About

A bit about me

A business professional in my late 20’s. I have lived in Russia, Israel and Brazil. I have lots of interesting friends from all walks of life and nationalities and I am constantly meeting new and interesting people who teach me about the world around me.

I am a capitalist, idealist, socialist, realist, stylist and whatever else that comes to my mind every day. But basically, I just like new ideas and new experiences because they makes life fun and exciting!

Why did I decide to blog about my experiences?

I have always loved observing the world around me and learning from it. I knew that my move to Brazil will put me in new situations and experiences I would like to remember and tell my friends about. I am learning so much every single day and writing about it helps me reflect, appreciate the big and little things that happen in my life and share the learnings with others.

Some of my favorite entries:

• https://grobetrotter.wordpress.com/live-in-brazil/
• https://grobetrotter.wordpress.com/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-start-up-scene/
• https://grobetrotter.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/6-reasons-why-culture-is-important-when-doing-business/
• https://grobetrotter.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/insecurity-why-do-we-have-it/
• https://grobetrotter.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/how-to-quit-your-job-with-style/
• https://grobetrotter.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/how-big-of-a-pot-of-gold-do-you-need-in-order-to-get-motivated/

How is life in Rio de Janeiro different than back home?

Life in Rio was pretty much opposite from my previous lifestyle of working in the financial industry in New York City. First, the natural beauty forces you to get out of the house and really take work/life balance aspect seriously. Second, Brazil is not America. Things are not as straight forward, easy, or well organized. This is, however, a challenge one has to embrace with a smile and not let it get in the way of enjoying him or herself. I guess most difficult was getting used to the mix between personal and professional life. The importance of building relationships goes above and beyond results and efficiency which is quite different mental model to adopt in the corporate world. In the day to day life I had faced various difficulties in the beginning because I didn’t speak Portuguese and hardly anyone spoke English.

Was I prepared for this move? How could I have prepared better?

There are always things that we cannot anticipate in advance before moving to a new country. I went with an open mind and this helped me deal with all sorts of challenges I faced. I don’t think there would have been a better way of doing this.

My three tips for anyone moving to Rio (Check out my Brazil 101 page for more)

1. Keep an open mind and be flexible to adapt to your new environment and enjoy it
2. Be patient as things don’t happen the way we expect and within the timeframe we expect
3. Learn Portuguese!!!

How would I summarize my life in Rio de Janeiro in a single, catchy sentence?

There is something magical about crazy, messy, inefficient Rio; It forces creativity out of you and leaves you a better and happier person – a Carioca.