from new smyrna beach florida to salvador bahia brazil and everything in-between

from new smyrna beach florida to salvador bahia brazil and everything in-between

this video was filmed in 2024. i was living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. small beach town. quiet. beautiful in a way that sneaks up on you. and i had no idea that less than a year later i would be on the other side of the Atlantic. at the time i filmed this, i thought i was leaving to go back to New York. Brooklyn specifically. where i had lived before. where the plan made sense on paper. but when i got there i already knew. you can't move from a small beach town back to a city that smells and crowds and moves like that. not when your body has already adjusted to something slower and cleaner. Brooklyn said no before i even finished unpacking. ---- NOTE: do you need a break? find me at https://respite.faafo.app/ [https://respite.faafo.app/] --- so i went back to rural America for a little while. regrouped. got quiet. and a few weeks later i made a decision i had never made before. i was going to try moving abroad. for the first time in my life. first passport. no international experience. no blueprint. just a direction. what you're watching right now is just a bike ride. my neighborhood in New Smyrna. the road. the ordinary everyday of a life i was about to leave behind without fully knowing it yet. i want you to watch it and understand what this channel actually is. move to brazil with sisi is not an invitation to move with me. i'm not here to convince you of anything. what this is --- is all of it. every part of the journey. including the parts that don't look like brazil at all. because here's what i keep watching people miss: if your heart is set on something, God --- the ancestors --- the universe --- whatever name you give that force --- will give you what you want. but it will prepare you first. and that preparation doesn't always look like progress. sometimes it looks like a beach town in Florida you didn't plan to love. sometimes it looks like a Brooklyn trip that lasts three weeks because your whole body rejects the idea. sometimes it looks like rural America in between, sitting still long enough to hear what comes next. people see where i am now and they want to skip to this part. i understand that. but i need to be clear: i am not telling you to struggle. i am not romanticizing the hard parts. that is not what this is. what i am saying is that the steps you want to skip are often building the capacity for the life you're asking for. and when you quit because the preparation doesn't look like the destination --- you don't get the destination. so yes. there will be videos on this channel about Florida. about Brooklyn. about the in-between. about ordinary bike rides in places that don't look like bahia at all. they are all part of it. because the life i'm living right now was assembled from every single one of those pieces. in order. nothing wasted. nothing accidental. https://faafo.app/ [https://faafo.app/]

Funding Your Relocation

This one is for the people romanticizing Brazil a little too hard and for the people quietly wondering, “Wait... who actually helped you get settled?” Because that part matters. I talk about why Brazil is not for beginners, why some relocation advice is missing key details, and why your personality type matters more than people want to admit. Some people can land, pivot, and figure it out. Some people need support. Neither is wrong. But pretending those are the same experience? That is where the nonsense starts. A little reality check, a little buyer beware, and a little “please stop lying by omission.” Find me (Courtney -- Sisi in Brazil) at all the things faafo.app [http://faafo.app]

Buyer Beware

In this episode, I get into something that does not get talked about enough: who is actually telling the truth about moving to Brazil. A lot of people make this place sound smoother, simpler, and more beginner-friendly than it really is. Some of that is optimism. Some of it is ego. Some of it is because they had a whole support system behind the scenes and forgot to mention that part. I did not come to Brazil with a built-in team, a relocation package, or a “call me if you panic” contact list. I got dropped at my Airbnb and figured it out from there. So this episode is a little buyer beware, a little reality check, and a little personality test. Are you the kind of person who can pivot when plans go sideways? Do you need support? Can you tell the difference between someone who learned the hard way and someone who is selling you a polished version of the story? Because Brazil may still be worth it. But you need the truth, not just the pretty parts. Find me (Courtney -- Sisi in Brazil) at all the things faafo.app [http://faafo.app] Talking Points -- * - Why Brazil is often described as “not for beginners” * - The difference between visiting Brazil and actually building a life there * - Why surface-level relocation content can be misleading * - The importance of asking who helped someone and how much * - Hand-holding versus figuring it out independently * - Why personality type matters in international moves * - Anxiety, uncertainty, and living without a built-in support system * - Why glossy stories leave out the hardest parts * - Why Brazil can still be worth it, especially for Black Americans * - How to think more clearly before choosing whose advice to trust

i am not new to this

in this episode, i’m reintroducing myself the way i should have from the start. i talk about why i’m back on youtube even though i’ve never been a real youtube fangirl, why i’ve been podcasting and creating online for way longer than people realize, and why platforms do not know what to do with people like me who are not built to stay in one neat little box forever. i also get into something deeper: people love assumptions. they think they know why i moved to brazil. they think they know what i’m doing, what season i’m in, and what name to put on it. most of the time, they’re wrong. this episode is part reintroduction, part behind-the-scenes, part “i am not new to this, y’all are just late.” if you’ve ever outgrown the identity other people had for you, this one is for you. talking points: * * reintroducing myself after years of creating online * * i’m not new to the internet, podcasting, or video * * why i use youtube even though i’m not really a youtube person * * youtube as cheap translation and storage, not clout * * how expensive video, audio, and multilingual transcription can get * * why platforms punish people who are broad, deep, and multi-interested * * the internet loves boxes, but i was never built for one box * * what looks like “rebranding” is often just evolution and platform survival * * there is always a story behind the story * * privacy matters when your work touches real people and real lives * * people assume they know why i moved to brazil, but most assumptions are wrong * * this channel is where i’ll tell the real story of moving to bahia * * i’m using these tools strategically, not emotionally * * i’m too grown to keep playing small for people who are late * * welcome back, especially to the people peeking quietly from the sidelines faafo.app [https://faafo.app/]

Why Black Americans Move to Brazil (And Why Many Don't) | My Unfiltered Truth

i moved to salvador, bahia, brazil with my first passport. no international experience. no guide. no plan. just nerve.this channel is what i wish someone had made before i got on the plane. CHAPTERS 0:00 - intro: who is sisi in brasil? 1:51 - why black americans move to brazil (and why many don't) 6:09 - infrastructure reality: sidewalks, dogs, foot traffic, rats 11:00 - being a black woman here: interests, culture, and adjustment 15:00 - what i miss: food diversity and service expectations 22:00 - hot water, electrical showers, and daily life 27:00 - would i do it again? yes. what's next. https://faafo.app/ [https://faafo.app/]