About Those Plans to Become an Expatriate... (reposted from original location)

article from January 2, 2014
By Jamie Douglas

As we enter another new year, many people in the Northern Hemisphere are taking stock of their lives, looking to better their situation and location, and in the deep freeze of winter they are dreaming of the easy life on a tropical beach with coconuts, pineapples and bananas.

But wait – there is much more to that equation. All of us who have successfully migrated out of our nest-countries have had to make sacrifices we did not plan on. Some of those are what are referred to as “comfort items,” like foods. You will not be able to find a Waffle House or bagel shops, and there is probably no Marmite, fish ‘n’ chips or instant gravy mixes in any flavor you like.

When you first start your inquiries at consulates about residency, you will be overwhelmed at the amount of hurdles you have to clear in order to get that cherished residency in Parador. And when you finally do and arrive in your dream destination, which you have hopefully spent some months getting to know, you might not be too charmed by all the bureaucracy and graft to outright corruption and extortion you might encounter, depending on where you go.

Of course, if you chose a country like Uruguay, the process is, as Mark Mercer at Uruguay Expat Life puts it, a comprehensible, fair, attainable process (they have more great articles about Uruguay residency and other such technicalities, too).

There are some things you must however be prepared to leave behind: first and foremost are your friends and relatives. The further away you are, the more difficult it will be, and making friends in a new place is not easy. You will always be looked upon as the strangers, even long after you live in a place.

Getting a job is not always easy, even if you have great IT skills, as the locals have acquired them as well, and they are doing the work at a fraction of the cost and are, of course, perfectly fluent in their native tongue as well as the computer languages required to write code.

If your wealth allows you to maintain a standard of living such as what you had back home, you will be the envy of your neighbors, so make sure you live in a neighborhood that you blend into to reduce your chances of being victims of crimes. The best deterrent is to try to be modest in your display of wealth.

If you have kids going to school, they will make friends quickly and get acclimatized to the culture faster than the adults do. And it is normal to see expats dragging their kids along to translate for them.

Primarily, you should keep in mind that you left your familiar surroundings to be exposed to a new and adventurous life.

I have been an expat on and off for over 50 years, changing countries and continents frequently, never getting bogged down by property ownership. Having spent years in adventurous nations where property ownership may change from revolution to revolution, I have never had to abandon it all because of civil unrest or a coup d’état.

I have had to rush out of a few locales with one or two suitcases, leaving behind my appliances and a few personal items. (How I remember those adventures in Fiji, New Caledonia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, South Africa etc...) I never had to go back and fight military juntas to get my property back; but I got some great stories, from climbing off the back of a truck into an idling Braniff DC-8 on the takeoff runway in La Paz, Bolivia, to rafting from the Isle of Pines to New Caledonia on the South Equatorial Current (watch for these to come!).

It has certainly been an exciting ride, which was made all the easier by my lack of attachments to just about anything with the exception of exposed film. I actually do not recommend some of my wild times to most people; but in these unsettled times, we never know what tomorrow’s headlines bring: Todos yanquis fuera de Parador!

Jamie Douglas
La Paloma, Uruguay

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The New Allure of Uruguay: Legalization of Marijuana (reposted from original location)

article from December 28, 2013
By Jamie Douglas

The month of December has seen this little country, lodged between the butt cheeks of its giant neighbors Brazil and Argentina, take a leap of faith by legalizing the cultivation and purchase of cannabis legal (consumption was already legal).

Deliberations have been ongoing since President José “Pepe” Mujica asked for legalization of marijuana in 2012, and this in spite of neither him nor his wife, Senator Lucía Topolansky, being smokers of the weed.

And so it was that on December 10, 2013, the Senate voted 16 to 13 to create a legal marketplace for marijuana. On December 23, 2013, the president signed the bill, also declaring that from that moment, Uruguayan citizens were free to cultivate up to six plants per household.

Within 120 days, the nation’s drug control agency will have to write and implement regulations governing the cultivation, sale, and all aspects thereof. It is already understood that all participants will have to be licensed residents or citizens of the nation, with 40 grams allotted per legal person per month.

The opposition parties of course immediately decried the new law, using age-old clichés regarding  the easy access children will now have to this “dangerous gateway drug” – the same tired argument that has been used in the US´s failed War on Drugs which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, ruined millions of others and created an organized crime monster that operates their own fleet of jet aircraft, ships and submarines, reaping billions in profits and, in the US´s own neighbor, Mexico, killing any opposing gangs by the thousands in the most gruesome manner imaginable.

Marijuana is nothing new to Uruguay. Paraguay, one of the member states of the faltering MERCOSUR alliance, has been one of the world´s largest cultivators of cannabis for quite a while now, and what it lacks in quality (everything) it makes up in quantity. Unfortunately, it is compressed with massive hydraulic machines and impregnated with everything from cow urine to odor-masking chemicals, which end up in consumers´ lungs.

It is the adulteration of the weed that causes harm, not the product itself. So one might deduce that the legalization of the sale and consumption of cannabis in South America will result in a healthier experience for the user.

Amsterdam-like narco-tourism

In my opinion, the pseudo-legalization of cannabis in Amsterdam was a total failure because the social experiment was never properly codified, drawing losers from around the planet like a magnet. Looking the other way not only meant that cannabis was tolerated, but along with it, every other conceivable form of drug, from heroin to methamphetamine. Having cafés dispense hashish and marijuana also provided adequate fodder for drug syndicates to establish a foothold, something the Dutch citizens were not prepared for. But in the 40 plus years since the social experiment began, it has virtually become the genie that got out of the bottle.

The suggested laws governing the sale and consumption to foreigners will limit their participation in the Uruguayan cannabis subculture to what tourist already do now: buy from strangers on the street, in all likelihood ending up with the dark brown cow-piss-stained garbage they have been getting by way of Paraguay. The lush, green local nuggets will be reserved for legitimate license holders, some of whom, no doubt, will try to cash in on selling it at premium prices on the black market.

If you are considering a trip to get high, I recommend states like Colorado, where you not only have legal weed, but also incredible scenery to enjoy while you have your smoke and fall into a dream. With the high airfare to get to Montevideo from North America, you can get to Colorado and buy a bunch of really good weed for that “Rocky Mountain High!”

