Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the unique challenges expats face when living in Latin America. He begins by introducing the podcast and announcing an upcoming expat wisdom seminar in July, located in Central America. He encourages listeners to register in advance and discusses cultural differences, particularly the lack of basements and attics in Latin America. Johnny attributes this to geological factors and manual construction methods, contrasting it with the perception of laziness among Latin workers, which he explains is often due to disorganization and a lack of clear job descriptions. He advises expats to create detailed employee manuals to ensure productivity.
Johnny then delves into the differences in work culture between gringo and Latin-owned businesses. He highlights that gringo franchises like Wendy's and Kentucky Fried Chicken have extensive employee manuals, while Latin-owned businesses rarely have such documents. He explains that employees in Latin businesses may appear idle, which gringos may misinterpret as laziness, but Johnny argues that these employees are simply done with their tasks and are not lazy. He also touches on the literacy levels of indigenous workers, suggesting that it's impractical to provide detailed manuals for them. Johnny notes that while some gringos educate their domestic help, Latin families generally do not, leading to differences in cleanliness standards. He concludes by emphasizing that while it's possible to train maids to meet higher standards, they will revert to their usual practices if left unmonitored.
The discussion continues with Johnny addressing the challenges expats face with housekeeping and maintenance in Latin America. He highlights the common issue of not confronting help about inadequate work, using the example of a gringo's maid who is not performing well. He also provides a real-life example of expat Eddie, who had his driveway poured and insisted on a straight line, while his neighbor, a wealthy local, tolerated wavy lines. Johnny attributes this to the lack of education and cultural norms among Latin Americans, suggesting that having a maid is more about practicality for expats than status. He also touches on the difficulties of living alone abroad and the adjustment period of having a live-in maid.
Johnny then discusses the cultural and economic dynamics of maids in Latin America, particularly among middle-class families. He explains that even families earning as little as six or seven hundred dollars a month often employ maids, who are often from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. He highlights the challenges of maintaining cleanliness in homes due to hard water, which leads to the buildup of a gray scum known as 'Saro' in Spanish. He emphasizes that this buildup is difficult to remove with regular cleaning products and that a razor blade or file is necessary. Johnny also mentions that many expats and gringos own homes that are free from this buildup, and he advises expats to ensure their maintenance person removes it from the start.
The segment moves on to Johnny's discussion of the state of pools in Latin America, highlighting issues such as the heavy use of chlorine, lack of modern water treatment systems, and the absence of pool maintenance technologies like robots and covers. He also touches on the cultural perception of laziness among Latin people, noting that the term for 'lazy' in Spanish is a long word and often used as an insult.
In this segment, Johnny Mueller discusses the term 'pedisoso,' which is an insult used among Latin Americans, and explains its double meaning as a word for sloths. He highlights the irony that the same word is used for both the animal and the insult, and notes that using it can be offensive. He also shares a story about a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica run by a gringo, which is seen as both admirable and eccentric by locals. Johnny then shifts to discussing the lack of basements and attics in Latin American homes due to practical and environmental reasons, such as the difficulty of digging into bedrock and the risk of water damage during the rainy season. He also touches on the common issue of pests in attics and the tendency of gringos to request them, often leading to problems. Finally, he concludes with advice on finding treasures at local rummage sales, emphasizing the value of off-the-tourist-trail locations.
The episode concludes with Johnny Mueller advising listeners to choose the cheapest local newspaper for advertising, as national publications are significantly more expensive. He also mentions that he will expand on this topic in a future episode, encouraging listeners to stay tuned. The segment concludes with a standard podcast sign-off, including contact information and a website for free reports on Latin America.
