Guilherme Wagner Rinascimento Fonseca is from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. He came to Dublin in July 2017 and studied with City Language School for eight months. We caught with him to have a chat about his time in Dublin and how someone with really advanced English Language skills can still learn a lot on a good quality course.
Why did you come to Ireland?
I wanted to come to Europe and in terms of the visa process Ireland is just easier. I’m hoping to do a postgraduate degree course here even though I have a degree in Law in Brazil I want to do another one but I was in a bit of a hurry to get to Europe and the easiest way really was to start with an English Language course.
Where do you live in Dublin?
I live in Dublin 8 in Portobello which is a very good neighbourhood and considering the neighbourhood I’m paying a very good price. The landlord owns the whole building and he doesn’t care too much about money he’s not greedy so it’s great.
What do you like about Dublin?
It’s easy-going. It’s a bit of a cliche but it’s true, people are friendly and warm. It has a cosmopolitan spirit and it’s diverse and people respect diversity. It doesn’t just tolerate diversity it celebrates it.
You\’re studying in one of our Advanced classes and I can hear the reason – your English is impeccable. Why?
I lived in Florida for four years. I went there to go to high school. My uncle and aunt were living there so I went there to live with them. When I finished High School, I did an undergraduate course in hospitality. Then I went to work in Disney. I started as an intern and then one thing lead to another and I ended up staying there four years.
What are you learning?
I’m reviewing a lot of things grammar wise. And there are a lot of terms and idioms that you use here in Ireland that I wouldn’t have used before in American English. We are also looking at some structures that I haven’t used before on a daily basis; more sophisticated structures that I haven’t used before and this will help me, particularly if I go on to do a postgraduate course.
How is City Language School working out for you?
It’s a good place to study. The staff are great and the teachers are very good.