Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the cultural differences in politeness and social interaction between Latin America and the first world. He highlights how people in Latin America are generally more polite, gracious, and respectful, especially towards strangers. He contrasts this with his experience growing up in Chicago, where such formalities were less common. Johnny also provides examples of how people in Latin America greet each other in everyday situations, such as in elevators, grocery stores, and restaurants, emphasizing the genuine and sincere nature of these interactions. He also mentions that even individuals who appear rough or delinquent can display politeness when needed.
Johnny then discusses the behavior of children in Latin America, contrasting it with the first world. He notes that children in Latin America are well-behaved and not prone to the outbursts commonly seen in first-world settings, especially in places like Chuck E. Cheese. He attributes this to cultural norms and the social expectations placed on children and parents. Additionally, he highlights the helpful and polite nature of Latin Americans, emphasizing how strangers often assist each other, even in mundane situations like helping with car troubles or carrying bags. However, he also mentions that this politeness can sometimes lead to issues, such as giving incorrect directions to foreigners.
The segment transitions to a discussion on the importance of being cautious with the politeness and chivalry common in certain regions, especially for expats and tourists. Johnny warns that while people may offer help, there are still plenty of scoundrels and thieves who might take advantage of such situations. He provides examples of scenarios where help might be genuine or potentially dangerous, such as when someone offers to help carry a heavy item or assist with a broken-down car. He emphasizes the need to judge the situation carefully and not let one's guard down. Additionally, he highlights the value of basic liability insurance for cars, noting that it is significantly cheaper than in the United States and includes 24-hour towing, which is crucial in areas with high theft rates. He also mentions the importance of having a fully charged cell phone and the limitations of calling the police in emergencies, especially at night.
Johnny then discusses the challenges of calling the police in Latin America, emphasizing that the 911 system is unreliable and often results in answering machines. He advises expats to provide a compelling story to prioritize their call, suggesting that claiming an accident with an ambulance is more effective than reporting a car breakdown. He also warns against mentioning gunshots due to the low risk perception among officers. The segment transitions to a discussion on the state of education in Latin America, where Johnny strongly advises against bringing children to the region due to poor public schools and the high cost of private education, despite its quality.
Finally, Johnny discusses the quality of education in Latin America, comparing private and public schools. He highlights that private schools often have first-world teachers with degrees from first-world universities, while public schools have teachers with degrees from Latin universities, which he considers substandard. He also mentions that even though private universities are better than public ones, they still provide only a superficial education. Additionally, he warns about the dangers of raising children in Latin America, including the risk of kidnapping, the challenges of driving, and the influence of local children who are often spoiled and entitled.
Topics
Cultural differences in politeness, Social interactions in Latin America, Comparison with the first world, Examples of genuine politeness, Behavior of children in public spaces, Children's behavior in Latin America, Cultural differences in parenting and child-rearing, Helpfulness and politeness in Latin American culture, Tourism and its impact on local behavior, Communication and cultural misunderstandings, Safety for expats and tourists, Cultural norms and potential dangers
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:14 The Contrast Between First World and Latin America in Terms of Politeness and Social Interaction 00:02:05 The Persistence of Chivalry and Good Manners in Latin America 00:03:30 The Universal Presence of Politeness in Latin American Society 00:05:06 The Classic Example of Being Seen and Not Heard 00:06:14 Hyperactive Kids and the First World Wannabes 00:08:05 Politeness and Chivalry in Latin America 00:10:11 The Dangers of Politeness and Chivalry in Certain Regions 00:10:25 The Importance of Accepting Politeness but Remaining Vigilant 00:11:41 The Value of Basic Liability Insurance for Expats 00:14:48 The Unreliable 911 System in Latin America 00:15:04 Prioritizing Emergency Calls 00:17:38 Warning Against Bringing Children to Latin America 00:19:29 Private Schools in Latin America Compared to First World Schools 00:20:18 Private Primary and Secondary Schools in Latin America 00:21:16 Public Universities in Latin America 00:22:00 Risks of Raising Children in Latin America 00:24:37 The Social Environment for Expat Kids in Latin America 00:25:07 The Negative Impact of Raising Kids in Latin America 00:26:50 The Stress of Marrying a Local and Raising Kids
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:01] South of the border, down Mexico way. That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play. Hi everybody, I'm Johnny Mueller. And you're listening to the Exped Files, living in Latin America. The one of a kind show that tells you what it's like to live, work, play and or retire in Latin America. So let's get started. Before I get into the somewhat more heavier topics, I'd like to address something that most people up in the first world don't give much thought to at all. And until they've come down here and actually lived for a while, that's when it strikes you how really different the people down here interact with each other. That's when you first realize that there was something really cold and stiff
[00:49] about the way people interacted with each other back in your hometown up north. Now, how would we know that people acted any differently anywhere else? When most of us have never lived anywhere but the United States, Europe or Canada. The fact is we just take it for granted that the way we meet and greet people and the way we interact in public, at work and on the streets is the way everybody does it all over the world. Well, all you have to do is come down to Latin America for a few months, then you'll get my point. In general terms, I guess you could just say that the people down here are just more polite and gracious to strangers and to people in general. Now, I remember back in Chicago when I was a kid, there were still a certain percentage of my young friends who addressed their elders by saying sir and ma'am.
