Can you tell me your background, & what made you want to move abroad?
I’m from São Paulo, Brazil, born and raised. I’d never been abroad before I turned 18, but I’d always wanted to. I’ve been studying English since I was 7. I’ve had a lot of contact with culture from abroad. I watched so many movies and read so many books. Those were the things that made me want to go abroad so badly because I wanted to get to see all those places that they were talking about.
I knew that going abroad, because my family didn’t have a lot of money, wasn’t going to be easy. I had a lot of friends who would go to Disney World during their vacation, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen for me. So that’s why I was looking for other ways to go.
Where were the places you wanted to go when you were younger?
I’ve always wanted to go to New York since I’ve always been connected with musical theater. I’ve also wanted to go to France and New Zealand. New Zealand because of the amazing trails, waterfalls and beaches. Everything looks so stunning there.
Where did you go when you first went abroad?
The first place I went was Iowa. I went to work at this summer camp in Boone, Iowa, which is about an hour from Des Moines. I went to Iowa because I had a friend who had come to Brazil the year before. She was from Iowa, from this camp, and she worked at my camp in Brazil. Then the same year, another friend of mine who’s Brazilian went to Iowa, and he loved it. He was bugging me for an entire year telling me I should go to Iowa because he was going back, and everyone was great. Then he ended up not going so I went by myself.
How was Iowa different from Brazil?
Because I was living and working at a camp, everything was so different. I am a big city girl, and I had worked at camps in Brazil before. But our camps are more like summer resorts. They have fancy cabins. We don’t really build fires or anything like that. So going to Iowa was like living every single movie I’ve watched about going to camp. People would make s’mores weekly. I think one of the things that fascinated me the most was how free I felt during my trip. I was there by myself so I wasn’t counting on anyone. I felt like I could do anything I wanted. I think that the way people think in Iowa and São Paulo is completely different. For example, what they consider fun and what they think of Brazil as a country. Most of the people didn’t really know what Brazil was. That was quite fun, getting to explain everything.
What is the process like to move abroad? What steps did you take?
I was working at a summer camp in Brazil that also had a branch that does international travels. They have contact with visa sponsors in the U.S. so my process was very organic. I had to pay my company a fee, around $200, for the contact and the services. Then I also had to pay for a visa sponsor. They give you a letter saying, “Hey, this person is good to come to the U.S. If anything happens I’ll be in charge of handling all her financial problems and stuff.” I had to pay for a recruiter who set up an interview between the camp in the U.S. and me. I went through the interview which was really chill because the guy who was interviewing me was my friend’s fiancé so he already knew me. I was actually supposed to go to Colorado, but I went to Iowa because of my friend. I went through the interview, and then I had to go to the Consulate and go through another interview to get the visa approved. It’s really easy to get your visa approved once you get the letter of sponsorship. My camp sponsor was Camp Staff USA. That sponsor only covers South America. There is also Camp America that covers Europe, Africa, Oceania and other places.
How did you get paid?
The camp in the U.S. would pay me weekly. One of the things that’s really tricky about working in the U.S. as an international staff member is when you want to cash your checks. Not every place would cash your checks for you. For example, if I went to Wal-Mart, not every Wal-Mart would cash my check. They would say my passport wasn’t an official document which was such a hassle, especially since I was living in a very small town. I couldn’t just go to banks nearby. Wal-Mart was the closest place I had to cash my checks. That happened a couple times. The first few weeks they pay you in checks and then they give you a savings account with a credit card.
Where else did you travel in the U.S.?
I went to Iowa to work twice at the Des Moines Y Camp. In summer 2016, after I was done working at camp, I got together with two other girls, one from Scotland and one from England. We went to Chicago for a week, then I went to New York City for a couple of days. The second time I went to the U.S. was the best travel wise. We took a road trip through 13 states which was really fun. We started in Iowa, drove through Nebraska and then stopped in Colorado for a few days. Then we went to Utah, California, Arizona. We went to Mexico for maybe 15 minutes to switch my visa. Since I was still under my work visa, I had to switch to my tourist visa. I went back up to New Mexico, crossed Texas, and then stayed in Oklahoma for a night. We went to Kansas City so I was in Kansas and Missouri for a day. Then we went back up to Iowa and then crossed Iowa and went to Minnesota and then went back.
