The Pack and Go Movement

                                             

 The Pack and Go Movement: start traveling now!

I have been thinking of starting a blog about international experiences for ages. For a long time I have collected reasons which I used as excuses to keep on postponing the beginning of this project, mainly because I wanted my first post to be fabulous. But being introduced to Chinta RR, a Malay restaurant in Darling Harbor, Sydney, strangely made me think that I needed to start sharing my experiences. That maybe I can inspire people; that it wasn’t fair to keep everything for myself. So, here I am, launching this blog for a cause: to inspire people to embrace the challenge, pack the bags and go! It doesn’t matter the destination. If I can assist anyone to make the decision to “pack and go” I will be profoundly happy.

I never thought my first post would be about a restaurant but during my first dinner at Chinta Ria my mind was spinning with ideas. Ideas that I will probably not have time to share in only one post but the important thing here is that Chinta Ria made me take the first step and start this blog.

Well, I will start with a confession: I am addicted to new experiences and I love travelling. If you still don’t know me, I have been to many countries in my life, both for holidays and Business. Many of those countries have been visited by me more than once. I love discovering new cultures and the feeling that I get every time I go to the airport. This passion for interacting with different cultures has led me to a successful career in Educational Marketing within international markets. It also resulted in an 80 page book/guide about living in English speaking countries where I share experiences and provide tips for a smoother beginning to the fantastic world of “overseas”.

So, let’s go back to Chinta Ria shall we? I have been living in Sydney for almost 5 years (anniversary approaching in a few days). Sydney is so diverse in cultures and nationalities that sometimes it is even difficult to meet Australians here. After all these years, I got so use to having access to food from everywhere in the world, to hear different languages spoken on the streets and to interact with different nationalities that I forgot how amazing it is to find everything in only one place. That night at Chinta Ria, when I had the first little taste of the coconut rice with curry, I remembered my beginnings in Australia. I remembered my first Thai food encounter and how I felt sick after eating a spicy red curry. Remembered how fascinated I was when I found out that I could have sushi rolls for only $1; how I could not handle spicy food at all and how I struggled to eat the Indian food offered to me for free at the 1st restaurant where I worked as a waitress in Sydney. That very first bite of the Malaysian food at Chinta Ria made me realize that my first post should be about how much I have grown in knowledge since I left Brazil for the first time.

Before leaving Brazil, Italian food was my favorite. Japanese was on the list too but because of how expensive it was going to a Japanese restaurant was reserved only for special occasions. And that was it! No other food on the menu of preferences, mainly because I didn’t know any other foods. That night I realized that if I hadn’t left my city in Brazil I would, more than likely, not be able to experiment and love many of the foods that I love today. Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Turkish, Nepalese, Vietnamese, Malaysian are all foods that are part of my daily life in Sydney. It is not that I tried once and I loved it straight away. I had time during these past 5 years to get use to new flavors and to learn how to appreciate new foods. Apart from the fact that the food in Chianta Ria is great and the atmosphere is fantastic, I thank the restaurant for making me love my life even more and for ensuring that, indeed, I made the right decision when I decided to “make the big move”.

Malay food

I hope you enjoy my adventures on this blog and I would love to hear your experiences too. Have you been living abroad for a while? Have you ever felt similar to me? Is there a favorite food that you never thought you would like and now you love? I would love to hear your stories!

Now, if you excuse me, I have a traditional Indian family cooking me dinner tonight so I have to go! I will tell you how it goes on my next post.

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