Brazil! “It’s not dangerous here!”

I have told my story about BRAZIL many times and every time I tell it, the person would say “you have to write that down!” Like many of you know, I went on a cruise from Las Palmas to Brazil! I met many digital nomads there and in the evening we would sit together to have dinner. One day at the pool I met a bunch of Brazilian people and they invited me to come and sit at their table that evening. I had a blast. These people know how to enjoy life! It was extremely funny.

A visit so Sao Paulo in Brazil

After the boat, I stayed in touch. And as I was in Sao Paulo I was invited to visit their house in a small town close to Sorocaba – an amazing private area (yes people live behind fences and with 24 hour security here) and if you saw the houses, you’d know why! It was an amazing time and I felt like I was part of the family.

After a while I found out that one of the sons was “adopted”. He took me to the area where he had lived before and I spent hours saying hellos and goodbyes, shaking hands and giving kisses to complete strangers. Socializing in Brazil takes time. And so does saying goodbye. You need a lot of patience here!

It is not dangerous here!

I found myself standing in a street at dawn in my cocktail dress after church (you have to wear your best clothes to the church here in Brazil!) in an area thats, let’s just say, not exactly Beverly Hills… The people here had no doorbell, and clapping your hands is the way to draw attention to the fact you are standing in front of their fence. Yeah that’s right, almost everybody has a fence or a gate in front of the house. We stood outside on the street, with a bunch of people around me… when we came it was bright daylight, but slowly it was getting dark… and every person passing by, either walking or sitting in a car, was staring at me like I was an alien from outer-space. I was getting more and more uncomfortable! Why is the sister taking so long to pick us up?! I have to be honest, I was really afraid! They kept on telling me: “Andrea, don’t worry! It is not dangerous here!” I didn’t really trust those words and soon I found out my gut was right!

…to be continued!