Cannabis legalization in Uruguay did not become a reality to boost tourism. That sector is doing quite well, in spite of the fact that there is rather little to see and do, other than bathing in freezing waters and enjoying the sand dunes along the Atlantic coast from the Miami Beach of South America, Punta del Este, to the Brazilian Border in Chuy.

Jamie Douglas

[Image via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The Expat Mantra

article from July 24, 2012

by Julie R Butler

This is a point that escapes some people when they move abroad. Yes, they take note of the obvious differences, such as language, food, music, how people look and how they dress, which side of the road they drive on, and when the dinner hour is. But beyond customs, it just doesn’t occur to many people that there are other kinds of differences, such as ethical principles, legal systems, rights, and laws that can catch the unaware off guard.

There have been several occasions when I have come to the sad conclusion that people think that rather than being in a foreign country, they have merely entered a larger version of Epcot Center in Disneyland, and the “employees” are there to serve their every wish and desire, which is to have good old “American” style french fries with regular old catsup or to have A-1 Steak Sauce with their beef rather than chimichurri. (Asking for “salsa ah-uno” will probably not elicit the desired result.) Maybe they will get used to the exquisite flavor of plain and unadulterated all-natural grass-fed beef, and even find it pleasing, after a while.

Then there is the surprise when, faced with a sea of bureaucracy, with a legal advisor who is unable to expedite anything and, in fact, seems to only be shuffling papers, stalling, and piling on unforeseen fees, they discover that there is absolutely nothing that waiving their passport around and exclaiming (in English, of course) “I am an American citizen!” or even complaining to the nearest US consulate or embassy about having been ripped off or getting the run-around can do for them.

That is precisely what it means to be in a foreign country.

Ethics

There are scammers and con artists everywhere in the world, so it would not be fair to characterize any one culture as having more when, from the point of view of a newly arrived foreigner who does not speak the local language and is entirely unfamiliar with the country’s system of law as well as the specifics of the law in that particular place, it may seem like everyone is out to take advantage of you. Scammers have honed the skill of finding the most vulnerable people to scam. It’s their job.

It is therefore the job of the newly arrived foreigner to do their due diligence and learn all they can about the laws, along with figuring out whom to deal with, before engaging in any legal or serious financial transactions. Get to know people in the community, and then get references for the necessary lawyers, real estate agents, translators, builders, etc. – but not from the same organization that is looking to make a bundle of money off you in, say, a property sale. Ask a variety of other people who have gone through the same process that you are about to go through.

Latin American culture values time well-spent over expedience; arrangements for the future are often not considered to be very binding; and time frames can be even wider than when your cable company promises their guy will show up sometime on a certain date – we are talking weeks, here. In many places, it is a cultural habit to commit to things that one has no intention of actually committing to as a strange twist on what is considered to be politeness, as it seems to be more polite to say “yes” without meaning it than to be honest and just say “no.” It may even be the case that the society you are in is somewhat insular, and taking advantage of outsiders is not a reflection on how ethical someone is considered to be within that society.

These are all issues that take time and experience to learn about, so patience should reign for any new expat in any foreign culture. Do not allow yourself to be impatient, and if impulsiveness is your modus operandi, then try not to commit more money than you can afford to let go of, in case your judgment turns out to have been off base because you didn’t quite grasp the subtleties of a situation or were too trusting of someone you didn’t know that much about.

Legal systems

It may also be that the legal system is so convoluted and arbitrarily enforced that even the most competent attorney will not know exactly what to expect in each case.

Civil law systems are often characterized as such. People from the US and the UK are used to common law, so it is difficult to comprehend a system that emphasizes procedures over substance. For example, going through the various steps required to register a piece of property takes precedence over the deed to the property. You may be the owner of the title to a parcel, but unless that title is properly registered, you may not be the owner of the land that the title is attached to.

This system is vexing to anyone who believes they should be able to look at a list of required documents on a website and take care of the process themselves because the emphasis on procedures means that each official will interpret those procedures somewhat differently, and there is no way to know what each one will decide to emphasize.

Add to the confusion that the rules and regulations might change frequently. In this case, if you are undertaking a particularly complicated maneuver, by the time you have managed to complete all the necessary steps, the rules have changed, so you have to get a whole new set of signed and notarized documents and pay the new, higher fees that have been put in place, even though you began the process under an entirely different set of rules, regulations, and fees. Argh!

The expat mantra

These are just a few of the ways that things can be different in a foreign country. Just keep repeating the expat mantra: Patience and Due Diligence, Patience and Due Diligence, Patience and Due Diligence... Sprinkled generously with Oms, and who knows, maybe wearing special shoes and clicking your heels together three times might also help. Just don’t expect a wizard (or an ambassador) to show up with a bag full of solutions. And forget about transmogrifying yourself back to the farm in Kansas. Instead, think blissful thoughts of eventually getting your residency.

You are in a foreign country. Things are different here.

Julie R Butler is a writer, journalist, editor, and author of several books, including Nine Months in Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). She is a contributor to Speakout at Truthout.org, and her current blog is Connectively Speaking.

email: julierbutler [at] yahoo [dot] com, Twitter: @JulieRButler

Our Trip to Minas, Uruguay: Part One

article from July 7, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

We have crisscrossed this small nation in search of affordable housing, and unfortunately had to discount our first choice, Colonia del Sacramento, clearly our favorite. Unfortunately, it has become way too costly to rent a place there, so we looked at several other options while burning up our financial resources (see the PayPal donation button to help!) and ended up back in La Paloma on the Atlantic coast, about two and a half hours from the Brazilian border and about four hours from Montevideo, all by bus, of course.

While we were in Argentina, La Paloma suffered through some of the worst tourist-seasons in its history. Many of the vacation houses that normally rent out for megabucks stayed empty as the rich Argentineans just did not come. We saw the first signs of that develop when we left Uruguay in February of 2010. Many of the owners of the seasonal rentals were sitting on their front porches of their homes waiting for the visitors, who never showed. The restaurant owners were also complaining that nobody came to eat; the tourists who did come cooked their meals in their rentals.

So we are back to the ghost town La Paloma is during the off-season, having contacted our friendly landlady from Montevideo. Once we arrived in Rocha to visit with her, we were shocked to learn that our little cave by the beach had quintupled in price. But we had no other choice than to cough up the sum, hoping we would find something more affordable away from the tourist zone that would be good for the whole year, instead of turning us into economic fugitives when the season starts again in December. So we made a plan to go to Minas, a very charming and very clean town in the sierras that serves as the capital of the department of Lavalleja.