[01:35] And they even did it without a smirk or contempt in their voices. But those days are long gone. Because these days if you ever did hear a kid address his elder as sir, it'd either be because he's in the military and addressing an officer or he's just been pulled over by a cop and he's nervous and he wants to make some brownie points or more likely, he's just being facetious and a wise ass. And though up in the first world, you'd be hard-pressed to find any old-school holdouts still addressing people as sir, you'll find that down in Latin America, chivalry, politeness and good manners are not dead. They're not even showing any signs of fading. In fact, they're alive and well. And as far as me and my ex-pat friends are concerned, that's a good thing. In fact, the people up north, especially kids, could take a lesson from these guys.
[02:20] But I wouldn't bet a nickel on changing this generation anytime soon. And I'm quite serious when I say politeness is not a lost art town here. Everybody, and I mean everybody, greets you with a good morning or a good afternoon or a good evening. And you'll get salutations like that all day long from people you don't even know. Whether you're on the street, you're on the elevator, you're in a bus, or sitting in a waiting room at a doctor's office. People will walk right past you in the grocery store or a shopping center. And if you happen to make just the slightest eye contact with them, that's usually enough to tickle that politeness gene and you're likely to get a smile, followed by a good morning or a good afternoon or a nice to meet you, or whatever greeting fits the occasion. And what's even more surprising is that there's nothing really forced or false about it.
[03:06] It's all pretty genuine and you can tell by the tone in their voice and the looks on their faces when they say it. In fact, I can't tell you how many times I've been in an elevator and you stop at a floor and some people get in or out. And suddenly comes a big round of greetings or goodbyes from everyone in the elevator. Yet it's obvious that everyone is a complete stranger. Now, I'm talking about Latin Americans from all classes here. That politeness gene is always switched on high. Now, of course, I'm not talking about delinquents on street corners with tattoos on their necks, but even those rough-edged guys can switch into that politeness mode on demand. Once, when I was standing in line in a mom and pop hardware store, standing in front of me was one of the roughest, toughest-looking, tattooed-faced, skin-headed delinquents I've ever seen.
[03:53] Now, this guy had a couple of knife gashes in his face, enough chains around his neck to choke a horse, and every one of his teeth reflect with that horrible gangsta gold. But you should have heard how polite this guy was. If I would have just closed my eyes, he might have sounded just like a Latin American beaver cleaver talking to his dad about his report card. And this guy was completely sincere about his politeness, too, because honest and sincere politeness is something that you just can't fake. Well, I can't, anyway. And another place down here where politeness and respect for others is really obvious is in grocery stores, shopping malls, and restaurants. Now, those are places you often see parents with their kids, especially in grocery stores and fast food restaurants like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King.
[04:39] Now, what becomes immediately obvious to the expat is that in all of these places, kids are not running around like little whirlwinds, grabbing things off shelves, whining and demanding that their parents buy them stuff, and in general, acting like they have the power and their parents don't. Sound familiar to any of you first-worlders with kids up there? Ah, come on, you know who I'm talking about. Anyway, in restaurants down here, when you happen to see kids with parents, it's the classic example of being seen and not heard. Kids are just not allowed to make a spectacle of themselves. It seems that they know not to make a scene, and they know how to behave. In all my years down here, I can't remember a time when I've seen kids bouncing off the walls like you so often see up in the first world, especially at those fast food restaurants.
