Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller provides a comprehensive look at life in Latin America, touching on various aspects of expat life. He begins by introducing the podcast, which focuses on the experience of living, working, playing, and retiring in the region. He discusses the mix of good, bad, ugly, and great aspects of life there, setting the tone for the episode.
Johnny promotes an upcoming expat wisdom seminar, highlighting the benefits of attending, including discounts for early registration and group bookings. He also mentions the possibility of pairing up with others for cost savings. This is an opportunity for expats to connect and share experiences.
The episode then shifts to discussing first-world healthcare options in Central America. Johnny reflects on the importance of backup generators in hospitals due to frequent power outages in the region. He shares a story about a mechanical engineer who wanted to see the backup generators at a hospital, an unusual request that highlights the critical role of these systems in maintaining healthcare services.
He also discusses the risks of electrical shocks, particularly in showers due to the use of cheap point-of-use heaters. While shocks are common, Johnny reassures listeners that they are generally not fatal. This is an important safety tip for expats living in the region.
Moving on, Johnny talks about the dangers of electrical hazards in Latin America, particularly in hotels and homes. He advises expats to wear flip-flops in the shower to avoid shocks, even if there is a rubber mat. He also highlights the disparity between private and public hospitals, noting that expats may receive better treatment in public hospitals due to their status as 'gringos'.
In another segment, Johnny recounts his experience visiting a public hospital emergency room in a Latin American city. He describes the chaotic and often unpleasant environment, noting the prevalence of motorcycle accident victims. He highlights the lack of enforcement of helmet laws and the leniency of traffic fines in the region, contrasting it with stricter regulations in the U.S.
Johnny emphasizes the importance of seeking treatment in public hospitals for trauma cases but advises expats to avoid staying overnight unless necessary, suggesting private hospitals for non-urgent cases. He also discusses the differences in emergency room visits between Latin America and the United States, highlighting that common issues like diabetes complications, burns, and gunshot wounds are more prevalent in Latin America, while colds, flu, and coughs are less common.
He attributes this to cultural differences and healthcare access disparities. Johnny also mentions the prevalence of spousal abuse, particularly wife beating, and how it is often underreported in the U.S. due to political correctness, while in Latin America, it is more openly acknowledged. He notes that emergency room doctors in Latin America often suspect domestic violence when women present with injuries, even if the stories are framed as accidents.
Finally, Johnny discusses the issue of domestic violence in Latin America, comparing it to the United States. He highlights the lack of legal protections and the reluctance of authorities to enforce them. He shares personal accounts of women who have experienced abuse and the challenges they face in escaping abusive relationships. Johnny emphasizes the importance of independence and education for expat women, noting that many Latin men view educated and independent women as a threat. He concludes with a warning to expats about the potential for abuse and the importance of self-sufficiency.
Topics
Introduction to the podcast, Promotion of an expat wisdom seminar, Discussion of healthcare options in Central America, Reflection on power outages and electrical safety, Discussion of electrical shocks and their risks, Electrical hazards in Latin America, Healthcare system in Latin America, Safety tips for expats, Emergency room experiences in Latin America, Motorcycle accidents and safety, Traffic laws and enforcement, Healthcare in public hospitals
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:32 Promotion of the Expat Wisdom Seminar and Its Benefits 00:02:03 Discussion of the Mechanical Engineer's Request for Backup Generators 00:02:49 Reflection on Power Outages and Electrical Safety in Latin America 00:05:54 The Dangers of Poor Infrastructure in Latin America 00:07:02 Electrical Hazards in Hotels and Homes 00:09:50 The Healthcare System in Latin America 00:11:50 The Smell of the Emergency Room 00:12:24 The Doctor's Warning 00:13:43 The Most Frequent Emergency Room Cases 00:17:30 Emergency Room Visit List in Latin America vs. the U.S. (Setup) 00:18:39 Cultural Differences in Emergency Room Visits (Payoff) 00:23:24 Comparing Domestic Violence in the US and Latin America 00:24:05 Encounters with Abused Women in the Clinic 00:24:44 The Financial Dependency of Upper-Class Women 00:25:35 A Warning to Expat Women 00:26:08 The Threat of Educated Women to Traditional Roles
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 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 How about let's start with this story. Well a few weeks ago I was at one of these first world hospitals down here in Central America Just showing a few new expats and fresh gringos around since you know when I'm in the area I'm kind of a go-to guy when people want to see for themselves
