I approached the stranger. He was carrying a pile of meat, and teasing a small boy in American-accented English.

"That's not very nice," I said dutifully.

He looked at me incredulously. Then we both smiled.

"Whereya from?" he said chuckling.

"States."

"No way," he replied. "I was sure you were from England ... what with the accent and all."

My grin turned to grimace. I felt a cool breeze waft over my body, and I don't think it was the open poultry freezer I was leaning on. It's bollocks, I tell you. While my voice may not be as folksy as cowboy-actor Sam Elliott's, as plaintive as Jimmy Stewart's, or as gangsta as Rudy Giuliani's, I don't talk Brit.

How do I know? Because I listen to my monotonous accent hover in the air like stale cigarette smoke on a daily basis. And the lack of character in my intonation is normal if H.L. Mencken's old-timey The American Language is to be believed. "We are, in brief, a somewhat snuffling people," he writes, "much more given to catarrhs and coryzas than the inhabitants of damp Britain. Perhaps this general impediment to free and easy utterance ... is responsible both for the levelness of tone of American speech ... and for the American tendency to pronounce the separate syllables of a word with much more care than an Englishman bestows upon them." In other words, my voice's benign cadence is part of my identity as an American, dammit!

I will admit, after arriving in Berlin I often feared that I sounded like a Radio ad for my country's most recent Imperialist dabblings, no matter what words I said. So, I overcompensated, not by aping Peter O'Toole or Terence Stamp, but by agreeing with everything my new Europals said. There we'd be, sitting around sipping pastis and munching caper berries, and they'd be grinding out a new asshole for America. I'd just nod my head in the affirmative. "Why in sam hill do you think I moved to Berlin?" I'd say, and we'd all clink our glasses together as the strains of some alt-country band from Arizona or Illinois played in the background. Then I'd listen to them bash Hollywood movies or tell me all about the time they visited the U.S.

"Where'd you go?" I'd ask.

"New York," they'd say. Then they'd light an American Spirit which always seemed to be the prelude to a long list of things learned about America and Americans after visiting Manhattan for 10 days.

I've decided that nothing helps a person discover latent patriotism (I use that loaded word in the most simplistic way possible) more naturally than living in a foreign country. In fact, I'm pretty sure that even the most jaded and cynical expats among us discover, from time to time, moments of pride in our birth country. Some Americans might've felt it at Berlin's Obama rally, while others might feel it when they're remember the town they grew up in or a trip to Yosemite or some other pretty place like that. Mind you, I'm not talking about jingoism or nationalism. I'm talking about the kind of pride one feels when their team scores a goal in the World Cup or they see California say something like, "Well, lordy, we don't care if you're both packing a vagina, come on down and get hitched if you wanna."

The sad and embarrassing thing is that at some point in my life I began to confusingly think that it is impossible to separate the ability to feel esteem for my roots from my loathing for government (current and past). The two ideas got all twisted up with each other when all along they should have remained irrevocably divorced in my peanut brain. Thankfully, I believe I've finally learned that while America's political philosophy is surely no less corrupt than Cosa Nostra, to say that I've met some Texans who seem like decent folk is not to give George Bush my seal of approval. Only now, as an expat, am I beginning to acknowledge that it's not embarrassing to say that the US is OK, especially in comparison to any European country. America, after all, was created from European laws, customs and people. I'm not sure if it's living in Berlin that's got me thinking this way or if I've just grown wiser with age or if I'm still pissed off that I had to spend almost a full week without telephone and internet access at home because of the boneheads who run Kabel Deutschland. Whatever it is, I'm going to take a break from breaking my country's balls for awhile.

What's probably worse than the above confession is to admit that I've spent years stripping my voice of its Oklahoman roots. As a kid I was embarrassed by the way my family in New England teased me about my twang, and I bought into the convention that some accents are smarter than others. During my first year at a Connecticut boarding school (on scholarship, thank you) I began to rapidly alter the way I spoke in order to fit in. It was an insecure and immature thing to do. Same as it would be if I all of sudden started speaking in a British accent. In retrospect, I sure would have loved it if when I approached that stranger in the supermarket the exchange had gone a little more like this:

"Where ya from?" he would ask chuckling.

"Oklahoma."

"Yeah," he'd reply. "That's what I thought."

Instead he figured me for English.

Don't get me wrong. Despite its recent reputation as a country filled with lager-swilling yobs who run around slicing-and-dicing each other with knives (Over 22,000 slashings in 2007, according to the Telegraph); despite the fact that a couple of weeks ago the British Foreign Office released a report that provoked headlines like "Drunk and abusive Britons wreak havoc in Spain as 2,000 are jailed"; despite the fact that that when I lived in London someone actually said the words " 'appy birfday mate" to me, I revere many things British. To wit:

• My wife, champion of my world, is a citizen of the United Kingdom.
• Three of my five all-time favorite writers are British (I've only just discovered Wilkie Collins, so that might change).
• Reeves and Mortimer, Peter Kay, French and Saunders — all British.
• And, if my half-Welsh wife lined up Angelina Jolie next to Helen Mirren and said, "You've got 20 seconds to chew face with one of them," I'd toss a Polo mint into my mouth and unapologetically give Mirren's 62 year-old lips a ride based solely on the way she delivered the line "Try the cock, Albert. It's a delicacy, and you know where it's been," in the Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Their Lover.