[05:28] And God forbid, those hellish places like Chuck E. Cheese. And by the way, they do have Chuck E. Cheese down here and Chuck E. Cheese clones. But basically, those places are only patronized by the upper middle classes, and that means they're usually filled with spoiled, entitled rich kids, and they're stuck-up parents. But still, when you walk into a Chuck E. Cheese down here, the kids are well-mannered and behaved. You don't see him bouncing off walls, having temper tantrums and fits. You know, outbursts that first-world parents always seem to be immune to. And down here, never will you hear a young kid screaming wildly or yelling out for his parents or making a scene. Because if he did, that might just be the last time his parents ever took him to a public place. And kids down here seem to know that.
[06:14] And it's not like these kids are on Ritalin. Far from it. In fact, I've never met a single parent down here who got their kids pumped up on drugs like that. But I'm sure in a few years, drugs for hyperactive kids are sure to make a big splash, especially with the first-world wannabes. And yes, you do hear parents talk about their hyperactive kids sometimes. That's what my parents said about me when I was a kid. But as of now, at least, no one's talking about putting kids on medication for that. And another thing, Latin American strangers, as a rule, will bend over backwards to help you out if you look like you need a hand. And you don't have to be a beautiful damsel in distress with a flat tire on the highway either. And I've seen this in action a hundred times. For example, like I've said on so many past shows, Latin Americans do not believe in maintenance.
[07:01] And because they don't believe in simple things like oil changes and tune-ups, any hour of the day when you're driving in a city down here, you're bound to see any number of broken-down cars. And if your car does break down, it doesn't take but a few minutes for some good Samaritan or two nearby to come on over and give you a hand. And if your own car breaks down, I guarantee you within 10 minutes, you'll have three or four volunteers pushing you to the nearest gas station. And they'll be glad to do it. They won't want anything in return. They'll do it just because they want to help. And that selfless attitude is true in about 90% of Latin America. But it's not true in tourist destinations like Costa Rica. If your car breaks down over there, let's say in San Jose at a capital, you can bet that if a couple of adolescent boys approach you to give you a push or a tow,
[07:52] they're absolutely going to want something in return. Like 5, 10, or maybe even 20 bucks. That's another story, and I've talked about that in past shows. How the gringo dollar tends to contaminate the locals in high volume tourist areas. So, like I said, down in Latin America, politeness and chivalry are not dead at all. It's a place where you see complete strangers helping old ladies across the street and where strangers often go out of their way to help you carry your bags if you look like you're overloaded. And if you happen to be moving and loading things on and off trucks, Latin folks you barely know or don't know at all are liable to chip right in. And a most obvious example on how Latins like to chip in and help is when you're trying to park your car in a tight spot. I can't tell you how many times a pedestrian has walked right out in the street and stopped traffic
[08:39] just to guide me into a spot. And then there's always those people who will smile and let you take cuts in a long line when they see that you're a generally fidgety first world type and obviously in a hurry. And they've got nothing better to do. In fact, if you happen to drop something on the street like a newspaper or an umbrella, I guarantee you that the person behind you is going to pick it up and hand it to you sometimes before you even knew you dropped it. Even in buses down here, people are glad to give up their seats to old ladies and men. And when you're walking down a busy street, you'll never see someone hogging the sidewalk. Even young tough looking kids will give you plenty of space and move out of the way when they see you coming. You'll never get caught in a game of sidewalk chicken like you often do in the big cities in the first world
[09:24] when a bunch of adolescent kids are heading your way. Now, there are some times when all that politeness can work against you and most often that happens when you ask someone for directions. Now, it turns out that Latins in general are so eager to please, especially when confronted with first world people like Gringos and Europeans. Anyway, if you were to ask a random Latin person on the street for directions, almost a hundred percent of the time you'll get a direct answer and a lot of the time you'll get bad information. Because it turns out that even if a Latin doesn't know where a place is, let's say a restaurant, a certain street or an office building, well, instead of admitting that he doesn't know, he's likely to give you some kind of directions, any kind of directions, because he doesn't want to disappoint you.