Our timing was impeccable: We arrived during a two-day rainy period, which also came with very cold winds, but we had a beautiful third day, although it was also very cold. We looked and asked around, but in the end, we had to go see real estate vultures. We found that in order to rent, they require you to own property that you could put up as collateral plus five month’s rent for a deposit as well as first and last month’s rent – in all, seven months up front to get a one year lease, during which the parasitic real estate agents would hold your money, with uncertain guarantees that you would get your money back, or that they would even be around when the time came to get your money back. We have heard a good amount of horror stories of renters getting completely screwed out of their money, and we did not want to try that route, never mind that we would not have had any money left to put toward buying furniture and appliances.

So we had to satisfy ourselves with having a nice trip to one of our favorite towns in the country, staying at the lovely Posada Verdún , located a mere two blocks from the bus station and two blocks from the center of town. It features the fastest Wi-Fi I have ever experienced in a public location outside of Asia. The in-house restaurant is superb, featuring international cuisine, and we felt very welcomed by the friendly and caring staff. I will elaborate more about our visit to Minas in my next article, which will feature more photos as well.

All photos by Jamie Douglas

see also: Uruguay's "Secret": Minas and Our Trip to Minas, Uruguy: Part Two

Jamie Douglas

Waiting for Summer to Return to Uruguay

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Another Reason for Learning Spanish: Medical Emergencies

article from May 14, 2012

by Julie R Butler

Recent events have highlighted an important aspect that anyone considering living in a country where a different language is spoken should add to the list of things to think about – especially for those who are getting up in age or have medical needs that will require attention at some time or another.

It is easy to assume that when it comes to medical attention, doctors, who are obviously well-educated individuals, will have some English skills. Well, they usually do know some very basic English. But unless you are in a well-established expat community or a medical tourism destination where English speakers are specifically catered to, if you do not have a good command of the local language (or know someone who does who can go with you to the hospital at a moment’s notice), you may be putting you or a loved one’s very life at risk.

Medical tourism

There are many medical tourism destinations in Mexico that are located in the major cities, tourist resorts, expat hotspots, and just over the border. In Central America, San José, Costa Rica, and Panama City, Panama, are major medical tourism destinations, as well as serving the large expat communities in those countries.

In South America, São Paulo is a well-established mecca for cosmetic surgery, while doctors in Buenos Aires took advantage of the fall of the Argentina peso in 2002 to establish the city as an attractive destination for international aesthetic tourism.

In recent years, many other major cities throughout Latin America have also been striving to grow their medical tourism infrastructures, offering the medical services that people will travel to from more affluent countries in order to take advantage of lower costs or receive care that may not be readily available in their home countries. The services that are on offer are, of course, elective procedures that generally fall into the categories of dental, cosmetic, and therapeutic.

Beyond medical tourism

It is important to realize, however, that these medical tourism services are only one part of the medical infrastructure of any given place, and outside of these areas, there is no guarantee that English will be spoken by medical professionals in hospitals or clinics. In fact, it is highly recommended that medical tourists inquire into what will happen in case of an emergency by looking into the general state of health and medical facilities there as well as ascertaining whether or not language assistance will be extended by the medical tourism facility. The US Department of State travel website has an assessment of medical care in every country.

For expats who are not living in established expat communities or in locations where English-speaking is an important component of the medical system, it is a good idea to learn or at least know where to find some medical terminology. A good place to start is this Medical Spanish Dictionary. The site is easy to use, with both English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English dictionaries, a listing of medical vocabulary, anatomical illustrations, useful phrases for talking to a medical professional, and basic Spanish vocabulary words that are not medical but will be needed in a health care setting.

It is not easy to learn a foreign language, and many of us manage to get by at a level that is sufficient for everyday life. But perhaps the prospect of needing to be relatively competent in a moment of panic will be motivation for you to get to work on that Spanish!

Julie R Butler is a writer, journalist, editor, and author of several books, including Nine Months in Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). She is a contributor to Speakout at Truthout.org, and her current blog is Connectively Speaking.

email: julierbutler [at] yahoo [dot] com, Twitter: @JulieRButler

Thinking of Moving to Argentina? A Word to the Wise

article from April 10, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

Once a favorite destination for expats, Argentina is being turned into a sadly neglected country by nationalistic socialism, rampant political corruption and total economic ineptitude. Que lástima.

The government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is currently nationalizing whatever it can get its hands on, starting with YPF-Repsol and Petrobras, the Spanish and Brazilian oil companies that have been doing business in the Southern Cone nation because this country is unable to run its own oil exploration. These exploration companies, rather than dealing with one authority, have to pay off the corrupt local officials of every province they want to do business in, to hell with international treaties.

The nation is racing backwards at supersonic speed, and will soon be back in 2002.

Example 1: We live near a relatively large town with several major supermarkets. During Easter Week, they were out of milk for three days. While orange juice is a luxury here, selling for over US$2 per liter, stores rarely have it. Rice, sugar, flower, cooking oil, and even the beloved mate are all in short supply.

Example 2: Fuel stations are often out of fuel. Many times, the amount of fuel you are allowed to purchase is limited to AR$50, when they have it at all. Of course, if you have the extra US dollars per gallon, you can go to one of the rare Shell or Petrobras stations and pay more to fill your tank.

I actually got to fill up the modest tank on my Renault today. And the wait was only about 20 minutes. During the peak harvest season, many trucks waited in line for days to get fuel while the fruit and produce rotted. Nobody in the government did anything about it. Meanwhile, exports to Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay continued unabated. There are some highly intelligent people at work here, somewhere, but not in the government.

Example 3: The last time the economy tanked, it was because of fiscal mismanagement and the lunatic idea of tying the new peso, called the austral, to the US dollar. And a lunatic idea it was. It led to the biggest sovereign default in the history of the world. It makes Greece look downright attractive in comparison. A lot of it, of course, had to do with high-cost imports of luxury goods. After the catastrophe, the Argentine government decided to set up a free-trade zone in Tierra del Fuego, where they would manufacture air conditioners and assemble computers, fans, microwaves and all kinds of domestic appliances. That would be wonderful, if the consumer would actually save money on these domestic products. I took a close look at the tiniest of microwaves today just to see where it was made because it cost US$250 for the same kind you get at Wal-Mart for $30. Sure enough, it was made in Tierra del Fuego!

