sure, the great advantage is that they're always talking in Spanish to you and the way it should be spoken. At the conversational level, that's going to be most helpful to you. So you're going to learn it in a hurry. But you're also guaranteed to get Montezuma's revenge. And not just once either, I'll tell you. And although at some time or another, we all go through it, even in a highly sanitized first world, the thing is, nobody likes to be sick, especially that kind of sick, when you're not at your own house and in your own bathroom. And the problem with immersion families is this. They're poor, of course, by our standards, or they wouldn't be taking in gringos like you and me as immersion students.
[02:21] I mean, imagine how much that would disrupt a family up in Cleveland if they took in a foreign border that didn't even speak their language for weeks at a time and only getting about 300 bucks a month for it. I mean, talk about loss of privacy. So when you're in an immersion family situation, I guarantee you that there'll only be one bathroom in the house with a door on it, and it probably doesn't have a decent lock. And generally, that bathroom won't be much better than those smelly restrooms you try to avoid along the highway, the ones you see a lot in rundown gas stations up in the first world. In fact, some of those first world gas station rest stop bathrooms would be an improvement, and that's no lie. So what I'm saying is that expect to get sick not only in a bathroom that's just a little bit above disgusting, but also expect because of Murphy's Law, when you're in there getting
[03:07] sick, someone in the family is bound to be pounding on the door because they want to get in. And let me tell you, when you're with an immersion family, you might think there are only four or five people in that family, a father and mother, maybe three kids, which is bad enough when you all have to fight over one bathroom, and that's for sure. But you see, Latin American families are very social, and you'll find it's almost like there's an open house going on. I mean, I remember myself. When I walk into the living room, often there'd be two or three people there I've never met in my life before. And then when sitting down to lunch or dinner, there'd be one or two extra people there too that I've never seen before. Maybe it was just because there was a gringo on display, I don't know. But it seems like every middle class Latin family that I've ever visited has an open door policy for neighbors and friends, which is kind of cool, but not when you want to use the bathroom, especially when you're sick and you want to use the bathroom.
[03:54] And like I mentioned before, most Latin American middle class families only have one bathroom, that means one toilet and one shower too, and they rarely have a bathtub. Now here's the other thing, some Latin American families actually do have another toilet, and when they do have an extra one, it's usually out in the area of the backyard next to the that ubiquitous wash basin they call a Pila, that big cement tub with two or three basins where they do their dishes and sometimes they're washing too. Now that Pila thing is always somewhere outside the back door, cemented to the floor or against the wall, and it's really out in the open air with a little roof over it, usually a partial roof. Imagine an outdoor patio area in your own yard, but much rougher around the edges. So this cement Pila thing effectively serves as a kitchen sink and general utility basin.
[04:43] That means that in the kitchen itself, most middle class Latin Americans don't have an actual porcelain sink, though cheap stainless steel sinks, and I mean cheap, really flimsy ones are becoming more and more popular. In fact, most of the ones I've seen are so flimsy, if you wanted to, you could take the faucet in one hand and actually rip the thing right out without any effort at all. And I tell you, there's nothing worse than a stainless steel sink because when you have hard water like you do in Latin America with all the minerals in it, they start looking pretty ratty, even within a couple of weeks. And like expat Eddie says, there's nothing like a cheap stainless steel sink to give you that authentic retro trailer court look. And Eddie should know because he's a white trash refugee himself. Anyway, some middle class Latin families have out near that Pila, that outdoor cement wash basin I was talking about, they'll have a second toilet somewhere close to that thing
[05:32] because it's easy to connect the plumbing, it's close by, you know? And most often, there won't be a door on that toilet stall at all, maybe just a little curtain or a half a door, like a western cowboy saloon. In other words, almost zero privacy. And believe me, if you have bashful bathroom habits or concentration problems in general when it comes to bodily functions, you're probably going to be pretty ill at ease in an immersion program, let me tell you. Because you see, if you have to use the real bathroom, the one with the door on it, and it happens to be occupied, and you knock, and that person says, I'm in here, it's occupied. Es al cupado. And he says, go ahead and use the toilet by the Pila, the one that's outside in the open air with just a curtain or a half a door on it. That's when you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Man, did I really say that?