Indeed, at the end of the day, there are aspects of the British Isles that are absolutely fabulous, what? But me talking like Jools Holland ain't on, and I swear on Gary Cooper's grave, I've never done it except in fun. Sure, the American government can be offensive and embarrassing, and so can I and a lot of my countrymen. But, jimminy christmas, I'm Made in USA.

It says so on my passport.

I decided to break this post up into 2 parts, 6-10 and 1-5. The things I enjoyed eating (and drinking) this summer were not necessarily culinary masterpieces or totally unique dishes. They were things I had missed, foods that defined the places we visited, and things that reminded me of my childhood. Having been away from the United States for almost a year and knowing that I only had three weeks there made those little nibbles all the more resonant. So, here are the first five of my top ten things I ate on vacation (which included a weekend in Helsinki, before flying to the States):

10. Countless iced coffees—such a summer staple, but Estonia doesn’t really do iced coffee yet (probably because they don’t a very warm summer). So while in the States, whenever possible, my coffee was frosty.

9. Philly cheese steak egg roll at Continental—ordering this was my Philly friend’s call, as it’s her favorite thing on the menu there, as well as a twist on the local classic. The satisfying chopped steak and cheese wrapped in a crispy Chinese egg roll, dipped in ketchup, was indeed obsession-worthy.

8. A few scoops of salmiakki ice cream by the harbor in Helsinki—I really wish I had a picture of this, because it was the wackiest-colored ice cream I’ve ever seen—dark, stormy gray. I already knew I liked salmiakki (Finnish salt licorice, which can be found in various textures and degrees of saltiness/spiciness). The ice cream was fun, and had crunchy little salmiakki bits in it to mix up the texture, which I always like.

7. Calamari with mango salsa at Continental—it was really nice and well-prepared. Not terribly crispy, but the texture of the meat itself was good, not rubbery, and the sweet-hot mango salsa made the whole thing more exciting. You really can’t get calamari like that in Estonia.

6. Melted caramel with apples and pretzels at laager (camp)—part of my “vacation” was spent helping to run an annual Estonian children’s camp in New Jersey. It was an exhausting but rewarding week, and at the Friday night party, the stellar kitchen staff surprised all of us with melted chocolate and caramel and treats to dip (the chocolate was in a fountain, but the caramel fountain broke, so it was actually just in a crock pot). It was good, high-quality, buttery caramel, and combined with salty, crunchy pretzel rods… mmm.

So, I will keep it brief.  And write something with more oomph tomorrow.

I started a blog when I moved to Amsterdam (two months ago...already!) about my "adventures" as an au-pair.  But, I found myself wanting to update the blog about other things.  So, along with my Amsterdam stories, I will update with other things that I think are update worthy.  We will see how it goes?!

ok, that was brief enough.  More tomorrow.  Now I sleep.

You think Europe in the summer and you think hordes of tourists, right? I usually think of the travel agent sketch, actually:

... and there's nowhere to sleep and the kids are crying and vomiting and breaking the plastic ash-trays and they keep telling you it'll only be another hour although your plane is still in Iceland and has to take some Swedes to Yugoslavia before it can load you up at 3 a.m. in the bloody morning and you sit on the tarmac till six because of "unforeseen difficulties", i.e. the permanent strike of Air Traffic Control in Paris - and nobody can go to the lavatory until you take off at 8, and when you get to Malaga airport everybody's swallowing "enterovioform" tablets and queuing for the toilets and queuing for the armed customs officers, and queuing for the bloody bus that isn't there to take you to the hotel that hasn't yet been built. And when you finally get to the half-built Algerian ruin called the Hotel del Sol by paying half your holiday money to a licensed bandit in a taxi you find there's no water in the pool, there's no water in the taps, there's no water in the bog and there's only a bleeding lizard in the bidet.

Well thank God it wasn't like that where we were. That's because in contrast to many areas which are seeing a boom in the worst type of tourist traffic thanks to cheap flights, stag parties, horrendously gaudy theme parks and the usual beaches, the area south of Freiburg, Germany and north of Basel, Switzerland on the western edge of the Black Forest officially known as Markgräflerland has been doing a horrible job selling itself as the Tuscany of Germany.

The result is a refreshingly tourist-free area where you can hang out and enjoy the finer things in life without having to wait for a table, endure boorishly loud cellphone conversations, line up for tickets or listen to whatever happens to be playing on some twat's boom box.

Drink wine? You're surrounded by vineyards. Like to mountain bike? Trails everywhere. Road bike? Ditto. Swim, steam, sauna, spa? We had three places to choose from all within cycling distance. Dig archaeology? The Romans were all over the place and left it in ruins. If you have any energy left you can go hiking, canoeing, paragliding, horse-riding...

And friendly? Hell, even the teenage girls smiled and said hello to me on the street. That hasn't happened since I was a teenage boy learning the horizontal pole vault.

And if you ever get sick of choosing what to do and just want to leave Germany for the day you can always pop over the border to France or Switzerland. Zurich, a city I could move to in a flash if only we had the jobs there to make it feasible, is only an hour away, and the under-rated Basel is even closer.

