Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores several interconnected themes that highlight the complexities of expat life in Latin America. He begins by discussing the cultural phenomenon of 'Sunday upscale Latin jogger show-off syndrome,' where affluent expats and locals engage in fitness activities on Sundays, often in elaborate gear, as a way to display wealth and status. Johnny critiques this behavior as superficial and highlights the irony of these individuals leading sedentary lives during the week due to long work hours and traffic. He also touches on the use of plastic water bottles, energy drinks like Red Bull and Gatorade, and the similarity of unhealthy gym options in Latin America to those in the U.S.
Next, Johnny shares his personal experience with lemon trees and the availability of stevia in Latin America. He contrasts the use of artificial sweeteners among expats and locals, highlighting a cultural divide in health habits. He also discusses the prevalence of high fructose corn syrup in the U.S. versus sugar cane in Latin America, and the environmental impact of plastic pollution, particularly in oceans. Johnny references a conversation with a smart individual named Larry, who emphasizes the contamination of seafood with plastic, leading to a broader discussion on environmental and health issues.
In another segment, Johnny talks about his dietary habits and lifestyle, emphasizing his preference for fresh, locally sourced food and his avoidance of processed items. He contrasts the pollution in Latin America with that in the United States, noting that while both regions face pollution, the U.S. has more hidden forms of contamination like pharmaceuticals in water supplies. The segment concludes with a letter from a listener named Howard, who expresses frustration with Johnny's frequent comments about safety in Mexico and provides statistics to argue that Mexico is safer than many U.S. cities.
Johnny then engages with an expat named Howard, who challenges his views on expat life in Mexico. Howard argues that many expats are not ascetics but rather people seeking comfort and familiarity, such as English libraries, Unitarian churches, and specific brands like Laura Scudder's peanut butter. He also mentions that the U.S. State Department does not issue warnings for many cities in Mexico, including Puebla, where he resides. Johnny responds by acknowledging the existence of expats in Mexico but counters with data on rising crime rates and the complexities of expat life, including the cost of living and cultural clashes. He emphasizes the need for a more 'first-world' plan B for expats, rather than an ascetic lifestyle, and shares personal anecdotes about his own experiences with expat culture and the challenges of adapting to life in Latin America.
Finally, Johnny discusses the cultural and social tensions between expats and locals in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. He highlights how expats often face criticism for not assimilating and for living in segregated communities. He also touches on the potential influx of American expats to Mexico if Trump is elected, suggesting that these expats may not be well-informed about the local realities. Additionally, he references a Mexican newspaper article advocating for a border wall between Mexico and Guatemala/Belize, pointing out that many expats lack the language skills to understand local issues and rely on English-language media that often lacks depth.
Topics
Cultural phenomenon, Fitness culture, Expatriate lifestyle, Consumer behavior, Health and wellness, Social status, Lemon trees and stevia availability, Cultural differences in health habits between gringos and Latin people, High fructose corn syrup vs. sugar cane, Plastic pollution and its impact on the environment and human health, Environmental and health implications of seafood contamination, Dietary habits and coffee culture in Latin America and the U.S.
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:56 The Sunday Jogger Show-Off Syndrome Begins 00:03:12 The Payoff: Fitness as a Status Display 00:03:23 The Irony of the First-World Treadmill 00:05:53 Lemon Trees and Stevia Availability 00:06:10 Stevia and Artificial Sweeteners 00:07:27 Plastic Pollution and Health Implications 00:12:20 Johnny's Dietary Restrictions and Coffee Obsession 00:15:32 Water Quality in Latin America vs. the U.S. 00:17:06 Howard's Letter: Frustration with Johnny's Comments on Safety in Mexico 00:17:58 The Potential for a Wall if Trump is Elected 00:18:20 Johnny's Response to Howard's Claims 00:22:43 Expats and Cultural Assimilation in Latin America 00:23:03 Expats and the Perception of Cultural Assimilation 00:23:46 Expats and the Lack of Cultural Exposure 00:24:26 The Proposed Border Wall and Immigration Issues 00:25:54 Language Barriers and Media Consumption
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 now on the last show is talking a lot about health care and health care issues in Latin America and the health care Issues and problems you're faced with up on the stage right now Well certain email listener comments have been coming in on that show that have got me thinking about certain health care
[00:47] Related issues that just don't make sense. However, that's all a part of living in Latin America Things often don't make sense and that's just the way it is Anyway, one of the things that just kind of makes me laugh all the time used to drive me nuts But now just strikes me as kind of ridiculous. It's what I call the Sunday upscale Latin jogger show-off syndrome Now you've heard me say that every medium and large-sized Latin City has its islands of gringo eyes Prosperity I've mentioned there are very nice neighborhoods with gated guarded communities Boulevard's that are perfectly manicured just like the highest-end neighborhoods in your town Now, you know often when you're in a nice quiet upscale neighborhood You'll see some upscale joggers and upscale Cyclists too and of course, they'll be sporting the latest and greatest day glow designer fitness outfits and such matching helmets shoes and accessories
