I've been accepted for a teaching position in Brazil, starting in August. Yay!
It's apparently very difficult and expensive to obtain professional work visas in Brazil, so word is that most of the smaller language schools try to sponsor people on a student/trainee visa. Used to be, all that was necessary was to enroll in a class in Brazil. However, recently that's changed and now one must be a student in one's home country as well.
Therefore, I am back in school, (re) taking a TESOL practicum course. It's nice to see that my lesson preparation is so much faster now that I've had a lot of practice. On the other hand, the first-time jitters in a new situation are still alive and well. I sweated buckets teaching the first night. It's a perfect time for me to take the course, so that I can get some critical feedback on my teaching. Working with adults is a refreshing change; what a lovely thing to have students who are self motivated to learn English.
For Brazil, due to the yellow fever endemic there (per the extremely useful and informative CDC website), I had to go to a specialized travel medicine clinic instead of my family doctor. The upside is that they are very knowledgeable about worldwide diseases. The downside is that they are very convincing... and expensive. I got seven vaccines and am a over thousand dollars poorer, with several still to go. Ouch. However, as they pointed out at the clinic, as a teacher my level of disease exposure is higher than average. All of the vaccines will last for at least 5 years, some for life, so it's a good investment.
Here is what I got:
It's apparently very difficult and expensive to obtain professional work visas in Brazil, so word is that most of the smaller language schools try to sponsor people on a student/trainee visa. Used to be, all that was necessary was to enroll in a class in Brazil. However, recently that's changed and now one must be a student in one's home country as well.
Therefore, I am back in school, (re) taking a TESOL practicum course. It's nice to see that my lesson preparation is so much faster now that I've had a lot of practice. On the other hand, the first-time jitters in a new situation are still alive and well. I sweated buckets teaching the first night. It's a perfect time for me to take the course, so that I can get some critical feedback on my teaching. Working with adults is a refreshing change; what a lovely thing to have students who are self motivated to learn English.
For Brazil, due to the yellow fever endemic there (per the extremely useful and informative CDC website), I had to go to a specialized travel medicine clinic instead of my family doctor. The upside is that they are very knowledgeable about worldwide diseases. The downside is that they are very convincing... and expensive. I got seven vaccines and am a over thousand dollars poorer, with several still to go. Ouch. However, as they pointed out at the clinic, as a teacher my level of disease exposure is higher than average. All of the vaccines will last for at least 5 years, some for life, so it's a good investment.
Here is what I got:
- Measles/Mumps/Rubella
- Pneumococcal (Pneumonia)
- Meningitis
- Tetanus/Diptheria/Pertussis
- Yellow Fever
- Typhoid
- Hepatitis A/B (series of three - plan ahead if you need this)
Rabies vaccinations would have cost another $900, so despite their recommendation, I will just avoid animals! (Yes, that means no cat rescue this time.)
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