[00:48] just what kind of first world health care options there are down here and Note we do some of that first world hospital and medical specialist touring to at the expat wisdom seminars So if you come to the seminar, you'll get some first world health care boots on the ground there. You will be amazed I promise you. Okay, since I wandered on that subject Let me throw a plug in here if you want to get in on my July 2015 expat wisdom seminar Just go to expat wisdom comm click on the Latin seminar link for full details People are signing up already because they know if they sign up before May 1st They get that early bird $500 a person discount and don't forget if you sign up as a couple or two people sharing double occupancy You save an additional 500 bucks apiece or a thousand dollars a couple and note this for those of you coming down as singles
[01:35] Sometimes people ask me if I could find someone to partner up with them So they can go on the double occupancy thing and save that 500 bucks a person if you're interested in that option We can hook you up with someone else who's interested in doing the same thing So that's always a possibility. We've done it before but sorry if we work that deal out, it won't be co-ed You'll have to go guy with guy and gal with gal So coming down get your boots on the ground get a plan B. You're gonna need one Anyway back at the hospital one of the gringos happened to be a mechanical engineer now get this the first thing He has to see when we were doing the tour Was not the operating rooms or the intensive care unit or that tomography unit or the digital imaging section? Nope, not the AC the air filtration system
[02:23] But of all things he wanted to see the backup generators come to think of it an odd But logical request now I must say of all the times I've been through first-world style hospitals down here bringing gringos through and expats Only one time before did one of the gringos want to see the backup generators and boy those backup generators were squeaky clean Of course, it's something you never think about Except if you've been living in the third world a long time because when I first came down here I remember you could pretty much set your watch by the four-hour blackout every day in Costa Rica And you know like I mentioned in the past show that so rarely happens these days except for natural disasters Or if the electric companies digging up the road or something or some drunk chicken bus driver wipes out a substation
[03:08] That's been known to happen believe me and surprisingly enough when people steal power down here, and they do I've actually got some pictures that I show at my expat wisdom seminars of people stealing power You know climbing up a pole and bare handing some wires together man I don't know how they do it, but surprisingly enough It's a rare event when someone gets electrocuted down here since in the poor and lower middle-class neighborhoods There's at least a million and one code violations in other words a thousand and one ways to get a fatal shock But oddly enough that rarely happens now you do get shocked don't get me wrong But not from your toaster or your microwave oven now I guarantee if you're down here for a year or so you're gonna get shocked I'm talking about electrical shocks now Probably when you're a guest over at some middle-class latin's house, and you're gonna use a shower. That's one place
[03:57] I'm always a little leery of other people showers I think every one of my gringle friends and acquaintances who've been down here five years or more have had their share of shower shocks I certainly have and since we're all taught to be electrically gun-shy up north that first shower shock really scares the hell out of you But as far as I've seen they're not fatal and that's after 25 years or so of experience So why the shower well because of those cheap point of use electric heaters that are mounted on top of shower heads Look every single middle-class and lower middle-class house in Latin America has one It's only in gringo houses and upper middle-class and wealthy houses in Latin America where you see whole house water heaters That aren't of the point of use type now about these little shower head shockers now
[04:47] That's something they wouldn't allow up in the first world because wires are hanging and it's 220 usually too And even though the outer casings made of plastic and all that if there's a grounding problem then believe me people down here Don't know what a ground is you're gonna get zapped, but you're not gonna get knocked out. You're not gonna get killed either I've never heard of that and by the way the only time you ever read in the paper of someone getting electrocuted And that's rare Like I said is when some nutballs on top of a building trying to hotwire something and he leans against or touches a high-tension wire Because down here since there are no inspectors people have been known to build their houses right up to and including High medium and low-tension power poles which by the way almost always have their wires dangling and swaying in the breeze And sometimes those poles end up even in your backyard
