Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into a range of topics relevant to expats living in Latin America. He begins by introducing his January expat wisdom seminar, detailing its structure, dates, and activities. The seminar includes a mix of classroom learning and hands-on experiences, with a focus on expat life in Latin America. Johnny highlights unique experiences such as volcanic activity and archaeological sites, including the Mayan tomb discovered beneath a shopping mall in Guatemala City. He also mentions the support provided by his bilingual event coordinator for attendees and those arriving early or staying after the event.
The podcast segment then discusses the recent changes in Bolivia's mining laws and their implications for expats and foreign investors. Johnny Mueller highlights that the new law allows the Bolivian government to seize 70% of private and foreign-owned mining concessions without compensation, targeting those who have not developed the land. He explains that this law was enacted due to past corruption and the desire to prevent foreign exploitation of natural resources. While the law appears harsh, Johnny suggests it may not be as detrimental as it seems, given the context of Bolivia's history with corrupt governments and the current political climate under Evo Morales. He also touches on the broader implications of such legislation in Latin America, noting the potential for abuse and the ongoing challenges of corruption.
Johnny Mueller then discusses the challenges of managing mining concessions in Bolivia, suggesting that a more progressive approach, such as implementing a sliding scale of progressive taxes on unused land, could encourage investment without the threat of confiscation. He highlights that Bolivia has 7,000 legal mining concessions, with about 2,500 in private or foreign hands, which are likely to be reviewed, potentially leading to confiscation. He warns that this process could take up to 10 years, and while it might lead to some land confiscation and development for the poor, it may not be ideal for foreign investors. He also addresses the importance of learning Spanish for expats, noting that relying on bilingual friends or lawyers can be a trap, and that women often pick up Spanish faster than men. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of learning the language to better integrate into local life.
The podcast segment continues with Johnny Mueller discussing the common misconception among expats that their Spanish is understood by locals, even when it's not. He explains that while cleaning staff or gardeners may understand a few words, expats often overestimate their language skills. When they attempt to communicate with others outside the home, like mechanics or police, they often struggle. Johnny warns that expats may become overconfident in their Spanish abilities, only to face the reality that their language skills are limited. He emphasizes that expats often remain at a basic level of Spanish, and that locals are generally too polite to correct them. Johnny also highlights the challenges of understanding different dialects and accents in Latin countries, noting that even long-term residents may struggle with comprehension. He concludes by advising expats not to overestimate their Spanish abilities and to continue improving.
Finally, Johnny Mueller discusses the challenges expats face in maintaining their cars in Latin America, particularly focusing on the expectations of their partners. He highlights the contrast between the meticulous maintenance habits of expats and the more reactive approach of locals, which often leads to frequent car repairs. Johnny also touches on the cultural differences in car care, the cost-effectiveness of repairs in the region, and the general attitude of expats toward material possessions and social expectations.
Topics
Expat wisdom seminar, Latin America, Volcanic activity, Archaeological sites, Event coordinator support, Bolivia's mining law, Expats and foreign investors, Corruption in Bolivia, Political climate under Evo Morales, Latin American politics, Bolivia's mining concessions and their management, Language learning for expats in Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:30 Introduction to the Expat Wisdom Seminar 00:00:53 Announcement of the January Expat Wisdom Seminar 00:02:26 Unique Experiences in Latin America 00:02:58 Archaeological Discoveries in Guatemala City 00:06:53 Impact of Bolivia's New Mining Law on Expats and Foreign Investors 00:07:21 New Law Allows Government to Seize 70% of Mining Concessions 00:08:17 Evo Morales' Anti-Corruption Platform and Its Realities 00:12:09 Progressive Taxes on Unused Land as an Alternative to Confiscation 00:12:51 Bolivia's Mining Concessions and Their Review Process 00:14:47 Importance of Learning Spanish for Expats 00:17:55 The Overconfidence of Expats in Their Spanish Skills 00:18:45 The Moment of Understanding with Locals 00:20:02 The Limitations of Expats' Spanish Skills 00:23:13 The Importance of Car Maintenance for Expats and Their Partners 00:23:47 Expats' Strict Adherence to Car Maintenance Guidelines 00:24:03 Cultural Differences in Car Maintenance Practices 00:24:37 The Struggle to Maintain Car Appearance for Partners 00:25:31 Car Maintenance for Special Occasions and Social Expectations 00:26:16 The Cost-Effectiveness of Car Repairs in Latin America 00:26:53 The Gringo Advantage in Maintaining Standards 00:27:21 Why Expats Choose to Live in Latin America Despite Challenges
