For me it depended entirely on how happy I was in the rest of my job.

If I’m, say, being death-marched, or requirements are written in sand, or senior management refuses to ever make a decision in writing, or my manager looks over my shoulder when I’m typing, or you just told me we’re going 100% AI for QA, I don’t want your fucking playdate.

If the team is happy, offsites can be a fun way to get some bonding in.

If the team is unhappy, they are there for their check and that is it, they are not paid to pretend to like you at an off-site. Take the money you would use for the party and hand it out as cash in an envelope to everybody individually.

I use Firefox because I have worked at both Google and MSFT and want as little to do as possible with their products.

“Bom dia, queria oito pasteis de nata pf”

“Uuuitu? Paxteeeix?”

I’ve been able to communicate with people from Porto and Lisboa using my Paulista Portuguese, and to get around little Portugal where I live.

They know immediately that you’re Brazilian and will be vaguely condescending about it the entire time, but you can communicate.