Travel Agent, Solo Explorer, Ilulissat, Greenland

Meeting Ms. Ana Paula Xavier was one of the highlights of the Greenland visit. A fellow traveller, she explored over 90 countries and couch-surfed in most of them. After the photoshoot I couldn’t find a single photo where Ana wasn’t smiling and after reading her WOW Woman answers you’ll realize that it’s not a gimmick. Ana possesses an explosive mix of Brazillian / Aussie energy and positivity, overcame adversity and is proud of the woman she has grown into. She sites her unconventional mother as an inspiration to get out into the world solo, explore and discover, guns blazing. This captivating woman had to appear on the WOW Woman platform. Please enjoy the feature along with the Ilulissat colours complementing Ana’s megawatt smile.

1. Name

Ana Paula Krentz Xavier.

2. Where is your hometown?

I was born in Florianopolis. A small, beautiful island in the South Coast of Brazil.

3. What is your profession/career/title/self-label/designation?

I am a travel agent and I work for the second biggest tourism company in Australia.

4. What did you study in school?

I've graduated with a Law degree, passed the bar exam, left my home country, moved all the way to the other side or the world and end up studying Tourism Management. Tourism is the industry I love and Law seemed like a "mistake" at times but nowadays I understand why it needed to be done.

5. What was the journey like to get where you are (in life and career-wise)? What are some accomplishments you’re most proud of, and what was the turning point to set you on a current path in life?

Well, after I've graduated in Law and I've moved to London because I always dreamed of travelling the world. There, I met my (now ex) boyfriend and he was the one to say: "let's go to Australia?!". We end up breaking up but the idea of living in Australia was stuck on my mind so I went to the last place on Earth I thought I’d end up in. I was so afraid of flying and the idea of travelling to the land of Down Under on a plane was terrifying. Following that trip, I end up moving to Australia with the intention of working for a few months, saving money, and traveling around Asia.

Upon arriving, life had a different plan. I started studying Tourism and ended up never leaving. The funny thing is, when I applied to study Law at University, I really wanted to apply for Tourism. But another ex boyfriend studied Tourism in the same Uni at that time, and my father really didn't like him. I thought that if I applied for Tourism people would think I was doing it because of my boyfriend, specially my father, so I never did it. I applied for Law and hated it with passion for five long years. Hindsight 20/20, now living in Australia, I see that my Law Degree was what made me eligible to apply for my residency, and eventually, the Australian Citizenship. It enabled me to have my current life.

I am proud of my journey, leaving my friends and family behind to explore the world. Building a whole new life on the other side of the globe, alone.

Nowadays I am an Australian citizen and after 13 years living here, I can call Australia home. I am proud of my journey, leaving my friends and family behind to explore the world. Building a whole new life on the other side of the globe, alone. This was definitely a turning point in my life and it is beautiful to witness how a place can change a person. In that case, I can say the world has really changed me.

6. How is your life different from what you pictured at 20?

I was never those type of people that can answer the question: where are you going to be in five years? I always planned and continue to plan my life in six month increments, or maximum one year at a time. I really try to go with the flow and allow the universe to take me where I should be.

As a child and a teenager, I didn’t have big big dreams or pictured the perfect life I wanted to have, apart from traveling a lot. And that is something I’ve definitely achieved with 90 countries and counting.

7. Was there a time when life knocked you down or out and how did you get back up on your feet?

A couple of break ups really knocked me down in the past. In addition to that, I’ve lost a really really important friendship. I lost a friend because she chose to no longer be friends with me. This was because I was a very different person to who I am now, my ego was big and I was selfish; not as friendly and open as I am today. I realized that I needed to start a journey of self-knowledge and interestingly enough, those hard times led to me eventually getting back onto my feet. Due to the pain I became aware of my actions, words, thoughts. I learned about myself as I study my travel destinations. I needed to know me, in order to change me.