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America the show that tells you just what it's like to live Work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here So let's get started now before I get started with the meat and potatoes of today's show which in Spanish would be papas con carne Similar to chili con carne which I'm sure most of you have heard of because like me when you were a kid you probably ate That stuff out of a can from Dinty Moore chili con carne chili with meat
[00:49] But you probably never knew what it actually meant in English until now anyway I would like to formally announce that my January expat wisdom seminar is all chalked in and ready to go So just to give you a little advance notice on how it's going to go down Saturday January 18th will be the fly-in day where we collect everyone at the airport that is most of the attendees Some will inevitably come a few days or even weeks early to do some exploring on their own Anyway that night Saturday night the 18th will have our meet and greet at the hotel and then from then on it'll be balls To the wall for six days half classroom half boots on the ground ending Thursday night June 23rd in the wee hours And then on Friday January 23rd many people will have to fly back home to jump back on their treadmill in Boston
[01:36] Cincinnati Cleveland or wherever though I'm a hundred percent sure like all my past seminars that people will elect to stay on days if not weeks after the formal event To explore on their own or make the move permanently that always happens And of course for anyone who does come to the seminar my expat wisdom crew will help you arrange your before and after trips Too and that of course can be done way ahead of time directly through our 100% bilingual event coordinator Of course at no extra cost but only for those who are attending the seminar and by the way if you are coming down early Or staying after the seminar for any length of time longer short I can give you great tips on where to go and what to do. I'm talking about hotels restaurants Spectacular locations side trips boating excursions and such and right now there are a few very active
[02:26] Volcanoes in the region some that are blowing sky-high every day yet You can still get very very close to them now That's an experience of a lifetime Especially when the ground shakes under your feet and you can see the red hot lava Flowing and sputtering down the side of the mountain almost every night Not to say everyone's cut out for that kind of thing But if you are I can sure point you in the right direction And you know there's hundreds of little-known spectacular Archaeologic ruins and natural wonders to that never ever get seen by people on the tourist trail For example there's a huge commercial shopping center in Guatemala City called the Tikal Futura and the centerpiece of this giant mall Complex is a 20-story tall Hilton hotel talk about first world, huh?
[03:13] Well anyway just a few years back when they were excavating for the parking lot and the retail stores guess what they hit a gigantic Mayan city that was buried underground in fact they burrowed right into a Mayan King's tomb And now when you're walking through this modern busy shopping mall right next to Tommy Hilfiger diesel and TGIF There's a little entrance door that says museum and when you walk in You're suddenly inside the burial vault of a king's tomb believe it or not You're in the center of one of those big pyramids and as you see the shelves and displays of all the little artifacts They dug up that are set along the walls you realize when you look down that you're walking on a thick plate glass floor and The king's still there bones and all directly beneath your feet, and you can look right at him
[04:03] He's still there just as he was a thousand years or so ago I mean sure if you're a traveler you've probably been in and out of King's tombs here and there But have you ever seen a perfectly preserved Mayan King's tomb 20 feet from a chucky cheese? It's one of the oddest things you'll ever see anyway Just to give you an idea of some of the things the average gringo tourist is never gonna stumble on and by the way You know how many people were in that museum the last time I went About six now if that little museum was on the tourist trail Let's say in Costa Rica or Panama you'd have to make a reservation days in advance, and it'd probably be 600 maybe 6,000 people there anyway bottom line if you come down here to one of my seminars, and you arrive early or stay later I'll direct you to some of the very cool things that I've discovered because I'm thinking maybe you'd like to explore the offbeat
[04:52] But very cool parts of Latin America that only very dedicated Travelers know about or long-term expats who've been off the tourist trail quite a while and by the way if you do Come down here and hook up with my event coordinator You'll find she knows where all the deals are because you see I always travel low or medium budget But never backpacker style of course I like good hotels and nice accommodations like everyone But when you do things the way I do you'll never have to pay a hundred bucks for a hotel room You can always find great hotels for a lot less that is unless you're not concerned about money And you want to pay more in fact since we're off the tourist trail many times you don't even have to pay 50 in fact I know some very nice little hotels for under 20 bucks a night And yes you have your own bathroom, and they're not dumps, and they're in very nice locations, too