[01:40] Of course, I'm always rather suspicious of people in those getups Like you can't get a good workout unless you've got two hundred dollar shoes in a three hundred dollar outfit Along with a couple of graphite chrome and titanium metabolic monitors and such that's why down here I call it the upscale gringo wannabe Sunday morning Latin joggers syndrome Thanks to the superficial all about me. Let's show everyone in the neighborhood. I have money Preoccupation and I had kind of upscale Latin weekend ritual has popped up now You can't say it's all about getting exercise and being fit and all that because they're only doing it once a week on Sunday mornings Meanwhile during the rest of the week, they don't do any exercise at all And why is that because you see these days all the upscale and wealthy Latins live in the burbs and they work in the nearby city
[02:26] Maybe 15 to 50 kilometers away So they lose two to four hours a day Driving in the terrible traffic back and forth to their first world house in the burbs in their nice first world car Of course, but they have virtually no free time except on Saturday afternoons and Sundays again Latin America has a 44 hour work week people work on Saturday mornings here So it's routine for upper middle class and wealthy Latins to leave at 6 in the morning and get home at 8 or 9 at night Yep, upscale and wealthy Latins at upper 5% of the population are on their own kind of first world treadmills Which pretty much means they have absolutely no free time or social life during the week So is that how fitness works you pick one day a week go out for a half an hour in your most expensive
[03:12] Jogging and cycling clothes and prance around the neighborhood for all to see that's the program. I don't get it Well, you know what in the end that upper two to five percent of Latins got exactly what they wanted They're dying to be first world and man, they got it. They're on the treadmill now So in the young latin upscale social strata Sunday mornings are for the neighborhood show-and-tell It's all about proving to your neighbor. You can afford to buy expensive shoes and jogging outfits Oh and as mentioned before Sunday mornings are for dawning your phosphorescence cycling outfit, too That would include color coordinated shoes bike helmet and accessories now You know all fashionable joggers and cyclists have a velcro doo-doo dad pouch or wire cage for bottled water Gatorade tequila, whatever now the truly idiotic thing is that the plastic water bottle is being irradiated
[04:04] Constantly by the hot Latin Sun. I don't get it We're talking about this supposedly educated upper two to five percent of the Latin population and they don't know about the plastic bottle problem Well, I guess I do get it after all It's that classic gringo wanna be lag time effect on that note in all my time down here I've yet to see a Latin American who claims he's into fitness use a glass or metal bottle for water Oh, and by the way upscale Latins who are into fitness are hooked on Red Bull And all those energizer drinks as well as Gatorade. Oh and note when you're at the supermarket in the Gatorade aisle You'll find there are all kinds of cheap Red Bull and Gatorade clones made down here Yum, yum, in fact the last time I visited one of the high-end most expensive gyms in Latin America I went up to the little cafeteria area
[04:51] They have always got a little health food counter and of course They're selling Gatorade and some of the cheaper Gatorade substitutes and there's a little section for get this Dunkin donuts. Yep. Just what the doctor ordered. Hey, it must be okay It's a gringo product, right and right next to that display a poster Showing the times you could sign up for a personal evaluation with the health club nutritionist again The dichotomies and ironies abound. It's a gringo copycat society all the way because you know If you look back maybe 10 or 20 years ago US health clubs were exactly the same way in the healthy snack area They had Red Bull and Gatorade So called low cal bakery products and granola bars whole grain breads and natural muffins Diet this and zero calorie that stuff. We know now is just no good for you
[05:40] Oh and speaking of low cal artificial everything down here You can get stevia, which is probably the best low cal sugar substitute. There is at least it's natural anyway I'm talking about stevia. I use it myself makes great lemonade I don't buy lemons either. I pull them off the trees in my own backyard In fact, I have three lemon trees producing so many lemons I'm giving away by the bucketful all the time right now. There are at least 20 lemons sitting on the ground I don't even feel like walking over and picking them up You should have such problems, huh? Well, come on down and you will so yes for everyone who's been asking you can get stevia down Yep, you can get it at Walmart and Costco very cheap and at high-end organic health food stores at boutique prices If you feel like wasting your dough and guess who buys that stuff
[06:30] Gringos pretty much exclusively and how do I know that well because a lot of gringos who come down are really into the healthcare Bit and rightfully so however, I've never ever seen a Latin person to use it or have it in their homes They only use artificial junk like Nutra sweet and equal etc And upscale latin fridges and cupboards are just filled with low-fat this and low cal that I'm talking about upscale and wealthy lance Now because the lower and middle classes they just buy what's cheap So again, if you're looking through the refrigerators and cupboards of upscale latins who should know better They're the college grads and the informed educated class, right? Well, you'll soon see they have very incomplete educations and are vastly under informed talk about 20-something Years ago in the States when everybody's refrigerator was filled with Diet Coke Pepsi, Dr.