Item 4: Taking your profits out of the country:  Forget it. Repatriating your money is forbidden unless you can get that unobtainable permit to send dollars out of Argentina. So what is a multinational company like, say, BMW to do? (It’s not like they sell a lot of their cars here.) In order to repatriate their money, they have to buy rice and export it to someplace that wants it, paying to ship it, warehouse it and broker it. Now that is messed up!

Item 5: As an Argentine citizen, you cannot take or send more than US$300 per person per month out of the country. It is illegal to send money to relatives who may be croaking in a hospital in Bolivia or anywhere else. And effective April 2, Malvinas Day, Argentinean citizens are unable to use their credit and debit cards abroad at all. All the borders and airports now have money-sniffing dogs, and they are quite good a sniffing out the loot, which will then become property of the state.

On the other hand, there are so many properties available all over this marvelous country that if you want to make a go of it, you will have many choices at very affordable prices. The important thing is to come here with family and all and get a feel for it. Having a working knowledge of Spanish is essential. Outside of the major cities, you will not find many fluent English speakers. But do not go down the street loudly proclaiming how this person dresses like a clown (it might be Cristina!) or that one there has a beer gut. You might be surprised at how many people understand English.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Argentina

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Ecuador and Bolivia Relations With the United States

article from April 6, 2012

by Julie R Butler

When US citizens are considering where the perfect Latin American country for them to live might be, there is more to look at beyond cost of living, weather, and culture. While these are all very important, one item that is often ignored or brushed aside as less significant is the relationship the country being looked at has with your home nation.

When it comes to the two nations of Ecuador, a very popular South American expat destination, and Bolivia, a more off-the-beaten-path cultural immersion experience, the question of where relations with the United States stand is not an easy one to answer.

The presidents of both countries have, in recent years, antagonized the United States, bringing about deteriorations in bilateral relations and periods when there were mutual ambassadorial vacancies that lasted for about eight months in Ecuador and for more than three years now in Bolivia. The situation in Ecuador was at least partly rectified, as Natalie Cely, the new ambassador to the United States, stepped into office in December 2011. For its part, the US will send a new ambassador to Ecuador ...as soon as Congress gets around to confirming the nomination. As for Bolivia, happily, the United States and Bolivia officially agreed last February to reinstate their long-missing ambassadors – albeit at some un-designated point in the future.

The dances that each of these nations are dancing with the United States are intricate and confusing. Mixed signals and coyness are the norm. In one arena, smiles and friendship abound, while in another, angry words and shaking fists make for good political theater. The presidents of both Ecuador and Bolivia are strong, left-wing populist personalities, so fiery rhetoric is all part of the dance.

The interrelationships between all the nations of the region are equally intricate and confusing, as their histories include regional warfare following their battles for independence from colonization, with further border disputes springing up and dragging on through the years. Yet for many, there is a deeply held Bolivarian desire for all of Latin America to be joined together into one coherent unit, with the idea that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. And one of the greatest forces joining all together is a rejection of influence by the United States, the nation that, having gained its independence some three decades ahead of any other country in the hemisphere, stepped into the power vacuum created by Spain’s retreat, to become a new kind of economic colonizer.

It is, in many ways, a love/hate relationship. Leaders don’t like to be perceived as dependent and weak, and they play wholeheartedly to the “you’re not the boss of me” sentiment toward the United States within their countries. However, these nations need the resources that the United States showers them with in order to buy their loyalty.

Bolivia’s Evo Morales

In 2006, Bolivian President Evo Morales began accusing the US military of using operatives disguised as students and tourists to infiltrate and try to destabilize his country, and in 2008, he kicked out USAID, Ambassador Philip S. Gordon, and the DEA. Obviously, this did not make for a very safe situation for actual students, tourists, or any other US citizens in Bolivia. But in May 2009, the two countries reengaged in dialogue in order to work together on drug-trade interdiction, a high priority for the United States in the region. Last November, the Bolivian government ratified into law a framework agreement with the expectation that the United States would adapt a “non-intrusive” and “more transparent, respectful and honest attitude” toward the Plurinational State of Bolivia. In return for social and economic development aid, Morales has once again begun to cooperate with the United States in combating the drug gangs that have been utilizing Bolivia as a transshipment point for distributing narcotics from Colombia and elsewhere to eastern destinations such as Europe. Now, he has even agreed to allow the United States to bring in new technology to monitor and eradicate coca plantations using advanced laser systems and satellite imagery.

However, a recent incident in Santa Cruz between the Bolivian security forces and the US Embassy highlights the disconnect between policy and cooperative programs vs. the reality on the ground.

Evo Morales calling the US government discriminatory, undemocratic, and racist because of its veto of Cuban participation the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Colombia doesn’t help the atmosphere in the country for US citizens much, either.

Ecuador’s Rafael Correa

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, in an even bigger huff, has announced that he will boycott the summit over the exclusion of Cuba (the only nation in the Western Hemisphere that is not a de facto member of the Organization of American States), putting the blame squarely on the United States rather than buying into any sort of diplomatic “well, there was a lack consensus on the issue” language that is being bandied about. He was hoping that his leftist friends in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia would join his boycott, but they have not, as of yet, as the summit is a substantive gathering of the hemisphere’s heads of state.

The number of US citizens living in Ecuador, estimated by the US State Department to be 50,000, is one factor that works to counteract the president’s bluster and strengthen ties between the two nations, along with the 250,000 US citizens who visit annually, more than 100 US companies conducting business in the country, and the many Ecuadorians who live in the United States. Other signs that bilateral relations are not completely severed are that USAID and other aid organizations operate in the country. Perhaps most telling is that the United States is Ecuador’s principle trade partner.

The counter-narcotics dance between Ecuador and the United States is as dysfunctional/co-dependent as the economic relationship. In short, the two countries need each other, so they each have to put up with the other’s quirks and personalities. As far as attitudes on the ground, the situation does not appear to be much different from many other places throughout Latin America where cultural and economic disparities are bound to pose security problems, while navigating around historical tensions and gross generalizations is something that each individual must work on for themselves.