[05:38] But some of those are my little secrets and don't send me an email asking me about those places unless you're coming to the seminar That's all I need is for word to get out then when I want to stay at a place cheap and nice They're all booked up Anyway you have to come down here to see it for yourself So stay tuned for the details on that and I'll let you know when it's up on the expat wisdom website Which should be within a week and for all you guys and gals who sent me early bird emails to get on the list You'll get the information first. I promise And now I have to report on some breaking news in Bolivia Bolivia as you might know is a very inexpensive place that isn't unless you hang around the places where expats and gringos go Or you insist on hanging around in those wealthy
[06:23] Upscale parts of the big city where the wealthy latins and embassy people hang out, but you know that already, right? Anyway, Bolivia is still pretty much way off the tourist trail Which makes it a country that I highly recommend except for the fact that evil Morales's government is not exactly business friendly and his Congress of indigenous Populists have been ramming through some very heavy-handed legislation That's been scaring the hell out of foreign businessmen lately So just how does that apply to expats and gringos that would like to relocate down there or are living there already? Well, let's talk cases. For example, this new heavy-handed mining law They just passed this new law might not go down very well with expats who are planning to buy land
[07:10] And though at first glance, it'll really scare you it's bad But not as bad as you might think now get this this new law that was just enacted allows the Bolivian government to seize 70% of all private and foreign owned mining concessions without Compensating them at all and it's a law that's been designed to stop foreign and private mining speculation That is if the government decides you just purchased the land to speculate like for example You just buy it don't do a thing with it wait it out without developing it They can just grab it. Well at least 70% of it Now, like I said at first it sounds bad like the kiss of death for foreign investors, right? But it was only enacted because over the years crooked politicians got rich selling mining rights in bolivia
[08:00] And all that happened before evil moralist's populist government got in which is one of the reasons he got elected because the mostly indigenous population of bolivia were sick of seeing rich private individuals and foreign corporations come in and obtain sweetheart deals from their corrupt governments and Evil moralist himself being indigenous ran on an anti-corruption socialist populist platform Now the thing is at election time all latin politicians preach about the same thing, you know They're gonna stop corruption influence peddling and give land rights back to the indigenous poor people But 99% of the time it's pure election bullshit and these politicians are as corrupt as the ones that came before But in evil moralist's case, he's actually fulfilling many of those promises
[08:46] anyway That new law in bolivia is directed at foreigners and foreign corporations that bought land or took options out on land For the mining rights only and the way the new law works after a state agency confirms that the mining concession is indeed Idle it would be Redistributed to other Bolivian industries who supposedly would put it to better use at least that's the plan Now, you know, this is exactly what happened in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, except he didn't take 70% He'd take a hundred percent if you felt like it since basically unlike evil moralist Chavez was a true dictator a populist dictator But a dictator nevertheless now Let me tell you why this law isn't as bad as it seems or is it you see before evil was populist government got elected
[09:35] Vast tracks of undeveloped land were tied up in these mining concessions And you know all those sweetheart deals and mining options the government gave away so long ago are really Infuriating to the local population today, especially now that the Chinese are down poking around trying to buy up every concession They can get their hands on and now that those formerly cheap concessions are being bit up sky-high by people like the Chinese The ones that stand to profit are not the Bolivian people themselves or the Bolivian government But the foreigners who got those sweetheart deals years ago from earlier much more corrupt governments than evos But you can see how legislation like this can really be abused I mean suppose you bought some land and just didn't get started on developing it right away
[10:21] I mean, for example, what if your property is rich in copper? But the price of copper is way down and you'd actually lose money if you have built a refinery So you decide to sit on it and wait a few years till the price goes up How long is too long before you do some work on it? Do you want the government to decide that? What do they know about the price of copper? They can't even give half of their people clean water 24-7 you get the point then again What if you have a thousand acres and you put a couple of roads and a few buildings on it? Is that enough development? So the law doesn't grab 70% and How much time do you have to do all that and let's say you have a hundred acres and you find the rich copper Or you're actually looking for in only ten of those acres like 10% and the other 90 acres are non-productive
