Hi there, I’m Carine!
Born in the south of Brazil, my parents courageously (at a young age at that time) moved to the central part of the country when I was just 4 years-old to try a better life. Following their steps, I also left their home quite early at 14, and ever since, my journey has been full of interesting chapters.
Between the ages of 14 to 19, I lived in 3 different states in Brazil on my own. A lot of moving, but I was always keen on experiencing different things, so I was having fun, despite the hassle.
When I completed 19, studying my dream course at uni, journalism, I was feeling uncertain about the future, and the fact that the majority of my classmates could speak English and I couldn’t was a good push for another move. This time a little bit bigger…
After a lot of research, and without telling my family and friends at first, I took my savings, packed my bags (with material stuff and a lot of courage that I inherited from my parents) and moved to Dublin, Ireland for an 8 month exchange to learn English. Those 8 months became 8 years living abroad (as of yet) – but let me break them down…
Despite being in Europe (an opportunity that not everyone has in my country), the time in Dublin wasn’t all fun and games. Starting off in a new country without the language, experiencing a very different culture and weather that I’ve known for my whole life was challenging -to say the least. Add to that around 60 to 70 hours a week of one full-time and one part-time job (both of them making sandwiches – my dear reader, I made A LOT of sandwiches in Dublin!) and English classes every morning from Monday to Friday during my entire time there… That wasn’t a chapter I call easy. Perhaps that’s why Dublin has a special place in my heart. Difficult times make you grow and learn a lot about yourself.
Nearly two years in Dublin was enough to realise the grey skies and rainy weather were playing a big part of the wanderlust call to move again. In search of sun, I moved to Italy for a few months, but the job I got working at a family’s seafood restaurant in Sicily didn’t succeed. They got frustrated with my limited Italian skills at the time and I got tired of the shouting due to their frustration.
I checked the maps and I was close enough to a tiny island called Malta, on the Mediterranean sea – that would be the very first time I’d have heard of the country. A bit of research was ensuring me that there was plenty of work there, so I bought a one-way ferry ticket. That was me, once again on the move, carrying all my material life with me. This time I would spend nearly 6 years in the country I got to know by checking Google Maps.
If in Dublin I was working in two retail jobs with face to face customers, working as many hours as possible to make a living and not being allowed to miss my English classes to keep my visa, in Malta my better English skills opened doors to get back to my passion, working with journalism and marketing – but now from a nice office at the heart of the island, walking distance from the beach. And better: with a lot of sunny and warm days!
After one year working from the nice office in Malta, the pandemic in 2020 got me trapped whilst visiting my parents’ city in Brazil, and what supposed to be a few weeks at home, ended up being 6 months. That was the beginning of the remote work Era at the marketing company I was working for. It became easier and anyone could request to WFH.
Taking on the opportunity, in 2021 I spent 6 beautiful months living in Athens, the Greek capital. I was so delighted to be living there that I started suspecting I was Greek in a past life! Those 6 months went by very quick, and due to my contract agreements, I was requested to go back to Malta. If this was a movie script, the main character would be deeply sad, my fellow reader.
In 2022 I was feeling again the wanderlust call, but this time I was more than ready to set my foot on the world, instead of on another country. The nearly 6 years spent in such a small country that is Malta made me insatiable for the unknown. The nomad journey was officially starting! I was going fully remote, changing my stable full-time employment contract to a risky freelancer one with no benefits at all, but having the major one in my hands: getting to know the world with my entire life in my backpack!
My first destination was Thailand. It was love at first sight—the food, the culture, the smiley people, the overwhelming sense of freedom. It’s a feeling that I’m glad I wrote a lot about, so I can revisit the words and revive that moment. That was just the beginning that sparked an intense desire to see more, experience more, and live life beyond borders.
Since then, I’ve been a full-time traveller, setting foot on around 40(?) maybe 50 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America! It feels crazy to even type that!
This blog is the realisation of a long-time dream—to document my adventures, share travel tips, and hopefully inspire others to embrace the beauty of exploring new places. And who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll finally put it all into a book.
Join me as I wander, discover, and tell the stories of the world, one destination at a time!
carineontheroad.com 