www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Was the guy a CRT member? tux

Good question! Does anyone know? Was he a CRT member? Probably wouldn't want to ask his gril friend.

The US embassy representative is lying a bit in her response to this.There is an option. In times of imminent danger or threat to US citzens abroad, they are entitled to transport from the country to the closest US state or territory.This is something everyone who has lived outside the US is aware of. The problem is US embassy staff worldwide are the worst of the worst.No matter which country in Europe or Asia I was on assignment in, the embassy staff start late in the day, finish very early and are very good at being useless.Because it would require some creativity and actual effort, possibly even cutting into the three hour lunch break, the embassy staff will gladly let a fellow citizen die out of country.

It does underline a good point, though.Most long term expats have a plan for handling extreme cases such as this.And they share it with colleagues and friends.When I was in Taiwan I did not want to be transported back to the US. I had insurance in the national system. For a life saving procedure my chances for survival were much higher in Taiwan than the US.Far superior medicines and technology.

In Indonesia I had insurance to transport me back to the US.Cost me $600 a year.Mainly because you never know where you will get sick, and outside the major cities there is not much of any services available

I agree. My father was a career Foreign Service Officer during the '50's..'60's and '70's. I used to have summer jobs working for the Embassy in various capacities. Those were the days when the world "looked up" to America. Diplomats were REAL diplomats with many of them having started their careers in units like the Peace Corp. etc. During the last generation most of that has been lost. Maybe that's partially due to Affirmative Action or other programs where prospects no longger have to EARN their way into the Servce. It used to be that Americans would go overseas to learn a foreign language and learn about other cultures by living amongst them. Today we give them a CD-ROM and expect them to become Diplomats. It's Pathetic. It's not just with the Service that that's the case but across many facets of life. Too many people just take too much fro granted and too many people don't have any Pride anymore.

MrLasVegas What type of a medivac plan would you recommend for the average Ex-Pat living in CR? Insurance or cash fund set aside or a line of credit?

Since CR is not a volitile country, I would suggest insurance.In case of a riot, government upheaval, or complete crash of the banking system, cash is king. But the odds of the CR government being overthrown in a bloody coup is pretty low.I will look up the name of my old plan.Since you really only need to be flown to the closest US hospital, should be very cheap.It is only a few hours to Miami.Versus almost 18 hours for me to the US from Indonesia. In any country though, it is good to be legal and part of the national health care system. If you are visiting a physician regularly,and trying to live a relatively healthy lifestyle, you will probably not have the problems this guy had come around so quickly.

One of the biggest problems with embassy staff is the type of folks they are hiring. IIRC, my alma mater has cranked out more Foreign Service Officers than any other university in the nation for years (decades?) now. These folks, by in large, are bright, but they just don't want to be there.

These guys didn't join foreign service to stamp visas in some third world country. They joined so they could negotiate treaties in some posh hotel in Paris or London. However, since they start at the bottom, they consider their current Foreign Service position (the one where they are actually supposed to HELP citizens of the U.S. abroad) to be just a stepping stone.

Very quickly they learn to be just like most government employess. Do as little work as possible without getting caught (I am speaking as a former goverment employee ). They don't give a shit about Joe Average who is having trouble abroad, even if they are the only ones who can and ARE SUPPOSED to help him. To them, you are just some phucking shmuck wasting their time.