[10:11] You see, he'd rather send you off with a smiling face in the wrong direction than to look like a fool in front of you because he didn't know. I know that sounds weird, but does that make sense to you? But with all this politeness and chivalry everywhere, expats and tourists are still well advised to accept that politeness graciously but never to completely let their guard down because with all this endemic politeness down here, there's still plenty of scoundrels and thieves who'd like nothing better than to rob you while they're giving you a hand. So you have to read the situation. For example, if you're in a big shopping center and you just bought a television and you look like you're having a tough time lugging that thing around and some happy-looking stranger walks by and offers to help you carry it to your car in the parking lot,
[10:57] well, there might be no harm in that at all. You just have to judge the situation. And let's say your car breaks down on a busy highway and two teenage kids walking by offer to help you push it to the nearest gas station. There might be no harm in that either. But if your car breaks down on a lonely road and it's getting near dark, I wouldn't be standing outside trying to wave down the nearest car. You might be better off sitting inside locking your doors and waiting for a police car to come by. Like I said, you have to judge the situation. And women especially have to look out when people try to help them out. That's why I don't recommend women drive alone at night down here. And since I'm talking about a situation when your car breaks down on the side of the road, here's something important you really have to remember. I talked a little bit in the past show about getting car insurance down here
[11:46] and how full coverage is so much cheaper than it is in the United States, maybe 50% cheaper, even though there's so many more robberies down here. And though that doesn't sound like it makes any sense, I give you all the reasons why that's true. And I also mentioned in the past show, if you have a little bit of an older car, you should always buy that basic liability insurance, which might only cost $100 a year, but it will prevent the police, when they get to the scene of the accident, from impounding your car and taking it to one of the municipal garages where it's sure to get looted. Anyway, the reason why I'm bringing this up again is because if you buy that basic liability insurance, it always includes free 24-hour towing, which believe me is an absolute lifesaver down here.
[12:31] In fact, the only thing better than having that perk is having a fully charged cell phone when your car breaks down. And if you're in that situation and you call the police, you'll be a very low priority, and they might not get there for two or three hours, or maybe not at all. And even if you call the cops, you're more than likely going to get a busy signal or an answering machine. But if you have that $100 dirt cheap liability policy on your car, all you have to do is dial their 800 number. That means you should always keep those insurance papers somewhere in your car. Anyway, if you dial that insurance company's number and tell them you've had a breakdown, they'll have a tow truck there within 15 minutes to a half an hour, guaranteed. And believe me, there's no better lifesaver than that, especially at night. So I repeat, expats, as soon as you buy a car,
[13:18] get that liability insurance policy. And guess what? You can buy that kind of coverage at almost any big bank down here. And another thing, in my experience, that tow truck will take you and your car anywhere you want to go, including dropping your car at any repair place you want or dropping you back at your own house and leaving your car in the driveway, whatever you like. And I don't know about you, but up in the first world, if you get a tow, it's going to cost you at least $100, right? And yes, I do realize that most car insurance policies up north do include towing. But I also know that policies up north are really expensive compared to the ones down here. So my point is that down here, for the cost of just one tow, you could buy a basic liability policy for your car.
[14:03] So if you have your car towed twice or more in one year, you're way ahead. So get that policy. It's worth it. It's the next best thing to being a AAA member. And no, they don't have AAA down here. At least, I've never seen any evidence of it. And I'd like to say just a little bit more about what you should do if your car's broken down at night and you're stranded. Well, if you actually feel like you have to call the police or 911, and yes, believe it or not, they do have that 911 emergency number down here, just like up in the first world. But it isn't universal. In other words, only some cities will have that service going. And being that you're in Latin America, you shouldn't count on the fact that when you dial 911, someone will actually answer that phone.
[14:48] Most times, it just won't connect or you'll get an answering machine. So just to warn you right now that though the 911 system exists, it's spotty at best and very much a work in progress. But as far as calling the police when you actually need them, whether you're stranded on the highway, have trouble at the house or the office or wherever, if you actually do get through on the phone and get to talk to a human being, you have to give that dispatcher a good enough story so that he puts you way up on the priority list so that the cops make it a point to get there right away. What I mean is if you actually get through to a dispatcher and you tell him that you're stranded and your car broke down on the road somewhere, you're going to be about the lowest priority there is for a patrol car. So you might as well get comfortable and take a nap
[15:34] because you might be waiting a long time. What's the best thing you could say? Something that'll get them off their dead asses and over to your site right away? I mean, when you're in Latin America, you have to get used to telling a few white lies now and again. And when you do it, you shouldn't feel bad. Just remember, no matter how big a whopper you might tell, these guys are professionals. And compared to them, you'll never be anything but an amateur. And in this case, to get the cops to pay attention to you at all, you're going to have to tell a lie. Go ahead and tell the dispatcher that there's been an accident, that you need a police car and an ambulance. Now, that'll put you high on the priority list. But there's one thing that you should never say. Never tell a dispatcher that there's been shots fired. Because the cops down here, making $300 or $400 a month,
[16:21] they don't much feel like risking their lives in a gun battle for that kind of salary. So if a dispatcher hears that, he might put you high on the priority list. But the cops themselves are going to take their good old time to get there. Like a cop once told me in Chicago, when they get a call about a gunfight in the ghetto, they always wait two or three hours before they actually get there, knowing that by then, all they'll have to do is just clean up the bodies. In other words, the cops don't want to get shot. So what do you tell the cops when they arrive with an ambulance and there is no accident and nobody's hurt? Easy, you tell them the dispatcher must have screwed up. Another white lie, but they're there, aren't they? Now, changing gears a little bit, I've been getting a lot of emails asking me about the state of the educational systems down here.