[07:18] Pepper and Mountain Dew as well as those famous granola bars, which we all know now were nothing But I've been just loaded with sugar and fat. They've been discredited up north But are extremely popular down here now. That's the lag time effect Oh, and by the way, we all know by now that cholesterol thing has pretty much been disproven and you can have your eggs However, you won't find a single Latin who doesn't think cholesterol is bad for you And who doesn't think the best way to lose weight is to drink low-cal sodas and such and get this There's a healthy chef program on Latin TV who cooks with nothing but margarine. Why because it doesn't have cholesterol Margarine yuck So yes The same misleading marketing that worked so well in the 80s and 90s in the States is working like a charm down here now
[08:05] Upscale people aren't sucking down low-fat desserts low-fat cookies using artificial sweeteners and coffee tea and everything else But they're not using stevia. Why because there's not a single commercial on TV for it yet Not yet now a long time ago. I mentioned that down here in Latin America There's pretty much no such thing as high fructose corn syrup because well, this is the land of sugar cane There are huge plantations everywhere and really the only reason why you guys have high fructose corn syrup on Everything and anything up in the States is because it's cheaper than importing sugar cane from places like Latin America And of course that 2 to 5 percent of Latin gringo wannabes when they can they prefer to buy imported gringo products at Walmart and Costco With you guessed it high fructose corn syrup yet
[08:51] They're totally unaware of the controversy behind that stuff now in the past I had mentioned the controversy to various upscale Latins and they didn't even know what high fructose corn syrup was Now speaking of artificial products and plastics We all know that drinking out of any kind of plastic bottle is not good even the so-called safe P-E-T bottles you shouldn't trust any of them, especially if they're in the Sun that said I assume everyone listening to this show knows about the Texas sized island of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean getting bigger all the time and Maybe some of you have even seen that documentary called plastic planted I have and it's pretty disgusting really makes you want to press Mother Earth's reset button. Hmm. I wonder where that is
[09:37] Anyway, I was having a conversation with another very smart guy who came to my last seminars name was Larry In fact, there were two very smart Larry's at the seminar Anyway, New York Larry reminded me and he's right that since the oceans are filled with mega tons of discarded plastic And the Sun's baking the stuff all the time The monomers or plastic molecules are continuously leaching out and fish absorb it through their food and gills Then we eat the fish and it ends up in our tissues along with a lot of other microscopic bits of man-made junk That's in our atmosphere and water. So as disgusting as it sounds on a nanomolecular scale We're full of plastic. Can you think of a more revolting development? Come on. Show me that Mother Earth reset button and I'll press it
[10:24] So I repeat I can't seem to get that conversation with New York Larry out of my head. No wonder he's a vegan He said Johnny if you eat seafood no matter how clean you think it is or what ocean it came from It's contaminated with plastic. So basically we're pretty much all screwed now It's not say I hadn't known or read about that quite some time ago I did see that film plastic planted a few years back anyway I'd like to thank Larry for driving the point home because you know You can see all the movies and documentaries and listen to podcasts and read as many blogs as you want But when someone looks you in the eye and says Johnny provided your name is Johnny Of course if you insist on eating seafood Just go to the way back machine and put on that Frank Zappa and the mother's song Plastic people the guy was way ahead of his time, you know and Zappa too died very young
[11:10] Prostate cancer. Hmm. So if you can think of a better reason to be pissed off at the whole of humanity Do let me know. So anyway, Larry, thanks for the bad news. But all is not lost I suppose now I'm gonna have to find a nice place out in the boonies with a big pond and stock it with some fish Which would be totally impossible due to a million and one regulations up in the States However down here in Latin America, if you got some land on the boonies or you're already living on the boonies You just do it that listeners is what you call freedom. You've heard of the concept. You must have read about it, right? It's called freedom got it in spades down here. You know, anyway being a fan of mariscos that seafood I'm open for suggestions now people like to ask me personal questions. Like for example, I can't tell you how many times I say Johnny