[06:19] Anyway, I can tell you for a fact. I've never gone into a Latin American bathroom, public or private, except in a nice hotel or an upper class house, where I haven't been completely disgusted visually or olfactorily. And I don't even know if that's a word, but you get the point, right? But let me qualify that by saying, if you go into a bathroom right after a woman's been there, it's quite a different story altogether. Latin women in general are about a thousand percent more hygienic and cleaner than their male counterparts. And to tell you the truth, most expats can't figure out why these women put up with these guys, why they tolerate such nasty behavior. And I'm telling you, the women are always cleaning up after their men. Men are filthy slobs and women admit that. Women are always calling their men serdos, which means pigs. And it's no term of endearment, believe me.
[07:05] And what you see down here in Latin America, regarding the chaos and the litter and the basic mess in the public areas especially, is not due to the women, it's due to the men. When you see someone throwing wrappers or styrofoam cups or cans out of a bus, it's a guy, not a woman. When you see someone urinating on a street corner, it's a guy, not a woman. When you see a guy wiping his dirty hands on his pants or his clothes, it's a guy, not a woman. When you see someone sweeping a porch or a driveway, it's a woman. Almost never is it a man, unless of course it's a maintenance man who's being paid to do it. And men, they never clean around the house. They'll never do the dishes, they'll never sweep the floor, they'll never wash a window, and they'll never lift a finger to clean anything in a bathroom. And like more than one dentist has told me down here, though about 10 to 20 percent of adult women floss their teeth, the only men that do are gay guys and dentists themselves
[07:55] because they know better. And you know, I've been at many embassy parties and in the houses of the filthy rich, and still, when you're standing talking in a group of people, standing next to these wealthy so-called educated guys who went to expensive bilingual schools all their lives and have bodyguards and all that, still, most of these guys smell of halitosis. But in every other way, they're perfectly and expensively decked out. You know, expensive haircuts and expensive jewelry, Rolex watches, designer shirts, all the latest fashions. Even the best colognes and Latin guys like to pour on the cologne, I'll tell you. And really, I don't mind that a bit, as long as it masks the halitosis, but usually it doesn't. And as for all you expat ladies and expat wannabe ladies up there, I'm sure you've had an experience or two with a guy like that up in the first world, and if he didn't straighten
[08:41] up and fly right, you probably dumped him, correct? And my sister, for one, tells me that a guy with chronic bad breath is an automatic dealbreaker for her. But she also says if a guy flosses every day, unless he's got an obsession for garlic, beer, and cigarettes, he's not gonna have that problem. So all you expat ladies and wannabes up there, when you come down here, be prepared for that if you're gonna date or hang with the local guys. And here's what expat Eddie says about that, and he knows a lot about the Latin women, believe me. He's dated dozens of them in all social classes. Because like I said, Eddie's a sucker for a pretty face. And up in the first world, girls with pretty faces didn't go out with Eddie. But down here, he's got that gringo advantage going for him. And though Eddie might be a five or a six up in the first world, he does have blue eyes, and down here, that makes him akin to Brad Pitt, believe me.
[09:27] They even have a phrase for it down here, called the blue-eyed syndrome, or in Spanish, ojos clados. Anyway, Eddie told me that every single Latin girl he's gone out with, he immediately took her to the dentist and put her on a regimen of flossing. And the women down here, once they've been told about it, and the effect that it'll have on their hygiene and stuff, well they're very agreeable to it and actually are thankful and happy that you let them in on that little technique. But Latin guys, forget about it. For them, flossing has no value and is just a waste of time. Which is exactly the attitude that men had up in the United States back in the 60s and the 70s, when practically none of them flossed either. Except of course, gay guys and dentists. And by the way, even though expat Eddie has white trash roots, he does floss his teeth. He learned that habit a little later in life after he lost a molar or two.
