Baby Abroad - Expat life in Sampa

I was recently watching a sketch by the British comedian Micky Flanagan about the delights of child rearing. They wake up at 6.30am (if you’re lucky) and by about 7.30am you’re running out of ideas about what to do with them. Yes pretty accurate. Living in São Paulo is a funny place when it comes to entertaining baby. On the one hand, people are generally very child friendly. Shops, banks and many other institutions have preferential queues for mums and babies and whenever we’re out and about waiting at the traffic lights or queuing somewhere everyone talks to my 10-month old daughter (fair enough, she is cuter than me). Yet on the other hand, mum and baby groups – important for both mine and my daughter’s sanity – or play groups don’t really exist here. Or certainly not in the way that they do back in the UK.  I guess I knew it would have been like this. Having come from Buenos Aires, which was pretty similar, the culture is more family-oriented and about who you know so there is...

In my last blog I wrote about the trials, tribulations, excitement and adventures of expat life in Buenos Aires . Since moving to Sao Paulo almost three months ago I’ve decided to set up another blog about life as an expat in Brazil.  I’ve called it Baby Abroad because I do have a baby, but also because life in a new country (even though same continent as before) can be daunting. I’m taking baby steps to adjust to a new life, find my way around and meet new people, especially with a baby. I hope to share some knowledge, pass on some anecdotes, have an occasional moan, sometimes feel a bit smug but always with some good-natured humour. View of Sampa from our flat Even though I feel like I’ve only been here two minutes, some things are just as I imagined they would be yet others very different.   First impressions about Sampa   1. Hip city When we told our Argentine friends we were moving to Sao Paulo, many were quick to point out that it was fea (ugly). Tr...