Hello and welcome to finding andy…
I was born in Brazil, raised in a small town with less than 32.000 people, hidden away at the countryside; where trends always arrived too late and a bowl of Chinese noodles on a Saturday night was the fanciest thing you could get at a restaurant.
I did not have many friends, wasn’t particularly gifted when the subject was social interactions but even though most of my days were spent hiding behind emo bangs and black eyeliner, I had quite the hungry eyes.
Hungry for a different life that I could not describe or even imagine in a structured way when I was younger. I just knew the world was too big and someday I would move abroad, so I had to learn English, the “universal language”.
My grandparents were poor people. A truck driver and a housewife. My father a musician and my mother had a thousand different jobs to keep up with the bills and my education. I was kindly given a scholarship at a private school, but still while all my colleagues had Disney World trips, I was at home drawing comic books in my room all summer.
My family did their absolute best, but we all knew they would never be able to afford the luxury of sending a girl to study in another country. None of them had a passport. Some didn’t know how to read, others died without ever seeing the sea or entering an airplane.
I had no reason to believe I would ever live in another country, but something in me was so sure, I started “to prepare” myself at a very young age. Some might call it delusion, for me it was simply natural.
I’ve spent my teenage years watching MTV music videos, listening to whatever songs I could download for free and reading magazines that would transport me to another reality. Soon enough, I was speaking English.
Time made its magic, things changed fast, opportunities took place and finally, in my early twenties I moved to Türkiye (yes, pretty odd) with my entire life packed in a 23 kilogram bag and not one single drop of fear. Soon enough, I became a citizen of Cappadocia, the place I still call home.
My curiosity for experiencing new cultures, made me work in tourism from the very beginning. One thing led to the other and after 13 years in Türkiye I now own a travel agency.
This blog was created to share the best, the worst, the unique and the secret sides of life and travel in Türkiye or whatever other country I get to visit.
Yes, vlogging is cool, sharing Instagram stories are the norm in this day and age; and I am sure TikTok might be more profitable… but having a space that’s actually mine, far from any other fast paced algorithm, where the “traditional influencer” discourse has no place and instead, all you get is the real, raw, and honest side of travel…
This is actually something to feel excited about. Feel free to feel at home and please leave a message if you ever feel like it: helloandysantos@gmail.com