[10:13] But now Eddie's on the straight and narrow, because if there's one thing even Latin girls can't stand, is a guy who's missing a front tooth or two. They even have a name for guys like that, coriente, which kind of translates to scumbag. But let's get back to those original email questions about what to eat, what not to eat, what to drink and what not to drink down here in Latin America. Well first off, there's that bottle of water issue and everybody knows that's the way to go. And of course, no ice cubes because the ice cubes could be unsanitary too and contaminated. And the other thing is about that bottle of water, you can't really trust that either. Because even though it may have been tested when that bottle of water company first came into existence, but after that initial test, when they put that stamp of approval in the bottle, saying that it passed the rigorous test that all first world bottle of water undergoes, just remember there's no FDA or monitoring agencies down here.
[11:00] So they can say just about anything on that bottle of water and get away with it. So if you don't trust the local bottle of water, what do you do? Well they even have first world bottle of water imported down here nowadays. If you go into some of the big chain grocery stores or Walmarts, there'll be some bottle of water brands in there you'll actually recognize, so go for those if you want. But what if you're out in the boonies, in the hinterlands, in the jungle, and they've only got one or two types of unknown quality bottled water in the stores? Well if you don't mind the big sugar dose, you can always go for the Coca Cola or the Pepsi plant. And if you've ever been to a Coca Cola or Pepsi plant, you'll know they purify their own water right there with a big filtration system before it goes into the mix.
[11:46] Not that they do a great job filtering and purifying. I mean they do filter out the particulate matter and stuff, and the water does look clean if you hold it up to the light. But still I believe it's probably 10 times better than any of the tap water down here, which you should never drink. And for you people who may have visited Costa Rica don't believe it when they say you can drink the tap water. People do, Costa Ricans do, but you shouldn't. And the fact is, the only reason why people don't drink bottled water in Latin America and more than 50% of the population doesn't, that's simply because of cost. Oh and I should mention this, if you're traveling through Latin America and you walk or drive past a construction site, or any place where there's a lot of laborers working, whether it's window washers or road crews or whatever, anyway if you stop to watch them for a while, you notice that when they get thirsty, they drink the water directly out of an outside
[12:33] faucet or garden hose, which is living proof that these guys do not drink bottled water and they settle for that junk out of the tap. Which I'm sure is why half the population down here has intestinal parasites. And speaking of water, here's a funny thing, if you're in a city, in any area where there's throngs and masses of people, there are little kiosks set up on every corner selling food and doritos and coca cola and all that, and what these guys will have is a little cooler next to them, with ice in it, and coca cola and pepsicola and all that stuff in there, along with some bottled water. And here's the strange thing, something that you'll never see up in the first world. In their coolers, a lot of these guys will have little frozen water packets, about as big as a small Ziploc bag. And they'll be tinted blue to make you think that that water is nice and blue and pure.
[13:19] And these little frozen ice bags have about 6 ounces of water in them. And if you buy one, you'll see it's hermetically sealed, you know, so it doesn't leak. And each one of these little bags will have a stamp or a logo of a company on it, and some additional writing that says it's pure water and it's been tested and all that. And in the cities that are in low elevations in beach towns and stuff, where it's hot all the time, these little bags of ice sell like hotcakes. Or is it coldcakes? Anyway, you buy one of these little 6 ounce bags for 10 or 15 cents, US, and you've got a little frozen block of ice, or somewhat frozen because it's usually half water and half ice by the time you buy it. Anyway, it's nice and cold and you can put on your forehead and feel refreshed if you're working in the hot sun. And that's what the average day laborer is due down here to refresh themselves after they've been working all day with a shovel and a pick. You can imagine, it gets pretty hot.
[14:06] Anyway, so you've got these little ice packs that are really supposed to be pure water, at least that's what it says on the pack. So anyway, when they melt, you've got that pure water and you cut the corner of it and drink it, right? Nice, refreshing, cold water. And it's really cheap, not like buying a complete bottle of water for about 60 to 75 cents. Instead, you're only paying about 10 or 15 cents for this little block of ice. However, I've seen how they fill these things. Down in those grunge-ier sections of town, there are local entrepreneurs that have got a machine that'll fill those little bags with water and seal them. And you guessed it, no one's watching where that water's coming from. No one's monitoring it and no one cares. And in one of these little garage operations, I watched how they do it. They run that dirty tap water through a big canister filter that just takes out the particulate
[14:55] matter so it looks a lot cleaner than tap water as it comes out the filter. Then it goes right into those bags and gets sealed. And they store those little bags in a freezer unit until they're frozen solid and then someone in a truck drops them at various points around town. Points where the sweaty masses gather and can afford 10 or 15 cents for those things. But let me warn you expats and expat wannabes, you're going to see vendors in congested city areas selling those little blocks of ice out of coolers. And they're good to use for an ice pack if you get a black eye. Or to put in your own cooler if you're going on a picnic if you don't have any ice yourself. But if you tear them open and drink the water, you're doing it at your own risk. So my advice about water is if you're coming down just for a week or two, don't worry about it. Drink the bottled water, see if you can find an American imported brand and you'll be okay.
