Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller delves into various aspects of expat life in Latin America, covering natural disasters, cultural differences, and practical challenges. The episode is divided into several segments, each highlighting different topics and personal anecdotes.
Johnny begins by discussing natural disasters in Latin America, particularly earthquakes and hurricanes. He notes that while these events are a concern, expats and gringos are generally better prepared than locals, who often rely on faith rather than practical measures. Johnny explains that earthquakes are common, but the chances of being directly affected are low, and modern construction in first-world style neighborhoods can withstand significant seismic activity. He contrasts this with the poor and lower-middle-class housing, which is often built without proper safety measures and is more vulnerable to damage. Johnny also mentions that Latin America is dotted with active volcanoes, and being five to ten miles away from an active volcano can offer a stunning view. He contrasts the preparedness of expats with the laid-back attitude of locals, who often say natural disasters are 'in God's hands.'
In another segment, Johnny shares his personal fears and experiences with earthquakes, particularly his discomfort with high-rise buildings. He also shares a humorous story about Eddie, an expat friend, who is colorblind and had trouble passing vision tests in the U.S. Eddie managed to obtain a valid driver's license in Latin America through informal arrangements with government officials, often involving bribes. Eddie's colorblindness helps him detect fake crab meat, which is often made from processed fish and textured soy protein. In Latin America, traffic lights are interpreted based on their position rather than their color, which Eddie finds easy to navigate. The segment ends with a mention of Eddie's recent conflict with his fiancée, Claudia, for forgetting the Latin American birthday tradition of celebrating for an entire week.
Johnny then discusses cultural differences between the U.S. and Latin America, particularly focusing on birthday etiquette. He shares a story about Eddie, who ended up in trouble with his fiancée Claudia because he scheduled a meeting on her birthday, which is considered a breach of etiquette in Latin America. Johnny promotes his upcoming expat seminars and courses, emphasizing the value of attending and the additional excursions available. He also mentions Captain Mango, a long-time listener from Cleveland, and shares a humorous anecdote about coffee being sent back to the U.S. and being mistaken for decaf.
In another segment, Johnny and Captain Mango engage in a humorous and informative exchange about a miscommunication regarding decaffeinated coffee. Johnny initially questions whether the coffee he sent was decaffeinated, and Captain Mango clarifies that the label in Spanish reads 'decaf e,' which is the correct term for decaffeinated coffee in that language. Johnny expresses regret for doubting his friends Peter and James. Captain Mango is introduced as someone with a green thumb and experience in greenhouses, now working in coffee fields. He is also mentioned as a source of information on topics like coffee, planting, and agriculture. Captain Mango expresses strong negative opinions about Uber, citing issues like lack of regulation and exploitation of drivers in countries like Guatemala. Johnny responds with a balanced view, acknowledging the unfairness of government regulation but also recognizing that life isn't fair, and expressing support for choices like Uber, Airbnb, Bitcoin, and even Trump, while emphasizing that the outcomes of these situations will be interesting to watch.
Finally, Johnny discusses the issue of sewage and garbage disposal around Lake Atitlán, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. He explains that in many Latin American communities, especially among the lower middle class and poor, there is no centralized sewage system, leading to direct dumping into the lake. In contrast, upscale homes, businesses, and new constructions are required to have their own sewage treatment facilities. Johnny also discusses the recurring issue of poorly managed sewage projects, often funded by foreign governments or NGOs, which are frequently abandoned or mismanaged due to corruption and lack of expertise. He highlights examples like the failed sewage treatment project in Lake Atitlán, where donated equipment was quickly broken, and the case of former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti, who was involved in a similar failed project. Johnny concludes by comparing the state of water pollution in Latin America to the past state of water pollution in the U.S. and Europe, suggesting that while Latin America is now polluted, people there are not as educated or proactive in addressing the issue.