[05:33] Since the electric company seems to put poles just about anywhere it feels like it It doesn't seem like they really need any municipal permission to just stick them anywhere Including sticking them in highways into the road not even on the curb I've got pictures of that too in fact I got a couple of really nice pictures showing power poles sticking out of roads Ten feet from the curb in other words you must soar for that pole. You'll have a head-on with it It's just a textbook case of what not to do as a civil engineer But they do it down here and get away with it Which is why I advise you never drive at night unless you really know the area and remember if you hit it There's really no one to sue in fact I rather like the fact that when you're down here You're responsible for your own life and no one is soo crazy like up in the States that said
[06:23] Imagine it's your first time in a big Latin city you rent a car at the airport and you come up on Something like that at 11 at night remember nine out of ten times roads in Latin America are badly lit or just not lit But I digress now where were we oh, yeah, we were talking about getting shocked in the shower So why am I bringing this subject up? Well, I recommend that every expat carry with him in his luggage Suitcase or car a pair of flip-flop plastic or rubber sandals because you know if you're traveling around especially in the boonies And you're going kind of low-budget or even medium budget You're gonna go into the occasional two even three-star hotel And you're gonna find they've got those point-of-use hot water heaters in other words you've got a 110 sometimes 220 volt line
[07:11] Suspended three or four inches from your noggin in the shower head straight above now note when you go into some of these old Hotels in people's houses to remember sometimes those little point-of-use water heaters are so rotten rusted and corroded With a dozen horrible repairs and wires hanging everywhere and duct tape that in the dark before you flick the light switch on It looks like something that popped out of an alien stomach, and here's something else to look out for they turn on Automatically as you start the water flowing at least they're supposed to now the older ones will and they won't depending You'll never know that for sure unless you hold your hand in the water for a while now when you're doing that note that most Of the time the valves in the shower are gonna be made out of metal meaning
[07:57] That's right if it's wired wrong or haphazardly chance for a shock Which is why whenever you go into a bathroom to have a shower Whether it's a cheap or even medium-grade hotel or you're staying over at a friend or acquaintance house You're gonna wear those flip-flops around in the bathroom now aren't you and when you're in the shower? Just a little word of warning for you there and don't think that you're safe because there's a rubber mat in the shower Those things are not guaranteed to be shockproof They might not insulate you and believe me You don't want to examine one of those too closely either or lift it up because if you do lift it up You're probably the first one who's done that in about 30 years So if you're down in Latin America, and there's a point of use water heater shower head You should instantly be on your guard and assume the worse
[08:43] Meaning a lot of electrical and plumbing codes have been violated that said you don't want to be poking around at things and being Too adventurous in the shower which brings me full circle back to that little hospital tour I was talking about So anyway after we went down and looked at those backup generators and got the seal of approval on those from our gringo engineer We sat down and had some coffee with the emergency room doc and now you might be wondering Why could he sit down and have coffee with us? What about all those sorry patients backed up in the emergency room? Well, let's see now there were something like 20 seats in the emergency waiting room there were 18 empty ones on a Friday afternoon for a grand total of two people waiting to see the ER doctor and
[09:29] In the ER examining rooms themselves, you know the ones with the crash carts in them I believe there were eight rooms like that two of them had patients in them So then your knee-jerk reaction would be how could that be a first world hospital? And it's not balls to the wall overflowing with damaged people in a word No, it never is because as it turns out This is a first world style hospital where you pay as you go or you buy a health insurance plan Then you're covered it's not a hospital for the poor the lower middle class and even most of the Latin middle class and As for the 70 to 80 percent of the rest of Latin America that could never afford to go to that hospital Even though prices are about a sixth of first world prices Well, the poor huddled masses when they have an emergency
[10:15] They either grin and buried and go to the local pharmacist for a remedy of some kind and if that's not enough There's a car accident or a gunshot wound. Whatever they head off to their local free government hospital or clinic and again I'm repeating myself here But the only good thing about a free government hospital in Latin America is the emergency room I take that back not the emergency room itself Believe me You do not want me to try to describe the smell the sanitation and the look of that place What I meant to say is the docks that man those ER rooms are superb trauma specialists Why because practice makes perfect and there are always too many patients in the ER room So then what happens if a gringo has a problem and ends up in one of those public hospital ERs