What was your favorite place you visited?
My first trip, it was New York because everything was so magical because of Broadway. The second time, I was so in love with Colorado. It was such a beautiful place, I loved it. I was in Estes Park for three days, going hiking and doing all sorts of cool stuff there.
Where do you recommend people visit in the U.S.?
Every time someone asks me about the U.S., I 100% recommend Estes Park just because it’s such a cute town with great views. I also really liked visiting the desert museum in Tucson, Arizona. It was awesome. It’s like an upside down zoo. The animals are mostly loose, and you’re the one trapped on the pathways. It’s really cool to see the animals just being animals in the wild.
What kinds of foods did you eat?
I tried s’mores at camp and then had American barbecue which is completely different from what we have in Brazil. There’s also a lot of candy that you guys get in the States that we don’t get. That surprised me very much. Eating all sorts of different stuff and there were all these different kinds of soda. I was at camp and this girl handed me a Dr Pepper and that was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. But what I really liked was Mountain Dew. That was awesome. We don’t get that here.
Where else have you worked abroad?
After working those two summers in the U.S., I met a girl who was au pairing (taking care of children) in Australia. She recommended this website that she used called Au Pair World. I got placed with a family in Norfolk, England. I was taking care of four girls and four horses as well. It was such an awesome experience. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to England because I want to go everywhere, but it was never one of the top places I wanted to go to. I was placed there and I was excited about being with the horses, and I just loved it.
What were the people like in England?
The people there were so much nicer than I thought they would be. Everyone keeps saying that Brazilians are very warm when it comes to people, and Brits are extremely cold. But actually they were extremely welcoming. They treated me so nicely. I was basically a part of the family.
Where did you visit in England?
I got to go to some places in the countryside and some really nice beaches like Kromer and Southwold. I got to go riding in the English countryside which was an amazing experience. I would do that daily. I got to go to a few amusement parks there. I got to spend a couple weeks in London. I really fell in love with the place as well.
Did you have experience with horses before this job?
I’ve always loved horses but living in a big city it’s hard to be in contact with them all the time. Show jumping is such an expensive sport. I got to work with horses while at camp, but it was not the same because they were already saddled up. I would just ride them on the trails. Occasionally, when the campers weren’t around, I could canter but that was my basic contact with them. I’d read about them and watch a lot of documentaries about them. When I got in contact with this host family, I told them I really liked horses, but I didn’t have a lot of experience dealing with them. I told them I had never taken any lessons, but I would like to learn to take care of them. My host family was completely amazing with me. The first few days they were trying to assess what I knew and didn’t know, while teaching me so much cool stuff about horses. I got to learn a whole lot by being there.
What kind of foods did you eat in England?
My host mum was a really good cook so she would make all sorts of things. But one of the things that I really liked was how much Indian cuisine they get. She would make curry for us. They had a lot of warm dishes since it was so cold there most of the year. Here in Brazil, we eat rice and beans and that kind of stuff, but we have more salads and fresh food. They had things coming out of the oven daily. It was cool to notice that difference. We had fish and chips, obviously. They would make their version of barbecue which was really good as well.
What should people do and see in England?
London is amazing. If you go to London, you should try taking a few day trips to the shore in different directions. Stonehenge, obviously. But the Norfolk, Suffolk part of England is beautiful. Kromer has the best crab ever. One of the things I liked, I was there from April to October, and they have their version of state fairs. Their fairs are awesome because you get to know what the different districts are about. So if you go to England during the summer, you can go to what they call shows, for example the Norfolk Show.
What recommendations do you have for people who visit Brazil?
A few places I love are Balneário Camboriú which is in the south in Santa Catarina. It’s a really cool place. You can also do day trips from there to Florianopolis which is a couple hours from there with a very big island with amazing beaches. Bonito is also a place I really want to go. Fernando de Noronha is an island in the northeast and also beaches like Jericoacoara and then Natal.
What advice would you give people who want to move abroad?
I think moving abroad was one of the things that made me into the person who I am today. If you are having a hard time getting to know yourself or you’re not really sure what’s happening in your life right now…Or if you’re not happy with the way things, I think moving abroad can give you a notion of what you’re doing. You find where you belong, just in the world in general.