[15:42] You're only down for a couple of weeks. Or drink the Coke or Pepsi or the beer. They all have their own in-house purification systems and have to keep a certain standard. And even if the standard's not that great, it's better than the tap water, believe me. But if you're staying down here in Latin America for an extended period of time, let's say a few months to a year, then you should bring down one of those little portable water filters with a pump, the one I talked about in a previous show. And they don't need any electric power or motors or pressure or energy, just a one human powered hand pump. So you can use them out in the compo, the jungle, the country. You just stick the intake hose into any water source you want. Any water source that is, that you'd know you'd never drink out of but isn't absolutely horribly polluted. What I mean is you could run some tap water into a sink and put the intake hose in there
[16:27] or when you're out in the jungle or the campo, you could put the intake hose in a river, no problem. And if you're gonna live down here for an extended period of time in a house or an apartment or some kind of dwelling, you can put an under-sink unit in like the one I did. And my water is so pure that it's kidney dialysis machine quality. And if you want to hear how I did that, you can look it up in the archives on one of my past shows. On that show, I give a nice explanation on just how to do that for under a hundred bucks. And you know, in the beginning of the show, I was talking about Montezuma's revenge and how every one of us gets stricken with it. But you know, lately I've discovered there's a certain class of astute traveler that almost never gets Montezuma's revenge. I've met a few of them and I try to live that way myself. Though sometimes I fall off the wagon, you know? These are people, of course, who wash their hands a lot, never eat street food, and buy
[17:14] fruit that they can peel themselves. These are people who only drink out of bottles at a restaurant, and after they watch the bottle being opened in front of them, in other words, they don't let the waiter open the bottle in the kitchen and bring it in on a tray, they actually watch him open it with their own eyes. Then they take a clean napkin and wipe the top of the bottle once it's opened because normally some grunge and dirt get up under the cap after it's been sitting in a storeroom for a while. And not only that, these people, when they're in a restaurant and get their forks and knives, they take a new clean napkin and wipe down that stuff. Because they know that the waiter and the people in the kitchen touch those things with their bare hands before they even bring them to you. And these astute expats who almost never get sick, also when they walk into a restaurant, the very first thing they do is they walk into the bathroom to wash their hands.