Topics
Natural disasters in Latin America, Earthquakes and their impact, Hurricanes and coastal living, Preparedness of expats vs. locals, Construction standards and safety, Personal fears and experiences with earthquakes, Eddie's colorblindness and its impact on his life, Obtaining driver's licenses in Latin America, Detecting fake crab meat, Driving in Latin America, Cultural traditions in Latin America, Cultural differences between the U.S. and Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:28 Personal Experience with Hurricanes and Preparedness 00:02:35 Expats vs. Locals: Preparedness and Safety Measures 00:03:33 Earthquake Resilience and Construction Standards 00:05:46 Fear of Earthquakes and High-Rise Buildings 00:06:35 Eddie's Colorblindness and Driver's License Scam 00:09:03 Eddie's Colorblindness and the Sushi Business 00:10:35 Driving in Latin America and Traffic Light Interpretation 00:11:17 Eddie's Conflict with Fiancée Claudia Over Birthday Traditions 00:11:53 Something You Didn't Know About Latin America's Fireworks Tradition 00:12:23 Prepare Yourself for the Occasional 6 a.m. Wake-Up Call 00:13:01 Why Forgetting a Partner's Birthday Can Be a Big Deal in Latin America 00:14:02 Why You Should Add Extra Days to Your Central American Trip 00:16:27 The Mystery of Decaf Coffee from Central America 00:17:13 The Coffee Miscommunication 00:17:49 Clarifying the Coffee Label 00:18:23 Captain Mango's Coffee Field Work 00:19:26 Uber Controversy and Captain Mango's Response 00:21:53 Captain Mango's Criticism of Uber 00:22:32 Johnny's Balanced View on Choices and Outcomes 00:23:11 The Question About Garbage and Sewage Around Lake Atitlán 00:24:23 Indigenous Towns and the Problem of Direct Waste Disposal 00:25:13 The Do-Wellers' Cycle and the Fate of Donated Sewage Equipment 00:25:53 Corruption and Mismanagement in Sewage Projects 00:27:15 Comparison of Water Pollution in Latin America to the U.S. and Europe
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 You know would be visitors and tourists to Latin America in fact anywhere in the third world. They're always worried about natural disasters Volcanoes earthquakes. Well, Latin America is just dotted with volcanoes a lot of active ones, too
[00:45] I've mentioned them on past shows and I've said many times as Long as you're five or ten miles away from an active volcano You really do have yourself a million-dollar view that's ever changing or I should say billion-dollar view because well a million is not What it used to be right and bad storms and hurricanes. Well, you know during the rainy season you get some bad storms But hurricanes, you know only affected if you're actually on the coast and by the way hurricanes almost never hit South America not with any great force and the Caribbean side of Latin America seems to get hit a lot harder with hurricanes than the Pacific side So if you like the coast and live there have a beach house, whatever You have to be prepared every couple of years to weather a hurricane I could speak with some authority on hurricanes because I had a Caribbean house completely wiped off the map by one
[01:34] Now that was a long time ago before I got to Latin America was on a British island But on the Latin American beachfront Well, I sat through two pretty good-sized hurricanes Not anyone's idea of a good time or a nice vacation. In fact, it sounded like a freight train for about two days But the good thing is you can prepare because you know when they're coming you get at least a week's notice from the weather man And though Latins with beach houses often suffer a lot of damage. They almost never take the proper precautions or prepare In fact, if I heard this refrain once I've heard it 10,000 times in Latin America of some bads happening or is gonna happen The locals will just shrug and look up into the sky and say it's in Los Manos de Dios It's in God's hands Yeah, right as you might imagine
[02:20] Gringos with beach houses or houses near the coast always seem to be better prepared and their houses suffer the least why? Because they don't look up at the sky and say it's in Los Manos de Dios We generally don't sit on our dead asses waiting for things to happen Gringos and expats they're prepared. They build things on a high spot. They have breakwaters They have water purifiers and flashlights with charged-up batteries They have a portable generator and fuel for the generator. They even start it up once in a while details details That's one of the great traits a screen goes in expats have even if you're a gringo who thinks you've got kind of a lazy And shift list personality whether you realize it or not. Well compared to the average laid-back
