Nuts and Bolts

Ready for all the details? Let's get started...

Training.

Arrival.

When you get to the GIG Airport, you can get to your hotel, hut, hostel, house or apartment by bus or taxi. If you want to take the bus, you will find these big blue ones with "Real Auto Ônibus" written in yellow (seen in the picture to the left) right outside the baggage claim. It costs about R$12 these days and if you sit close to the driver, he can tell you when to get off at your stop.

We're dedicated to our work, but we know how important it is to let loose and have a little fun. We are in Rio de Janeiro after all! Check out the forum where we keep an open and on-going conversation about getting people together. Join a group to climb Pedra da Gávea or get some friends together to take a weekend trip to Paraty. Here at Beyond the Map, we want you to feel a strong sense of community and be able to make friends with other teachers and Brazilian students.

Money.

One of the first things we worry about when moving to a new city is how to make money. Maybe you are a study abroad student and just want a little extra cash to spend on the weekends or a recent graduate looking for adventure in Brazil but need to feel you will land here on your feet. When you participate in our training program, we will prepare you to manage your own classes. Once you have completed the program, we will connect you with 3 students to get you going. In exchange for the training sessions and connecting you to your students (not to mention all the continual help we will be happy to provide along the way), we charge US$250. This amount will be earned back in your first month of teaching or we will give your payment back to you.

Security.

Just like traveling to any new place, your safety has much more to do with your own behavior than that of those around you. Maybe you have heard things about Rio that leave you uncertain about security, but if you are mindful about what you do, and where you go at certain times, you will not have any issues; similar to traveling in any other country. During our years of living here, we have never had problems with safety. If you are concerned about specific safety issues, don't hesitate to get in contact with us.

In our 3 years of living here, we have seen a variety of ways to get involved in the community by helping out. Whether you like art or working with kids, baseball or theater, women's safety or children's health, there is no end to the organizations that are looking for volunteers. We will post about these organizations on the Volunteer page as we come across them but if you are looking for something more specific, let us know and we will do our best to help you find your niche.

Preparing to come.

What you pack in your bags will depend a lot on how long you are staying and what types of activities you plan on doing while you are here. Don't forget to keep in mind the season you will be arriving. It may seem that Rio is a 100 degree place the whole year round but winter in some areas can get pretty cold. Even though you will be earning money teaching, we suggest you bring a reasonable amount of money to get you set up for the first month. Think rent, food, transportation and entertainment. Approximately US$700-1000 should be enough to get you going. In Rio you can find just about anything you might have forgotten at home but certain things will be much more expensive. Any prescription medication, for example, you should bring to cover you for the length of your stay. Once you get here, we can help you get a temporary pre-paid cell phone and a bus pass to get you around. If you have any specific questions about getting ready to come down, just drop us a line.

The Nuts & Bolts

This is our nerdy space. If you found a cool video or worksheet that you like to use with your students, it can be posted here. We're all about sharing new ways to plan our classes or more up-to-date techniques of helping our students learn English. Looking for a favela tour guide you can trust or an apartment, look here. Also, this is where you will let other teachers know if you need a sub for the day because you got sick or if you need someone to cover you for a month when you go on a short jaunt to Bahia.

Please keep in mind that we require our teachers to commit to at least 3 months of teaching. We feel this is necessary to be fair to our Brazilian students who deserve a level of consistency to obtain progress. In our training sessions, we start with general tips about what we have learned is effective while teaching Brazilians. This means discussing teaching techniques, organizing lesson plans and showing you how to find teaching resources.

Getting around in a big city can be challenging at first. But in your training sessions, we will show you how to use the metrô, bus lines and vans. We will also discuss timing and traffic tips for getting around town.

At the end of your training sessions, we connect you to three students ready to get started with their classes. Having trouble organizing your lesson plans? Need a hand translating your e-mails into Portuguese the first few times? Worried about how and where to meet up with your student? No worries, we'll walk you through it.

Not only will we train you to teach, we look at the business side as well. For example, creating business cards, sending your first e-mails in Portuguese and setting up payment plans. Trying to stay longer than 3 months?We can guide you through the visa process.