Topics
Expat Files podcast introduction, Upcoming expat wisdom seminar, Cultural differences in Latin America, Workplace dynamics and expat advice, Work culture differences between gringos and Latin businesses, Employee manuals in gringo vs. Latin businesses, Perceptions of employee behavior in Latin businesses, Literacy levels among indigenous workers, Cleanliness standards in Latin vs. gringo households, Training and expectations for domestic help, Housekeeping challenges for expats, Cultural differences in maintenance standards
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:51 Announcing the Expat Wisdom Seminar in July 00:01:50 Why Latin America Lacks Basements and Attics 00:04:18 The Importance of Employee Manuals for Expat Businesses 00:04:49 Gringo Franchises vs. Latin-Owned Businesses 00:05:54 The Gringo Advantage and Understanding Latin Work Culture 00:09:09 The Challenge of Confronting Help 00:09:53 A Real-Life Example of Maintenance Standards 00:12:01 The Cultural and Educational Divide in Hygiene Standards 00:13:53 The Economic Reality of Maids in Latin America 00:14:55 The Need for Specialized Cleaning Techniques 00:17:05 The Limitations of Cleaning Products and the Importance of Razor Blades 00:18:21 The Lack of Water Treatment Systems in Latin America Pools 00:18:59 The Problem with Chlorine in Latin American Pools 00:22:26 The Term 'Pedisoso' and Its Double Meaning 00:26:33 Why Latins Think Gringos Are Crazy and Loaded with Money 00:27:11 Finding Treasures at Local Rummage Sales 00:27:16 Choosing the Cheapest Local Newspaper for Advertising 00:27:20 Why National Newspapers Are More Expensive for Ads 00:27:24 Comparing Advertising Costs Between Local and National Publications
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border, down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play And now as I wander 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 to part two of rummage sales, estate sales, garage sales And just plain old basement sales or attic sales And by the way they're called boot sales in England Since the British call the trunk of the car the boot So before I finish up on that stuff
[00:47] By popular demand I just want to announce again That I'm going to do another expat wisdom seminar this time in July Saturday July 12th through Thursday July 17th to be precise Once again it'll be in Central America way off the tourist trail So I'm giving you plenty of time to make your arrangements now For full details and the agenda just click on expatwisdom.com And go to the Latin American seminar link at the top of the page And don't worry if it's not up there yet I should have it there by the middle of the week so check it out And in the meantime to get on the early bird list Just send me an email at the expat files at gmail.com And put the word seminar in the subject box That way I can reserve a spot for you because last time if you remember The seminar was sold out a full month before it got on your way
[01:36] Okay enough said about that Anyway in the last show I wasn't able to finish my spiel On rummage sales and garage sales and stuff Which reminds me Speaking of those oh so common attic and basement sales up in the first world Down here in Latin America you'll almost never find an attic or a basement And you know I was down here for many years before I found out the true answer to that And I'll bet you'll never guess The question of course being why not? Why no basements or attics? Now a lot of Latin folks with houses will tell you that's because As far as lack of basements is concerned Much of Latin America is volcanic As you dig down you start hitting rock right away So it's just not easy in fact sometimes impossible to dig a basement Especially since most single family houses are dug by hand Instead of by back hoes or cranes or power excavators
[02:24] Which believe me really does come as a shock to you When you see a group of about 12 guys digging a house foundation And all they've got is picks and shovels That's why no one in his right mind can ever call Latins lazy They're not But you should know that many of my expat gringo friends who own businesses tell me People mostly visiting gringos get the wrong idea that Latins are lazy sometimes Simply because when you walk into a store let's say a clothing store or a hardware store A lot of times you'll just see workers standing around doing nothing Or leaning on a counter or on the phone So at first glance you can get the wrong impression But the fact is Latin folks in general are just not self starters So when you do see people just sitting around doing nothing or filing their nails It really is the boss's fault
[03:10] It's the bosses and the managers that are just so disorganized That they can't get their employees to work as a team or a unit Again that's where the gringo advantage really kicks in That's why all gringo bosses figure out eventually You really have to give your employees very specific tasks and duties And a list of things to do all along the way Then they'll do the work fine just like you want it But when they're finished often times and I've seen this for myself an expat He tells me this all the time Latin workers especially unskilled ones will just stand there and do nothing Basically waiting for you to give them the next order Which means of course if you're not around or someone's not around to give them an order They're going to find something else to do like file their nails Get on the phone or maybe read the paper
[03:55] However, only rarely will a Latin worker say I'm finished now What should I do next? And if you know that's how they work And I'm telling you right now that's how they do it You'll have another task for them Or you'll have a list of things all drawn up for them to do And now I'll give you an obvious hint that all gringles should know But it's not all that obvious down here Not at all When you start your own business and hire employees One of the very first things you really have to do is to create an office manual And in it there should be a very complete section on employees With a very detailed list of every employee's job description Don't leave anything out Drop those job descriptions down to every last detail And only then will you be satisfied that your employees aren't just standing around when you're not there