[03:05] Manana time latin guy, it's as if well. He's Gilligan and you're the professor now speaking of natural disasters Just this last week. There was a six point six or was it a six point nine earthquake on the border of Mexico and Guatemala I don't know if you heard about it up north, but it was all over the news down here like every earthquake is as usual a couple of people died Houses teetered crumbled and fell down but get this not houses built to anti seismic code And you know every house and building constructed after 1975 will withstand or is supposed to withstand an earthquake of seven point six That's massive. That would include any houses or buildings designed by an architect with the setup blueprints approved by a local municipality
[03:50] Now remember much of the housing in Latin America was put up by squatters You know, that's what you see when you drive through some of the slums and scummy areas in medium and large Latin cities Yep, it's the poor and the lower middle class housing. That's at risk That's the stuff that collapses or gets flooded out during natural disasters That's because poor squatters build and expand on the worst kind of land So when you see a Latin American earthquake event on TV and you see the houses Tumbling down and a bunch of dazed and confused people standing in the street looking at the chaos in the mess If you take a closer look you'll see that 95% of the time even more Those are the faces of the Latin lower middle class and poor the people that don't have the money to build with rebar and concrete
[04:38] Or follow anti seismic construction rules at all. Anyway, that's six point six or six point nine Whatever it was that's a big one yet. Not a single first-world person. I know who lived nearby Suffered a bit except for a few rattling dishes and window panes and barking dogs So if you live down here in Latin America, just like if you live in California I got expected occasional earthquake and a fairly big one will come about every couple years and the really big ones over 7.0 about every 25 years or so. I know I know It doesn't sound good but remember your first world style house in a nice neighborhood is Built to take it and believe me the chances that the epicenter is gonna be where you live That's like one in a thousand So for example, if you hear there's a six point six on the border of Guatemala in Mexico if you're at the epicenter
[05:24] You're really gonna feel it. There'll be about 30 seconds of vibration where you won't know what the hell's happening It won't take your house down, but you're gonna feel it However, if you're on the southern border of Guatemala where it meets El Salvador For example couple a hundred miles away from the epicenter the shockwaves will be so weak You might not feel it at all. So should you be afraid of earthquakes? Well, you never really get used to them In fact when I feel one coming and I always tense up a bit kind of look around for an escape route As far as being on the safe side as for me I would not like to live in a high-rise building of over let's say four or five stories I don't care if those buildings can take a big earthquake, you know I'm not big on heights as it is and once I was I think in an eighth floor building and an earthquake came and man
[06:11] I was on the verge of cold sweats and it's true All the big high-rises are built to anti seismic codes and such but man I just want to be somewhere else closer to ground when an earthquake hits But that's just me by the way after being down here 27 years now I don't know anybody gringo or local who's ever been personally hurt killed or damaged During an earthquake sure after a while you've all got a few hairline cracks in our walls, but that's about it Alright, so moving on people have been asking me about expat Eddie lately. Is he dead abducted by aliens? Maybe is he in jail? Well, not quite now people who know him. Well know he's colorblind He has a hard time distinguishing green from red So he could never pass the vision test up in the states when going for his driver's license
[06:57] Yet he did manage to get a legal driver's license up there. How'd he do it? Well, he has a first cousin that looks quite like him and he paid him to go down to the driver's station Pose as him and take the vision test that little subterfuge started quite early when Eddie was around 20 That was before the internet and cell phones when life was a lot slower and things weren't interconnected Back then in Texas a license was for 10 years and no fingerprints were ever taken All right, so flash forward to when Eddie ended up in Latin America Yeah When his first world Texas license just wouldn't hold up anymore It got too old and moldy and torn and waterlogged or I should say rum and tequila logged He finally decided to go to the driver's license bureau in El Salvador and get a real salvadorian license