[17:08] That is, for expat and expat wannabes, who might want to start a family or bring their kids down. That question of education always comes up, and I'll deal with that extensively on another show. But right now, I'd just like to make some general comments about having kids down here and raising them, or moving down here from up north and bringing your young kids with you. I'm going to tell you something now that you're not going to like, something that you only come to realize after you've lived down here a few years. So I'm going to be the bearer of bad news. Now hear this, do not bring your children down to Latin America. This is not, I repeat, not a good place to raise your kids. And I'm going to list just a few reasons of many why it's not a good idea. First, since people have been asking me about the educational system,
[17:56] let's talk about that for a minute. Now, being from the first world, naturally, you have your minimum standards. But no matter how low your standards are, you'll never want to send your kids to a public school down here, believe me. By that I mean those extremely cheap, even free, state-sponsored schools. Not only are many of the public schools short on the basic things like books and desks, almost all of them have leaky roofs. The bathrooms don't work and they don't even have constantly running water. And some of them don't have electric power. Not to mention, talk about low standards. Public school teachers only need two years of college to teach. So that should be enough to convince you right there to send your kids to the much more expensive private schools. And when I say much more expensive, I mean compared to the public schools down here,
[18:46] which, like I said, are virtually free. And naturally, you get what you pay for. And when I say much more expensive private schools, compared to first world private schools, they're really quite cheap. And even the best of the best rarely charge more than $3,000 a year for tuition. And there are some very good private schools down here, K through 12. And to give you a good example, they even have Montessori schools down here. And schools funded and or sponsored by first world countries, like for example, an Austrian school, a Swiss school, a Danish school, a Belgian school, a British school, a German school, and an American school. You get the idea? And those schools are really first class. And they compare quite favorably to any of the private schools you'll find up in the first world.
[19:35] And those schools always have a lot of foreign first world teachers on staff, all of them with at least a bachelor's degree from a first world university. Unlike the public schools down here, which only require a teacher to have a two year degree from a Latin university. And as any first worlder who knows anything about Latin universities will tell you, they're extremely substandard and there's no comparison to the universities in the first world. You could say they're embarrassingly substandard. But then again, they're very cheap. Anywhere from two to five hundred dollars a year for tuition. But they do give out degrees. And even though Latin people just love their degrees, in most cases they're just not worth the toilet paper they're printed on. But let's get back to talking about private primary and secondary schools.
[20:23] That is K through 12. It's interesting to note that a good private school down here often is staffed with very good first world teachers. And what's even more interesting to me is that first world people who teach in these schools down here, well have yet to meet one. Unless of course he or she owns a school that makes anywhere near a thousand dollars a month. That means these first world people with first world degrees are working for less than twelve thousand dollars a year. So it's obvious first world teachers aren't down here for the money. And I have to admit that their reasons are a lot of the same reasons I'm down here. Oh and by the way, when I'm talking about the so-called expensive private schools, from K to 12, those schools are fully bilingual,
[21:09] so kids learn perfect Spanish and perfect English. Now when you talk about universities, like I touched on a little bit before, the public universities are a complete disaster. Again with non-functioning bathrooms, power outages, and vastly under qualified teachers. And the private universities, well they're a lot better, but as one private school administrator once told me, even if a kid graduates from one of the better private universities down here, by first world standards, he's only gotten himself a pretty good high school education. And though it was meant to be a joke, it just seems like in every way possible, the students that graduate from those private schools have nothing but superficial knowledge and almost no depth at all. But then again, I've heard a lot of first world universities are like that too.