[04:43] Now in all the years I've been down here I've never ever seen a complete employee manual at a Latin business Of course, all the gringo franchises that come down here Like Wendy's and Kentucky Fried and all that They have manuals that sometimes run into the hundreds of pages Because they have so many different kind of employees But in Latin owned and operated businesses You'll almost never see an employee manual or any kind of manual at all Which is why on many occasions you'll walk in and see an employee or two Standing around with their thumbs up their asses And at that moment you shouldn't be complaining to the owner or the boss Because they're the ones at fault It's not the employee's fault even though they may look lazy To you and I anyway And by the way I can't tell you how many times I've heard a gringo say that about someone when they've walked in the store
[05:29] Hey Johnny, check it out Look at that guy and that gal over there sitting on their dead asses Man, how did I get away with that? And you know what? I've heard that gringo conversation go down a hundred times In fact, I was guilty of it myself when I first came down But you know what? You'll never hear Latin customers make that complaint to each other Because that's just the way things work down here Customers are used to that That's the way it is And you may have guessed that's part of our gringo advantage We see things like that and the Latins own And the guy or gal working in the department store or hardware store Sitting around like a bump on a log In their minds, they're completely comfortable in knowing they've completed a given task And now they're done In fact, they don't think they're gold breaking at all
[06:15] They're just done and caught up for the moment But when gringos see that with our first world sensibilities We think damn If that person worked for me, I'd fire him in a second Well, you shouldn't be thinking that way So again, I repeat You have to spell out every little task that your employee has to do Then you'll see that most of your workers are very dedicated and diligent So again, make a very detailed employee handbook However, the first person you're going to hire when you get down here Is probably going to be your cleaning lady or your maintenance guy Like I said in the previous show About 37% of all indigenous people don't know how to read and write And generally, your maintenance guy and cleaning lady Will come from that socioeconomic class Indigenous folks So it would be nuts and a waste of time
[07:01] To try to write anything down at all for them Except maybe your basic shopping list when going to the grocery store It seems like all cleaning ladies and maids Even the ones that are pretty much illiterate can figure that out Now, here's where I should mention I know a lot of gringos and expats Who've actually sent their cleaning ladies and maids to night school To learn how to read and write Which, by the way, is another reason why Latins love to work for gringos and expats Because we do little things like that for them and help them improve their situation Whereas I know of no Latin family that's ever done that for their cleaning lady Although there might be some very benevolent Latin folks out there I've never really met any Most Latin families I know seem to treat their domestic help like invisibles And that's why so many of us gringos have found out that your average cleaning lady or maid
[07:49] Does such a rotten job cleaning your house She thinks she's doing it fine because that's always the way they've done it before At some other Latin person's house And Latin folks have a different standard of cleanliness than we have Even wealthy high class Latins have low hygienic standards around the house Compared to even run-of-the-mill middle class gringos like myself And if you want to argue with me about that and call me classist or racist or whatever Go ahead But I can prove it And I'll take you over to any Latin person's house who's got a maid And I'll take you over to a gringo's house who's got a maid And the minute you walk in the kitchen or the bathroom you'll see some obvious differences Now that's not to say you can't train your maid to be tip top first world all the way Many of us do And they absolutely will not resent you for it
[08:37] They'll do the work They're on the clock and you're the boss so they'll do what you say But if left to their own devices They'll clean your house like they cleaned the house of the last Latin boss they had Which is totally inadequate To the majority of us gringos and expats anyway But here's something you don't notice till you've been down here a while Since at least 95% of us gringos who come down have never had a full-time maid before And most of us never had a maid at all Just the idea of having a maid in the house full-time or a couple times a week Is so thrilling to us since we don't have to do that kind of dirty work then That we don't notice for a long long time or are in denial about the fact that they just are not cleaning up adequately at all And when we do see things aren't quite up to snuff We really do have a hard time confronting our help and setting them straight
[09:24] In fact some of us never do And that's why occasionally you'll go into a gringo or expat's house One who's got a full-time maid and you'll think Hell, his maid sucks Isn't he noticing what a crappy job she does? And I'll tell you most often he or she does notice But he just wants to avoid the confrontation The embarrassing moment of telling her she's doing a crap job And you know I've been in that spot before too and it's not easy But if you don't do it you'll have a pretty scruffy looking house Now let's take another example Just recently expat Eddie had a new concrete driveway poured from the street to his garage in his subdivision And Eddie's maintenance guy did the whole thing by himself He mixed the cement, made the forms, did it all Did a nice job too Except for the fact that one edge of the cement running from his garage to the street
