Getting out of our comfort zone...

So true!!!!! It was posted by one of my best friends on her facebook this week. It is how I am feeling in my new life in New York - outside of my comfort zone. I believe it is a common feeling among expats...
My relationship with New York is getting better. I feel more and more like a local and I have stopped thinking about London that much. In the end of the day, it is not just about New York but about what we are learning from it :)
After nearly 8 months, all seems to be going well. Apart from my "9am to 5pm" job I have finally started working as a translator too. So far, so good! It is the sort of job I can take with me wherever we go in the world. Very happy about that!!! I had done a post graduate course in London but for some reason never did anything with it. Now, here I am....Bring it on....Let's see where it takes me to.
You never know where the magic starts if you don't take any risks, do you? Happy to be here!!!!! For me the magic is already happening and I could not be more grateful for having this experience.
Loads of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Must Read: Time Out, NYMag and Eater

In a city that offer so much, it is so difficult to keep up with the 1000 events taking place at the same time + all different options of places to eat. One of the best things we have done was subscribing to Time Out. Every Wednesday we receive our magazine with all the events taking place during the week as well opening restaurants and the restaurants receiving great reviews.
The New York magazine and Eater are so helpful as wel. And the best thing about them all is that you can check most of the content on line on the following websites: Time Out , NYmag and  Eater.
Therefore, if you live here or are planning a trip and would like to find out about all different sorts of events, restaurants, etc. those are great the places to go :)

Hope you enjoy!!!! xxxxx

Happy July 4th + Hubby's Bday @ Hotel Americano

July 4th happens to be my husband's birthday as well. As it was our first July 4th in the US, we wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. And of course, I wanted him to feel special with the fireworks I had prepared specially for him lol ;-)
I was amazed how people embrace the date and with the amount of people on the streets.
On our way to Hotel Americano, where I had made a reservation for dinner, we were shocked to see the queue for the lifts in our building. As many flats have a great view of the Hudson river, it was a perfect place for house parties whilst watching the fireworks. One of our neighbours was giving a party and she said people were queuing up for 35 minutes in the lobby to get a lift!!!!!
Anyways, we had a lovely time at La Piscine at Hotel Americano. The hotel is quite new and we could see some of the fireworks from the roofdeck. In spite of the chaos, the service was amazing :) The views of Manhattan skyline are breathtaking as well.
We will indeed go back with friends for drinks, brunch and whatever else!!!!!
It was a very unforgettable experience indeed :)
Hope you enjoyed! xxxxx


Hotel Americano:518 West 27th Street  New York, NY 10001

View from the bar with the Empire State in the background

The smallest swimming pool I have ever seen in my life. Nevertheless a very stylish one.

The fireworks

View from our flat. What a beautiful evening!!!

Mermaid Parade at Coney Island

The Mermaid Parade takes place every year in Coney Island. It usually happens late June. This year it happened on my birthday (June 23rd)! Since we moved to New York, we talked about going to visit Coney Island. The best thing is that you can take the subway all the way from Manhattan. In our case, we took the train in Herald Square (where Macy's is located took us nearly 45min). You can use any of the yellow or orange lines for the bargain of 2.25USD each way. You can't complain, can you?
The Mermaid Parade exists since 1893 and attracts a large crowd of people in search of some fun. The day was glorious and we fun we had!!!!!
When in Coney Island, you need to have a hot dog at Nathan's. The famous Hot Dog Eating Contest happens there every July 4th (in fact, it happened yesterday).
There were quite a few naked mermaids too... Oh dear...
Overall, I would definitely go back to go to the beach. The water is very cold though!!!!! The place is so tacky it becomes cult in my opinion.
I am sure you have seen this amusement park in some movie before. It is just so iconic!!!!!
Hope you enjoy :) xxxx

London feelings in a New York life

So sad to have spent such a long time far away from the blog :( Life has been just hectic!!! There is hardly time for anything at the moment. The house is a mess, my laundry is so behind, I am exhausted and on top of that we have started preparing to go to London this Friday for 10 days. My brother-in-law is getting married and it will be good to see everyone and catch up. Can't wait to see my sister either!!!!!!

Disclosure

I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about landing in the Old World. I miss it so much!!!!! It will be interesting to go back and see how we feel. Miss having little trips planned all the time...It is the first time since we got married that we do not have tickets bought to go somewhere. Everywhere from London is so close and cheap!!!!!! Besides, in Europe we get so many holidays to do as we wish. Now, we have to split ourselves between England and Brazil to see the families as we do not get many holidays!!! Therefore, there is hardly any days left to think about new adventures in new places :(:(:(:(

I am enjoying life in New York though. Let's see what happens....It is still early days and so many things can change. Everything will be alright!!!!! :):):):):)

