Redecorating

If you saw my last post you probably noticed I did some redecorating around here. 

Besides altering the entire color scheme, I changed the name of my little corner of the internet to " Gringa-" which is what a handful of people called me while I was visiting São Paulo a couple of months ago.

Why? 
At first I thought "Gringa" was an affectionate nick-name like, "Darling" or "sweetie," but my internet research has led me to conclude that it's mostly a name for a native english speaker who moved to South America.

Which sounded a lot like me. 

But at the time of creating my blog I feared it might be demeaning, because all of my sources have been inconsistent  as to what it means precisely: some have claimed it's a white woman, a foreign one, or one from the United States exclusively. I finally decided to fully embrace the label when one lone site claimed it's a woman who moves to South America to teach. Which is totally me.
(Or will be... in two days !! Ahh!!!) 

The truth is, I'm not entirely sure what it means to be a "gringa,"  with all the associations and connotations it may or may not have, but I'm excited to learn. 

 I also believe, " A Gringa on São Paulo" might be a good tag line.

Another label I was handed while I was down there was, " German." Which seemed strange considering my language, complexion, and mostly again the fact that I was speaking English. 
Not to mention the sheer distance from Germany to São Paulo, I'd be surprised to learn there's an abundance of them roaming the streets. 

What I'm getting at is before I've finished packing I'm already searching for what my identity will be down there. A German? A Gringa? Or some other G word? 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Brace yourself, I'm coming São Paulo, whatever I am !