Over the next few days I hope to drop a post or two about what we got up to. It will forever cement our uncool reputation, but I don't care. We loved it. Beaverboosh, take note.

Suis-je dans la ville la plus débauchée de la terre entière, pour n’être tombée que sur des exemplaires hallucinants d’ego mâles surdimensionnés (au contraire de leurs attributs)? Par ici, l’amour est une chasse. Baiser pour baiser, pour agrémenter encore un peu son tableau de chasse. Un état de fait, qui laisse sceptique et blasé. Prudent, méfiant.

Mon numéro 3 m’a tenu la main dans la rue. Ce qui est hallucinant, dans cette chose toute simple, qui doit vous paraître d’un banal à mourir, c’est que j’ai trouvé ça dingue. Dingue, comme quand il m’a embrassée… devant tout le monde ! Et encore plus impressionnant: il a parlé de moi en des termes normaux, voire gentils à ses amis au téléphone, et ce en ma présence. Dingue, fou, absolument dément à mes yeux.

Je sais que ça ne durera pas, puisqu’il s’en va dans 5 jours maintenant, et que nous nous sommes dit au revoir ce week end. Trop de choses à emballer, finaliser, shipper, penser. C’est déjà fini, mais je sais que ce mec là est un mec bien. Je sais que ça existe.

Tout ça pour en arriver à la constatation suivante : je crois que je suis malade maintenant. Parce que les choses qui me semblaient si évidentes, si simples, si normales en France, me semblent désormais absolument inconcevables ou presque après 8 mois de relations foirées, manquées, tronquées. Après 8 mois de tableaux de chasse, et de relations kleenex.

Ca y est, je suis une handicapée relationnelle.

As a woman I have no country ...As a woman my country is the whole world.~Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas

Yesterday was a lovely afternoon. I was happy to be in India although I was homesick. Today, all I want to do is go home.

I often think - if India is representative of the future of the world, as populations grow, resources become scarce, competition increases... we are so royally fucked as a human race. As Suketu Mehta, sums it up quite nicely in Maximum City, "God help us."

This afternoon, I was having another lazy Sunday, trying to download ITunes using my wireless connection which is slower than a turtle walking through cement. It was then that I heard the commotion from a neighbor. Somebody fighting? A couple's quarrel? Someone shouting on the phone? I couldn't make it out, except it was getting louder. A man's voice, screaming. I opened up my balcony door, and realized it was coming from above me, the residence of the "Chairman" of the society (condo association) I live in, a slightly obese man in his 50s was beating the crap out of a woman. Pouding the crap out of her. I couldn't hear her at all, except when he pounded her, and I could hear a whimper. My knees got weak, my heart started pounding, my blood boiling. I froze and listened. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't call the police because they wouldn't do anything in this fucked up country. I couldn't go upstairs because god knows what would have happened to me, in this fucked up country. I saw a neighbor in the balcony below me. I'm not sure if he was listening, he must have heard it, but there was no expression of action as he stared out on to the street from his perch....in this fucked up country. I started to cry in my helplessness. I'm the first person who doesn't stand by as crap like this occurs - yet I just stood there....

I just want to go home. I miss American men, who at least pretend they have respect for women. I miss America, where the police at least pretend to do something. I miss a society that at least pretends to address these issues. I wish three things for the men in this country, who compensate for their tiny penises by beating, raping, killing women because they can get away with it:
- castration...slowly
- getting the crap beat out of them until they are senseless
- a one way ticket to hell

Although this happened several hours ago, and I went shopping to escape, I'm clearly still upset and angry. I would refer to the men in this country as "dogs", but that would be insulting to the canines, who seem to generally mind their own business....

For resources on domestic violence:

• http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/
• http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=56501
• http://www.countercurrents.org/gender-azmi130803.htm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6086334.stm

• A good site for support if your spouse is cheating on you is www.survivinginfidelity.com
• In the women's clubs and other groups everyone pretends that infidelity doesn't exist. Start digging, and you will find that many women are in the same boat as yourself.
• Foreigners cannot divorce in Thailand. If you are American, going to Guam is a possibility for a quickie divorce. However, I moved me and the kids home to my home state and had to wait 90 days to file.
• Where he lived was irrevelant in the divorce. It only matters where the petitioner lives.
• My experience was that my ex really dragged things out....he had moved onto his little world with his little bargirl and couldn't be bothered to deal with the divorce. This cost me money, and pissed me off.
• If you file in a no fault state, the fact that he moved you overseas, cheated on you, lied to you, gaslighted you.....doesn't matter a bit. That sucks.
• If you live in a community property state, see the above bullet. It applies to your property settlement as well.

The one thing I wish I hadn't done was to stay there and try to fix things. It was a waste of time. There's too much opportunity and too much tacit approval by society. I knew my ex had completely lost it when he said - on the way home from marriage counseling - "all of the thai men can have a mia noir, why can't I?"

Seriously. He. Said. That. Out. Loud.

Additionally, it was incredibly painful because I could never escape having cheating and prostitution being displayed to me every time I turned around. I couldn't go to Emporium or Central without seeing the sexpats taking their bargirls shopping. I couldn't ride the skytrain without seeing another sexpat groping his barfine. I couldn't ride to my children's school without passing massage parlors and "entertainment" venues.

