Articles from April 2016
Planning – Things to do before you travel
The first thing to do is decide to study Portuguese in Brazil at the Federal University of Parana (UFPR) Celin language school. Português como Lingua Estrangeira (PLE), Portuguese as a foreign language is taught in 90 hour modules over eight weeks. Courses start 5 times a year in late-January, early-April, mid-June, mid-August and mid-October. If in doubt check out the course details and starting dates on the intercambiohelp4u website at www.intercambiohelp4u.com/.
In my opinion you need to book your course at least one month before the start date and preferably two as you will need this time to get your documentation organised. Booking your curse with intercambiohelp4U is the first step and you can pay for it in the UK in pounds sterling or Euros without having the hassle of having to do an international transfer in Brazilian Reais. Within two weeks of booking and paying for your course you will receive an official invitation letter from Celin, which is required if you are going to apply for a student visa.
Do I Need a Visa to Study at Celin? The answer to the question is it depends. I went through the process of applying for and obtaining a student visa, however, it is not strictly necessary. Most information you read states that if you are to study at a Brazilian University then you should apply for a student visa at your local Brazilian Consulate before you travel. However, if your course lasts for less than 90 days then a visa is not required. If you wish to open a bank account on your arrival in Brazil then you will need a student visa. If you are intending to study for more than 90 days even though your first course lasted less than 90 days you need to obtain a student visa before you travel. It is relatively easy to extend a student visa within Brazil but impossible to apply for one from within the country.
Most student visas are valid for 12 months, however, for some reason mine is only valid for three. If you need help applying for your student visa, then CartorioHelp4U, a sister company of IntercambioHelp4U, has experts who deal with the Brazilian Consulate in London on a daily basis. In the UK student visa applications have to be made online, you will need a police check to see if you have any convictions, this can be obtained through any police station but can take several weeks, a quicker but more expensive option is to use ACRO Criminal Records Office www.acro.police.uk where a certificate is normally issued within 10 working days. In addition to your police check and invitation letter from Celin, you will need a passport photo, a bank statement showing you have at least the equivalent of USD 2,000 and a copy of your passport. All these documents must be scanned and uploaded to the consular website, you can then go online and book an appointment. All original documents must be taken to your interview. If any are incorrect your application may be rejected. The issue of your visa from your interview takes 3 working days. If you do obtain a student visa and enter Brazil with it then by law you must register with the Federal police within 30 days of arrival, if you don’t you are liable for a fine for each day over the 30 days. I will do a separate post of registering with the Policia Federal as in theory it is straightforward, without a “Brazilian Buddy” it is not that easy.
What is a CPF and do I Need One? CPF stands for “Cadastro de Pessoas Física (Individual Taxpayer Registry.) It is a document that any person living in Brazil needs to, purchase a property, a car rent an apartment, open a bank account or activate a SIM card for a mobile telephone. By law if you live in Brazil for less than 12 months you do not need to apply for a CPF. However, even though you can register and pay for your course at Celin, within the first 7 days after the course starts you will be asked for your CPF number. I had to provide a CPF number to rent an apartment 
At the checkout in a supermarket you will usually be asked if you want to register your CPF with the purchase, this allows you to claim some tax back at the end of the year, presumably you also have to pay tax.. A CPF is a unique number to you given once in your lifetime. You can apply for your CPF after arrival or before travel at your local Brazilian consulate. It is reportedly easy to apply for a CPF in Brazil, You just have to fill up the application form at either any Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal or Correios agency or directly at the Federal Revenue (Receita Federal). As a foreigner you will need the following documents. Your passport or other identity document applicable to your country of residence which must be translated by a certified translator. You can follow the status of your application on the internet, at Receita Federal’s website, using the attendance number provided during your application. Your CPF number should be available within 48 hours of your application. Unless your Portuguese is good, but then why would you be applying to study Portuguese at Celin, or you have a “Brazilian Buddy” I recommend applying for your CPF, at your local Brazil consulate before you travel. Although it will take several weeks and sometime months to arrive, it takes all the hassle of having to do it on arrival, when you are new to the country, city and language. If you need help applying for your CPF in the UK then CartorioHelp4U can help you.
Other things worth doing before you leave home:
- Photocopy the main pages of your passport so that whilst in Brazil you do not have to carry your actual passport with you. I had the photocopy of my passport certified at a local notary, not strictly needed, but more of a belt and braces job. You can have this done in your own country but it will probably cost more than the few pounds it costs in Brazil.
- Make sure you have adequate travel insurance. Many policies only cover trips for up to 30 or 60 days, ensure your policy covers trips for up to 90 days or more if required.