[18:00] And while they're in there, they look around. And if they see that there's a paper dispenser, that's good. But if there's a towel, a cloth type towel hanging there, they turn around and walk right out of that restaurant because a cloth towel is one of the easiest ways to get cross contamination. A moist wet towel in a bathroom is just a perfect breeding ground for viruses and bacteria. And also, when these expats walk out of a bathroom, they take one of those paper towels and turn the handle of the knob with it, never touching the metal with their bare hands. Not to mention, when they turn the water off after they've washed their hands in the bathroom sink, they use a towel to turn the handle, not their bare hands. And of course, they never flush the toilet with the seat up. That's a big no-no. And the next thing these astute expats do is they take a walk past the kitchen and if
[18:48] it's behind a closed door, they stick their head in. Now, if it looks well organized and neatly arranged and the workers in there look clean and happy and you don't see flies crawling around on the countertop, well, that's a very good sign. However, when you stick your head in there and take a peek, if you see boxes piled up everywhere and moisture everywhere and puddles of liquid on the countertops, garbage and bottles and plastic cans everywhere or shoved in a corner and wet stained wooden cutting boards everywhere, well, forget about it. It's time to walk out of that restaurant too, especially if you see a lot of flies and insects buzzing around. And by the way, about kitchen workers using gloves, down here you're seeing that more and more but mostly in the franchise is like Wendy's and McDonald's and Subway and stuff. So don't expect when you peek your head into a kitchen of a mom and pop restaurant, you're
[19:36] going to see everybody wearing gloves. That's probably not going to happen. Which is why when astute expats order a dinner and it comes with a salad, they don't eat the salad. They just eat the things that have been cooked and they don't munch down on the bread or rolls either, unless they're coming out of the oven absolutely hot. Because the workers handle bread and rolls and cut them with their bare fingers too. And here's another thing I've noticed that's very common in Latin American restaurants. In fact, it's ubiquitous, it's everywhere. When you don't eat all your food and you want to have a doggy bag, and by the way they don't have doggy bags down here, instead you say, para llevar, to carry out. They'll let you carry out what you haven't eaten but they don't have doggy bags. In fact, I was with expat Eddie once in Salvador. During his first couple of months down here when he was just practicing some of his Spanish,
[20:22] we were at a Chinese restaurant and by the way there are tons of Chinese restaurants down here. All of them mediocre to bad. In fact, I've maybe been at only one really good Chinese restaurant in my whole life in Latin America, and it's an upscale Chinese restaurant that just opened recently in Guatemala. And it's about double the price of all the other cheap Chinese restaurants, so it keeps out the riff-raff, believe me. Anyway I was with expat Eddie at this Chinese restaurant in Salvador, and he's trying his Spanish out on the waiter because he wants a doggy bag. So Eddie says to the waiter, una bolsa por favor por mi pero, which loosely translates to a bag for my dog or a doggy bag. And sure enough the guy came back with a big smile on his face because they're always eager to please down here, you know, nice, eager to please. That's one of the hallmarks of Latin society. Even though the service down here really sucks, they give you that rotten service with a genuine
[21:11] smile. So anyway the waiter comes back to the table and gives Eddie his doggy bag, and later on Eddie called me up and said, you know what was inside that doggy bag Johnny? A couple of nice big bones. That guy took Eddie literally and thought he wanted some food for his dog, you know, bones. And though Eddie, who owns restaurants himself, didn't quite recognize those bones. They weren't beef pork or chicken, which means they might have actually been real dog bones. Which doesn't instill much confidence now, does it? Which proves they don't know what a doggy bag is. Anyway, beware when you ask for the equivalent of a doggy bag, not just because of the bone thing, but because when the waiter takes your plates away from the table, he'll often stack them up in his hands and actually touch the food with his fingers as he's doing it. You know, stick his thumb on the edge of the plate into the rice or whatever, just to get
[21:58] a grip. Cross contaminating the food with whatever else he had on his fingers that day. And like I said earlier, Latin American males are not the cleanest of creatures. They only seem to wash their hands when they're forced into it. And you've got to watch out for those waiters doing the very same thing when they bring their order to you. Sometimes the plates will be quite overloaded and they'll have their fingers in the gravy or the rice or the shrimp or whatever, obviously cross contaminating it. And I'll tell you, there's nothing to put a damper on your appetite like a guy with his fingers stuck in your food. And here's another thing astute expats often do. When a waiter sets a clean empty plate out in front of you, whether you're at a buffet or a Chinese restaurant, you know when you serve portions to yourself, the astute expat will make sure that he takes a clean napkin and wipe down that plate before he or she uses it.