[11:56] How old are you I get emails like that all the time I guess I got most people stumped unless you come down to one of my expat insider seminars Then I usually let that cat out of the bag during the health care part of the seminar Another question I get all the time is what do you eat Johnny besides? Of course frequent stops to those big outdoor produce markets. I talk about all the time on the show Well, let's start with what I don't eat I actually haven't had a hot dog or a hamburger of any kind for at least 30 years now and chicken Well, I'll have driveway chicken about once a month now what I'm gonna cruise or add an all-you-can-eat buffet I will pick and choose and have things like bacon pancakes waffles a little dessert the usual suspects that taste so good But are so bad for you that'll happen Maybe once every couple of months and of course I fall off the wagon when I'm doing seminars too
[12:45] But not much and my vice as well I have a double shot of espresso every morning and then one at around noon and Because I'm in the best coffee country in the world and I actually live in the coffee fields I have my own Italian espresso machine one of the good ones not the junky aluminum 50 to 100 buck jobs I keep away from aluminum. I also have a very high-end Italian coffee bean grinder, man Do I sound like a food snob or what now, you know coffee is the only thing I've gone a little crazy on Like my uncle used to say if you live across the street from Disneyland You got to go on the rides and he ought to know he was an engineer at the original California Disneyland in Anaheim, you know animatronics and all that stuff Well, you know, I'm one of those guys I can honestly say I eat to live. I don't live to eat
[13:31] There's a big difference, you know, and so when I'm at somebody's house and they're serving dinner lunch, whatever I never let on that I don't eat certain things instead I put them on my plate gotta make the lady of the house happy and when no one's looking give the dog a treat because in Latin America, you'll almost always find the dog under the dinner table So then what about condensed high-value protein every day? I get that plus my daily requirement of plastic with a small three by three inch portion of fresh ocean fish I like Corvina the best it's an ocean fish about a foot long the smaller the better You know as far as absorbing heavy metals like mercury now One of the beauties of living in Latin America, especially Central America is that at most you're a two-hour drive from the Pacific or Atlantic coast
[14:16] So you can meet the boats right down at the dock or go to one of the fish markets or fish Wholesalers and buy the stuff when it's practically still wiggling and of course you can buy tilapia and all that farmed fish down here Too and I'd never in a million years buy that crap Or you can do as the upscale latin gringle wannabes do and buy frozen fecally farmed fish from Costco and Walmart Coming directly from China in Indonesia. Yeah, in fact right now I could drive an hour and a half and visit one of those gigantic putrid Antibiotic and feces contaminated tilapia fish farms myself down here when you visit those fish farms, it's right in your face You can see exactly how things are getting polluted but up in the States It's pollution of a kinder gentler more stealthy sort you pee your psychotropics antibiotics and birth control pills
[15:02] Etc into the toilet they end up at the water treatment plant Which can only remove the solids and some bacteria and all those drugs go back into the lake streams and oceans and end up being Recycled back into your tap water again, albeit much diluted, but they're still there You know what you don't see won't hurt your kind of thing So down here in Latin America lakes and streams are polluted with industrial pollution and fertilizers, etc But unlike in the US, they've got no psychotropics antibiotics or birth control drugs in the water supply So the waters here are much easier to filter with your own water purification system. Wow I'm all ranted out on that topic now for an email This one's from Howard who wants to slap me up a bit and I'll paraphrase this and cut it down a bit because it Is pretty long he starts dear Johnny love your show and listen to every episode once in a while
[15:52] In fact, I write you about your constant ragging about safety and security in Mexico Then he mentions the movie cicaro, which I recommended in a previous show showing the brutality of the drug gangs in what is Mexico and he says things have changed much for the better there then he Gives me a link from a December 2015. New York Times article saying just that then he goes on to say now Johnny I live in Pueblo, Mexico, and I'm afraid to go to Guatemala According to the BBC this week. He says Guatemala is one of the most dangerous nations in the world According to sources he says Mexico is safer than many cities in the US safer than Atlanta Baltimore st. Louis, New Orleans, Cleveland, Buffalo, Chicago, Philadelphia and My jammy overall not just the big cities but across the US crime rates are about the same
[16:40] But the rape rate in the US is twice as high as Mexico Of course, you need to exercise caution in parts of Mexico where the drug wars are then again You'd certainly advise visitors to the USA to avoid certain parts of Chicago and LA, right? I wouldn't be surprised that France or Germany would tell us citizens to avoid cinemas college campuses churches workplaces in the US To avoid mass shootings, then he gives me a couple more links one is called how safe is Mexico compared to the US So anyway, Johnny, why can't you have some sympathy for us guys on our plane B here in Mexico from here? You can actually drive to the states to see your grandchildren There are no US State Department warnings for a lot of cities in Mexico, including Puebla where I live in fact There are thousands of us living off the tourist trail in Mexico to where I live