Julie R Butler is a writer, journalist, editor, and author of several books, including Nine Months in Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). She is a contributor to Speakout at Truthout.org, and her current blog is Connectively Speaking.

email: julierbutler [at] yahoo [dot] com, Twitter: @JulieRButler

You Know You’re Not in Kansas Anymore When...

article from December 13, 2011

by Julie R Butler

Everything is different in Latin America. It seems like this statement would be glaringly obvious, yet it is not so obvious to those who are picking a future retirement location out of the glossy magazines that are more about selling a dream than about culturally educating their readers. Building construction is different. The smells are different. People eat strange meals at odd hours of the day. Businesses close for several hours during the middle of the day. Life passes by according to an entirely different time schedule (or none at all). And people behave differently.

My theory is that the reasons for these differences are sunk deep in history, in the turbulent interaction of cultures that reaches back hundreds of years farther than the history of the United States does and involves epic conquests of a sophisticated matrix of civilizations that were not a part of the story in the northern reaches of the Americas. The result is that, throughout Latin America, there are several characteristics that many who come to live here are surprised to discover, often finding themselves annoyed and offended to have to deal with them. Here are a few:

The future

Time is not the essence of Latin America. It is regarded in a completely different way. When someone says that something will happen “mañana,” they do not necessarily mean “the day that follows today.” It is a multipurpose word, like “aloha” in Hawaiian. It may mean “tomorrow,” but it may also mean “morning,” and you have to specify “mañana por la mañana” if you want to say “tomorrow morning.” Most often, it means “not today, but sometime in the future.”

Likewise, “quince días,” which translates literally into “fifteen days,” may signify roughly two weeks from now, but usually it means sometime further into the future or “check back in a few weeks.”

A desire to please

It seems to be a matter of politeness to answer “sí” when presented with a yes or no question, regardless of what the answer really is. Example: “Does this road go through?” “Sí.” One hour later, you will enjoy waving at everyone for the second time as you make your way back from where the road ends at the edge of a major river – sans bridge. Asking “Is this the way to San Gerardo” is not the best method of finding your way to San Gerardo. Alternatively, asking for directions will get you directions to somewhere or other, but not necessarily to San Gerardo. Since you wanted directions, you will get directions.

If you ask if something can be done, again, the question is likely to be answered in the affirmative. And you can probably guess what “I’ll call you” usually entails. I believe it is all due to the strange custom that it is better to disappoint someone in the future than to do it face to face. The future is so uncertain, after all.

Personal space?

Ideas about “personal space” are different, as in there is no such concept in many places in Latin America. People will crowd you in lines and at the gym.

Another aspect of this is the way that you will find people gathered together or walking together at a leisurely pace blocking everything from the grocery store aisles to the roads, and whatever important appointment you are rushing to will just have to wait.

And then there is noise. One person’s noise is everyone’s noise. If it is a major holiday, there will be mortars and firecrackers. If it is a wedding or a birthday, there will be loud music and laughter. If you are in the countryside, it will be barking dogs and crowing roosters. If you are in the city, there will be car horns honking. You will either get used to it or you won’t.

Customer service?

I often read about how there is no such thing as customer service in Latin America, but I think this impression is not quite right. I believe that the issue is that ideas about courtesy are different.

As I mentioned before, people prefer to answer questions in the affirmative and tend to say that things are possible when they are not. Businesses owners who are out of stock of an item will tell you that they will be getting more in “quince días,” but knowing that the distribution system is not that reliable should tell you that it will either arrive sometime in the future or it won’t. You may think you have an item on hold, even having put a down payment on it, but if someone walks in with the cash on hand to purchase it, you will have to make other arrangements.

There is no “business as usual,” as people from the States and other more fast-paced and prompt countries are familiar with. But do not think that what these shopkeepers and businesspeople are doing is meant to be rude or spiteful. They are just different cultural habits.

The same goes for waiters at restaurants. Instead of constantly sweeping by to see if you would like yet another beer, the waiters in Latin America generally take a hands-off approach. I have come to suspect that they are specially trained in eye contact avoidance, as you often have to gesture wildly to get their attention. Most incomprehensible is the matter of the check. They are not interested in turning tables over. The system doesn’t work that way. Rather, diners are expected to linger and talk over a cup of coffee after the meal is finished. There is a time for everything, but mealtime is not the time for rushing. That activity is reserved for speeding from one stoplight to the next.

My humble advice

It is easy to get paranoid when you are learning to live your life in a foreign culture, when you think that everyone is out to take advantage of you. And there are, indeed, many who will charge the “gringo tax” or otherwise try to take advantage of those who don’t speak the language or appear to be able to afford it or seem to be out of their element – all because they can.

My advice: Always be respectful. Do your best to learn the language and use it at least when greeting people before politely excusing yourself for not speaking their language well.

Be observant of how the locals behave. Particularly if you are outside of a big city, don’t be shy about greeting whoever you meet, even just walking down the sidewalk, if that is what others tend to do. In the major cities, you will find people to be more guarded. Then again, you may find yourself in a café or restaurant where people are on more friendly terms with each other. Join in the spirit – you might end up engaged in a pleasant conversation with the people at the next table who are interested to know if you are enjoying your time in their country.

Above all, try not to take things personally. The disregard for time, the blowing you off, the noisy neighbors, the inattentive waiters, even the gringo tax and the attempts to take advantage of your naivety about the ways of their country... none of this is aimed at you personally. Some of these habits are cultural mindsets that you will just have to get used to, otherwise you will be perpetually bent out of shape. And in most cases, the tendency to try to take advantage is a trait that is extended to anyone whose vulnerabilities make for an opportunity. I guess it is kind of like asking for a discount on the price of something; if you don’t ask, you won’t get it.

Life is different on the other side of the rainbow. It certainly isn’t Kansas anymore.

[Photo of Rainbow at Iguazu Falls by Julie R Butler]

Julie R Butler is a writer, journalist, editor, and author of several books, including Nine Months in Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). She is a contributor to Speakout at Truthout.org, and her current blog is Connectively Speaking.

email: julierbutler [at] yahoo [dot] com, Twitter: @JulieRButler

Is the New Peru Better for Expats?

article from October 20, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

So maybe 2010 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa was being overly dramatic when, earlier this year, he reluctantly endorsed Ollanta Humala in the runoff for the presidency of the Andean Nation. Humala was running against Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori, now deservedly rotting away in prison. The highly respected Vargas Llosa summed the runoff up as the Peruvian people having the choice between AIDS and terminal cancer.

The Lima Stock Exchange must have felt that one of those unenviable descriptions fit Ollanta Humala, as it experienced its largest drop ever upon his win. Unfounded fears of Chávez-style socialism had been spread by the opposition, to the point where they apparently started believing their own propaganda.