[22:43] Because I'm telling you, even if you hold an ostensibly clean plate like that up to the light and get the reflection, you'll see sometimes they're not very clean. But you can alleviate that problem with a nice clean napkin. And don't forget that when a waiter does bring a nice clean plate over to you, he's got his fingers wrapped around the edge of it to get a good grip and sometimes that's exactly the place where the food's going to land. That's another reason why you want to wipe a plate down with a napkin. Oh and here's another thing, you know expat Eddie Bean in the restaurant business in Salvador, he knows all the tricks and he told me a lot of times what'll happen is when you're in a restaurant and have some leftovers and you order a doggy bag or what we call a doggy bag anyway, the waiters and waitresses in the kitchen will steal some of your food before they wrap it up for you. Because remember, these kitchen workers, waiters and waitresses are only making 250 bucks a
[23:29] month and on that salary, most of them could never afford to actually eat in your restaurant except for very special occasions like Mother's Day or Valentine's Day. And that's certainly the case for Eddie's restaurants which are sushi restaurants which only cater to maybe 5% of the population who even know what sushi is or can afford to buy it. Anyway, one day Eddie proved it to me. We were in a Chinese restaurant and Eddie had ordered shrimp fried rice because this particular Chinese restaurant had really large jumbo shrimp. They weren't the standard usual popcorn style shrimp that you get in shrimp fried rice in almost all the other Chinese restaurants. Anyway when Eddie goes to this restaurant he orders a shrimp fried rice because you get about 20 gigantic shrimp with every plate. So at the end of the dinner and he says Johnny watch this and he counts 7 shrimp left on his plate and some rice of course and he says I'm gonna have this guy wrap it so I can take
[24:18] it home. So he called the waiter over, the guy took it into the kitchen, wrapped it, brought it back to the table and when the waiter left, Eddie opened it up and now magically there were only 5 shrimp in there and Eddie said Johnny see what I mean? And I said Eddie what do you do about that with your restaurant help? Does the same thing happen? And Eddie said yeah that happens at all restaurants but I've never had a customer complain about it so right now I'm not inclined to do anything about it. And then he winked at me and said yeah Johnny I'd rather have him eating the leftovers that someone's paid for already than eat my stuff back in the kitchen before it even hits the plate. And you know he had a point there. Here's another very interesting thing that Eddie told me. He said that recently throughout Latin America there have been outbreaks of hepatitis A and they've traced it down to certain restaurants that serve shrimp like the raw shrimp that
[25:07] you get in a ceviche which is very very popular down here. In fact in a ceviche normally they don't cook the shrimp they just put it in pure lemon water for a while which blanches the shrimp and kills the bacteria and kind of makes it look like it's been cooked basically. Anyway Eddie said that hepatitis A outbreaks are happening all the time it's been going back many many years and they've just now figured out one of the major culprits thinking before this that it was just basic unsanitary conditions that contributed to it. But here's what they found. Down here in Latin America 95% of the places that serve shrimp of any kind do not take out the mud vein you know the black vein that runs the whole length of the shrimp from the top to the bottom. Well down here they just don't bother with that at all they leave it in. And what that basically is is a shrimp's anus its intestinal tract you know the shrimp's
[25:56] waste products a bacterial cistern. And like Eddie says all first world people who own restaurants that serve shrimp always take that mud vein out that's just standard procedure in a restaurant up in the first world. But down here in Latin America almost no one does it. And like Eddie says since none of the customers know any better because that's the way they've been eating it forever and ever no one ever complains or makes a fuss about it. And of course if the shrimp is well cooked it's not a problem all that bacteria in that mud vein has been killed off. But you see like I said before when you're talking about that very popular dish ceviche the shrimp isn't cooked at all it's just marinated for a while in lemon juice. So folks that's another thing you have to look out for. And what are the symptoms when you have hepatitis A? Try fatigue, fever, abdominal pain that can last a couple of months and it can be contagious
[26:45] to those living with and around you. But just remember that's not going to happen to you if you follow the rules I just set out for eating and drinking. But if you're a backpacker and you live the cheap and dirty life down here well all bets are off. And by the way the only saving grace if you do get hepatitis A is that it's like mumps or chicken pox you can't get it again you're immune for life. And my advice when you're down here and you order a shrimp dish and I'd never advise against that because shrimp are nice big and fresh down here. Anyway look out for those mud veins they could come back to haunt you. Oh and by the way when you're in a restaurant and they do serve shrimp with a mud vein don't expect the waiter to know what you're talking about if you politely ask them for a new plate without the mud vein. Because like Eddie says even if you explain it to them and actually demonstrate how to do it they're going to think you're in that case.
[27:38] You've been listening to The Expat Files living in Latin America coming to you each week from somewhere south of the border. And don't forget you can email me on anything at all about Latin America. The Expat Files at gmail.com. Once again The Expat Files at gmail.com. See you next time. Nos vemos.