- Inform your bank of when you will be travelling and where to so that your debit and credit cards will not be blocked on arrival
- Photocopy or scan all your documents including credit and debit cards
Useful Contacts:
28A Queensway
London
W2 3RX
Tel: +44 207 636 8500
Email: intercambio@londonhelp4u.co.uk
28A Queensway
London
W2 3RX
Tel: +44 207 636 8500
Email: cartorio@londonhelp4u.co.uk
www.cartoriohelp4u.com
Mercardo Municipal
Where to Live
Going to live in a new city, even for a short time is always a worry and with a language problem even more so. I did my research in London before arriving in Curitiba, but did not arrange anything permanently until after I arrived. It is worth checking out the Airbnb website https://www.airbnb.com where you can get a good indication of availability and prices. You may be able to find somewhere for your entire stay, but this is unlikely and it is probably best to book from a few days up to one week. Prices on the website see the screen print below range from R$ 37 – R$ 3,500 per night with an average of R$162 per night. These prices are generally much cheaper than hotels.
If you are planning to attend the full course for eight weeks then there are different options available. The CELIN school keeps a list of host families which you can obtain by sending an email to acordoseconvenios_celin@ufpr.br. Host families provide everyday immersion in Brazilian culture as students share daily life with local people. Sharing an apartment with other students is another good option as many students live in the city centre near to the university and where most of the cultural activities take place. It is worth checking out the following sites www.reicuritiba.org, www.easyquarto.com.br and the Facebook page Curitiba PR-Dividir Moradia.
Needless to say I took a different route. Whilst researching before my trip I came across a great Brazilian site which has an English version www.shortstaycuritiba.com. I recommend this company, they manage over 300 apartments in Curitiba. It is the one I used to rent my apartment. However you have to rent for at least one month. Once registered you can look at the apartment buildings and check out the availability, which changes daily. You can reserve an apartment online and arrange for payment before you leave but I would not recommend this. I suggest you book temporary accommodation with Airbnb, a local hotel or one of the hostels here in Curitiba, check out this site, which, is in English, at the time of writing prices were between R$ 30- 60 per night and most have free wifi. http://www.hostelworld.com/findabed.php/ChosenCity.Curitiba/ChosenCountry.Brazil
You should have already had a tour of my apartment on the blog “Um Tour Pelo Meu Apartamento” if not check it out, I even try to speak Portuguese. Let’s see how much I improve over the next few weeks.
The main reason for not booking a long term let before your arrival is twofold. One, you need to see for yourself the standard of the accommodation and secondly and more important for me was that I wanted to explore the different areas of the city and discover how far CELIN was from each apartment. I looked at about eight apartments before choosing Life Space Sete de Setembro. It is near the centre of town, about thirty minutes walk from CELIN and I can walk to most places I want to go or take a short taxi ride. I haven’t ventured on the famous Curitiba bendy busses but I will and I will give you the full lowdown. Any questions on choosing where to live, leave a comment and I will reply.
The way I worked it out was to use google maps and put the University UFPR or CELIN on XV de Novembro on the map and then draw an imaginary circle with CELIN in the centre. To help you, Shopping Estação is opposite where I live and it takes me 30 minutes to walk to the school.
Eu tenho que fazer minha lição de casa para a escola nesta sexta-feira.
This is Leo Gringo in Brazil
Um Tour Pelo Meu Apartemento
Format Video
Back To The Begining
Well it was for me yesterday. A new school, CELIN, a new class, basic Portuguese, did I do that badly in my assessment test, I guess so and new people. Felipe Ribeiro our class teacher, very articulate and very good, although I learnt that he will only be with us this week. Nine new colleagues who may become friends over the next eight weeks. Two from China, 2 from South Korea, 1 from Vietnam, 1 from Lebanon, 1 from Japan, 1 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 1 from Australia. The common language between us all is English, so naturally any difficulties in explanation descended into English. However, to give credit to Felipe he did speak in Portuguese ninety percent of the time.
Well what did we study? You must remember I am in the basic class so we went back to basics, what is your name, where do you come from etc, then we spent quite a lot of time on pronunciation going through all the sounds of the alphabet, half of my colleagues have never learned Portuguese before. I’m a little concerned that I will not learn anything new on the course but I will give it a few days to see how quickly we progress. Two and a half hours of lessons on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays should see us moving forward. You might well ask what about Wednesdays, well that is a cultural learning day when all the CELIN students get together to learn about Brazilian culture whilst practicing Portuguese. Let’s see how many interesting people I meet on Wednesday. I’ve already introduced my blog to my class mates but I don’t think they understand that I want to interview them and post on the blog, let’s see how many I can persuade.
A view of Curitiba from the Botanic Gardens
Its 6am here and I’m up drinking my fresh lime and ginger infusion, it gets me going for the day before my tea and toast. No I did not find any marmalade yesterday, only orange jam so I guess I will have to do without.