[11:02] Well, you know if you're a regular Latin patient, they might not see you for four hours and you could bleed to death However, as soon as you walk in I guarantee Everyone will stop what they're doing and take a look at you because you'll be the only gringo there And that's when your gringo advantage will kick in and people will come up to you and bring you to the front of the line I know I've seen that happen So why in the hell was I in an emergency room at one of those public hospitals? Well, that's because I really wanted to see for myself how dreadful they were and yep They're everything they're cracked up to be and worse and you know There's something that people never tell you about either and that's the smell but like I said, I'm not gonna get into that I'll only try to give you an imaginary idea of it
[11:50] Think of some of the more intense and disagreeable hospital smells you've experienced Multiply that by three add a dab of sweat a dash of feces and a shot of urine and you're close So then who did I drag along to that odiferous extravaganza ex pat eddie, of course And though it was balls to the wall blood elbows and a-holes get this within five minutes An er doctor spotted us rushed right up looked us over up and down and said, what are you here for? What's wrong? And after we told him he were just looking around he said go right ahead Then he kind of cringed and said no pictures, please. Okay, then he said in good but broken english Don't really want this on facebook, you know, and then he smiled and said something really strange
[12:36] He said i'm thankful you guys came in here because it's so refreshing to have someone I can speak english to I'm getting out of practice, you know Now things like that seem to only happen when you're off the gringo tourist trail Anyway, the point is if by chance you're in a car accident Let's say and the ambulance takes you to a public hospital emergency room You really are in good hands though because of the glove shortage They may be bare hands because you see emergency rooms in public hospitals are really 24 7 trauma centers It's nothing but car accidents and broken bones and burn victims gunshot wounds heart attacks And the docs there are absolutely versed in any kind of trauma there is So note that if by some bad luck you awaken surrounded by busted up bloody bodies in a public hospital emergency room
[13:24] Don't freak out. Not yet. Don't take any deep breaths either. You'll regret it But do let them set a broken bone or stabilize you or whatever But don't let them keep you there overnight if you don't have to Just call a friend or your lawyer and have him ship you to a private hospital as fast as you can get out of there So anyway what I learned from that emergency room doc the guy who dropped everything to shoot debris with us for a while in english I learned from him that the most frequent emergency room cases seen were guess what? If you guessed accidents you'd be right, then what kind of accidents do you think you think in car accidents, maybe Nope, try motorcycle accidents as it turns out In this public hospital, which is centrally located in a big latin american city surrounded
[14:15] By the way by some big time heavy traffic highways and some bad neighborhoods The sound of motorcycles is pretty much always in the air Believe me the fact is when we walked into that big emergency room and none of the 50 or 60 seats was empty Believe me it couldn't help but notice that about every third or fourth seat had a guy sitting there All mangled up with a pretty scuffed up motorcycle helmet on his lap or on the floor right next to him Which always begs the question are there motorcycle helmet laws in latin america? Well, the word on the street is that they have them But you wouldn't know it by checking the traffic a lot of people just go without In fact, maybe those helmet laws are news to the cops because a certain percentage of those guys never wear them either Now of course if you're on or near the gringo tourist trail, you know panama costa rica parts of mexico
[15:07] I understand the traffic cops are pretty tuned in to what they can ticket gringos for because we'll pay the fines And stop at the roadblocks whereas a lot of locals on motorcycles They know where their roadblocks are so they'll avoid them or they'll just run right through. I mean, let's face it Why would a motorcyclist stop at one of those transit roadblock checkpoints? When as it turns out from 40 to 50 percent of motorcyclists on the road in latin america Do not have a license at all or a valid one that's current And that's the third biggest reason why motorcyclists dread getting into an accident First being they might get killed or end up in the hospital The second reason being their bike would certainly be smashed beyond all recognition And third if they haven't got a license and someone else got hurt
[15:53] They could end up doing jail time and for sure they'll be in court now to back this point up I actually know a 27 year old kid who has two motorcycles and he's been in three or four accidents He's a middle class guy that works at city bank He goes in every day like a hundred other drones in suit and tie And of course, he drives his motorcycle to work every day and get this He's been driving since he was 17. That's 10 years and he still does not have a driver's license After all like he says if he ever gets pulled over which they never do down here or he gets stopped By some rare chance at a roadblock when they find out he doesn't have a license It's only a 25 fine and unlike the states they don't impound your bike They let you just go on your merry way