[07:44] Now, you know back then and even up till recently you could hang around the government buildings in any city in Latin America And inevitably if you're hanging around the license bureau Some guy will walk up to you and say hey for a price I can get you a genuine license in a half an hour without you ever having to stand in line or taking any tests Nothing required except getting your picture taken and you're done and the cost generally 50 to 100 bucks So over the years i've known many a gringo expat who bought his driver's license lock stock and barrel from a guy on the street Yep, they'd pass muster too because they were registered Nope, not made in someone's basement either because you see these guys are connected with the license bureau grease and palms and stuff You know when it comes to government everyone's corrupt and they're all out to make a buck
[08:30] Yep They would even take you by the hand and lead you in to get a picture taken right in the official license bureau office So yep, a lot of people will end on the scam Anyway in the past a lot of gringos and latins whose paperwork wasn't in order or they just wanted to get things done in a hurry Would pay outright to get a driver's license and eddie did this for a while Only now with so much computerization and interconnection and fingerprints and even iris scans I wouldn't recommend it which is why not so long ago eddie went down to the driver's license bureau to get a legit license However, like I said, he's color blind and he did not pass the vision test However as he predicted his gringo advantage kicked right in and the lady who was administering the test
[09:16] Helped him through it. Oh, he failed it. All right over and over but she smiled and passed him anyway Yep, that kind of stuff happens all the time when you're off the gringo tourist trail So eddie has a pretty good case of color blindness. That's why he dresses in oddly matched colors sometimes though Eclectic is in now, right and the mismatched socks. Well, that's a constant with him and when I point it out He'll say hey, they fit fine. Now. The weird thing is eddie's color blindness actually helps him in the sushi business He says these days the majority of crab meat is fake But they fake it so well it fools the public nearly a hundred percent of the time But not eddie to him the real red on the meat and the fake red come out as different shades of gray By the way, he said restaurants will lie to you and tell you the crab salad is real crab and it's not
[10:04] Yep, leave it to the japanese to make it look feel and have the same texture as real crab meat And really it's just processed cheap fish with textured soy protein added yum Yum, actually kind of sad, you know and to think all those millions of sushi eaters out there believe they're eating Healthy and wholesome and we haven't even mentioned fukushima yet. Have we kind of sad, you know Now I know what some of you are thinking you're thinking how can expat eddie drive a car in latin america? It's crazy and chaotic enough for people who can actually tell a red light from a green light He said no problem stop lights everywhere are the same Since the top of the signal light is always red and the bottom is always green And the light in between always yellow the color doesn't matter to him
[10:51] It just matters what lights on in what order and as far as latin america, he says no problem either The red's on top and that means stop for everyone except motorcycles Taxis and chicken bus drivers the bottom light means green for go and you go and the middle light Yellow when that's lit. That means step on it By the way, eddie says he's been in the doghouse all week with his fiance claudia Why he did a most unspeakable thing. He forgot the latin american birthday rules, you know, they have him down here Latins take their birthdays very seriously with latin ladies, especially obsessed with it In fact, they feel it's almost a right to have the day off and celebrate all week Of course up in the states and in europe
[11:37] It's only a big thing if you're a kid or you slip into one of those real pivotal years like 18 21 50 Maybe 62 if you're picking up social security Otherwise americans, especially american women don't want to be reminded that the years are ticking away Here's something you didn't know and it scares gringos Often at times at exactly six in the morning You'll hear a string of firecrackers go off in the neighborhood. You're thinking what the hell six in the morning Firecrackers are they nuts? Well, that's actually a latin tradition Of course, you know The majority of latin americans get up well before six in the morning because they got to take a chicken bus to work Which could take an hour or two So many times the fireworks thing is moved to later in the night when everybody's home or the following weekend
[12:23] So prepare yourself for the occasional rude 6 a.m Wake up call. Anyway, eddie's fiancee claudia She didn't send him to the doghouse because he forgot her birthday, man That could be the end of a relationship I'm, not kidding better to have that date tattooed on your forehead Then to risk the wrath of your female latin partner now Ladies gringas if you forget your latin guy's birthday not to worry That's generally a night out with the boys at the strip clubs not always but believe me that's usually the plan So how did eddie end up in the doghouse? Well, it's because he happened to have scheduled a meeting an appointment on that day on glaudia's birthday Yep, that's considered a breach of birthday etiquette here in latin america, too The tradition is you too must keep the whole day free for whatever your better half wants to do
