1. Before you do anything else, we advise that you read our terms and conditions.
After that, the first step in your enrollment process is to email us a message to confirm your booking. In this message, please inform the dates and type of course you’re interested in taking.

You can also inform the type of accommodation you would like to have. Please, notice that the more you tell us about yourself and what you like, the more we will be able to design a program that meets your requirements.

Please send this message to secretariastep1@hotmail.com

If there is availability for the period you want to study, we’ll email you a confirmation and an enrollment form.

2. The second step in your enrollment is to send us this form and pay the enrollment deposit.

A USD100 non-refundable deposit is required and you can do it using Wise. It works very similarly to a regular bank transfer. After the enrollment form is filled out and sent back, we will provide the details.

From then on, you’ll be officially enrolled in our program and will be in touch with us until your arrival.

Please note that this deposit will be deducted from your total, should you choose to pay the balance upon arrival.

3. You should enroll 4 weeks in advance, at minimum. Due to demand in high season we can´t guarantee a spot in our courses if you don’t enroll for your course as soon as possible. In any case, you can always email us to see how availability is for the period you’d like to study.

4. Students should plan to arrive on the Sunday (regular check in date) before their course starts and departure on the Saturday (regular check out day) after it finishes. If the student needs to arrive in Florianópolis one or two days earlier than the Sunday prior to the commencement of the course, this can be arranged depending on availability.

The last day at the homestay is always a Saturday. If the student needs to stay one more day beyond the scheduled departure day, this can also be arranged depending on availability. However, the maximum number of days the student can stay at their homestay after the course is finished is 2 days. Regular days cost USD30 each. Extra days cost USD40 each.

The school courses cost the same all year round, but homestays have a slightly higher rate during high season. In the second half of December, January and February, rates are: regular days USD35 and extra days USD45, each.

5. The address of the homestay will be provided 7 days prior to the commencement of the course.

6. For information as to how you can obtain a visa to Brazil, check travel info.

7. You don´t need to pay us in full before you arrive. The only required fee upon enrollment is a USD100 non-refundable deposit. Your deposit will be deducted from your outstanding balance when you complete your payment. We think it´s better if you pay us in full when you get here; this way you can check our school and your accommodations, making sure you are getting what you are paying for.

Since you are coming from another country it´s impossible for you to know if our school is good or not before you are in fact here. By paying for your course after you check everything we have to offer, we believe we are taking the risk out of your decision. This school has been running for 21 years with a solid track record.

However, we require that on the second day you are here (your first day of classes) you pay for the full course.
IMPORTANT: The school offers a 10% discount on all prices for payments in cash (Dollars, Euros or Brazilian Reais). To qualify to this discount, you need to enroll 1 month prior to the start of your course. And also, pay for the number of weeks you originally enrolled in.
We offer a 5% discount if enrollment takes places less than 1 month to the start of the course.

However, if your preferred method of payment is full payment by credit card or Paypay, payment needs to be completed before you travel to Brazil. Please send us an email if you’d like to pay in full before travelling. We will send a “money request” through Paypal to your email address.

8. There are 3 ways to pay for the course:
a) You may pay for the course by bringing American dollars or Euros in the amount of the course. That´s most affordable way for paying since you won´t be charged for withdrawing money with your debit card/credit card. Plus, you get a 10% discount for paying in cash. Just remember: To get the 10% discount, you need to enroll and pay your deposit 1 month prior to arriving. Otherwise, we can still give you discount, but it is a little smaller: 5%. The deposit you paid upon enrollment will be deducted.

b) You can use Wise (https://wise.com/) to make your payment in full with a bank transfer. All you have to do is send us an email informing you’d like to pay by Wise and we’ll send you an email with the bank details.

c) You may bring your ATM and/or credit card and take money from an ATM machine near the school (there are many all over town). You may opt for a combination of the two, bringing part of the money in US dollars/Euros and withdrawing the rest. Note that by withdrawing money in a cash machine, the bank will give you the Dollar Comercial rate, which is lower. The school, as any other business in Brazil, will use the Dollar Pararelo rate. Therefore, you save some money by paying with Dollars or Euros. We don’t really recommend withdrawing money in ATM machines to pay for your course since the Dollar rate you will be given at a bank is the lower one: Dollar Comercial.

Note: There are 2 exchange rates for the American Dollar in Brazil (Dollar Comercial and Paralelo). We use the Dollar Paralelo rate (sellling rate) when payment is in Reais. To get a better rate, try to bring Dollars and exchange them here at a Casa de Cambio. Banks will use the Dollar Comercial rate, which is lower. So, the more cash you can bring, the more Reais you will be able to get for your Dollars. We advise people not to bring Travelers Checks, as it is difficult to use them and there is a fee that needs to be paid to exchange them in banks. The school doesn’t accept Travelers Checks.

For further information on how you should prepare for you trip, check travel info.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: step1idiomas@gmail.com

9. There’s wireless internet at the school and home stays (bring your laptop / tablet).

10. Class hours:
Classes start at 9:00 am and finish at 12:15 pm (morning period)
Classes start at 1:00 pm and finish at 4:15 pm (afternoon period)