Trying to stick it out was, in retrospect, a terrible move.

Research by Hewitt Associates reveals that companies who invested the most time and resources in On-boarding, enjoyed the highest levels of employee engagement. In-spite of this why don't companies provide the right on-boarding platform to their employees? Not sure!

Manufacturing and Service Organisations in the U.S are of the following kinds -

• Domestic Companies
• Multinational Companies

In this article i wish to cover On-boarding services for type 2 companies. Such an On-boarding program is also known as "Expatriate Onboarding Services". Let's try to understand this better -

Who is an Expatriate - Wikipedia defines an expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) as a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin word - ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland).

What does Expat Onboarding Services (EOS) mean - Services required by an expat in the home country and the country of visit are covered under this program. 

What services are covered under EOS - Services that are required to make an Expat's stay in any of the 50 U.S States, as comfortable as possible are provided under this program - it includes -

1. Providing Detailed Orientation on Travel to new country
2. Fill out necessary forms required by the HR Department before leaving the home country (Departure form, Form I94, Visa papers etc)
3. Providing Flights, Airport check-in, Customs and information
4. Airport pick up an drop-off services
5. Fill out necessary forms required by HR Dept upon reaching the new work location (form I9, W-4, new employee hire form etc)
6. Finding short term accommodation
7. Apartment finding services
8. Necessary information & assistance to apply for a Social security number
9. Opening a bank account and apply for a credit card
10. Connect with vendors providing Driving lessons
11. Provide necessary information & assistance to apply for a drivers licence
12. Provide information on deals available in different stores
13. Provide with basic information on Federal and State taxation
14. Detailed Financial and Wealth planning Strategies in India
15. Assistance in sending money to home country
16. Assistance in buying a new home in US & India
17. Provide with basic information on US & Indian laws
18. 24/7 Call center & Online Portal to help patrons with any other information by researching on the web.

Basically, it covers all those services required by the Expat from the day he leave his home country to the date he lands back in the home country.

Globalvalueadd.com will very soon appear on stage with these services........ 

This blog is posted by the Founder of Globalvalueadd.com. Globalvalueadd.com would shortly be providing the above services to residents of different countries entering the United States, and Financial Planning services to Residents of India. You may write to Globalvalueadd@gmail.com to contact us.

Saya pun lalu menghubungi agen internasional yang jaringannya mulai dari Australia, Asia Timur dan Timur Tengah dan Eropa... Tadinya saya kurang yakin apakah mereka akan mengakui keberadaan expatriat Indonesia; dari pengalaman di kantor orang Indonesia kurang populer, dari mulai bahasa Inggrisnya yang lemah sampa daya tahan untuk hidup dirantaunya....

Setelah menghubungi berbagai "Head Hunter" internasional, merekapun menelepon saya melalui telepon Internasionalnya. Sayangnya di telepon oleh agen bukan berarti saya sudah mendapatkan pekerjaan, karena mereka baru mendata lagi dan bertanya-tanya tentang pekerjaan apa yang saya cari dan lain-lain. Seolah-olah CV yang saya kirim melalui websitenya kurang menjelaskan... atau memang tidak menjelaskan... entah lah.

Data sudah mereka miliki lengkap, barulah mereka menelepon kembali untuk wawancara awal..., ini masih dengan agen. Merekapun lalu menjanjikan bahwa clien mereka memiliki banyak clien yang semuanya bonafide.... Mungkin ini penting, karena terus terang saya tidak berminat untuk bekerja dengan clien lokal (arab), lebih baik bekerja dengan perusahaan Internasional, dengan manajemen Barat. Agen-agen inilah yang kemudian membuatkan janji dengan clien mereka untuk wawancara langsung.

Rupanya wawancara pun ada berbagai cara: wawancara melalu telepon atau tatap muka. biasanya mereka akan memanggil calon pegawainya untuk datang ke kantor mereka, atau apabila kebetulan mereka mampir untuk bisnis yang lain.

Sayangnya dari lebih dari 10 kali wawancara, cuma satu yang benar-benar berhasil nyangkut dan cocok dengan segala klasifikasi pekerjaan yang dicari dan tentunya imbalan jasa yang dicari...

A question folks often ask us is if we thought about moving to Mexico, instead of Panama. The answer is no. The flippant answer is, "Why? We already lived in Ventura/Oxnard." [Oxnard, California is a "suburb" of Tijuana, Mexico.] I have nothing against Mexicans. My wife worked for Ventura County Public Health in Oxnard for years, mostly with Mexican kids, and we both had Hispanic friends and coworkers. I like the people, the culture, the history, the food, the little towns, the beaches . . . but Mexico historically has been ridden with crime and criminal gang elements and the plague continues.

Many of the Southern California gang problems are rooted in gang problems in Mexico that were just transplanted to Southern California. The violence in and out of prisons, community gang problems, and the drug problems all have roots in Mexican criminal gang elements.

Not that Panama is crime and drug free. It's not! Look on a map of the Caribbean and see how close Colon and Columbia are and you will immediately see part of the problem. Violent crime is increasing in Panama City, as the population and wealth increases. But it is nothing like Mexico!

