Hi there!
My name is Liv, I’m Brazilian – born and raised – and I left my country at 18 to go see the world. Like probably many of you, I’ve always wanted to go travelling, live abroad but I thought that was something millionaires did. That is, until I found the au pair exchange programme. As an au pair I managed to not only moved to 3 different countries but really immerse myself in each of those cultures by living with a local family for a whole year. Granted, in London I actually lived with an Aussie family so I got very well-versed in Australian before I actually did a deep dive in the British ways.
If it hadn’t been for au pairing, I think I probably would’ve been able to travel quite a bit as an adult who stayed in Brazil – in Law School! – but I’m pretty sure I would’ve turned out a much different person. Living abroad is one of the most enriching experiences one can have – it turns you inside out, it tests you and breaks your heart again and again, but you also get the chance to meet people from all walks of life, to experience different ways of being, of living, of seeing the world, you realise we’re all different yet pretty the same and often we do things differently but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. You learn how much you’re capable of and, in one year, you feel like you’ve lived a thousand.
I truly wish everyone could have this experience of living abroad (and working in retail…that’ll teach you not to be such an a**hole!). The world would be a much better place if we all learnt with and from each other instead of judging those who are not alike.
With that in mind and also thinking of you, person on the other side of the screen who probably ended up here to find some answers and some help in order to go on your own adventure, I decided to create this travel blog. Here I hope to offer you all the information I’ve gathered in nearly two decades of travelling and moving abroad as well as making connections with the like-minded.
If you’re interested in the world, fascinated by different cultures, languages, food, etc., this is your place. As the geek I am, I’m probably going to share some pop culture recs as well so feel free to chime in!
Here are some random facts about me:
- Apart from travelling I also love reading, writing, hiking, going to the movies, visiting coffee shops, sharing food and good chat with friends and family and playing volleyball (which I rarely get to do nowadays!)
- I speak Portuguese, English, some Spanish, a little Italian and German which I’ve been learning for nearly 20 years and still no closer to being fluent
- I’m really talkative when I meet people but I’m actually super introverted and have social anxiety (I’m not sure I know anyone who doesn’t, tbh)
- Pretty much every city I visit makes me think “hmmm should I move here?”. Do you have this issue?
- I absolutely love food, trying new ones and one of my favourite ways of connecting with the culture of a new place is by trying their local food. My favourites are Brazilian, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Russian, Scandi and Italian. And French. And Spanish. And German. And Swiss. And all the dumplings, wherever they’re from.
- Speaking of food, another thing I love is a food market – I much prefer trying different things from multiple stalls than sitting at a restaurant
- When I’m not taking time off to travel I work in the music industry (and it’s nowhere near as glam as it sounds)
Now, who are you? What do you search? And how did you end up here? Let me know in the comments so we can chat!