[11:08] Does the government just come in put a fence around it and give it away to somebody else? Maybe to somebody's brother-in-law in Congress. I mean, this is Latin America You know even if Evo Morales a man of the people is president most of the thousands and thousands of other guys in the government that he inherited are thoroughly corrupt and if they're not corrupt right now They do have their price and it's about whatever pocket change you have at the moment In fact, I have it from a good source that you can buy off just about any judge down here for around a thousand bucks I've heard that figure tossed around behind closed doors a lot of times. Believe me you get the point Anyway, as far as lighting a fire under those stagnant mining concessions They could have opted for a much better plan, which I've seen done in some countries down in Latin America
[11:55] we're a more modernized more realistic and progressive government tries to get those industries to invest without rocking the boat too much and discouraging outside investment and what some of these more forward-looking governments have done is to Institute a sliding scale of progressive taxes on unused and fallow land Which means you either crap or get off the pot so to speak So if you are a big landowner or have mining options And if you know some of that land is really no good to you You just let it go for taxes develop it in some other way farm it graze it or put up windmills or whatever Or just put it up for sale to me That's a kinder gentler way of handling the situation not perfect But a better way than just the threat of confiscation
[12:41] Which scares the crap out of foreign investors? Especially big foreign investors who buy lots of land and often don't get around to doing anything with it for quite a while And by the way presently Bolivia has 7,000 legal mining concessions with about 2,500 of those about a third in private or foreign hands that were snapped up a long long time ago way before evil and of course those are the ones that are Gonna get reviewed and that also means there's a chance for abuse there, too Who are gonna be the first ten let's say on the list to be reviewed and who are gonna be the final ones to be reviewed? Since the whole review process of about 2,500 foreign and private concessions Experts are predicting could take up to 10 years
[13:26] Which means 20 or even 25 because this is Latin America You know and my prediction is the same thing's gonna happen here has happened with Venezuela in the first year or two Some land will get confiscated and some housing units or projects for the poor will get built and they'll be So does that sour me on Bolivia? Well, not if you're just going down there to retire or live the good life But if you're actually going down thinking of starting some big enterprise that involves mining or good-sized tracts of land Well, I think you got the picture enough said about that. Oh, here's another short topic I promised a few expats I talked about The thing is you see everybody wants to know how much Spanish you really need to really get around down here without a personal
[14:17] Translator or someone you call her bug. That's bilingual every time you need some help and I assure you when you first come down Especially if you're off the tourist trail, you're gonna latch on to some bilingual gringo or local That will be happy to help you out with your translations at first But eventually that'll put a strain on your friendship if you're not paying him or her, of course That's one way to lose friends cuz it gets old pretty fast And now I must say if you've been listening to one of the running themes within my show I always say you must get a local lawyer right away and stick with him and you should get a younger one that speaks English And I've talked about this on shows before and how to find a good honest inexpensive one, too Anyway, he and his staff will be your go-to guys when it comes to translations in any bilingual stuff
[15:05] You might need to but you don't want to call up your lawyer's office Every time you need to fill in a form read a phone or bank statement Or you need to go to the hardware store hire a plumber decorator electrician read a manual or anything like that because that's what generally happens when you're down here off the tourist trail and You hang around with gringos and don't bother to learn your Spanish You're gonna end up leaning on your lawyer and a few bilingual friends a lot more than you really should and that's a trap I see a lot of expats fall into they never get past that second or third grade rudimentary Spanish phase In fact, I know more than a few gringos who teach at so-called expensive private schools They teach English, of course And some of them have been teaching over 10 years and their Spanish is still second and third grade level
[15:52] Why because they're teaching English and hanging around with people that speak English even though they're well off the tourist trail And when I'm out with one of these guys and I hear him speaking Spanish to a waiter in a restaurant or whatever I'm always thinking to myself. God. I hope my Spanish doesn't sound that pathetic But and by the way, here's something I notice about expat gringas who teach English down here in Latin America they seem to pick up Spanish a lot faster than the men and I've also noticed that when expat couples come down from the States married couples The woman always seems to pick up Spanish much faster than the man and to his detriment He ends up leaning on her better knowledge of Spanish for most Spanish translations In other words, she becomes his crutch. So guys just a warning here