[13:10] So keep that in mind too. In fact eddie said he learned about the birthday thing the hard way when he At first opened up a restaurant or two and his workers would either ask for the day off or call in sick He said that got to be so annoyingly predictable that for a while when he'd interview people He'd ask him if they were willing to work on their birthday and they always said yes, you know to get the job But they were lying when you get boots on the ground yourself. You'll see what I mean All right Speaking of boots on the ground there's still time to sign up for my july expat insider seminar This show is going out on june 18th. So you've got about three weeks to put it together In fact, that's plenty of time. I've had people sign up the very day before the event Just go to www.thenewexpat.com click on johnny's seminar link and you'll also
[13:55] Get some information there on those great john gault pre and post seminar trips If you're coming all the way down to central america You'd be selling yourself short if you didn't add an extra three or four days on to the beginning or the end of your trip To do one of those john gault excursions Now if you just can't swing coming down to the seminar or getting boots on the ground yet Do the very next best thing that is sign up for my expat essentials course Just go to www.expatplanb.com Be sure to go there to get my three free introductory videos to my nine hour course and remember if you need any Individual help on the way go to www.thenewexpat.com and download my phone questionnaire You can use that as a guide if you want to do a one-on-one phone consultation with me
[14:41] Many people do and it's free if you come to one of my seminars Now you longtime listeners might remember good old captain mango He came down I think to my second or third seminar and he's been here ever since Yes, he's a favorite friend and good old boy from that mythical magical place called cleveland And that kid and he's from cleveland or at least a short tuk tuk or chicken bus ride away Anyway, if we haven't heard from good old captain mango in a while It's my fault because he sends me occasional little blurb and well i'm getting to it today Okay, so now this from captain mango He says johnny a while back. I had a visitor peter from new york city I had asked him when he got back to new york Would he please send some whole bean coffee back to cleveland for me?
[15:27] Of course, I gave him the coffee here in guatemala He was so kind as to purchase a grinder from walmart and send that along with the beans to cleveland Well, my friend's mother in cleveland asked when the coffee arrived Why did he send decaf? Well, I was stunned Can't believe it. No way switch the coffee. I sent with some phony decaf bs. Why would he do that? Then months later I sent another batch of excellent coffee from guatemala cleveland Be another house guess I had visiting james Once again the word came from cleveland Captain mango, why more decaf? Why are you sending me decaf? Well, she claimed two of the three bags were indeed decaf and I said hell. No
[16:16] James switched coffee on me, too What's with these guys? Why didn't they just buy their own when they were down here instead of taking mine and switching it? Then I thought you know what? I've never even seen whole bean decaf coffee down here in central america though. It might exist, I guess Anyway, i'd sent various types of leon. That's the brand name here coffee one bag of Antigua, slash coban blend and one bag of friejanes and one bag of expresso All of them whole bean coffee. That's the way to go never ground that you do yourself the moment You're gonna make your coffee. Anyway, let it be known johnny that I would never ever send decaf to anyone That'd be like switch and tang for fresh squeezed orange juice. I mean, come on. What an insult
[17:05] Anyway, so last night my cleveland friend happened to be on her mother's home phone while I was on the phone with her I asked what's it that makes you think that coffee I sent was decaffeinated She replied well Captain it says right here on the package Decaf I thought for a moment and asked her to spell it for me. She replied Decaf e I said wait a minute Wait, just a minute. Is there a space between the e and the c? She said why yes And I politely explained That the label is in spanish and decaf e is spanish for the coffee That in no way means I sent you that week an inferior coffee substitute known as decaf
