The Expat Files - 03/30/12

-What if you have NO experience at all in running a small business up North and no matter what you’ve heard about the “gringo advantage” you’re still dead nervous and worried about facing the prospect of going down to Latin America and making a go of it?

-You've heard the old gringo saying "C’s get degrees". Well, no matter how useless your college degree is up in the first world, it’ll probably be even more useless down here. But don’t worry. You’ll not wait tables at Starbucks in Guatemala or Nicaragua! Remember, you have that magic “gringo advantage” going for you down here and many a first-world expat dufus ends up on top of the world, even with his worthless drama degree.

-Speaking of degrees... MBA’s and other useless first world advanced degrees are all the rage down here. Latins think MBA’s are the be all to end all- and that's another good example of the first world “lag time” effect and why we expats will seem to look like clairvoyants when that party's over.

-Latin Private schools badly want to hire gringos as English teachers. Then once a school has a few expats on staff, they become the school’s best marketing tool. That’s because the 3% of rich Latins that can afford those private school prices like nothing better than to have a "real live" first worlder’s teaching gringo ways to their darling, spoiled, entitled brats.

-Email me on questions about Latin America at theexpatfiles@gmail.com