[16:40] And in fact when I told him up in the states They impound your car or your vehicle if you don't have a license. He looked at me like I wasn't crazy He just didn't believe it, but I digress as usual. Where were we? Oh, yeah at the hospital emergency room the public hospital Anyway, when I asked that emergency room doc who just had to speak english with me When I asked him to give me the rundown on the top reasons for emergency room visits He came back with a piece of paper that had all the emergency room types listed And he sounded so pleased with himself when he showed me the list. He said this is a public hospital So we keep really good records of such things showing me a breakdown of emergency room visits for the past month for his hospital number one motor vehicle accidents with motorcycles coming ahead of cars on that
[17:28] Number two, can you guess? chest pain number three fractures bruises and sprains Number four gastric or abdominal pain and vomiting number five pulmonary difficulties respiratory problems and shortness of breath number six painting low blood pressure number seven Diabetic shock or coma including fevers chills and headaches number eight gunshot wounds number nine burns number 10 Intoxication or food poisoning now if you compare that with the list of emergency room visits coming from your average first world hospital You see some mighty interesting differences nowhere on that us hospital top 10 list. You see burns gunshot wounds
[18:14] Intoxication or food poisoning nor the one about diabetic complications because most people up in the states who have diabetes are Controlled or somewhat controlled whereas down here in latin america The stats say that a good 70 percent of latin american diabetics are undiagnosed and receive no treatment at all Until of course they get so severe they end up in the emergency room Now this might surprise you down here in latin america unlike emergency rooms up in the states nowhere in the latin american emergency room list are people admitted for colds flu or coughing All three of which show up in the us emergency room top 10 now. I ask you Why do you think that is that's because americans are a bunch of freaking wimps? Especially overindulgent parents who drag their kid over to the emergency room for a runny nose
[19:05] Come on going to the emergency room for colds or flu or cough symptoms Only in that gigantic failed state called the us of a what a sorry bunch of panzees All right, you horticulturists and botanists out there. Don't blast me with emails on that one. Okay? That said it's no wonder a visit to the cleveland clinic emergency room for a call for flu symptoms could cost you 5 000 bucks. Oh, wait a minute. We got that covered obama care will pay for that, right? But now let's mention a few things about that latin american first world hospital That has 18 empty seats out of 20 in the emergency room Now when I asked that trauma and emergency room doc over a cup of coffee Which emergency room problems were high on the list at his hospital?
[19:52] He told me That the difference between his emergency room in a very good neighborhood and the public hospital emergency room in a bad neighborhood Was that the gunshot wound thing was kind of rare though? They saw him once in a while They never made the top 20 and he too admitted that rarely Do they see people come in the emergency room with a fever or a cough or cold or flu symptoms? In fact, he chuckled a bit and shook his head in disbelief when I told him that those took three spots on the top 10 In emergency rooms up in the states. Oh, and by the way, he said motor vehicle accidents Were on the top of the list at his emergency room, too But rarely did he see injured motorcyclists because it just wasn't that kind of neighborhood all cars and suvs, etc Now he did relate a sad fact that i'd known for quite a while A problem latins don't want to face and they just look the other way when it happens
[20:42] It's the fact that spousal abuse specifically wife beating is practically endemic down here And nobody knows more about that situation than emergency room doctors and dentists now up in the states Of course it goes on too, but they're politically correct about it and they don't call it wife beating. They call it Interfamiliar abuse, right? Whereas down here, they call it like it is Beating your wife Now the emergency room doc confirmed what i've always suspected on that top 10 emergency room visit list Number three the fractured bones bruises and bodily trauma when it's a woman the doc said about half the time He suspects spousal abuse. He said he's got a pretty good radar for it
[21:30] He can tell and he quickly mentioned that it happens in every class of latin society equally And even though he said you think it would occur in the lower classes of society much more frequently Since they live in day to day moment to moment and always on the edge And then on friday when fernando blows his meager paycheck at the local cantina He comes home drunk and broke and the wife blows her top Well, that's a common recipe for an emergency room visit That said according to the emergency room doc spousal abuse is no less prevalent in the upper levels of society He says with the upper middle classes in the wealthy. It's a silent kind of cultural illness Even though the wealthy guy who beats his wife doesn't look at it that way
