As you can see from the following selected profiles of a few of our Portuguese instructors, our qualified teaching staff comes from a variety of backgrounds. What they have in common, though, is a passion for teaching and a genuine interest in sharing their language and culture with you.

	Val Bettini Val majored in Arts (Portuguese/Spanish) at the federal university of Rio de Janeiro and has been working for Bridge-Linguatec since 2000. She believes that teaching is one of the most wonderful professions there is, and she compares it to fulfillment one receives from planting a seed and watching it grow to become a mature tree. In her free time Val likes to read, especially in Spanish, and her favorite author is Gabriel García Márquez. She also loves to dance, go to the movies and spend time with her friends.
	Willmann Silva Costa Having graduated in Portuguese and German at Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Will is a literature teacher and an admirer of José Saramago's literature. In addition, he is a writer and has had several articles published, including a special piece published by the University Estácio de Sá in Rio. Recently Will earned a post-graduate certificate as a Teacher Trainer in Portuguese as a Foreign Language from Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC Rio). He thinks Rio de Janeiro is the most beautiful city in the world and has chosen the Leblon neighborhood as his favorite place, where he really feels at home.
	Cristiane Santos Cristiane has a B.A. in Portuguese/Italian and a post-graduate degree in Portuguese as a Foreign Language from UFRJ. She has been teaching at Bridge-Linguatec since 2004 and she is also a substitute Portuguese teacher at the American School in Rio de Janeiro. She corrects the CELPE-BRAS Exam (a Proficiency Certificate of Portuguese for foreigners). She has been a teacher since 1997. Cristiane enjoys working with different people and teaching them about Brazilian culture. In her free time, she likes dancing and having fun with her friends.
	Rurik Leite Rurik is the Senior Instructor at Bridge-Linguatec in Rio and he teaches English, Portuguese and Spanish. He has previous teaching experience in Brazil, the U.S. and Scandinavia. He is married and has two adult children. In his spare time he loves reading about history, art and culture. He also likes jogging and swimming to keep fit.
	Danielle Torres Danielle has a post graduate degree as a Teacher Trainer in Portuguese as a Foreign Language at PUC Rio. She enjoys teaching immensely and plans to keep improving her skills continuously. She loves her country and likes teaching foreigners who are interested in learning not only the language but also about the culture of Brazil. Danielle adores her hometown, Rio de Janeiro, where she plans to stay for the rest of her life. She likes dancing samba as well as going to the beach every weekend.
	André Bernardo André has an MA in Education (Portuguese and Spanish) from Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro and a post-graduate certificate in teaching Portuguese as a Second Language from PUC Rio. He is also a writer and director of theater plays. His passions are Brazilian music, cinema and literature.