[17:25] I only see German speakers because of the Volkswagen factory Then he says there are major groups of happy gringos and names a bunch of Mexican cities So you may put us down because groups like AARP recommend certain cities But not all of us sexpats want to live an aesthetic Spartan life like you seem to promote some gringos He says like to have a few comforts like an English lending library For example a Unitarian Church some meetups to chew the fat with other gringos and a place to buy Laura Scudder's peanut butter Then he adds if Donald Trump is elected There'll be so many North Americans trying to come down here that Mexico should put up a wall South of the present border. I dare you Johnny to reconsider your views on Mexico Why don't you have your next seminar just across the border of Guatemala in San Cristobal de las Casas?
[18:16] Signed Howard an expat in Mexico. Okay, Howard. Thanks for that But you know, I've got a few things to say Well, first of all Howard for as many articles and newspaper references as you can quote Send me a link to an expound upon I can find just as many or more That's a just the opposite because you know, it was either Einstein or George Carlin dead said for every expert There's an equal and opposite expert. I mean, come on look at vaccines chemtrails and global warming Perfect examples. In fact, let me throw this article at the wall and see if it sticks and this is very recent Wednesday, July 27 It starts by saying homicide statistics out of Mexico continue to show an alarming increasing trend with murders linked to organized crime showing a Substantial rise their first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year
[19:05] it says since 2015 there's been a 16% increase in overall crime in the country and a 33% increase in one year in overall homicide rates again for every expert opinion There's an equal and opposite expert opinion By the way There are quite a few countries on the US State Department species list and often not only me But a lot of long-term expats see that as a badge of honor and a very good place for gringos to live work Play and or retire in other words when the US government says something It's often exactly the opposite of what it seems that said it's well known that the vast majority of expat gringos living outside The US are in Mexico over one and a half million of them meaning they're all invested and have skin in the game in that country
[19:52] So they're naturally biased as are people for example who've invested almost everything in Costa Rica I can't tell you what a horrible country that's turned into but you'll still find gringos there scammed screwed and gouged That always look to the bright side and put a positive spin on everything Oh and by the way Howard the majority of places you mentioned in your email I didn't actually repeat the list in the show But anyway, you're looking at a huge real estate bubble and first world real estate prices not to mention the gringo advantages Pretty much withered away on all fronts including the prices at the street level In fact, I've had a few attendees at my expat insider seminars who have places in Mexico or have lived there for quite a while One was from San Miguel Allende and one if I recall from Los Cabos both are places you mentioned in your email
[20:40] And I'll tell you these people were shocked when they went to the big market in Guatemala with our group They said where they live in the gringoized areas of Mexico The fruits and vegetables in the markets are three to five times as expensive as they are in Guatemala And of course that brings us to the other point you mentioned in the email the fact that not all people coming down to Latin America to exercise their plan B are ascetics or people intending to downsize yet still live a first-world life Well, the fact is with what's coming over the horizon. It doesn't matter how much money you have. It's time everyone Simplified a bit now in my early years here in Latin America I did some pretty stupid things like buying not one but two brand new Toyota 4 runners I found soon enough that was a big mistake on a number of levels
[21:26] Nothing like shoving your first-world affluence down the third-world person's throat Not that we do it on purpose, but that's why so many of us when we first get down here are pretty much clueless gringos I mean look what the gringos did to Costa Rica and what they're doing to cities in Mexico and Panama and now big cities in Colombia, too So as for me in this show the expat files What I try to promote is a first-world plan B. That's more anonymous and with a smaller footprint now Howard You said it's nice to have a few gringo comforts like an English lending library a unitarian church a place to buy Laura Scudder's peanut Butter which by the way, I've never heard of however. I make my own from scratch and a queasy nart with peanuts So fresh. I'm sure it beats the hell out of Laura Scudder or any other first-world mutter