[21:58] So who knows? And here's another reason you don't want to raise your young kids down here. The simple fact that kids of foreigners are often singled out for kidnappings and extortions. And the only practical way to avoid that is to get your kid a bodyguard or keep him locked up in the house all day. And like I talked about on a previous show, for various reasons I'd never recommend getting a bodyguard. And though you can get one really cheap, maybe $300 to $400 a month, that just further complicates your life and opens up yet another can of worms. So that leaves the alternative of locking a kid up in a house. And we know that's never going to happen. And here's another reason you never want to bring your kids up down here. All their friends are going to be Latin kids. And if you've been listening to this program for any length of time,
[22:46] you know that your kids will be hanging around with and going to school with upper class Latin kids. And believe me, as a rule, these kids are not only spoiled, egotistical, racist, coddled, and entitled. Carbon copies of their parents, I might add. They carry along with them a ton of macho Latin baggage. And that's bound to rub off on your kid, and you'll be sorry. Now, here's another reason you don't want to bring your kid up down here. When they turn 16, they're going to want to get their driver's license and have a car, just like any other normal kid. And if you don't cave into that, they're going to whine and complain and carry on, just like any other normal kid. But if you've been listening to this program, you know it's very dangerous to drive here compared to the first world,
[23:31] even if you're a very safe and meticulous driver. For example, it's not recommended to drive at night. And what do kids like to do? Go out at night with their friends to discos and parties and shopping malls, right? You have to remember that road hazards and construction sites are almost never marked correctly. Not to mention all those missing manhole covers, horribly maintained roads, unmarked curves, dangerous bridges, road washouts, and a thousand other road hazards and infrastructure problems too numerous to mention. Now, let me ask you, do you want your 16-year-old kid driving your car with a bunch of kids in the back seat, probably driving under the influence of a little pot and a few beers? Now, you have to remember, this is Latin America, a place where any time you turn a corner,
[24:18] you might be face-to-face with a herd of cows, or worse yet, a semi-trailer or a bus coming at you with no headlights at all. Well, maybe with a little luck, you and I could handle all that. But a 16-year-old kid? Uh-uh. And even if you're strict and you don't let him have a license or a car, that's not going to stop him. He or she is going to be hanging out with their spoiled rich friends, and they're all going to have cars, and probably jet skis and boats and all-terrain vehicles too. Because never forget that up in the first world, your kid would have been an average Joe in an average neighborhood. But down here, expats and their kids are elevated in society automatically. So your kids are going to be going to school and hanging around with the kids of the elite. And kids of the elite, they bore easy,
[25:04] and they have the money to do things in excess. So the bottom line is, the negatives far outweigh the positives if you bring a kid down here and raise him. Sure, your kid will be completely bilingual, which will give him a real leg up in life. But if he goes to the university down here, he's guaranteed to have a third-rate education. So all in all, I highly recommend leaving, working, playing, and or retiring in Latin America, but only if you're an adult. The way I see it, if you follow a few rules, this is an adult paradise, and it's no place for kids. I know too many cases of expats with kids down here. Not only are they having the usual problems you have with raising kids, but they're having to deal with a whole new set of problems. In fact, every one of these parents just bites his nails
[25:49] every time their kids step out of the house to go hang with their friends. And the kids, they just don't understand their parents' concern, since they've been brought up in Latin America thinking this is normal. So what if every once in a while, a kid at school gets kidnapped and their parents have to pay a ransom? Or that every so often, one of their friends' bodyguards gets in a shootout in the parking lot, trying to stop the car from being stolen. That kind of thing is more or less normal down here when you're dealing with the upper classes, like your kids are going to be. And as a matter of fact, I also know a lot of expats who came down unattached and got married to a Latin, which is another thing altogether. Now, when you get married to a Latin down here, that person is also well accustomed to robberies and kidnappings and bodyguards.
[26:35] And since this is the world they grew up in, that's the way things are for them, too. And when you marry a Latin, whether you like it or not, that person is going to want to have a family. And who knows, if you're a little bit older, you might even marry a Latin that already has a few kids. And to me, and a lot of other expats, this is not a good scenario either. Once again, expats and expat wannabes. Think of all that extra stress you're going to have. Every time your kid walks out the door, I mean, for me, and 99% of every other expat I know, we all move down here to have less stress, not more. And the only way you can guarantee to do that successfully is not to have or raise kids down here. So I warned you, there it is. But you know, with the deepening world financial crisis
[27:21] and the way things are going up in the first world, it does not look like a very good idea to raise kids up there either. But since when have humans ever let the facts get in the way of a bad decision? South of the border You've been listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America. And don't forget you can email me on anything at all about Latin America. The Expat Files at gmail.com. That's theexpatfiles at gmail.com. See you next time. Nos bemos. South of the border