Nowadays I feel more open, compassionate, empathetic; I believe that I am a good, good friend. I am so proud of my journey, because my mistakes in the past didn’t go to waste; I’ve turned each one of them into a lesson. I often think that it takes a lot of strength to be vulnerable. We all have defects and flaws and I constantly try to learn from mine. 

8. Advice for other women?

Let go. Let go and be kind to yourself. It is in our nature to nurture, to take care, to try and fix it all, to do it all. To be there for everyone, at the same time, all at once. We often give too much not as much to our own selves.

Let go of controlling, of trying to be perfect, of being a super woman. I believe we don’t need to prove ourselves anymore. We already know how powerful we are, and the world is seeing and acknowledging that too. We just need to be and everything else will fall into place.

9. Knowing what we know now in a current political climate, can women be "all that we can be" in today's world? What is the way forward, as you see it, for "feminist values"?

Being raised in Brasil by a mother that broke society’s “rules” back in the day in so many ways has taught me a lot. She was a working woman that build a company from scratch, never got married in a church and was happy in a “de facto” relationship instead. My mother has always been successful at anything and everything she did, and I can say that yes, we can be all that we can be, when we want to or, when we have no other choice. Such was my mother’s situation.

I truly believe that we are so, so powerful and as the years go by we women are acknowledging and empowering ourselves even more. We are less and less afraid of speaking our truths, shining our light, following our passions and desires; and showing ourselves to the world as strong women that we are.

10. Where in the world do you feel “tallest” (i.e. where is your happy place)?

I have a few places that put the biggest smile on my face when I think of them, and I cry so much when I have to leave them, I know they are the ones closest to my heart.

Bali: for its people, architecture, culture, smells, nature.

Galapagos: because of how you truly feel part of nature there. On my adventure there, I literally felt as the “tallest” and because there I’ve lived a beautiful love story with a local.

Rio de Janeiro: simply because it has one of the best vibes in the world. Samba makes my heart explode with happiness, my feet dance as there is no tomorrow. Carnaval brings up so much feel good energy while putting smiles on the face of all ages, all over town. Every time I go to Rio I cry when I have to leave.

11. What extra-curricular activities/hobbies are you most proud of? Why?

I am proud of my extra curricular work on Instagram. I’ve been sharing my travels online in order to inspire people to use travel as a self-knowledge tool. When we travel and share our lives, we can easily be more open and connected. I believe we can make use of that in order to know others and ourselves better.

I’ve also been trying to inspire people to travel “for the right reasons”, such as: to make new friends, learn about other people and their culture, instead of traveling just to “tick” a place off the list or take instagrammable pictures.

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Future goals/challenges?

I want to feel more connected to myself and improve my self-acceptance even more. I want to feel more self-confident and capable of anything and everything I want to do. My goal is is to build a healthy happy relationship, travel the globe with my partner and maybe bring a new human being into the world to experience this amazing journey we call life.

13. What fears are you still hoping to overcome?

I don’t have great experiences with romantic relationships in the past or while growing up, so at times I try to avoid them. I want to overcome my fear of being in a relationship. I am such a free person that sometimes, romantic relationships make me think I will lose my freedom but I want to prove myself wrong.

I also want to work on my fear of losing loved ones and of death itself. I think we spend so much time learning how to live better but we forget to prepare ourselves for the only certainty we have in life: death. I want to become more at peace with an idea that losing family members, friends, getting old and eventually leaving this life for a brand new journey somewhere else is inevitable.

14. Anything you'd do differently, if you had another go at life?

I think I would have stressed less, especially over small things. In the end, everything ends up all right. If I could, I would have started my self-knowledge journey much earlier in life.

15. What inspires you?

Travelling to places with different cultures, inspiring other people (especially women) to explore the world and themselves, animals, couch-surfing, deep conversations, the sea, the moon, nature, icebergs, northern lights, beach destinations.

Truth, honesty, open hearts and minds. Any of these will put a smile on my face and remind me how much I love life.