[10:11] Was actually a bit wavy, it wasn't not a straight line So after the forms were pulled and after a week of hardening Eddie told his worker he didn't want it crooked He wanted a straight line there And his maintenance man took a sledgehammer and busted a section out And made the line absolutely straight And it took him about a day to do all that And since Eddie's paying him about 12 bucks a day They're going right down there It didn't matter to him and to his worker Well he didn't care either He was getting paid like a regular day's work Now the reason why I mention this is because In the house right next door to Eddie's Whose garage is maybe 30 feet away This guy's a fairly wealthy guy who owns a chain of clothing stores in Salvador And both borders of his driveway are two wavy lines Something that many gringles like Eddie and I just won't tolerate
[10:59] It just doesn't have the look of a professional job So a year and a half ago or so When Eddie's next door neighbor had his garage slab poured He could have instructed his workers just like Eddie instructed his guy To break it out and do it again Make the cement border a very straight line But he didn't Why? Because there's so many crooked lines in Latin America That's just the way things are However, Eddie's first world and he wants his straight Not laser beam straight But straight enough so that it doesn't jump out at you like a half ass job Now just imagine your own driveway up in the states You see how straight those lines are on the concrete And in the separations between the slabs Now if you walk outside right now and you notice that they're wavy and crooked
[11:45] Well then you'd fit right in with the locals down here in Latin America See what I mean? And you know when people ask me how come Latins have lower hygiene standards And lower cleanliness standards in general Even Latins with money who can afford full time maids I tell them why and it's simple Most Latins down here with maids are not educated or cultured at all Now I'm talking about the family that hires the maid Who should know better, not the maids themselves The maids almost always come from a family with a tin shack and sometimes even a dirt floor So they definitely don't have high hygiene standards They don't know any better, they just need the job and will work hard for it In fact it's such a status symbol and a sign of upward mobility to have a maid down here I'm talking about Latin families who hire maids now, not gringos
[12:32] We don't hire them as status symbols We hire them because our places can be kind of disgusting sometimes Especially us single gringo males Sorry to say that but it's true Fact is once you're far far away from Cleveland or Boston Sometimes you end up living in a stereotypical bachelor pad And some of us if we don't have a maid or cleaning lady Could qualify for one of those pack rat reality shows Let's face it, down here a single guy is two thousand miles away From the voice of his mother or sisters ragging on him About the dust bunnies on the floor and the dishes piled up in the sink Bottom line, us gringos don't hire cleaning ladies for the show or appearances We hire them solely to make our places livable And as far as being status symbols for gringos
[13:18] Fact it's just the opposite as so many gringos will tell you One of the very hardest things about having a maid Especially a live-in maid is that she's around all the time picking up after you Sometimes you feel like she's your shadow and you have a really hard time getting used to that Not to mention you can't walk around naked or in your underwear either And when you pass gas and you don't have a dog to blame it on Well, pretty embarrassing, you know Suffice it to say it's a strange experience and takes a bit of getting used to So anyway, middle class latins see their cleaning ladies and maids As not only workers but status symbols too Even a family that brings in only six or seven hundred bucks a month often has a maid And by the way, a lot of us gringos inherit maids like that Ones who work for latin families that were pretty much just a rung or two away from having a tin shack themselves
[14:07] So even if a family's only making five, six or seven hundred bucks a month They can still have a cleaning lady because if she's living in You give her room and board and pay her about a hundred fifty bucks a month Yes, that's the going rate for living maids And believe me if someone's only making six or seven hundred bucks a month down here They're living in a pretty ratty little dump themselves And basically all their lives have been used to living in a scruffy little house That's dusty and dirty and grimy around the edges And if you end up getting that maid after she quits or they can't afford her anymore She's going to clean your house the only way she knows how Like she cleaned the last one For example, the tiles on the floor and in the bathroom The maid might clean that stuff every day alright But she'll never get that thin caked in layer of gray grime off
[14:53] She'll just polish right over it And that's why when you get your maid you're going to have to teach her How to use a razor blade in the bathroom I'm not kidding You'll have to make her spend an entire day cleaning the shower And just the sink in the bathroom If you wanted to remove years of grime that were just polished over Then after that all she really has to do is clean it normally Just a once over ten or fifteen minutes a week Because that initial surface grime is gone And like I mentioned in a past show The water in Latin America is quite hard It's got a lot of minerals in it So, Latins have been so used to that all their lives That they don't even bother giving orders to scrape that stuff down to the porcelain In fact, the only houses that I've seen down here that are free from that stuff