I realize that not every community and village in Mexico is dominated by crime, but . . . it isn't the kind of environment in which I wanted to invest and retire. Consider this, yesterday, on AP . . .

MEXICO CITY (AP) — After kidnappers in police uniforms set up a fake checkpoint to snatch 14-year-old Fernando Marti off a Mexico City street, his businessman father paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom, and waited for his son's safe return.

Instead, the boy and his driver turned up dead, their bodies found in car trunks. Days later, prosecutors alleged that a police detective was a key participant in the kidnapping plot.

The suspicions of police involvement in kidnap-killings have moved a nation where many had grown numb to kidnappings and the drug cartels' beheadings and midday shootouts. Mass street protests are planned in several cities, and some lawmakers are even changing their minds about opposition to capital punishment.

"They should put their eyes out, so they can't commit any more crimes," said Ignacio Noriega, a 26-year-old university student who says he no longer feels safe anywhere. "Prison isn't a solution anymore. They just form their own gangs inside prison and come out stronger."

As the government convened a national security meeting Thursday to deal with the problem, police reported that 150 residents of a community just west of Mexico City savagely beat and threatened to kill two alleged thieves before handing them over to state police.

The administration of President Felipe Calderon is considering tough new anti-crime measures such as separate, more secure prisons for kidnappers and a national database of the largely unregistered cell phones frequently used by criminal gangs.

Mexico has one of the world's highest kidnapping rates, according to the anti-violence group IKV Pax Christi. Kidnappings are up 9.1 percent this year, averaging 65 per month nationwide, according to the Attorney General'sOffice, which blames a growing web of drug cartels, cops, former cops and informants who point out potentially lucrative victims.

But most kidnappings go unreported, for fear of the police.

The nonprofit Citizens' Institute for Crime Studies estimates the real kidnapping rate to be more than 500 per month.

Alejandro Cesar Zamudio, a commander of Mexico City detectives, defended the innocence of the officer implicated in the Marti case, saying the allegations were motivated by rivalries within the department. But Mexico City's top cop, Public Safety Secretary Manuel Mondragon, acknowledged that "a spiderweb of corruption has penetrated many parts of our department."

Rich Mexicans have long resigned themselves to hiring private security teams and negotiators to deal with the threat. But now, even middle-class people are at risk, and kidnappers are increasingly killing their captives, even if a ransom is paid.

Just three days before Marti's decomposed body was found on Aug. 1, a family of six was found dead in their home in western Jalisco state, allegedly targeted by kidnappers aided by corrupt cops.

Four victims, including two children, were shot in the head. A teenage boy's throat was slashed. His mother was asphyxiated with a plastic bag.

One of the family's sons had been kidnapped and released after a ransom was paid, but the gang — allegedly aided by a corrupt cop in the state anti-kidnapping squad — demanded they hand over more cash.

The gang killed the family after they realized the police officer was part of the scheme, prosecutors say.

Anger also boiled over last week when residents of the central Mexico town of Tlapanala managed to surround and disarm a gang of seven kidnappers posing as police. They held them for 24 hours, pounding the men to bloody pulps.

Mexico abandoned the death penalty long ago and considers life sentences to be cruel and unusual punishment. Only in 2005 did Mexico agree to extradite suspects facing life sentences in the United States. But this week, the small Green Party proposed reinstating capital punishment for police who participate in kidnappings, or for kidnappers who kill their victims.

Calderon has proposed life imprisonment for the worst kidnapping cases, currently punishable by 50 years.

The Attorney General's Office says increasingly diversified organized crime cartels "now operate in drug trafficking, kidnapping and money laundering, among other things, with no central control or any one gang dominating any of the criminal activities.

"That is why kidnapping has grown more competitive, with kidnappers using much more violence against each other and against the victims, in a bid to gain territory, markets or dominance," the report says.

An anti-crime march in 2004 drew more than a quarter-million people and damaged the presidential aspirations of the capital's mayor at the time, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Another such mass march has been called for Aug. 30.

Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino worries that growing anger could lead to more vigilantism and mob justice.

"It is clear that the public is indignant, is angry, and it has a right to be," Mourino said. "If we are not able to reach agreements and channel these demands into clear and concrete steps, then yes, people could start taking other types of action that wouldn't solve the problem or benefit anyone."

Mom has Alzheimer's . . .

Dear Richard, I have enjoyed reading your blog and find it very helpful with trying to decide if we can move to panama. We being my 83 yr old mother with Alzheimer's and I. I am a plumber with no retirement yet and mom gets about $ 3000.00 a month. I can't seam to find out If I would be allowed to work there. My intent is to be able to afford her medical there and a very modest apartment.The cost of living here in Florida is too much and very little work for me. Could you direct me to someone that can help. I will be coming down there in October to look around Boquette & David. Thank you for any help you can suggest. Steve R

Hey Steve! My wife's mom has Alzheimer's so I empathize with your dilemma. Your Mom's income is sufficient for her to get permanent Pensionado visa, however, they do require a medical statement by a Panamanian doctor. The exam is pretty cursory, but depending on how advanced your Mom's illness is, that it might be a problem.

You can't be employed as an non Panamanian. However, you can consult or haveyour own business. Plumbers probably get under $5 an hour though and don't drive BMWs in Panama! A lot of the houses being put up now have very sloppy plumbing. We have a friend who had to have her whole house, about 4 years old, re-plumbed because things were leaking. They often use the cheapest PVC pipe and we do have earthquakes and things can shake loose, or the glue was not put on right. I have another friend who said the real business opportunity here is to have a service that will go in when houses are 5 years old and fix all the things that were done wrong.  Hope that helps! Regards, Richard

Long distance problems . . .

Allow me to reintroduce myself . . .  We ate lunch and dinner with your wife, but have not had the pleasure of meeting you.  We own a home in Boquete but we will not be able to move there as soon as we thought.  So the house is for sale through [a Boquete real estate company] and they are managing the property as far as gardening, cleaning, and security.  Recently a friend of ours visited the property and has reported that it does not show well .  We like  ____  but understand that managing property with absent owners may not be their forte.  Do you have any suggestions regarding a realtor who may better handle this transaction.   We trust you and look forward to your reply.  Regards, BP  P.S.  Would Richard Detrich be interested in handling this property?

Hey . . . Managing property long distance is a hassle. I wish I knew of someone. I have been asked this question by a number of folks. Probably a good business for someone. First REALTOR is a trade mark name only for folks who are members of the national board of REALTORS in the US and subscribe to a very definite Code of Ethics. Few, if any, real estate sales persons in Boquete are REALTORS. I agree, the folks at the company you mentioned are nice folks, as are most of the many folks in Boquete trying to sell real estate. I don't think many have ever been in real estate before and what success they are having seems to be more "accidental" than anything else.

I've tried to feed some of these folks some ideas, but they don't seem real interested and I'm not about to go back to work. I'm working on an article for International Living and right now there is a temporary "glut" of houses on the market in Boquete mostly because a lot of folks rushed in and built spec houses. Folks who are thinking of coming down and building would do much better to look at the existing inventory . . . I know a lot of folks in the States feel temporarily "poor" - I know we do! - with shift in the market, value of the US dollar, and drop in housing prices. But if you can at all swing it, I still think this is the time to move. What is a year of your life worth? Stay well . . . keep in touch . .. and hopefully the next time you're in Boquete we can get together. Regards, Richard

"This is the life!" . . .

Great Blog Richard, and comments likewise. I believe that no matter where you are it’s all in your attitude. You are going to be happy or sad anywhere you are. It’s up to you. I agree that research and visiting before deciding is probably a very good idea for anyplace, however, spontaneous is fun too. If you have problems, running away will not solve them, it will probably get worse. I’ve heard many people talk of isolation and loneliness, boredom, cold, rainy, and all the bad; but I’ve also heard many people talking about perfect weather, great place for fun, tons to do, great people and all the good. That happens everywhere. Once again your attitude makes a difference. There is a ton to do here for all ages, and it is beautiful. No matter where you go in the world you will have tribulations to encounter and imperfections to deal with. If you are somewhat picky then yes, do your research, and don’t come if you think you should change things here because it’s not perfect. If you are a free spirit and can deal with change and don’t want to change the place you are going to then Panama is an incredible place to be. Don’t forget about Culture. It’s different here. Thinking you are better than someone won’t get you far. If you have a lot of money and that is your base of life remember it may buy you happiness for a while but eventually you will discover that if money is your priority you won’t be happy here. There are deals everywhere in Panama but don’t abuse it either. No matter what your fancy, there is plenty here to keep most anyone happy and if there isn’t, then create it yourself, because there is plenty of room for expansion here in Boquete. From my own experience “This is the Life”. Liz

Thanks, Liz, and I heartily agree, "This is the life!" My only regret, in the four years we've been here, is that we didn't make the move sooner.

"Being from Canada, where life is certainly more organized, if that is the right word, yes, I miss some things, like a good steak."

Great article, Richard! Always enjoy your writing style, wit and insights. Being from Canada, where life is certainly more organized, if that is the right word, yes, I miss some things, like a good steak.

Panama’s slower pace and charming people can also be a source of frustration at times, but it’s their country and the reason we all came here, so we go down a dangerous path if we try to make them more like “us”. As a contractor I miss going into Home Depot and having my choice of many different products to solve certain problems, but this will change naturally according to market demand and not because we try to impose some perceived higher standard on Panama.

Personally, the only thing I could wish for is a clearer direction from the government that we really do want us to live here and not just be perpetual tourists. I believe many more ExPatswho are not ready for retirement would chose Panama if they felt that they were welcome to livehere, invest in the country and create jobs in the process, which can only serveto benefit all Panamanians. The recent changes to the immigration laws, such as doing away with the small business Visa, suggests they only want the very rich to live here, which does little to offer real opportunities to Panamanians. Maybe the new government will set a clearer course. Panama Canuck

Thanks for the compliment, eh . . . see, I speak "Canadian" . . . You are right about the frustration, especially if you are building. Your comment reminded me of something that happened when we first moved to Boquete. I had ordered some bookshelves and was getting the "manana-run-around" and was very frustrated that the bookcases were taking longer than it takes to have a baby. I mentioned this at the Tuesday Morning gringo meeting, and asked, "How do you deal with this?" And one gentleman who had been here for a while said, "Surrender! Just surrender. It WILL happen, just maybe not on your schedule." That's a tough concept for North Americans, but . . . I am taking deep breaths, drinking a lot, and telling myself, "The house WILL get done, just chill."

My ebook . . .

Since Escape to Paradise says it is Temporarily Unavailable, can you advise when it might be available again…just in case a Panama Dreamer wanted to try to find it and purchase it…?

I’m in the process of planning a “look-see” trip (I’ve only seen the Panama Canal from a cruise ship, and the delightful San Blas Islands). I hope to come down in October, and your blog has been a Godsend (not trying to be funny!) to me in the quest for reliable info. Thanks so much for all you do!
Vicki

Vicki, Thanks for the compliment. It’s a ebook and since I no longer have the Web site where I was selling it - WordPress is SO much more fun, and so easy! - I’m working on another distribution channel. Will let you know! Regards, Richard

Cet après-midi, sur Hong Kong, nous sommes en alerte typhon catégorie 1. Ce typhon s’appelle Nuri, et il vient de l’est des Philippines. En début de soirée, le signal passera à 3 probablement. Cette nuit, c’est le signal T8 qui va être activé. Et demain matin, nous passerons en T9, jusqu’à atteindre l’apocalypse du T10, le signal d’alerte le plus haut. Quand les climatisations sont arrachées des murs. Que les fenêtres volent en éclats sous les rafales. Je ne l’ai jamais encore vécu, le dernier étant arrivé en 1999.

A l’heure actuelle, Nuri évolue à 14km par heure vers Hong Kong, et souffle à 150km/h. Mais il est encore loin des côtes, et les typhons se réveillent à l’approche des côtes.

Alors, ce soir, en sortant du boulot, je vais faire trois courses, au cas où ça dure un peu, histoire d’avoir à manger et à boire à la maison. Je vais mettre du scotch sur les vitres, et tout calfeutrer. Je vais bien fermer les rideaux, vu qu’on n’a pas de volets ici, en cas d’éclats. Je vais débrancher toutes les prises de courant. Et mettre des serpillières sous les fenêtres.

Attendre l’apocalypse.

Pour info, la petite étoile rouge, sur le trajet du typhon, c’est chez moi.

EDIT: pour l’instant, je ne me suis pas encore envolée…

EDIT 2 :

Personnellement, tout va bien. Aucun dégât du côté de chez moi. Nuri ne sera pas monté jusqu’à 10. L’alerte 9 aura été la maximale. Cependant, il laisse 70 blessés et 1 disparu derrière lui, ainsi que de nombreux arbres arrachés et des dommages mineurs à quelques buildings. 250 000 personnes ont par ailleurs été évacuées en Chine continentale.

Pour ma part, je dois juste avouer que, l’œil d’un cyclone, c’est quand même relativement impressionnant.

Le gris sombre, les vents tourbillonnants, les rues désertes, les arbres s’inclinant sous les rafales.

Puis le calme, plat. Pas de bruit, pas de vent, le soleil. Quelques oiseaux, qui changent d’arbre, le temps de se réfugier un peu mieux. Le calme avant la tempête, véritablement. Quelques minutes de répit. Tout semble suspendu, entre deux, dans l’attente.

Puis le ciel redevient gris, lourd, chargé, et les vents hurlent aux oreilles. On ferme les rideaux, à nouveau, on se calfeutre, et on attend.

Je vous embrasse, je vais bien.

]]> http://richarddetrich.wordpress.com/?p=1458 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:03:37 +0000 richarddetrich http://richarddetrich.wordpress.com/?p=1458 Panama has just revised it's immigration law. The following is from My Panama Lawyer, a good source for this kind of information.  The new law is effective August 26 and the following are highlights . . .

- Tourists may remain in the country only for 90 days, with only those with an original period under 90 days being able to ask for an extension to complete the 90 days when justified (Art. 21),
- Foreign workers within the 10% maximum must have a salary of US$850 monthly to apply for residency and work permit (Art. 79), up from US$500,
- Foreign executives representing foreign multinationals under the WTO Marrakech-round visas must have a salary of US$1000 monthly to apply for residency and work permit (Art. 92), up from US$500,
- Investor permanent visas may only be granted after having asked for three 2-year temporary visas for a total of 6 years (Art. 95),
- Agricultural visa minimum investment is raised to US$60,000 (Art. 96), up from no minimum,
- Forestry temporary visa minimum investment is raised to US$60,000, up from US$40,000, with an additional requirement of 10 hectares purchased (Art. 100),
- Forestry permanent visa minimum investment is doubled to US$80,000, with an additional requirement of 20 hectares purchased (Art. 180),
- Small-business investor visa is eliminated,
- Macro-business investor visa minimum investment is raised to US$160,000, up from US$100,000, with an additional requirement of 5 Panamanian full-time workers (Art. 185, 188),
- Self-solvency investor visa minimum investment is increased to US$300,000, up from US$100.00, left in Panama bank account for 3 years (Art. 192).
- Self-solvency investor visa minimum investment alternatives include also real estate for which at least US$300,000 is paid for, free of mortgage (Art. 193) or a mixture of a 3-year deposit and mortgage-free real estate up to a combined minimum of US$30,000 (Art. 194),
- Self-solvency investor visa real estate may be held under a Private Foundation which founder or beneficiary is the applicant,
- The minimum return on a Panama National Bank CD for the Rentista visa is increased to US$2,000 monthly, up from US$750 (Art. 196),
- Pensionado minimum income is raised to US$1,000, up from US$500, or a mixture of US$100,000 in directly-held Panama real estate (Art. 200 - it does not specify if the property is free of mortgage),
- Pictures must show the face of the applicant (no full burkha pictures) (Art. 245),
- Tourists must enter with passport having no less than 3 months of duration (Art. 255),
- Multiple-entry permits may be issued for up to 5 years, up form 2 years (Art. 262).
 

And while I'm passing on informatiion . . . Panama's economy is projected to continue growing, but more slowly than expected . . . However, "The country is facing the global crisis far more successfully than some had expected"

From LA PRENSA:

The consulting firm Deloitte has lowered its projection for the growth of the Panamanian economy for this year. In January, the firm predicted the country's growth to be 9 percent, but now says it will be 7.5 percent.

“In any case, 7.5 percent is a very favorable level of growth, and will remain among the highest in the region,” said Deloitte partner Domingo Latorraca.

Panama's economy grew 11.2 percent in 2007, one of the fastest growth rates in the world. But the economy has slowed somewhat this year, growing by 8.4 percent in the first quarter.

“The slowdown should not be alarming,” Latorraca said. “It is typical of the economic cycle, and it appears that the country is facing the global crisis far more successfully than some had expected.”

What is worrying is inflation. According to the latest report by the Contraloría General de la República, the consumer price index increased 9.6 percent from mid-2007 to mid-2008. Analysts predict that the country will experience inflation rates greater than 10 percent this year.

“Despite the decline in oil prices, we continue to believe that inflation will reach double digits. The main reason for the escalation of prices is that food prices have not stopped their ascent,” said Ernesto Bazán, manager of the rating firm Equilibrium, which is associated with Moody's Investor Services.

Panama has not had a problem with inflation since 1981.

So we pile in the car and off we go. We had a nice drive to the Peaks. Lovely views. Stopped for photo ops. Just had a nice drive. We drove into a town called Buxton. Very cute. Its an old spa town. The types that the rich Victorians would go to and be healed by the waters. My husband drove up to the back of the town and on a one lane, one way street we started looking for parking. As quick as can be, and SUV started backing up. We had to slam on the brakes. "Cool, parking" I said. Because this SUV had shot back so quick we needed to back up to let them out. Didn't have a lot of room as the SUV behind us had to slam on their brakes as well, but S backed up a bit. Just then, the car behind us started honking and flashing its lights. We stopped, didn't think to much and the SUV pulled out of the spot and we pulled in. The car behind us kept honking, flashing its lights and I noticed that the woman in this SUV was getting out of the car screaming. What the heck? So S rolls his window down and this woman is screaming every obscenity known and telling us that another woman, parked on the sidewalk/pavement, and not in the car, was waiting for that spot. How this woman knew what was going on in front of us, or in the mind of the woman parked on the curb, is still a mystery. But she was really angry. Red faced. Screaming. Man, I should of taken her picture to post. I had my camera in my hands. Next time, I will be photographing and posting to be sure. After a few mins of exchange between them, she drives off. I had S go ask the woman if she was waiting for the spot. She said yes, but she hadnt been in her car at the time. What ever! So I made him find another spot.

Buxton is a nice town. We had a wonder around. Just in town the heavens opened. I mean it was pouring. We ducked into a cafe for lunch.  One again, I am let down by the food we are served in the UK. We decided to get full English breakfast. I usually don't go for that, but I know that my son loves sausages and would eat most of it with me.  One scrambled egg, barely cooked through, one small sausage, one fatty piece of English Bacon, one piece of toast, half a grilled tomato and a spoon of beans. Two of these and two pots of tea... £12. That is close to $24. We always feel so ripped off eating here. We wouldn't of stopped but for the rain.

We left the area and had a nice drive. We went through hill and valleys and villages and towns. We drove through Bakewell, Edale, Eyam and a few more. We saw the Blue John Mine. We decided to get out and wander around Castleton. This is an area that my husband used to go to the youth hostel and stay when he was young. There are tourists wandering everywhere and we figured there must be some cute stores. So he decided to drive up the road, no parking but a great view. Just a lovely stretch of valley. I was looking at the view, trying to decide if it was worth stopping for a photo, when a movement caught my eye. This young woman was yelling at me. "What the F you looking at?" What? I wasn't even looking at her. With all the tourist around, I didn't even pay attention that people where around. She was F'in and Jeff'in and glaring. Talk about a chip on her shoulder. We drove on, found parking and wandered around. But that woman had ruined it for me. I just wanted to leave. Actually, all three horrible women had put a damper on a day that I was really looking forward to. I was ready to go home.

If, in the future, I have my camera and people behave like that, I will be photographing. I swear I will start a new blog so people around the world can add horrible people, their stories and their pictures. So next time you want to behave so poorly and have road rage or any other kind of rage, you better be prepared to be shown to the public in all your glory.