16. What are you hopeful about?

I am hopeful about conquering my dream every country. I am a true explorer at heart and nothing would make me happier than to have experienced every culture there is out there, meeting locals from every country.

I am also hopeful about having a partner to hit the road with me and with whom I can maybe make some babies to carry as “extra luggage” heheheh.

17. What are some ingredients to a good life?

Aspire more to feel rather to have, be able to laugh of yourself and be content and happy when alone. It’s important to have goals but also a hobby and a couple of passions to pursue. I think its important to feel grateful for any moment you are allowed to experience like time with your friends and family. I also think it’s valuable to learn how to live with less expectations and more acceptance of what is.

18. What are (at least) three qualities you most love about yourself and why?

My courage - cause it has made me leave an abusive relationship behind and make my dream of traveling the world come true. Cause it was my courage that made me leave my home country to explore the world, mostly alone which I love!

My perseverance - because I know I was born to travel, that’s what gives meaning to my life and my perseverance is what makes that a reality. I travel to all corners of the globe and for me; there is no place I can’t go. I will make it happen, no matter what.

I am funny and clumsy - which guarantees I laugh alone all the time and have endless fun with myself, even when I get lost in my city, neighbourhood or overseas (I get lost very frequently and yes, I use Google maps, Waze etc. It just doesn’t seem to help me much). I use this quality of mine to my advantage when talking to my customers, as they feel more at ease when I make fun of myself. Everybody loves a good laugh and I can certainly guarantee that.

I am open and honest - I believe that it takes a lot of strength to be vulnerable and I try to have my mind and heart open, show my soul to others as well as my opinions. I enjoy deep conversations and I won’t be less than sincere and empathetic towards any matter.

19. What advice would you give your 14-year-old self?

You are loved. Don’t worry because you are loved, are capable, and strong and everything will fall into place, always. Stress and worry less about the future and live (in) the moment, because life flies by too quickly. Learn to listen to yourself and your body. Connect with those around you and yourself. Listen to your gut and instincts, they will prove to be right.

20. What are you reading now? (what books do you gift most and what are your favourite reads?)

I am reading The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy. I often gift Women Who Love Too Much, by Robin Norwood because it was a book that truly changed my life. I loved The Power of Now. These days I mostly enjoy reading books on self-development.

21. Who is a WOW Woman in your world who inspires you and why? Can you nominate three (or more) women you know who perfectly fit WOW WOMAN description? What would you tell them, if you had an opportunity, why you admire them?

Helga, my couch-surfing host in NYC. I admire Helga because she has an incredible life story, escaping from Germany as the Berlin Wall was going up. She made a life for herself on the other side of the world. She had tough times and despite it all, she loves to live life 100%. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, ran a marathon and has been to more than 130 countries. I think she is a WOW Woman because she is 78 yeas old and continues living life to its fullest.

My mom, Fatima. She had a tough childhood, a 30 years of a very difficult marriage but despite all the daily struggles she simply never gave up. A self-taught fashion designer that has always been ahead of her time. Despite many pressures (I imagine) she didn’t marry in a church and didn’t change her name, as most of the women used to do back then in Brasil. She was the one supporting the family financially, as my father didn’t work (yes, you are reading correctly). So she is my rock and an admirable kind human being.

Elena, my couch-surfing host from Belarus. What captivates me about Elena are her strength and positivity. She had a son with mobility problems and while she spent six months with him in hospital, her husband left to live with her sister (yes, her sister got married to her husband and he left Elena alone with their son). Most of her friends didn’t offer help because she was a single woman.

She soon started to work and these days lives in her own apartment in Minsk, along with her son. He is also a warrior and just like his mom, never gives up. She built a beautiful life as a single woman in a country that is still very conservative. Elena, a kind soul also opens up her home to couch-surfers like me.

22. Where can others find you/your work (links to websites, blogs, etc.)?

On my instagram @anapaula.kx