Meet Sandro, another Brazilian brother that I was fortunate to have been put in contact with though another fellow Brazilian who came on the podcast a few weeks ago. This is another proof that “word of mouth” really works! Sandro is originally from Presidente Venceslau, in São Paulo state, but he moved quite a bit, not only in Brazil but also in the United States. He eventually had the opportunity of coming to China because of his international job with logistics back in Brazil.
Even though this was his first experience in Asia, Sandro always wanted to live abroad, me and him share the same mindset of two things being true at the same time, we love our family/friends but we don’t need to live at the same city asthem.
As the majority of people I have interviewed, the main aspect people notice the most when they just arrive in China is how safe this country is, and that is no different for Sandro. Specially coming from Brazil, the safety feeling of living in China really impressed him. I also ask him about any stereotypes hemight have had about the country before coming, and he makes a very good point saying that he had no expectations or thoughts of China before, which really helped him to get used to the country easier.
We chat the struggles and frustrations it can be learning Mandarin, and what is the one sentence he relies on! We also expand on the subject of loneliness as a foreigner in the country and the challenges we all face when trying to create more deep and meaningful connections, especially with the locals. Sandronoticed some peculiarities about the Asian culture and how it is translated into the society and it is translated on how people relate to each other.
Sandro tells me his struggles with Chinese food, the adventure of traveling to Beijing by train, the things he misses the most about his home country, the feeling of not belonging to this fast-pace city, and his plans of maybe moving to Thailand! I hope you enjoy this fun conversation as much as I did recording it.
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