During the campaign, I received several communications from US and British expats living in Peru, all of them telling me that it was over in the event that Marxist/socialist Humala would win, and they would leave the country. I would love to hear from them, to see what their view is now!

Humala surprised his opponents when he appointed many moderate technocrats with many years of experience to his cabinet, and the stock exchange quickly recovered. The mining companies, which provide a nice chunk of income for the state, agreed to a reasonable upward adjustment in royalties, and a portion of that is to go toward helping the very poor who live in the remote areas of Amazonia and in the Andean highlands – we hope!

So suddenly, Peru is back on the radar for expats. Lima always had a sizeable expat community, and lately there have been a number of new arrivals, many of them professionals working for multinationals. For expats who require some safety and comfort in their lives, Lima is not inexpensive. One-bedroom apartments in the center will run you from US$400 to $800 per month. Food prices can vary wildly, depending on where you buy. Fresh fruits and vegetables at the market are the most economical and healthiest, while supermarkets tend to be much pricier.

If you are looking at Arequipa or Cusco, your cost of living will be lower. The rents in Arequipa are substantially lower, with a three-bedroom apartment in the city center averaging just over $400 per month.

Health care is actually something that brings some retirees to the area, as the cost is very reasonable, and there are a number of doctors and clinics that specialize in eldercare. I see that as a growing specialty field, as more and more Baby Boomers find themselves priced out of the US market or are tired of the mediocre care afforded through Medicare, which is only good in the USA. Dentists are also very reasonable and good. Just make sure that, in either field, you have a reputable professional taking care of you.

For those of you with school-aged children, there are a number of choices available. If you want that your kids to become fluent in Spanish so they can help you with shopping, the bureaucrats and the mechanic, send them to a good Spanish-speaking private school. There are a number of them. It would probably be a good idea to find a good school before you rent or buy a home, as the daily to-and-from can be a grind in Lima’s traffic nightmare.

As far as your utilities are concerned, it depends mostly how big your refrigerator is – and how efficient it is. Expect to have to pay between $150-200 for everything, including water, gas, electricity (220 V, 60 Hz), broadband Internet (6 GB flat rate) and telephone. For making international calls, use Skype, which is free between Skype users, or do as I do and get a low-cost subscription with a US number that your friends and loved ones can reach you on at no cost to you.

If you need domestic help, it is also available for $200 and up per month. Inform yourself of the labor laws. Knowledge of them is protection, for if you have reason to dismiss you helper after paying them under the table, they might just turn you in.

Would I recommend Peru? Hell yes! It is a very fascinating country that is full of surprises – and not just Machu Picchu. Just south of Lima, there are intensive archeological excavations under way. A quick flight over the Andes will take you to Iquitos in the Amazonian rainforest, where you will have a chance to explore and see incomparable fauna and flora, as well as visit with the indigenous inhabitants.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where fortunately, the pisco sour is NOT the national drink!

[Image of Arequipa Yanahuara, Peru, via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The Deux Chevaux: Argentina’s Legacy Car

article from August 31, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Wherever you go in rural Argentina, you will run into one of France’s classic cars, a timeless Bauhaus design that survived WWII hidden from the German forces, only to emerge in 1948 to be mass-produced by Citroen. It was – and still is – known as the Deux Chevaux, or 2CV, for its two-horsepower engine.

While the original design goes back to 1936, production was not started until after WWII for several reasons, including financial considerations. When first introduced at the Paris Automobile Show October 6, 1948, it was widely ridiculed as an ugly duckling and was panned by the automotive press with the exception of the Swiss Automobile Revue, which praised it for its simplicity and economy. The 2CV really does get 68 mpg, unlike those falsified EPA mileage ratings they now have in the USA.

From day one, the Deux Chevaux was a big hit with the public. Affordable, economical and able to take a family of four on excursions at 65 km per hour in relative comfort, it became the French equivalent of the German Volkswagen. It became so successful that Citroen built factories in distant lands such as Iran, Cambodia, Chile and Argentina to assemble thousands of them.

When we moved to Argentina a few years ago, it was our stated goal to buy one for our transportation needs. My preference was what I jokingly referred to as the “estate wagon,” a sort of two-door delivery version of the sedan. So after we decided to settle down in Patagonia’s El Bolsón, as luck would have it, we ended up renting a house from one of the country’s foremost experts in 2CV restoration and repair, Alberto Herrera. Alberto has a long history with this unique automobile, which takes him all the way back to Buenos Aires, and later Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost city in the world, where he worked as a technician, repairing and restoring the constant flow of 2CVs that circulated on the streets of this city that is known for its harsh climate.

After a while, Alberto met a wonderful woman and eventually decided to move his family north to Patagonia. During an exploratory trip, he found his idyllic paradise in the foothills of the Andes, naming the small farm “Chacra Ushuaia,” where they have resided for over 20 years.

He built a modern workshop, where he now takes on all infirm examples of the aging legends, rebuilding engines, transmissions and anything else that may be in need of tender loving care. After his restorative powers have been applied, the vehicles depart Chacra Ushuaia with a smile on their hoods, their owner content in the knowledge that, with proper care and lubrication, their pride will continue to serve them for another 100,000 kilometers.

Right after moving onto his property, I let him know that we wanted to buy a Deux Chevaux to get around Patagonia. But after looking at several examples, I decided instead to go for another French/Argentinean classic, the Renault 16, as it was quite a bit larger and had a trunk, as well. That choice would play an important part in our move north to Mendoza Province, as we were able to load everything we owned into and on top of the Renault, perhaps pushing its limits a little, but it is no worse for the wear.

Alberto is still in Patagonia, keeping the large fleet of aging 2CVs fit for the road, and I am sure he is very much looking forward to the coming spring and summer.

All photos by Jamie Douglas:

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where that Fine Malbec Wine always tastes great!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The Useful Expat

article from August 9, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

As an expat retiree, having settled into your new home country, satellite dish hooked up, reasonably fast Internet allowing you to communicate via Skype with the rest of the world, including those pesky relatives who tried so hard to keep you from following your dream and in the end just writing it all off to “the oldsters are losing their minds,” you may occasionally find yourself a wee bit bored.

In the “real world,” you know, the one you inhabited and worked in before you lost your marbles, you had a job, acquired skills through many years of doing that job and, as a home owner and car owner, chances are pretty good that you accumulated a wealth of knowledge that you could be sharing in your new digs.

