Program Reviews

How about putting the best parts of New York City on the beaches of Miami and having a blast learning Portuguese? - Welcome to Rio and BridgeBrazil.

I highly recommend BridgeBrazil. My initial plan was to enroll in one week of intensive courses and travel for the next 3 weeks with a basic knowledge of Portuguese. What happened was I stayed week after week at BrazilBrazil for four weeks - and don't regret one second of it. Plus, the confidence gained at BridgeBrazil has motived me to continue studying Portuguese well after a year from attending the program.

Ok now for the program. Stellar teachers that rotate each day. One day the professor is a nerdy grammar hound, the next day is a flamboyant old man singing, and the next is a young hipster sharing Brazilian street smarts. Talk about fun! The staff is a blast, the facilities are clean, and the class rooms are small. The rooms are tiny - this was intimidating at first but it made for rapid learning and rewarding interaction.

Location is downtown Rio - easily accessible and the subway stop was next to the large street market (I shopped often times for items that just so happen to fall off the back of the truck...who am I to judge?)

My host mom was hilarious, luckily she spoke Spanish so any confusions could be sorted out in Spanish. Her apartment was located just up the street from Copacabana. I'm suggestion would be to stay with a host family for one to two weeks and get your own place through Airbnb.

I found the program to be very useful for what I was trying to achieve. The professors were great, the staff was wonderfully helpful, and you can't beat the location.

I did not use the housing option, so I can't comment on how that worked.

to finish up, I could not have asked for more from the bridge staff there, they were helpful, friendly, accommodating, and efficient.

I felt the program was excellent. Right away the teachers would speak Portuguese with me, and rather than immediately telling me what the word was in English, they would use even simpler Portuguese to explain it to me. The teachers were some of the friendliest I've ever had, and they have amazing patience for students. I liked how we would go over all of the tenses even though I wasn't too advanced yet because it gave me a more holistic view of the language. The homestay provided an unparalled opportunity to practice listening and speaking every day because my host mother was fantastic. The food was great, and she was quite the chit-chatter which was perfect for me.

I spent four weeks in total studying in Rio on a group intensive cours. I was very pleased with the facilities, the program, and most importantly the teachers.

The system of having one teacher a day proved to be an efficient way to learn, without having the feeling of being rushing. The small groups further enhance the efficient learning experience.

Staying with a host family gave me the perfect opportunity to train my skills outside the classroom and made my one-month stay a real total immersion to the Portuguese language.

I speak spanish well, but am not fluent. Nobody in my office spoke engish so everything was a spanish, which was great because I got to practice, but was horrible because I rarely had anything to do for them. It's a 10.5 hour workday here which is a really long time if you're just browsing the internet. My homestay was awesome, and the people and the city are incredible

From the moment I got to the school and was just totally out of place and all out of whack, everyone at Bridge was there with encouraging words and great advice. I felt prepared heading out into the work world of Rio and was super confident and if at any point I ever had questions they were there to help me along the way. I can honestly say they were not only wonderful educators be eventually became wonderful friends who always had my best interest at heart.

I took private Spanish classes at BridgeArgentina in Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks back in May 2012. My teacher's name was Jonathan and I would recommend him to anyone; he was fun, knowledgable, and experienced. He was able to tailor the content to my specific interests and goals. 2 weeks really isn't enough to pick up a lot of the language but if you commit to speaking nothing but Spanish during your visit in Argentina, you'll definitely see some improvement.

I also stayed with a host family. They were warm and friendly, invited me to family dinners, and helped me figure out what to do in my free time. They were one of the best parts of my trip! The neighborhood where they lived wasn't the nicest or safest part of Buenos Aires but I personally never felt threatened or at risk.

There is a lot to see and do in Buenos Aires; you'll never be bored. I would frequently leave the host family house, pick a direction, and start walking. You really can't go wrong. I'd find coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, bookstores, etc... practically anywhere. The tourist destinations, like La Boca, are pretty touristy but still a lot of fun!

I'd highly recommend BridgeArgentina to anyone interested in visiting Buenos Aires and learning Spanish during their stay.

Expectation seems to be the most influential part of analyzing one's experience. It is hard to sum up an entire 5 months in a paragraph, and my personal experience cannot equate any other volunteers- but that may be the most important thing to know going in to EOD. You need to know what you expect to contribute and to recieve from the program and be flexible and willing to take it for what it is. The program is not 100% professional and expectations are not very high for volunteers; however, that is just what I was looking for. I got experience teaching in a informal way, and I got to live in another country in a very relaxed and fun way with little work demands or expenses. Also, the Chilean Ministry of Education may seem a little unorganized, and the students may be more rowdy than in the United States- but that made it less stressful for me.

The teaching is what you make it. If you have teaching experience and you put in the time to make great lesson plans- it can be really rewarding. If this is the first thing like this you have ever done, then that is fine too because there are no expectations for you- they are happy to have a native speaker. It depends on how commited you are to teaching, or if teaching is just secondary to you exporing another country. Also, you experience will depend greatly on your relationship with your co-teacher.

Chile is an amazing country. Your experience will be totally different, depending on what city/region you get placed in, but the people are beyond inviting. I have made friends for life. Also, the travelling is cheap and easy, and there are innumerous places to explore! I went somewhere EVERY weekend and enjoyed every minute of it. Also (if you try) you will be able to be conversationally fluent within months! The improvement in Spanish alone is invaluable.

It is a great experience and I learned so much from many aspects. It is a safe, beautiful country with great relationships and incredible travel opportunities. I felt totally comfortable there 100% of the time. I would recommend this experience if you are flexible and laid back. If you want everything to turn out just as it is written, you might not want to work for the Chilean government.

BridgeArgentina was a great overall experience for me. It was an expensive endeavor for me, but the brush up on English grammar, how to teach it, the student practice teaching lessons, and most of all the instant community of English teachers was definitely worth my dime. Although as students you have to do a lot of work to find your own employment, it would have been a way larger struggle without knowing anyone in the city or having a support staff that guided you through bad and good options. Having the program set up your living situation can go both ways, I have seen people love their host families or love the group in the hostel that they're staying at, or also the complete opposite. I found my own place and it was just as economical and easy. Overall I have good things to say about my experience and would recommend it to anyone!

It was, sincerely, a great privilege to make it to this company. The instructors were fantastic. Actually, I was there to receive my IDELT teaching certificate, and only took 1 week's worth of Portuguese classes, but even still, I learned so much from the teachers. The quality of instruction, the methods, they are outstanding. And, its often a mixed group of instructors, so you have the opportunity to experience different styles of teaching...very effective.

I remember one of the instructors, named Moises Santos, stayed with me to make sure I understood the use of reflexive verbs in Portuguese. He provided me with the most clear explanations, and examples that I will always remember. Somebody make sure Moises Santos, at BridgeBrazil, on Rua da Quitanda, receives five golden stars for his level of superiority.