Our life in Latin America

Learn the language of my expat country: when? How?

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Like it? Share it!Imagine arriving in your new country, you’re at the airport and you don’t understand a word of the announcements… most signs are also in english but not all… what do they mean ? What is this airport official asking me ? And the sign on these doors, does it say push or pull ? Well …

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Learn the language of my new expat country : why ? How ?

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Like it? Share it!The decision is made : you are moving to Latin America ! But there is one problem : you don’t speak spanish/or portuguese. Don’t worry, I didn’t know a word of spanish when we first moved to Panama, and I was even less familiar with portuguese when we decided to go to Brazil, and guess …

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Panama : Expats ‘ 4th favorite city in the world , but …

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Like it? Share it!… 3rd most affected economy of Latin America in 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 will have been a very different and complicated year for many countries. For Panamá, it will have been a year of rankings, both for better and for worse. On the bright side, it was designated 4th favorite …

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COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions : What’s the status in Latin America ?

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Like it? Share it!With the holidays, the (southern hemisphere) summer break, the new english variant of the coronavirus, and a pandemic still very active, many Latin American countries have decided to implement restrictions (again). Most of them are not going back to the strict confinement rules implemented in the spring, but use various alternatives. Click …

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Update on COVID-19 restrictions in Brazil

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Like it? Share it!Brazil is a little different from its latin neighbours. The country being a federation, each state has the power to decide on its own restrictions, and various state governors are openly disagreeing with the central government, leading to many different situations among the country. Local rules For instance, the state of São …

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Update on COVID-19 restrictions in Ecuador

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Like it? Share it!In Ecuador, the government decided on new restrictions during an emergency meeting that took place just before the holidays, motivated by the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom and the increase in infections in Ecuador : – the state of exception has been declared for a month …

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COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions : What’s the status elsewhere in Latin America ?

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Like it? Share it!Many countries have reacted to the news of a variant of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom, as Colombia, Chile, Peru, El Salvador and Argentina immediately said they would reinforce restrictions towards travelers coming from the UK and suspend all flights from and to the UK. In Colombia, the main cities have …

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Update on COVID-19 restrictions in Panamá

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Like it? Share it!Panamá is currently facing a strong increase in contaminations and deaths due to COVID-19, that’s why lockdown was reinstored by the end of 2020, until January 4th. Starting January 4th, the curfew is maintained in the provinces of Panamá and Panamá Oeste from 8pm to 5am, and from 7pm to 5 am …

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Monigotes and Año Viejo, a burning New Year’s Eve tradition in Ecuador

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Like it? Share it!Every year, on New Year’s Eve, the Ecuadorians traditionnally get rid of the old year’s luggage to welcome the New Year on a fresh base : they burn effigies called Monigote or Año Viejo. These effigies are dolls made of paper mache, stuffed with sawdust or newspaper. They can be handcrafted by professionnal …

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Brazil: How about my driver’s license ?

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Like it? Share it!When you travel abroad for a short vacation, you can use your driver’s license and passport to rent and drive a car. In some countries, they will ask you for an official translation of your licence or and international driving license, but these are easy to get. If you decide to settle …

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