Many people ask me why I left Brazil to live in Ireland. After all, I had just graduated, and I had a promising career ahead of me.
However, I confess that at first, my idea was to improve my English. Within my profession, I had noticed that not being fluent in English was going to limit my growth a lot. Especially in multinationals.
As I was unable to attend an English school parallel to my studies, my fluency in the language was very small, and the only way to go from basic English to fluent in a short time was to live abroad.
The rough start abroad
When I arrived in Ireland it was a real culture shock. Everything was very different from what I was used to in Brazil: the climate, the customs, the people.
I even had to start my life over working as a waiter. By that time, I was used to working at better jobs, and returning to a less strategic role required a lot of emotional intelligence on my part.
I spent some time here in Ireland, and then another time in Spain, in Barcelona, to improve my Spanish. And it was at that time that I was sure that I would never return to Brazil.
Europe became my home
After spending so many years here, Europe had already become my home. And so I wanted to grow professionally here. I got it into my head that I would own an English school and help Brazilians who wanted to live abroad.
No sooner said than done. I believe that it was the Law of the Universe itself that conspired in my favor, and I know that when I least realized it, I was administering SEDA College.
Things were working out, the business was growing, I was taking other specialization courses and deepening myself more and more in my area.
Today, I don’t see myself doing anything else in life, except managing this school that I love so much, and of course, contributing to this wonderful country that welcomed me.
My Advice for Anyone Thinking of Moving
I narrated a little of my story so that it serves as an example for anyone thinking of doing an exchange program, or even moving permanently to Europe.
The advice I give is: take a risk and come. There are many legends about racism, xenophobia that speak from here in the old continent. Of course this exists, even in Brazil it also exists. But they are rare cases, that is, a minority.
You can be sure that you will be welcomed here. There is a large community of Brazilians. All waiting with open arms to welcome you.
So don’t delay your dream. Nowadays, there are many ways to do it: sell a car, pay the exchange program in installments on the card, or even finance your exchange program.
And once you’re here, you can work part-time while you study, and the amount invested will certainly come back to you. You can be sure it will be the best decision you will ever make.