[15:39] The ones that aren't new construction Obviously since new houses have brand new hardware etc So they can't have any hard water scale build up Anyway, the only houses that are scale free Are houses that gringos and expats own And the fact is I have my own maintenance man about once a month Hit my sinks and showers and sometimes toilets with a razor blade too Otherwise you're going to have that ugly crystalline gray scaly film to look at Every time you take a shower or wash your hands And by the way when you have a bathtub in the house How can you really feel clean when you're bathing on top of a layer of gray scum like that? No thanks And by the way down here in Latin America They even have a Spanish word for that scummy stuff that builds up It's called Saro As opposed to what we call scale in English
[16:27] Which is called Escama in Spanish Like for example fish scales Escama So bathroom sink scum is called Saro S-A-R-R-O Sounds almost like Saro in English Saro And by the way It's the same word dentists use when they scale your teeth They're picking out hunks and chunks of Saro Isn't that appetizing So my advice Don't put up with it Make sure from day one that you're made in your maintenance guy Know you want that crap stripped off Even if it takes a razor blade once in a while And it probably will And believe me No liquid or cleansers or scrub pads can ever truly get that stuff completely off You will need a file or a razor blade
[17:13] And I don't care what first world product you bring down Thinking it's gonna dissolve it away It won't And I know 20 years or so ago when I was up in the States They had infomercials back then Showing some kind of liquid that would strip that stuff off Well guess what Those very same stupid infomercials Translated into Spanish are down here now With that lag time effect of course And it doesn't work down here either But everyone thinks it does Because it's on TV So they buy it and it doesn't work either Just like our moms and dads saw it on TV way back when and bought it too And it didn't work for them But they still have the useless moldy old bottle somewhere Stuck behind the plunger under the sink So then the question is if you got so much of that scale and build up
[17:58] Should you get a water softener? Because you know you can buy one of those big ion exchange tanks at any of the pool supply outfits You know Culligan in the first world made that popular Remember Hey Culligan man I guess I'm dating myself again right Anyway Buying a big water softener will really help alright I've seen them at the pool supply places But the fact is I've never seen anyone Gringo or Latin Install a unit to treat the water in the house For the pool yes But not the plumbing in the house Because remember If you don't have soft water in the pool Or at least neutral water The saddle or scum is going to build up on all of the tiles And you know what that's going to look like then right? Try the Detroit or Cleveland public municipal pool Yet another appetizing mental picture wouldn't you say?
[18:44] So if you do come down to Latin America and you install a pool If you invite me to a party I won't bring my suit Instead I'll hang out at the bar thank you very much And why is that you might ask? Well that's because it seems like every pool in Latin America is either So heavily chlorinated that you think there's a chemical warfare experiment going on Or there's no chlorine at all And the whole damn thing is a mole tainted petri dish Which by the way makes for another gringo business opportunity Since I've never seen a pool down here With ozone, ultraviolet or ion water treatment Which some of you might know is a much safer alternative to using chlorine Now from what I can see Pool supply houses don't stock that stuff Or at least if they do they're not pushing it Because they want to sell those bags of chlorine
[19:32] And those chlorine tablets every month And believe me If you've got a pool down here there's so much evaporation Because the sun's so hot You're going to spend a ton of money on that stuff And if you're using ozone or ultraviolet or ionic exchange You buy the unit once and you're done So just imagine a gringo who wants to start a quick and easy business He just has to order a few of those things Or have a sample and put some ads in the paper Then set up a few demonstrations Maybe even install a free sample at one of the big hotels You wouldn't even need a storefront And maybe just a couple of units for inventory Anyway when you get down here and have boots on the ground Those kind of ideas come to you all the time Oh and another thing You don't see those little pool robots either The ones you hook up to the pump
[20:17] And they walk around the sides of your pool in the bottom and clean it up And you know why that is of course Because everyone who's got a pool has a maintenance guy And he'll go around and pick out the bugs and the leaves every day With that special telescopic net However, you know what that means don't you The sides, walls, and floor of your pool Never really get mechanically cleaned Meaning no scrubbing action at all And you really need to have a certain amount of that action sometimes Yet another reason why pools are not in the greatest of condition down here Even gringo pools I might add Because I've noticed that the majority of gringos that have pools down here It's often their first experience with a built-in pool And they know little or nothing about it So they trust the pool supply house to tell them how to manage it