After living in the area where you are, you surely learn of some of the shortcomings of various things and practices, and in dealing with them, you have a couple of choices. You can talk to your fellow expats about how lame “these people” are, or you can make friends with these folks who could probably gain a lot from your knowledge. The countries below the Tropic of Cancer seem to be the ones that magically draw expats, for various reasons, so it is this region that can gain the most from volunteer advisors who step in to assist with various projects, presenters at schools who share their culture with growing minds and expats who simply show by example. There is no better way to teach people than by example.

As many parts of the planet are being affected by more and more shortages of that life-sustaining fluid, water, there are ways to teach people about homemade drip irrigation systems, utilizing old water hoses or the cheapest available kind of tubing, joining it together properly and laying it out where it needs to be, and only then, bring out your battery powered Makita to drill the tiny little holes right where they need to be. While you are at it, you can also make sure that all the pipes leading to the house are not leaking, as well as perhaps fixing leaky faucets. It’s the little things, you know.

If you are in an area that is infested with the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, a very small little pest that, every year, kills untold numbers of people all over the world with diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever and something I just recently learned about, Chikungunya disease, which is similar to dengue, but much worse (so sorry – only available in Africa). So you will actually save lives by going around and educating people in gentle ways about how standing water in bowls and barrels, as well as puddles, are the main breeding ground for these pests. Perhaps the local vector control people (if there are any) will be able to supply you with printed materials you may pass out, while stressing how important the removal of standing water is to the family’s health and well being.

Everyone has something to bring to the table, and the smallest things can make you a more of a member of a community instead of an outsider. You might be amazed when you see the smiles greeting you in the street or stores while you are out and about. That is essentially what being a good ambassador for your country is. You will find yourself invited into people’s homes, participating in important events in their lives, such as baptisms, weddings, birthdays, and holidays, and suddenly find that you don’t need that satellite dish so much anymore.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where the Malbec Wine is so good, the Aedes Aegypti get confused and drink the wine instead of the blood, keeping us dengue free.

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The Snowstorm of 2011, San Rafael, Argentina

article from August 2, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

After spending an exciting winter in Uruguay a couple of years ago, dealing with the constant high winds and driving rain out on the tip of Cabo Santa María, we decided to relocate, and in my infinite wisdom I suggested to my wife that we go back to Patagonia to experience a real winter, with snow, surrounded by the Andes and the lakes and rivers that the area is so famous for.

Our timing was immaculate. We left Montevideo on the last day of February and entered Argentina around midnight on March 1. After a few days of enjoying ourselves in Córdoba, we rode the bus south to San Rafael, and then went on to El Bolsón in Patagonia. There we hooked back up with our dear friends Marina and Miguel, staying at their Don Celestino Cabañas for a couple of weeks while they generously helped us to find the right place, which was the Chacra Ushuaia, in the foothills between El Bolsón and Lago Puelo.

We enjoyed a lengthy late summer and fall, but to my great disappointment, I learned that we were in this microclimate that was too mild for snow at our altitude, except in very rare circumstances. We saw snow up on the nearby peaks, and we almost lucked out once, when we actually experienced some tiny little snowflakes for a few minutes, but overall, we passed the winter burning a small forest worth of firewood to keep warm without that special substance that was the whole reason we had gone there. Spring and summer came and went way too fast, the lovely cherries and raspberries soon were replaced by chestnuts and on the last day of summer, March 20, it started snowing on the cerros all around us. That was when my mind started wandering to warmer places with palm trees and bananas.

While all that dreaming and scheming was going on, we got an offer to live in San Rafael, Mendoza, 8 degrees closer to the equator! But somewhere in my mind I remembered that the winter before, the temperatures in Mendoza City were actually colder than at the Argentinean station in Antartica. After arriving here, we asked around about snow and were told that sometimes it snowed just a little bit.

So we have been enjoying a very mild winter …until the rains came late last week. We had seen on Wunderground.com that it was going to get cold and snow was in the forecast. We had heard that same thing in Patagonia, but it never dropped to our altitude. So Friday night, we went to bed with the sound of heavy rain pitter pattering on our roof. Around midnight, the sound stopped. I got up around 1 am to look outside, and sure enough, it was snowing. Back to bed I went, snuggling to keep warm.

As always, I got up about 8 am to let our formerly little doggie out. She, of course, had never seen snow and ran right out into it, using her nose as a snowplow and rolling in it, and then came the little neighbor dog, Catorce, and they went completely berserk playing in the accumulated snow.. Our palm trees were laden with heavy wet snow, and it continued to snow all day. The cover on the carport was sagging and eventually collapsed

Well, I did get my wished-for snow, just not in Patagonia, which, by the way, got the most snowfall in years from the same massive storm. Between the power outages and the frozen water pipes, it was exciting, but we made it through the “Blizzard of 2011.”

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where that Malbec Wine is Keeping us Warm and Fine!

[Photo by Jamie Douglas]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The Lowest Cost of Living in the World for Expats: South America

article from August 1, 2011

by Julie R Butler

After having given brief profiles of the cities of Central American cities with the lowest cost of living for expats, another group of cities that may be attractive as well as inexpensive are those in South America. These cities are somewhat off the beaten track, being more difficult to get to from the States or Europe, and some knowledge of Spanish is a must.

Quito, Ecuador

Quito is the capital of Ecuador and an important center of Latin American heritage. Quito’s Old City is considered to be the largest in all of the Americas. It is one of the oldest Spanish colonial cities in South America as well as one of the first locations where

the cry for independence from Spain rang out. This city is also known as Luz de América, Light of America.

At about 2,800 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level, Quito’s altitude is a formidable challenge. Additionally, Quito’s location between two high mountain ranges makes for weather that is unpredictable, and changes can be extreme. The weather is one reason why Cuenca, in the south, is more popular with expats, as it is consistent throughout the year and the altitude makes it moderate and pleasant. Another factor making Cuenca more popular is that Quito is in a more culturally traditional region, whereas Cuenca is about a third of the size of the capital, which is home to about 1.5 million people.

Among country’s greatest attractions are its natural beauty and amazing biodiversity, having the coastal plain, the sierra, and the Amazon Basin as well as the Galapagos Islands, all in a relatively small area. Ecuador also has one of the lowest costs of living in South America.