[17:55] So now i'm feeling sorry. I ever doubted my two good friends peter and james again. Sorry guys Sincerely, captain mango It's me johnny again. By the way, captain mango is one of those guys who's got a green thumb. Unfortunately, I don't he knows all About soil and planting and i'm talking about legitimate plants now Because that's the business he was in back in cleveland greenhouses flowers and sprouts again I believe it was all legal Anyway, because he landed down here smack dab in the middle of some of the greatest coffee country in the world He's now doing some work in coffee fields himself And being that he really knows about plants and soils All you guys and girls coming down to my expat insider seminars who been thinking about possibly
[18:40] Doing the coffee plantation you think or getting into the coffee biz? Well, the captain will be hanging with us at the seminars as usual And if you have any questions at all about coffee or planting or agriculture anything plant or crop related He's a great source for that kind of info. And if he doesn't know it he'll find out for you By the way speaking of captain mango a while back. I did a little bit on the show talking about uber You know the transportation app guys who've been in the news a lot lately Lots of controversy either love him or hate him Now if you remember a few shows ago, I was saying a few positive things about him Like for example, I like the way they stick it in the face of government Because you know by nature a business that runs off the net like that is very difficult to tax and regulate
[19:26] Anyway, that little bit really set off captain mango and here's what he wrote back. So let's give him equal time He says johnny as captain mango I had officially retired but when I heard your blatantly slanted ravings about uber I just had to get in uniform again and pull rank on you. Yes uber whom I consider evil immoral Iniquitous nefarious rotten simple bad unlawful and righteous unsavory vicious vile villainous Wicked and wrong Yep, that's uber Hmm Now I know captain mango means that in a most heartfelt christian sort of way Don't you cap? Anyway, the captain says I feel johnny that I need to respond to this blatant bit of misinformation you spew Uber talks itself as a communication app not a transportation business
[20:16] Their drivers are not professional especially in latin america. For example in guatemala The company nor the drivers do not pay any of the regulatory fees that normal taxes are required to pay Yes, I understand about being anti-government, but at some point it is necessary There are four different government agencies that have the ability to shut down a taxi in guatemala city alone Can you believe that 14 000 taxis operate within these rules? And these taxi operators are dedicated to their trade Not to mention all of the affiliated businesses that thrive on the maintenance and repair of said vehicles Now along comes uber with a deal that seems too good to be true And you know what they say about that right the system is designed to make a few cats rich in silicon valley
[21:04] While exploiting the poor with a rate that barely covers fuel and will not sustain maintenance costs and vehicle depreciation either This makes it a flash in a pan that will burn out eventually when uber vehicle drivers find themselves unable to afford to repair or replace their failing heaps Similar to economic exploitations that are to milk wealth from the usual unsuspecting poor Then the captain says the uber scam will only put many hardworking dedicated Taxi pilots out of the business until the pool of uber suckers runs dry This has a potential to leave a transportation void that will seriously hurt an emerging economy For you to take the pro uber position johnny without first looking into the facts I find blatantly misleading and irresponsible. I could go on about this ad nauseam
[21:53] But i'll conclude with the fact that already a motion has been filed here in guatemala to ban uber As it has been banned in 58 countries already As ever you're kind of pissed off and disappointed friend captain mangle. Hmm captain. I never heard you so well Pissed so when he wrote that to me not so long ago. I wrote this reply. I said captain I know legitimate taxi businesses have to bend over to the worthless government slugs and uber doesn't have to which is totally unfair But life ain't fair. I personally have never used uber, but I hate government I think everyone should have all the choices available Even uber and if they suck then they will die a fitting death. And if I suck well, so will I by the way
[22:38] That goes for airbnbs too and bitcoin which also gives the finger to government ass wipes and bangsters Even trump from the very beginning. I know he'd never get the train back on the tracks. He'll never get anything done But you know, I wanted to see him get elected because it was like throwing a stick at dynamite into a rat's nest Quoting the lizard king. No one here gets out alive. So soon enough. We'll see how all this plays out Meanwhile, we'll close with this brain scratching email from our friend the alti plano drifter Johnny, where does all the garbage and sewage go for all the villages around the most beautiful lake in the world? Lake atitlan short question long answer. Here goes. Well first Let me say if you live in a nice gated guarded community normally you'll have a septic system