[22:14] And it cost me a cool one dollar a pound to make and I'll just looked up Laura Scudder and hers is six bucks a pound Hmm one by the way when you're off the gringo tourist trail You just might hear some long-term gringos in a conversation that goes something like this You know I don't get it You've got all these fresh green gringos coming down looking for other gringos looking to have gringo neighbors gringo style houses Looking for English this and English that seeking out their favorite first-world franchises and restaurants Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that exactly what first-world gringos are pissed off about when foreigners move to their country They don't like it one bit when foreigners don't assimilate and retain their own cultures and habits They're pissed when foreigners don't learn the language when their neighborhoods resemble a transplanted version of the country they left
[23:03] Hmm I could be wrong, but that sounds a lot like Costa Rica parts of Panama and Mexico, huh? Oh and not to be harsh, but one more thing I've been to Mexico many many times and when I hear expats living there say they live off the gringo tourist trail man They don't know what off the gringo tourist trail is well I'll tell you it's when you could walk around a busy Latin city for a couple of hours and never see a single gringo It's when you live in a gated guarded community and you're the only gringo in the neighborhood Oh and one more thing nine out of ten gringos in Mexico have never been south of the Mexican border to another Latin country, so they've only got Mexico as a baseline and Finally Howard says in his email if Trump is elected president. There'll be a rush of first-world Americans to Mexico
[23:53] You know, I've heard some talk along those lines, too Well, what that tells me is the mass influx of North Americans will all be Hillary supporters, right? So do you want to go to Mexico and mingle with those delusional idiots? I rest my case Oh and about that proposed Donald Trump border wall. Just listen to this on July 24th Mexican newspaper and journal El Manana Published an article advocating the construction of a border wall Just like the proposed Donald Trump wall between the US and Mexico However, they're advocating putting up a wall on the southern border of Mexico cutting off Guatemala and Belize from Mexico According to this article the countries of Guatemala and Belize do not bring any benefits to Mexico only trouble these border crossings
[24:43] They say are used for a new invasion of Central Americans Using our country Mexico as a means to get to the US and here's something I'm sure you've never heard before It says our main problem isn't the undocumented traffic from Guatemala Salvador Honduras Costa Rica or Nicaragua rather that illegals caught and deported from the US don't get sent back to their original country of origin as established in international treaties Instead they regroup and go back almost exclusively to the city of Reynosa, Mexico Then it says nearly all deported immigrants would much rather stay in Mexico to have another go at slipping into the United States To look for that American dream. It says a lot of these immigrants dedicate themselves to assault
[25:30] Kidnapping and extortion in the worst cases integrating themselves into organized crime groups to earn money to pay Coyotes to once again get them across the border to the states Which is why the newspaper article proposes a wall be built not on the US Mexican border But on the Mexican Guatemalan Belize border, by the way Another fact is that about 80 to 90 percent of gringos living in Mexico Do not know enough Spanish to even pick up a Spanish language newspaper and read articles like that And you know, that's really the only way to find out what's happening in your adopted country Instead most gringos will read English language newspapers and tourist journals put out by gringos And I can attest to the fact that English language journals like for example, the Tico Times in Costa Rica
[26:17] Do not provide in-depth analysis In fact English language gringo rags pretty much only exist to promote tourism And if you don't believe that just look at the advertisers gringo restaurants bars tourist agencies English language-speaking doctors lawyers bingo parlors casino joints strip clubs You get the idea you won't find any strictly latin owned and operated businesses advertising in gringo journals Unless they're trying to cultivate a gringo client base So bottom line learn some Spanish and you're not gonna learn it if you're hanging around strictly with gringos Okay, we're getting to the end of the show now So once again, if you're interested in coming to my january 2017 expat insider seminar Send an email to get in on the early bird discount and i'll tell you i've had more interested in this seminar than any other seminar
[27:07] I've given so far We're a full five months away And i've already got more than half the seats promised to people on the early bird discount list Don't do send me an email now because i'm limiting the attendance to 25 Also, don't forget to check out my youtube channel and see the crazy and fun Slides and photos that go along with the show and of course check out Www the new expat.com to find out more about setting up your own plan b from master blogger john gault south of the border 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 the expat files at gmail.com And if you want me to help you sort out your own latin american plans schedule a one-on-one Consult with me. Just send an email and let me know at the expat files at gmail.com