The Brit's "Me" Interview

Expat mum has interviewed me with 5 questions, so are you sitting comfortably?!....

1. How long have you been in Brazil, and what's your favourite thing about the country?

I've been in Brazil for ten years now and there is so much that I truly love about this wonderful diverse paradise of a country! But if I have to mention just one favourite thing it would have to be the people...
I have travelled a lot and have seen many countries but never before have I met people like the Brazilians, who find something to smile and laugh about in the worst of situations. As you walk through the streets and on the beaches here you won't see anyone who isn't in a good mood, everyone greets you with a smile and people are always ready to genuinely help you if you need.
It gives a whole light, positive, happy and overall spiritual feel to the country and that is why so many first-time tourists to Brazil fall in love with this amazing country, despite the bad publicity that it sometimes gets.
My advice to first-time travellers to Brazil would be don't listen to the bad press and spend two or three weeks in the country, in particular Rio de Janeiro, I guarantee that you will fall in love!

2. What do you do when you're not blogging?

You mean there's actually life outside blogging?! haha!
Well, professionally I work as an English teacher, which I have been doing here for ten years.
I give lessons to teenagers and adults in English schools as well as businessmen and businesswomen in large companies. Alhough at the moment I am focusing more on private lessons as I can earn more money, choose my hours and ultimately have more time to myself.
For leisure I enjoy travelling, cinema, Dvd's, music, writing, reading and taking care/playing with my dogs.

3. You write great lyrics. Do you have any aspirations in that field? (If not, why not?)

Wow thanks!! I do have aspirations in writing song lyrics and poetry professionally, in fact I have sent many samples off to some publishing houses but no luck as yet... the problem is that many publishing houses don't specialise in this area, but I'm not giving up as I know that I have the talent to write a lot of quality work! One day I hope that I can be discovered - just need to find more addresses to send my work to.

4. What memories do you treasure from England?

Ahhh... how long have you got? haha!
I have so many treasured memories from "good old blighty" of which my main ones are the times I spent with my family, in particular my Mother and Grandmothers as since I have lived in Brazil they have all sadly passed away, so my family is getting smaller and smaller... memories are all that are left when we lose people who are so dear to us so it's extremely important to hold onto every single one.
I have the very strong memory of my Mother on the very last day that I saw her alive as we held onto each other for the longest time at the departure gate at Gatwick Airport when I was coming to live in Brazil. We were both holding each other up as we were crying so much and couldn't control ourselves. It was a terrible day but that image stayed with me and it's really poetic now knowing that it was our "final goodbye"
Other memories are fun times with friends, great conversations filled with the classic British irony and sarcasm which is (as you yourself mentioned Expat mum) so hard to find outside England. I miss having very funny conversations with people who "get" my sick, twisted and very dark sense of humour! If I make a dry joke here I spend almost half an hour trying to explain it all so you kind of leave those things behind in England.... that's sad as I thrived on irony and sarcasm.

5. What are your plans for 2009?

To travel some more. I travel a lot inside Brazil as it is such a vast country and I want to explore more of it, maybe the Amazon Rainforest.
Also I want to really try my hardest to get some of my work published, anything...
As much as I love it I don't want to be an English teacher forever and I know that I have more talents to be able to do more things that I really love.
But more than anything I want to keep on loving, living, laughing and loving life because life is too precious and too short to waste.

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I want to thank Expat mum for her wonderful questions and for taking the time to "interview" me!

If you would like to participate in the "Me" Interview here are the instructions:

1. If you want to be interviewed, leave me a comment saying "Interview me."
2. I will respond by e-mailing you five questions (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions and let me know when you have posted it.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.