[23:27] Yeah septic systems are big with single family housing here in latin america And you'll find that even in most large latin cities, there's no communal septic or sewer system Now that sounds strangely unsanitary, doesn't it? Well, you know in the good old days back in the usa before the 1950s almost everyone had septic systems Everyone who lived the ways out of the city or in the boonies You might remember seeing those big torpedo like tanks out in people's backyards. Of course in us cities Everyone's connected to municipal sewer. However in latin cities, that's often not the case So homes and businesses either have a septic system or they dump right into the nearest lake or river Yuck, so often the lower middle class and very poor latins dump directly into the nearest body of water
[24:15] Why because they haven't got the 500 bucks to put in a septic system So as far as lake atitlan the first or second most beautiful lake in the world The 12 little indigenous towns around that lake are dumping right into the water Meanwhile registered businesses upscale homes restaurants hotels etc And any and all new construction must provide their own sewage treatment facilities Or they won't be able to operate or get a building permit However, there are no such rules for the vast majority of people living around the lake That's the lower middle class and poor who've been dumping their crap and their waste water in the lake forever Meanwhile in the past five years or so The do-gooders have arrived with their high-tech sewage treatment devices and contraptions In fact, maybe a year and a half ago. I was at the lake and I saw 10 or 12 little floating sewage treatment platforms
[25:05] Just pumping away looking like they were actually doing something I read somewhere that they were donated by the israeli government and six months later Every one of them was down for some reason broken or out of commission. Yep. It's the same old same old That's the do-gooder feel-good life cycle in a nutshell Yep, so very predictable However, the good news is as new structures get built and old ones get remodeled people realize and they're even teaching this in the local Schools that it's not good to dump your stuff directly into the lake And the bad news almost all towns and cities in latin america have started big sewage treatment projects Wait a minute. What could be bad about that? Well again, they start out great guns big announcements in the papers and such and after a few years Broken and abandoned but why when something like that's so important?
[25:53] Well, that's because as usual the government pus bags at the top who put out the contracts skim a bit for themselves and then hand them out To their friends and brother-in-laws and such who don't know anything about sewage treatment But they set up a corporation which in turn hires a real sewage treatment corporation to do the work Of course half the money has been skimmed or disappeared and there's never enough to complete or maintain the project After it's been built. Now. The perfect example is the past vice president of guatemala the first woman vice president raxanne baldetti By the way, she's in jail now Turns out she let out a contract to an italian firm that was supposed to clean up another big lake in guatemala lake Well, they dumped some chemicals into the lake nothing happened two million dollars disappeared and
[26:42] The italian company doesn't seem to exist anymore Yes, it's true. All lakes and rivers in latin america are polluted to various degrees And you know a friend of mine from columbia who's an expert in the sewage treatment plants He told me the reason why lake atitlan is not dead and it's not in terrible shape is because There are no smokestacks or medium even small industries around the lake. It's just people towns tourism and basically indigenous people in fact this columbian friend He's an architect. He says think of europe and the united states back in the 1960s Most lakes and rivers were polluted. That's the state of things here in latin america now But up in the states the people got educated whereas down here the people remained stupid Like one of my old fallen catholic buddies always says he says johnny there may not be a god
[27:31] But there certainly is a devil south of the border This is the expat files living in latin america If you want me to help you out with your own plan b just schedule a one-on-one consult Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan b from right up there in the states go to www.expatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos