Juan Carlos introduced the term Juega Vivo, Life Game on Ning. I have since learned from locals how real it is.
Some recent examples from my life that might help you.
1. I pulled into a Delta Station on the road to David at night and asked for $20 in diesel. The attendant only put $15 into the tank, but until I said something, he made no effort to give me change of the $20.
2. I went to MS Chiriqui today to cancel my health insurance with them. They told me I needed to pay an extra month since I was canceling before one year. I asked where in the contract it said that I needed to pay that penalty. After a few minutes of reading the contract the clerk said, sorry you do not need to pay it.
3. Same place, same clerk. He asked me to write a letter to terminate the policy, no issue. I did it on the spot. Since they auto bill my credit card I asked him for a letter dated today saying it was cancelled and I would not be billed again. That was different, it took some pushing and I did get the letter, now, if they bill again, I have something for the people at Master Card.
4. I had a problem with my car. The folks at the Texaco station in Boquete spotted the problem, a broken engine mount, but because I have Rexton they had no parts. They suggest a garage in David, I went there and the technician said, you have a serious electrical problem. I pointed at he broken engine mount and his story changed to oh, you have a broken engine mount but we do not have them.
The good part, I went to Robinsons garage, on the Super 99 street across from the Catholic church where they looked at the problem and said, no problem. They removed the broken mount, refurbished the mount and replaced it for $30. Some clouds do have silver linings but you do need to watch your wallet.
Has anyone else had similar experiences that other can learn from?
Replies
Probably the same Delta station, back when I was young (er) and naive. I pulled in and asked for a fill up.
Hombre #1 checked my tires for me...great service.
Tank full... Hombre #2, standing so to block the pump asked for $42.00. Not thinking, I handed it over.
Oh,oh..front tire needs air "please pull forward", (away from pump). A little air and I'm on my way.
Got to thinking as I was half way home, "Man, that seemed like a lot of diesel."
After I calculated it out, somehow, at the then current price, they were able to magically get 23 gallons of fuel into a 19 gallon tank...and I still had a 1/4 left when I pulled in.
Now, I just keep a close eye on the pumps. Too bad, that one experience has required my monitoring all now.
Makes me feel kind of sad, 95% of the people would return an extra $1 if I overpaid.
To top it off, I tipped the guy for his "great" service.
No problem.
That person and his comments wont be missed at all.
His name is Luis. He has worked on our Rexton for more than a year and a half. His phone number is 6781-1352. He doesn't speak much English. His house is just a little bit north of David and a little bit south of Dolega. His wife's name is Yari and understands and speaks some English. He worked for Rexton for quite some time when they had a facility in David. We just can't say enough good about him. He has an abundance of Rexton parts. In fact he has 3 or 4 Rextons for parts other than the one he drives plus access to new parts. He has even come to our house in Boquete on numberous occasions to work on our car, but we often go to his house because he has all the equipment there to accomplish whatever needs to be done. What he does for an oil change is amazingly thorough. It is a complete inspection. We just love our Rexton.
If you use him, please tell him that David & Suzi recommended him to you and we send our love.
Please send us your email address.
Regards,
David & Suzi
At home in Boquete
You are wrong.
The adjective or description as LATIN comes from our heritage from Roman or Italian culture. Italians, spaniards, portuguese are considered Latins too. Just like ANGLO are used to describe cultures derived from England.
Roger
Es interesante ver que una persona como usted que se supone que tiene un nivel cultural y academico elevado tenga unos prejuicios y conceptos tan errados y equivocados. Eso nos demuestra que personas del supuesto primer mundo tambien tienen demasiados grados de imperfeccion como personas y seres humanos. Su arrogancia anula por completo cualquier nivel academico que le hayan podido brindar las universidades donde haya estudiado. Sus prejuicios son mas grande que su propia inteligencia.
Generalizar y tener la osadia de afirmar como REGLA que los latinos consideran a los EXPATS como ricos es una falacia y falta de juicio critico serio. Deja mucho entrever la clase de persona que realmente es usted. Por sus comentarios puedo deducir que o ha tenido experiencia traumatica con alguna o algunas personas en Colombia o Costa Rica y las mismas le ha nublado su entendimiento y raciocinio.
Al final solo puedo decirle que es esta clase de pensamiento de personas al igual que usted hacen que muchos de "ustedes" sean mal vistos y en algunos casos considerados "indeseables" no solo en Latino America sino tambien en Europa.
"arrogance diminishes wisdom" Arab proverb.
"No one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or scornful than the man who is anxious about his virility" Simone de Beauvoir
When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities" David Hume
To avoid JUEGA VIVO you must "JUEGA VIVO".
What do I mean with this. There are some people out there that want to outsmart people.... but you should be always one step ahead of them and outmart them. You must play smart than all of them. You should Jugar Vivo (be smart).
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