[16:39] Don't let that happen to you though It probably will but if you decide to live on the tourist trail All the locals will try to speak English with you since the tourist trail is number one all about getting your dollar So to better extract those dollars from you locals will warm up to you by pitching you with whatever They've got to sell in their version of the English language Anyway, here's a little tidbit only us long-term expats ever seem to pick up on once that day comes when you realize that most Latins around you finally understand what you're saying Not just when you're conversing with your cleaning lady now since even if your Spanish is wickedly bad She'll eventually pick up at what you're trying to get at just like somehow we fool ourselves into thinking our dog understands
[17:29] What we're saying to him, too What I mean is in your early days down here You're gonna think your cleaning lady actually understands your Spanish and it looks on her face when you're talking to her are gonna be Very positive and reinforcing even though chances are she only understands one out of five words that you say because you see she's gonna learn Your habits and even if your Spanish is Unintelligible to anyone else she'll pick up on what you're getting at and that'll tend to make you very Overconfident in your Spanish skills. It's like parents up in the states who think their kids are geniuses Well, they are until they step out the front door, you know What I'm saying is in the confines of your own home your cleaning lady and gardener will understand what you're saying They'll get used to your pathetic mangling of their language However, when you go out of the house
[18:15] Like for example when you have to speak to the garage mechanic or when you try to converse with a cop or the garbage man And you're just not getting through to them that's when about a hundred percent of gringos tend to repeat what they were saying in Spanish only louder as If speaking the same Spanish gibberish at higher volume will somehow clarify things the second time around Well, it won't but I assure you the day will come and it will be a magic moment to celebrate when the cop or the Garage mechanic actually do understand exactly what you're saying Well when that revelatory moment comes not only do we breathe a huge sigh of relief now that the struggle is over or we think It's over anyway, but funny enough a lot of expats after that
[19:01] Never really improve on that third or fourth grade Spanish that seems to be good enough to get through to the locals Now I've seen for myself a lot of expats who've been down here 25 even 30 years And I instantly know they are totally stuck in that rut They've made it up to about fourth grade level Spanish and that's where they're gonna remain forever If they feel that's good enough, well, that's fine. But the thing is picture the opposite Someone who only knows English at a fourth grade level trying to communicate with you every day Imagine you having to deal with a person like that someone who never gets past his own terribly broken English phase Wouldn't that kind of drive you nuts? Actually, it's like one long-term expect told me it's like hitting a brick wall with your Spanish and never knowing it and basically there'll be no
[19:50] One to really tell you that your Spanish simply sucks since most locals kind of know what you're saying at that point many gringos Really don't have any incentive to try to work harder to get it better. What for now? I'm not saying you won't pick up new phrases and words along the line But the fact is it's the way that gringos conjugate and use the past and present and future That's so lacking and noticeable to the locals though They'll never say anything to you about it and they'll almost never correct you And you know how it is when you're speaking with someone whose English is not their first language how they often make little errors in Conjugation intense too and we just accept it and never say a thing because we understand exactly what they're talking about However, imagine if you're living with a person like that or come in contact with them every day
[20:37] Only to hear the same linguistic errors over and over and over being a gringo You're probably gonna want to correct them However, like I mentioned Latins are generally too polite to do that to you unless you Absolutely forced them to do it and still you're asking them to do something that's that kind of rubs against their nature Basically, so the point is here once you come down and learn your Spanish basics Whether it's in an immersion course or you get a Latin girlfriend or boyfriend Always the real fast-track to learning basic Spanish, by the way Anyway, what I'm saying is don't think you're king of the mountain Once you've made that breakthrough where everyone seems to be able to understand you what I'm saying is we all including me Have a long way to go So don't go patting yourself on the back too hard when you're asked you're made to cook up some papas con carne
[21:23] And she finally gets it, right? Oh and one more thing about gringos expats and their Spanish linguistic gymnastics here nearly 100% of gringos and expats who've been down here a while report back to me that they always seem to be able to make Latin people understand what they're saying in Spanish Well before sometimes many months before the gringo or expat actually begins to understand what the Spanish locals are Saying to them meaning you can get your point across to them But you don't quite get what they're saying back and believe me That's totally normal because first of all there's 20 Latin countries and each one has its own particular dialect and sub Dialects and then there's the fact that educated Latins speak quite differently than the uneducated and the poor same thing in the states