The Tenement Museum at the Lower East Side

Visiting the Tenement Museum at the Lower East Side has been one of my favorite programs in New York so far.
The Lower East Side is one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Manhattan. It is where you can find Jewish communities, working class Dominicans and Chinese, moneyed artsy types, hipster refugees from Soho and East Village. It is know as the melting pot of the island and by the end of the 19th century, it was the most densely populated spot in the world.
There are so many great restaurants, bars, emerging designers - apparently Lady Gaga started her career in a club on Rivington Street. Also, it does remind me so much of East London...
Anyways, the LES was were the first tenement was constructed in 1833, when the immigrants started arriving in bunches from Prussia and it became know as Kleindeutschland (Little Germany). They were followed by Irish, Jews from Eastern European, Italian immigrants and many other nationalities after the American dream.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum tells some of these stories. It was built in 1863 at 97 Orchard Street and restored by the museum founders in the 90s. It had been closed since 1935.
You can choose between tours such as: Hard Times, Sweatshop Workers, Irish Outsiders and Exploring 97 Orchid Street.
We decided to go for Hard Times and I can't wait to go back for the others!!!!!! In our tour there were 8 people and during one hour an amazing guide took us back in time, telling the story of how 2 families survived economic depressions at 97 Orchard Street between 1863 and 1935. We had the opportunity to visit the restored homes of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family, whose patriarch disappeared during the Panic of 1873, and the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family, who lived through the Great Depression.
It is possible to watch a great introductory video in the museum before or after the tour. One of the lines of the video stuck to my mind. It said something like how an immigrant is an adventurer for learning to live in a completely different way from the one he is used to...So true!!!!!
If you are in New York, do not miss it!!!! More information can be found here.
Hope you enjoy!!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Tenement Museum: 108 Orchard Street (daily 10am -6pm)

Those expat feelings...Nathaniel Hawthorne

Talking about life as an expat reminded me of this beautiful text written by the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne in the book "The Marble Faun". I came across this text for the first time in 1997, when I went to my first overseas experience in London. Back then, I was sixteen and went to England to do my A-Levels (the British equivalent to America's high school). OMG!!!! It was yesterday lol

"The years, after all, have a kind of emptiness, when we spend too many of them on
a foreign shore. We defer the reality of life, in such cases, until a
future moment, when we shall again breathe our native air; but, by and
by, there are no future moments; or, if we do return, we find that the
native air has lost its invigorating quality, and that life has
shifted its reality to the spot where we have deemed ourselves only
temporary residents. Thus, between two countries, we have none at all,
or only that little space of either in which we finally lay down our
discontented bones. It is wise, therefore, to come back betimes, or
never."

Bear in mind this text was written in 1860....One wonders nowadays how some expats feel with families becoming more and more international and the world becoming smaller and smaller? :) It is indeed a roller coaster journey, full of different feelings. It makes me feel so alive though!!!!

I like thinking that home is where your heart is as well. And I try to keep mine in the present. And the present for me at the moment is in New York. It is very hard being away from family. But sometimes I feel closer to my family being far away. Does it make any sense? 

I know things can change tomorrow. But tomorrow is another day, isn't it? 

By the way, I am so happy to be part of the Expat Women community. The stories are so beautiful and inspiring!!! I will have to dedicate a post to talk about this amazing community I have become part of. Thank you lovely ladies for sharing such amazing stories with us :) Definitely worth a visit if you have not been there yet.

 Have a lovely Saturday!!! xxxxxx

 

An expat's life...Chapter 1

The only thing I have always known about my life is that I would like to be part of the world and not stuck in the same place all my life. Same places, same people, same chats, no!!! Thank you very much...During the long chats I have with my sister, who lives in London, and with some of my expat friends, we wonder, why we feel so attracted to this life outside our country of birth.

Do not get me wrong. I love being Brazilian - I do not wish I had been born anywhere else in the world. But I also love having my heart set in the world - and my heart is part Londoner. Probably in the future will be a bit American and maybe who knows later on Asian, African!!! lol In the end, I believe we become a product of many places.

Maybe it is a reflection of our upbringing as we never really had strong roots. My dad was born in one state in Brazil (Sao Paulo), my mother was born completely on the other side of the country (Rondonia). Somehow, in this crazy life, they met, got married and moved on to another life in Recife where I spent late childhood, most of my teen years and early 20s.

In a way, my parents have always encouraged us to travel from a very early age. They could have gone by themselves, but holidays for them were never the same without us :) I am very thankful for that and will always be. Thank you mum and dad for the amazing opportunities. Maybe, that is why I have turned up to be like that. Curious about life outside my comfort zone, curious about different people, cultures, curious about the world we live in. Nothing excites me more than hopping on a plane and arriving in a destination I have never been before.

I do admire though and respect those people who are very happy spending their whole lives in the same place, going on holidays to the same place, meeting the same people all the time, talking about the same things. It is so much easier!!!! lol

But for sure, I know that is not an option for me at all. Mainly now, married to an English man and living in New York. From here, just God knows....Maybe Asia, maybe Mars, maybe England again...
the world is so big!!!!!And thankfully I have found a partner who would like to see it all as much as I do :)

I know I am very lucky to have this amazing opportunities. It was my choice,  no one's else and I could not imagine my life any different. On this road, I have made very special friends  that I could not have met otherwise. Also, living far away from Recife, I still have kept very dear people close to my heart, no matter where I am. I believe in that saying "you do not make friends, you recognize them". Very happy to recognize mine - they know who they are :) Thank you amazing people for being part of my life.

It is not easy getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks, but most of the time they are worth it. If I had not risked moving to London in 2005 for the second time I would not have met my better other half and be here now. Dreams, that is what life is about, following your dreams...When you go after them, they find you. Even if it takes a while :):):)

NYC, here I am living my dream :) What a beautiful night!!!!!!Never seen a sky like that!!! With all these shades of blue :)

Hope you enjoy!

Loads of love xxxxx