Yesterday after class I went to the University book shop and bought the course material 11.60 reais, not very expensive. I’m going to go through it this morning to see how far we are going to go in the next 8 weeks.
Enjoy your day wherever you are.
This is Leo Gringo in Brazil going for an early breakfast
School Starts Tomorrow
I’ve been in Curitiba for one week and in that time, I’ve rented an apartment, managed to get myself registered for a Brazilian SIM card for my phone, not without problems, downloaded a taxi app, other than Uber and used it, Regina gave me a very nice ride into town last Tuesday even if it was expensive. Although I have also been lost in a taxi in the middle of nowhere when my phone got cut off a day after I got it – that will be a TIM story for the future. I also registered at CELIN the language school and took my evaluation test.
Today I went shopping for food and for a few things to make my life easier in my apartment, probably one of the worst decisions of my life. I think half of Curitiba was out in the 30C heat doing the same. A note to self, stay at home with a hangover on Sunday. I splashed out on a really cool toaster and an electric kettle, both not that common in this part of the world, now I’m happy as a pig in S… with my tea and toast – how cool is that toaster. Need to go and try and find some marmalade tomorrow.
School starts tomorrow afternoon 2-5pm, I’m a bit apprehensive, but I don’t know why, fear of the unknown I guess. My smart new kitchen has an induction hob, quite a luxury here, the only problem is the new stainless steel pans don’t work on it – thank god for microwaves, kettles and toasters, did I say how smart my new toaster is, it makes great toast to?
I learnt a few new Portuguese words and phrases today:
Meu Deus Oh my god – I already knew that one but practiced it a lot today.
Seu Idiota You idiot
Que isso é sempre lento Is it always this slow
Estou cansado e quero ir para casa I’m knackered and want to go home
Pelo amor de Deus apressar For f…’s sake hurry up.
and one in the restaurant more about practicing pronunciation Gostariamos duas cervejas, um suco de uva, um filé mignon, um peixe de mar grelhado e um risotto de arroz preto por favor
I wonder whether I will be able to use any of the phrases in class tomorrow?
Waiting for bedtime its 10pm here, I guess I’m going Brazilian as I’m going to have a shower before bed, but in the morning I’ll be British again and have a shower before breakfast.
I rented an apartment on Rua Sete de Setembro within walking distance of the school on Rua XV Novembro, I think it will take me about 25 minutes, so no need to use one of Curitiba’s double bendy busses.
The owner of the rental agency Fernanda, has already replied about my induction hob problem and it should be fixed in he morning. How efficient is that?
This is Leo Gringo in Brazil signing off, its a whole new week tomorrow
Where, When & How?
After making the decision to study Brazilian Portuguese & Brazilian culture in Brazil, the next decisions to make were, where, when & how. Time to start the research project.
Obvious places to consider were, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador,Floranopolis and Curitiba.
Rio de Janeiro: A great place to visit for a holiday, but maybe not the best place to study. Expensive courses, expensive living costs, safety worries, difficult public transport, and not the best climate in the world.
Sao Paulo: A huge city, difficult to move about, traffic jams everywhere, expensive courses and living costs and safety concerns.
Salvador: The capital of Bahia state in North Eastern Brazil. A very vibrant city with great beaches, several private schools, cheaper than studying in both Rio and Sao Paulo. A great place to learn about Afro-Brazilian culture. A definite possibility.
Floranopolis: The capital of Santa Catarina State in Southern Brazil, a very popular destination for tourists from all over the world. More limited availability of course dates and ability levels in the private schools, worth further consideration.
Curitiba: The capital city of the state of Parana in southern Brazil. Considered the greenest city in Latin America and possibly the world. The city sits on a plateau at 932 metres about sea level and has a temperate climate. The best public transport system in Brazil with adequate available living accommodation. Both University and private courses available throughout the year. A definite possibility.
After my research, studying at a state university in Brazil was certainly appealing and I thought it would look good on my CV so I choose the Federal University of Parana in Curitiba (Universidade Federal do Paraná, UFPR). The University operates a specialist language school CELIN Centro de Línguas e Interculturalidade. Portuguese courses are offered at 10 different levels from basic to advanced. Courses start in January, March, June, August and October each year. Courses run for 8 weeks with 100 hours contact time including both language and cultural education. The week prior to the course starting there is a mandatory test to assess competence levels to ensure students are placed in the right class. You can check out the CELIN guide for foreign students at
https://issuu.com/celinufpr/docs/handbook_for_foreign_students_at_ce.
Remember you can contact info@intercambiohelp4u.co.uk, Tel: +44 207 636 8500 for all enquiries regarding the CELIN course.
My next posting will go through the planning I undertook before arriving in Brazil and the documents I had to apply for to ensure my arrival in Brazil went without a hitch J.