[22:15] In fact, he says it's common to see ladies come into the emergency room with their faces all battered up Even the occasional broken jaw and in the emergency room report where they write up how it happened It's almost always the same story. She was clumsy. She fell. She took a spill down the stairs and most often get this It's the so-called concerned husband standing right over her shoulder who quote tells the story And she in pain slightly nods and goes along with it because she knows if she doesn't there's more where that came from Now the doc says these guys no matter if they're rich or poor they showed no remorse and no nervousness at all The doc said in their macho minds, they feel she deserved it Let me repeat this once again
[23:00] He said he believes that about half of the women that come into his er With fractures and bruises and facial trauma have those injuries as a result of domestic violence And he said he knows that a woman has to be pretty beat up before she ever makes it to the hospital He's sure that 90 of the time she ends up nursing her wounds at home and bites the bullet Now while we were on that subject I mentioned to him that up in the states if someone came in into the emergency room battered around the face And the er docs, of course know what kind of trauma that is They've seen it so much and it's not only er docs It's dentists too when they see that kind of facial trauma, whatever they are obliged by law to report that to the authorities But most of the time up in the states it goes unreported too
[23:46] And the latin er doc told me there is no such law down here in latin america that he knows of If there was such a law no one would obey it and the cops wouldn't enforce it Anyway, for one the cops are the worst offenders Unfortunately, 99 of women won't speak up about it and would never press charges So then I asked him what do you do when you see an obvious case yourself? Then he said just yesterday a lady came in with a fractured jaw Her husband holding her hand and standing right there with her Then when I took her into the treatment room and got her alone I saw that she like so many upper class latin women in that situation was suffering in silence So when I get an abused woman like that alone I'll ask her if she has any kind of a skill that's marketable
[24:34] And then if she says no i'll say well Then you better go back to school and get some kind of career That will be a way to leave the house. You have to get out of there Now note in latin america about 99 of the women who are upper middle class and wealthy They're totally dependent on their husband's income Almost none of them have to work for a living and if they do it's just a hobby Then he mentioned another lady trauma victim that came in last week Who actually does have a little business on the side that she just kind of pops in and out of one of those curves Franchises and the doc said he urged her to use that business as a way to get out of the house She just has to get away from her husband Now he did admit that no matter how many little talks he gives to traumatized women He knows he's not changing the world
[25:21] They're all ears for a moment, but after a couple days when the swelling goes down It's back to things as usual the husband apologizes brings her some chocolate or some flowers Swears he'll never hit her again and this cycle continues So that's fair warning to you gringas who come down and hook up with latin guys. Now. Don't get me wrong I'm, not saying that 100 of latin guys beat their women. That's not true In fact, I know a lot of great latin guys who'd never heard a fly In fact, I know a lot of nice latin guys whose wives outweigh them by 50 or 100 pounds So there's always that threat if you start something you might get your own ass whipped. But again that aside Ladies beware nearly all gringas that come on down to latin america are self-sufficient and highly educated And not solely dependent on the income of a man
[26:08] And that by the way can be a threat to a latin gringa relationship. I've seen that happen before It's that old-fashioned barefoot and pregnant mentality Most upper class and wealthy latin guys do not like their wives to work somehow because that macho thing again They feel they have to be the sole bread winner of the family So a wife or girlfriend who has a nice job in a career is a threat to guys like that As one gringa expat in that position told me Her latin guy was actually attracted by the fact that she was independent etc And was highly educated and had her own career And of course it had nothing to do the fact that she had blue eyes and blonde hair and was white as the belly of a fish Nah, that had nothing to do with the attraction there, right?
[26:55] Well, even so she told me that once they got married then she saw a raving jealous Possessive side of him take over and he laid down some dress codes for her too Less makeup looser clothes longer skirts all that that said she's no longer the happy camper She once was in fact She said she joined one of those high-end health clubs and he actually came to spy on her To make sure like she said she wasn't wiggling too many things in front of the male clients or buffed out instructors And she wasn't but she said when she got home they got in a fight. Anyway, so far. She said he's only hit her twice You've been listening to the expat files living in latin america coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border
[27:42] Email me the expat files 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