YourGuide Destination Consultant
Penny is an honorary expatriate. The daughter of British expatriate parents, educated in England, she was actually born and lived most of her life in São Paulo. Married to an Anglo-Brazilian and with two American grandsons, she is well aware of the challenges that arise when different cultures come into contact.
‘I became a “trailing spouse” myself in 1992,’ she tells us, ‘when my husband was transferred to Portugal. That first major move was perhaps the hardest.’ Penny remembers well the wrench of leaving friends and home and, most of all, she recalls ‘leaving my own job proved to be much more stressful than expected.’ Since then, her family have lived in England, Mexico City and Charlotte, North Carolina. The only thing she found harder than settling into a new home was saying "good-bye" when the time came to move again. After two years in Campinas, Brazil, they returned to São Paulo in 2003.
‘Few people would consider São Paulo an easy place to move to,’ she says. ‘There are huge social problems which give it a poor reputation, especially in the foreign press, but it’s also a city of tremendous calor humano (human warmth). The friends you make here will probably be friends for life. There is so much to do for people of all ages, interests and tastes that the frustrations soon become a price worth paying. Once you learn to take the necessary safety precautions, have a little of the language and make a few friends, you will feel at home.’
Penny has a MA in Guidance and Counselling and worked on the committees of the Newcomers' clubs in Lisbon, Mexico City and Campinas. She has also led various workshops relating to the stresses and joys of moving.
Now, she looks forward to showing you around São Paulo and helping you settle into your new home.
