I have always loved languages. Since I was about ten years old, I remember like it was yesterday, I used to sit on my couch with the TV remote on my hand, trying to understand foreign movies, talk shows, cartoons, listening to music channels, whether it was in English, Spanish or German. Sometimes I would even get a dictionary to help me figure out some words or expressions.
As the time went by I realized that my future would have to be connected to languages. So, in 2001 I applied to the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto and in 2008 I graduated in Portuguese and English Studies, specialized in teaching Portuguese and English as foreign languages. After that, I did a one-year course of Translation in both Portuguese and English languages and studied Spanish.
When I was 25 years old I got my first job as teacher. In the morning I was teaching Portuguese to foreign adult students and in the afternoon I was teaching English to Portuguese children. What an amazing and rewarding experience! Two different contexts, two complete different approaches.
But being a teacher in Portugal has not been an easy task. For the last few years, lots of schools have shut down, thousand of teachers have lost their jobs, and the number of high-qualified professionals working overseas has increased drastically. Therefore, in 2012 I started having second thought about my professional future.
Everyone has a dream. Boys want to be famous football players and girls wish to be famous singers or actresses. Myself, I wanted to be an astronaut. When we are older, we want to be a doctor, engineer, architect, or work in a great company. For me it was all about teaching. I just wanted to be a teacher. An appreciated and respected one. So, in 2012 I was determined to follow my dream – teaching my language to others but now in my own Portuguese Language School.
In October 2012 my dear best friend, Marco, sadly moved to Lisbon. But he knew about my idea and he was actually quite interested in helping me and being part of this project. In fact, without him and his effort and commitment we wouldn’t have gone so far. Two months later I moved to Lisbon ready to start our new project: to create a school focused on teaching Portuguese for Foreigners but with a new concept and a different approach. An unforgettable opportunity for students to learn Portuguese in Lisbon .