aBOUT ME
WELCOME!
I’m Rafaela Casalecchi, your Travel Designer!
And this is my story…
Travelling has always been part of my DNA: my ancestors crossed the ocean to arrive in Brazil and, if that wasn’t enough, my dad is a pilot!
I heard his stories and marvelled at things he brought home from “far away lands” since when I was a little girl.
That triggered my curiosity, respect and humility with what was different to what I knew.
Since then I never stopped wanting to learn more from other cultures, and that’s how I ended up on the other side of the world…
I decided I wanted to have the experience of living in Australia for a while. And for that I prepared myself as best I could!
I studied English by myself and at about 14 years old I signed up for a Pen Pal program, where I received addresses from other people around the world interested in corresponding to train English and learn about other cultures. I made friends in Italy, Cyprus, Malaysia and Japan, among others. I graduated in Hospitality and Tourism, as this would be a flexible career to allow me to work in many countries and explore the world.
I left the São Paulo state’s countryside to study in Sydney when I was 25 years old, after having saved all my spare change, researched cities, schools, made contacts with Australians to practice English and everything that was within my reach to make my dream of living in Australia happen!
I bought the plane ticket and my parents gifted me the first 6 months of a Business Marketing course. I was also given a thousand Australian dollars for the first expenses and they said: that’s it, if you get a job you can stay, if not, see you in 6 months.
And we did meet… but after 1 year, when I went to visit. In that meantime I found jobs to support myself and had already travelled a bit through Aus and even New Zealand for the first time!
What was supposed to be a 6-month course turned into a life story that is over 15 years now.
I have been building this story since 2006: I became an Australian citizen, lived in Sydney, Brisbane and the Australian capital of Canberra. I also lived on the north island of New Zealand, literally travelled from north to south and east to west through all the states and territories of both countries.
I explored by plane, car, motorcycle, train, motorhome and trailer, experienced from the scorching desert to sub-zero temperatures. I camped on beaches, at the Outback and stayed in luxury hotels in big cities, I laid back on tropical sands and I felt the cold of the snow walks!
I achieved this by working with Events, a little in Law, in a travel agency and for four incredible years at the Australian Sports Institute, where I managed professional athletes and students on educational trips through Australia and New Zealand (hence my inspiration to bring this concept to Brazil – see more about this project here).
After almost ten straight years in Oceania, I closed my first cycle in Australia with honours: I sold absolutely everything I had (seriously, even cutlery and drinking glasses) and travelled for 6 months all over the country in a trailer, something very Australian to do♥
With so many comings and goings, I can’t say where my home is: I’m always between Australia, New Zealand and Brazil!
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In addition to Australia and New Zealand I visited the amazing beaches of Curaçao, slept in Morocco deserts and stayed in Tongan islands.
I’ve been to the incredible Atacama in Chile, made the dream of breaking dawn in the Uyuni Salt Plains in Bolivia come true and tasted the culinary delights in Portugal.
I tracked down my family tree and went to meet my relatives in Italy. I saw snow for the first time in Spain, had fun in the US theme parks and took a historic tour of the Czech Republic.
I tasted a wonderful pig’s knee in Austria, visited a typical ruin pub in Hungary, and visited one of the most beautiful lakes in Slovenia.
And why is this relevant to you?