[21:03] Meaning your typical over and under dosages of chlorine And no pool cover And no scrubbing robots And finally, in regards to pools You just don't see people using pool covers either And you know those things are very helpful They keep out the dirt Bugs, leaves, pine needles, and bird doo-doo Not to mention they eliminate a huge amount of evaporation However, you just don't see them down here In fact, I don't recall ever seeing one on display at one of the pool companies either So there's another business opportunity Now, earlier I was talking about how basically Latins are not self-starters Well, of course, not all of them are like that But very, very few of them will actually complete a job you've given them And beg you for another task Or look for something else to do on the site that you haven't mentioned at all
[21:52] So when you do find a guy or gal like that, hang on to them Because they are pretty rare down here I've known just a few myself And they usually won't settle too long in menial, unskilled, grunt-worked jobs They're usually destined for greater things and they deserve it So anyway, when you're down here up in the States And you hear from someone that Latins are lazy Don't believe it And by the way, the word for lazy down here in Spanish is And yes, that is one word A very long word, but one word And when you hear a local say that about another Latin person It's usually behind his back, it's a big insult So file that word pedisoso away for future reference And try not to use it
[22:37] Except in one specific case Now strangely enough, that's also the name of an animal So obviously you use it when you see one One that's native to Central America and the northern part of South America Sloths You've heard of the two and the three-toed sloth Now in English, of course, sloth is a synonym for lazy And guess what? The actual Spanish word for sloth, three-toed and two-toed varieties Is pedisoso Meaning of course, like it does in English, lazy If a local Latin calls another Latin a pedisoso It's an insult and could be fighting words So as for the word pedisoso, it depends on how you use it And in fact, the other day I was watching the Animal Channel
[23:22] And I noticed that some crazy gringle lady in Costa Rica Has had a sloth sanctuary down there for like 20 years Now I don't know if you've seen that program or not But she's got like 150 other things And she must have a ton of money Because the place is so neat and clean and spotless Let's just say it puts any middle class Latin house to shame As far as hygiene and cleanliness So she's got a hundred plus of these cute little pedisosos Living like pampered little kings and queens And I'll tell you this, Latins down here who've seen that show Think she's doing a marvelous thing But they also think she's nuts Since every one of those little creatures lives in better circumstances And has better health care and food, etc Than the average middle class or lower middle class Latin
[24:09] I guess when Latins see programs like that And by the way, it's subtitled in Spanish That's why they think gringos are absolutely loaded with money too Now remember, this lady's sloth sanctuary is in Costa Rica You know, gringo saturated, tourist trail and all that Tons of gringos with a lot of time on their hands, etc Bottom line, thoughtful Latins down here who see that program on cable TV Always seem to wonder why a woman like that with her money and resources Doesn't just try to help out a hundred homeless, shoeless street kids instead Sometimes we really are clueless gringos, aren't we? Now, where was I? And that most people think Latins don't have basements because
[24:58] The bedrock is really way too difficult to dig through if you wanted to make one Which of course is true in many places in Latin America But here's the real truth I've spoken to various contractors over the years about this And they tell me older Latin houses, even newly constructed Latin houses Start to leak like sieves after a couple of years Sometimes even after the first rainy season And since in the rainy season, it can rain so damn hard Anyone who did have an attic or a basement would soon have big problems So what good would it do to have a nice big basement that you can't put anything in Because it'll just get soaked every rainy season? Doesn't make sense, huh? The same goes for attic spaces Why would Latin Americans build a closed-in space like that
[25:45] And put old boxes of books and magazines and Christmas tree ornaments and stuff up there Only to get all moist and moldy and saturated during the rainy season Now, get this One contractor told me down in Costa Rica That gringos often ask for an attic and he'll put them in But they almost always regret it Since, after a year or so Bees and wasps and the bats, even rats Find a nice home up there because The roofs themselves are almost never hermetically sealed And the wasps and the bees, especially, are always the first ones in So, this guy says when gringos ask for an attic He always tells him that story And still, some of them insist Then, after the project's completed He gives him the name of a good exterminator
[26:30] Because he knows they'll need one Again, that's why a lot of Latins think gringos are loaded with money and are a little bit crazy Okay, so what about those garage sales and rummage sales down here? Now, like I said, I've seen plenty of old LPs around Including 45s and 78s Vinyl, of course So, what I'm saying is, off the tourist trail There are treasures galore to be found Unlike the first world, the stuff just hasn't been picked over a million times So, once you're down here and you've got a lot of time on your hands If you're antique crazy or a treasure hunter Just make sure you're well off the tourist trail and start hitting those rummage sales And how do you find them? Well, you'll read about them in the classifieds in the newspapers
[27:16] And I suggest you pick up the cheapest local newspaper you can find Because the big papers, the national ones, charge more for the ads Sometimes three or four times as expensive as an ad in the local smaller publications Much more on this next time, 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 Email me, theexpatfiles at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expatwisdom.com to sign up for your free reports on Latin America See you next time, nos vemos!