It took a trip to hell to show me all the heavenly delights Belize has to offer. It's probably not the hell you're thinking of, and I didn't get there the way folks usually do. This particular hell is Xibalba, the Maya underworld. And I got there on a raft. My wife, Suzan, and I love scuba diving, and Belize has always been a favorite destination. The second-longest reef on the planet runs along Belize's Caribbean coast, and the diving is world class.
My wife, Suzan, and I rarely know too far in advance where we’ll be for the holidays. We haven’t lived in the U.S. for a dozen years now, but around about September or October we start making the decisions about what to do for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year…whose family back in the States we’ll spend which holidays with…and which holidays, if any, we’ll spend by ourselves at home, wherever home happens to be at the time.
I was asked again the other day what I love most about Ecuador, and as I answered it occurred to me how retired I sounded. I'm not retired, of course, but as I was going over my three big pluses for this country...the weather, the cost of living, and the variety...I realized that all three of these qualities appealed directly to my Inner Retiree.
When my wife, Suzan Haskins, and I moved abroad 12 years ago, we had some decisions to make. We owned a large house and garage full of the usual collection of furniture, cookware, tools, books, rugs, electronics, knickknacks…all the flotsam and jetsam of American middle-class life.
When my wife, Suzan Haskins, and I moved abroad 12 years ago, we had some decisions to make. We owned a large house and garage full of the usual collection of furniture, cookware, tools, books, rugs, electronics, knickknacks…all the flotsam and jetsam of American middle-class life.
Would you willingly move—lock, stock, and barrel—to a foreign country with your grade-school-aged children in tow? I mean, it’s a big enough leap to move yourself overseas, even if you have 60 or 70 years of life experience and a bit of a pension or some Social Security under your belt.
When my wife, Suzan, and I heard that we could get what is commonly called an "executive health assessment" in Quito, Ecuador, we decided to give it a try. Our primary care physician, Dr. Davalos, works with Hospital Metropolitano in Quito to put together a comprehensive package of tests that cover all the health bases over a two-day period.
Our new friends paused over their meatloaf and mashed potatoes (an expat favorite served by one of the enterprising restaurateurs in our little Ecuadorian town). They had invited my wife, Suzan, and me out to lunch to seek some advice now that they’d been in town for a while.
Introduction to Our Sponsors, Speakers and Exhibitors. (This presentation has no accompanying PowerPoint slideshow.)
Introduction to Our Sponsors, Speakers and Exhibitors. (This presentation has no accompanying PowerPoint slideshow.)