Although Ecuador has been a very popular destination for expats for the past few years, one of the main concerns is political volatility. The Correa administration has made great strides in reducing poverty in Ecuador, but authoritarianism, the expelling of the US Ambassador to Ecuador, and the police coup or whatever that was that occurred in September of last year have not exactly been signs of stability. Another problem to be aware of is growing drug violence.

Asunción, Paraguay

Paraguay is a landlocked nation that sits between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. It is defined by the Paraguay River, one of South America’s major river systems, which divides Paraguay into two distinct geographic regions: the largely uninhabited semiarid Chaco to the west and the forested Paraná to the east.

The population center is in and around the capital, Asunción, located on the Paraguay River in the south of the country. It is another of the continent’s oldest Spanish colonial cities, having served as a base from which both colonial expeditions and Jesuit missionaries were launched, a trading port, and after Buenos Aires was sacked by indigenous warriors, the uncontested regional center of power. It is also known as the location where one of the first rebellions against the Spanish arose.

Paraguay’s history, tragically, has been one of the most war-torn in Latin America, which has stifled the country’s economic development. Although the most recent political upheaval was in 1999, Paraguay has continued to face daunting problems caused by poverty due to marginalization of the Guarani people as well as corruption and political uncertainty, and it is a major smuggling and piracy haven.

Asunción is just below the Tropic of Cancer, so the weather is mostly hot and humid, with a dry season from June to September. Typhoid vaccinations are recommended, and mosquito-borne dengue fever is a concern. This city of more than two million inhabitants has its charms, among them, lack of infrastructure such as paved roads, and farm animals wandering about at will.

La Paz, Bolivia

Bolivia is South America’s other landlocked nation, although both of these interior nations do have access to the Atlantic Ocean via the Paraguay River. There seems to be a direct correlation between the astoundingly high rate of poverty – more than 60% of the population – and the large number of indigenous peoples. This country has also had its fair share of military and political upheaval, having lost over half of the territory claimed upon independence from Spain in wars with its neighbors as well as experiencing the familiar destabilizing politics that are common throughout South America. Despite fierce political opposition and pressing economic factors, President Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, has managed to spur growth and induce modest improvements in poverty levels.

Very diverse geographic regions range from the Bolivian Altiplano in the west, to Amazonian rainforests in the northeast, to the Chaco in the east. The administrative capital, Nuestra Señora de la Paz, is located in a bowl at 3,650 meters (11,975 feet) in altitude among the high mountains of the altiplano. Its climate is cool year round and fairly dry, with more rain falling during the warmer austral spring and summer months.

La Paz’s early history is marked with several sieges by the indigenous Aymara people, and yet again, the city lays claim to South America’s first call for independence from Spain. Today, 2.3 million inhabitants live in this metropolitan center in the Andes.

Probably the biggest challenge to living in this, the least expensive major city in all of South America, is dealing with the altitude, which affects not only us humans, but will also ruin computer hard drives that are not specially made for high-altitude use. And, of course, there are the common issues that come with being in such an economically split society. Spanish is a necessity, as is understanding that Bolivia under Morales is yet another Latin American country that does not have good relations with the United States and is lacking a US ambassador.

Julie R Butler is a writer, journalist, editor, and author of several books, including Nine Months in Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). She is a contributor to Speakout at Truthout.org, and her current blog is Connectively Speaking.

email: julierbutler [at] yahoo [dot] com, Twitter: @JulieRButler

The Importance of Having the Correct Uniform

article from July 28, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

I learned a small but important lesson a few years ago while living in Patzcuaro, Mexico.

After the many years spent coming and going from Patzcuaro, it was inevitable that my wife and I would lose some of our friends to the grim reaper, as well as seeing the parents of our friends sliding down that slippery slope of debilitating diseases and loss of memory.

One such person was Doña Maria, whose loving daughter Zelda took excellent care of her for many years. Unfortunately, Doña Maria became afflicted with Alzheimer’s. But in spite of being bedridden for the last few years of her life, Zelda brought her out to parties and get togethers as long as she could walk short distances. She seemed to enjoy the company, whoever we were.

Doña Maria never realized how bad off she was and would occasionally sneak out of her bedroom to walk her palatial home. It was after one of those walks that we arrived at her house, only to be ushered into her bedroom. She was lying on her bed, bleeding from a wound on her forehead. I was told of the circumstances surrounding how she got the wound and had a good look at it, deciding that she would need a few stitches. The local hospital was out of the question, as she was in no shape to be transported.

So her granddaughter, Laura, and I set out to find a doctor who would make a house call at midnight. We knocked on many doors and went to the pharmacies that had to stay open late, all to no avail. Finally, we were directed to the local morgue, where the coroner was busy with the victims of an automobile accident. Laura explained the situation to the coroner, and he agreed to go with us, as he was a friend of the family. Pointing to the corpses on his tables, he stated calmly, “They will not be going anywhere.”

He followed us down to the house and made a quick examination, and it was at this point that Doña Maria started to get combative, so we had to hold her down on the bed. The good doctor needed to go get sutures and assorted other items. He returned about half an hour later with a sack of goods and proceeded to scrub his hands in the sink. Going back to his bag, he extracted all that was necessary, plus what looked to be a white lab coat. But when he began to put it on, we saw that it was actually a gas station attendant’s uniform bearing the logo of the national oil company, PEMEX, which he put on inside out and then slung a stethoscope around his neck.

I looked at him half-laughing about the PEMEX logo, and he explained to me that he felt the white uniform lent him authority and made him look like a real doctor. With that, we went back to Doña Maria’s bedroom where, by now, the whole clan was part of the restraint team. But what a magical transformation occurred when the PEMEX guy entered the room: Doña Maria got visibly excited and stopped fighting, turning into a little girl and murmuring over and over, “doctor, doctor.”

The coroner proceeded to give her the once around brightly, not paying too much attention to her wound, until he pulled out a very small syringe and filled it with Xylocaine, a local anesthetic, continually talking reassuringly with her and holding her hand. And when he felt the time had come, he quickly sewed up the wound with three or four stitches.

Doña Maria did not flinch and neither did she want the doctor to leave, so he stayed around until she fell asleep. He refused payment except for the materials he had to buy, which excluded the white jacket. He had just gone to the gas station and borrowed one from one of the attendants.

Mission accomplished, and I learned that sometimes, the uniform does make the man!

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where the Malbec Wine is Always Fine!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.