Kimberly Stuart is an artistic and adventurous 
soul. In the past school year, she taught English language at Vocational School of Crafts in Šumperk, a town of 26,000, poetically called the “living gate into Jeseníky Mountains.” With Masters in poetry, a passion for bookbinding, and a love of hiking and outdoor exploration, her placement at a school for future woodworkers, mechanics, engineers, entrepreneurs, carpenters, electricians, and hair dressers was an exciting fit. Embracing her seven years of previous teaching experience, Kimberly had quickly adapted to a new role, and her talented students inspired her to leave a physical and long-lasting mark in Šumperk: “So the idea to build and erect two officially chartered Little Free Libraries in the town square began as a two-fold concept: to showcase the skill of my students and to hopefully make a joyful addition to the city that I’d grown to love.” In her free time, Kimberly and her husband Marley explored Czech culture, traditions, and the breathtaking landscape around Šumperk. As true New Orleanians, they could not skip tasting Czech food. It did not take Kimberly long to discover Czech goulash. Ten months later, after dozens of goulash portions that Kimberly enjoyed together with her colleagues and friends, and after multiple nights devoted to perfecting her own goulash recipe, Kimberly recalls that: “It [goulash] was a good, warm, and hearty welcome into this new life, and it filled me completely. And then, upon meeting Marcela, my brilliant mentor (who I am honored to now call one of my dearest friends) I felt that same warmth and goodness immediately, and it’s continued throughout this whole year.”
“So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”
Franz Kafka
I am often asked, “What’s been your favorite thing about the Czech Republic?” and I usually respond, without hesitation, “Goulash!” which is, of course, a joke, but only barely. It’s true that I love the stuff and that I order it every time I see it on a menu. I’ve tried for ten months to perfect my own traditional version by parsing together the tips and wisdom of anyone who will talk to me about it because, as an uncle who recently visited Prague said, sitting on a café terrace and scooping the first few bites of Czech goulash into his mouth an hour after landing, jet-lagged and luggage-laden: “There’s comfort food, and then there’s comfort food.” Tell me about it.
But the broader picture is that goulash for me is analogous to the way I’ve felt during this teaching year in CZ. It was one of the first meals I had upon entering the Czech Republic nearly a year ago in hot and sunny Šumperk. It was a good, warm, and hearty welcome into this new life, and it filled me completely. And then, upon meeting Marcela, my brilliant mentor (who I am honored to now call one of my dearest friends) I felt that same warmth and goodness immediately, and it’s continued throughout this whole year. It’s been similarly echoed by so many people I’ve met and worked with here in Šumperk, and it continues to fill my cup.
Franz Kafka
I am often asked, “What’s been your favorite thing about the Czech Republic?” and I usually respond, without hesitation, “Goulash!” which is, of course, a joke, but only barely. It’s true that I love the stuff and that I order it every time I see it on a menu. I’ve tried for ten months to perfect my own traditional version by parsing together the tips and wisdom of anyone who will talk to me about it because, as an uncle who recently visited Prague said, sitting on a café terrace and scooping the first few bites of Czech goulash into his mouth an hour after landing, jet-lagged and luggage-laden: “There’s comfort food, and then there’s comfort food.” Tell me about it.
But the broader picture is that goulash for me is analogous to the way I’ve felt during this teaching year in CZ. It was one of the first meals I had upon entering the Czech Republic nearly a year ago in hot and sunny Šumperk. It was a good, warm, and hearty welcome into this new life, and it filled me completely. And then, upon meeting Marcela, my brilliant mentor (who I am honored to now call one of my dearest friends) I felt that same warmth and goodness immediately, and it’s continued throughout this whole year. It’s been similarly echoed by so many people I’ve met and worked with here in Šumperk, and it continues to fill my cup.
In fact, the generosity and kindness towards me, a complete stranger, has been one of the biggest surprises I’ve experienced. I have been gifted kilos and kilos of fresh beef and deer (I am quite vocal about my love for goulash). I have been invited into homes for lunches and dinners. I have been given access to vegetable gardens and chateaus. I’ve been taken on hikes and holidays. I have been taught to make svíčková and dumplings. Every Czech teacher I know has tried, to their exhaustion, to teach me that elusive ř sound (I’ll get there you guys. Give me like, seven more years!)
My point being that I’ve been given abundant—and delicious!—physical gifts, but I’ve also been given immeasurable amounts of time and energy from some wonderful people. And it’s this same kindness that extended not only with my personal needs and interests, but also with my ambitions for the year.
After seeing the immense talent of my carpentry and welding students at Střední škola řemesel, I had the idea to combine their craftmanship with the world of books and literature that has always been a part of my life by having my students build and install free library boxes modeled after historical buildings around town.
I spent my 20’s in New Orleans which, like many U.S. cities and a growing number of spaces abroad, has free book boxes (often connected to the U.S. nonprofit Little Free Library) in which community members can swap literature on a rotating basis with the “Take a book, leave a book” nature of the libraries. In New Orleans, I’d often enjoyed taking my dog for a walk or going for a run, encountering one of the libraries, and finding some piece of literature that caught my eye. Or else, cleaning out my own shelves to make room for new reads and donating my books to one of the boxes so I may pass them onto the next person. It was a pleasure and a surprise for me each time, and Šumperk did not yet have any free library boxes in the city center. So the idea to build and erect two officially chartered Little Free Libraries in the town square began as a two-fold concept: to showcase the skill of my students and to hopefully make a joyful addition to the city that I’d grown to love.
However, I knew this was not an endeavor I could handle myself. I had little access to the Czech language, only marginally understood the requirements surrounding the installation of such boxes in the city center, and I certainly can’t build anything. How would I get approval of these boxes from my school? How would I be granted permission from the town?
This is where the unmatched generosity comes in again. The community that I was so warmly welcomed into not only accepted the idea, but they did so enthusiastically, and they helped me cross the many hurdles needed to make sure it was seen to completion. Our director, Irena Jonová, approved the project and set up multiple meetings with Šumperk’s town hall and mayor. Marcela Musilová, my mentor, translated multiple documents into Czech, including numerous drafts of project proposals. Ivana McIntosh, our school’s project manager, handled much of the collaboration with city officials and the complicated logistics of installation, and Petr Dolezal, the head carpentry teacher, guided the students in building and planning. My carpentry students were, thankfully, eager and excited to take on the assignment. We officially celebrated the installation of the first Little Free Library on May 30 of this year. The celebration included performances from our school’s literature department and the local theater. The libraries are now registered and mapped on the LFL database making them globally “searchable.”
This project was exciting and rewarding, and I am so grateful to my colleagues and friends who worked with me for many months to see it to fruition. I know, at times, it must have been difficult for them to take on the extra work.
I know I am quite lucky to have fallen into such a community. So much so that my husband and I have decided to extend our stay in CZ. I have accepted a full-time teaching position at a neighboring vocational school in Šumperk, I have tutoring sessions lined up with community members beginning in the fall, and I walk by the Little Free Libraries every day. I found an old Czech recipe book in one of them last week. I flipped through. Found the page on goulash. I still cannot yet read Czech, but the photos were clear: make sure to add enough onion, take the time to darken them properly. That’s where the goodness comes from. And an addendum from personal experience: when cooking, invite some new, and hopefully, lifelong friends over. Slosh more and more into their bowls. Eat in your warm and happy kitchen. For you, it’ll be a dish that is always meant to be shared.