[22:14] right and Latins that live on the Caribbean coast speak a different dialect than Latins living in the mountains and black latinos have different dialects, too think of all the various American dialects not to mention the Irish and Scottish and Australian and Canadian versions of English in fact I still have some friends up north who don't go to British movies because they don't understand the dialects and what that just means regarding gringos and expats is that even if you're living for example in San Diego chili and you Begin to understand the local dialects quite well There's a really good chance that you won't understand half of the words coming out of the mouth of the Cuban neighbor next door But if you're down here long enough you catch on and one last thing no matter how good and precise your Spanish becomes
[23:00] You never lose your gringo accent at least that's what my latin friends. Tell me okay enough about that. Let's move on Now guys out there. I mean men remember in the last show I made mention of the fact that if you have a girlfriend or a wife down here whether she's latino or gringa if She does have a car You're gonna have to keep that one at least in good repair, or you'll never hear the end of it You know how that goes and now I'm strictly talking about the outside of the car for our wives and girlfriends We have to keep that looking good too, and I'm talking ding dent and scratch free Which is no easy task in Latin America believe me now as far as the mechanical condition of the car the vast majority of us Gringos are used to keeping up with
[23:47] Manufacturers guidelines on oil changes and brake jobs and all that stuff we almost always follow the manufacturer or dealers service schedule We were kind of programmed to do that up in the states Just like we were programmed to get car insurance and health insurance and dental checkups every six months and all that and none of that Has been routinely programmed into the Latin brain down here It's always maintenance by crisis Which is why at least half of all Latin Americans with cars and trucks either don't have a spare tire or Their spare is flat. They're not even on point with such an inexpensive basic thing like that anyway The vast majority of us expats because of our gringo nature keep our cars in good mechanical condition We follow the mechanics guidelines and change the oil on time and the brakes and all that anyway
[24:34] Like I said, you'll find like I recommend most gringos Let the outside of their cars go since it's just a losing battle trying to keep it nice However, you're gonna have to fight that losing battle I mean constantly with your girlfriend or wife's car because women do not like to drive around in a car That looks like a piece of junk and if there is a dent or a scratch there will be definite disharmony at the dinner table Guaranteed now us male expats don't like dents and scratches in our cars either but after a while we all Reconcile ourselves to the fact that to remain sane on the streets of Latin America and to suppress our gringo gene for lethal road rage Gringo men have to occasionally repeat the immortal words of Kenny Rogers Know when to hold them and know when to fold them which
[25:22] Unfortunately does not apply to your wife or girlfriend's car Which means hers is gonna be the good car and yours is gonna be the one that's not much taken to dress up events like Birthdays dinner parties weddings and kince años parties unless of course you're driving there at night And like I mentioned before because Latins grew up in a society with very little personal space Your wife's or girlfriend's car is gonna get dinged and banged and smashed and scratched Repeatedly just like yours will meaning because her car is gonna get fixed three or four times a year minimum You're gonna be on more than a first-name basis with your body man Believe me now get this ex-pat Eddie's body man. His name is Rudolfo Well, Eddie tells me the guy routinely calls him up every two or three months
[26:07] And he asks Eddie if his girlfriend's car is ready for another touch-up And it always is and since it's so cheap to have that stuff done down here Eddie said for example the last time his girlfriend's car was in the shop for multiple parking lot dings It cost him a whopping 75 bucks now Here's the irony of all that almost all the expats I know are the type that really don't give a rat's ass what other people think or save and I'm not talking just about their Cars now for that matter We don't wear jewelry or expensive watches or brand-name tennis shoes or sunglasses or any of that crap even though a lot of us can afford it if we wanted and we don't buy new cars for ourselves except under special conditions like I mentioned before even if you buy it new it's a losing battle to keep it looking that way
[26:53] Like Eddie says a brand new car down here is like a blank piece of paper in a kindergarten art class And then the teacher hands out the crayons Sure us gringos and expats like nice things and the insides of our cars and the insides and the outsides of our houses and Businesses reflect that that's one part of the gringo advantage that always sticks with us and though our standards in general are much higher Than the average latin persons as a rule. We don't much give a damn what other people think Because if we did we wouldn't have come down to Latin America in the first place Oops, I'm up against the clock again. That means I'll have to finish this latest expat rant next week So stay tuned You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border
[27:43] Email me the expat files at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expat wisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on Latin America See you next time. Nos vemos