David Burch is a teacher, 
Cambridge English Exam instructor, and advisor for the Financial & Investment Club at Bishop’s Gymnázium Hradec Králové. In August 2018, David came to the Czech Republic to teach English as a Fulbright grantee. Given his passion for Slavic languages and music, he was placed at the Furniture and Musical Instruments Design High School in Hradec Králové. At that time, he had no idea that a couple of years later, this Fulbright host town would become his home. At the start of his teaching career, David remembers: “I found myself creating lessons on subjects they could all relate to: rock bands and woodworking tools. I grew as a teacher, while my students taught me the ins and outs of how to make a guitar, a cabinet, or a 3D model.” Throughout his Fulbright experience, David fell in love with teaching, the Czech Republic, and a Czech woman, who has been the main reason for David to make the Czech Republic his new home. For all new Fulbrighters who are currently in the Czech Republic and may be unsure about their future path, David has this message: “‘Na shledanou’ does not mean ‘goodbye,’ but ‘until we meet again’.”
Listening to my student begin the intro to “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by AC/DC in an underground bar in Prague at 1AM in the morning, I realized that I was fully immersed in my Fulbright experience and the Czech Republic had become a part of my soul. What I did not know was that I would stay here for six years and continue my teaching journey long after my Fulbright year had concluded.
Fulbright ETA Orientation
“This will be one of the most transformative years of your life.” At our English Teaching Assistantship Orientation at Masaryk University in late August 2018, we heard several speakers resonate this message. In addition, we received a plethora of insightful and practical information about teaching methodology, cultural differences, and what to expect from this amazing opportunity we’d been given to teach English in the Czech Republic.
The most powerful endorsement for how the Czech Republic can change your life came from other Americans we talked to that had stayed here after their Fulbright year ended. One of them was a former ETA who held a small lecture about their Fulbright year, followed by a Q&A session where we could ask any question that popped into our heads. They gave rave reviews about the pros of living in the Czech Republic, their work-life balance, and their experiences in the English education field.
However, as orientation came to a close, my mind soon became more occupied with building friendships with my fellow ETAs, starting to teach, and exploring my new home, Hradec Králové, and I did not think much about the idea of one of us staying after our year was over. I was thrilled at all the opportunities and experiences the next year would hold for us, and I was determined to do as much as I could in the time I had.
Discovering SUPŠ and Hradec Králové
My Fulbright ETA experience was eye-opening, just as they had said it would be. As a musician, I was placed at SUPŠ Hradec Králové, an “industrial arts” school that focuses on musical instrument and furniture-making, as well as interior design. During my first week, I asked many of my students about their hobbies and interests. When I insisted that they must be great artists and musicians, they timidly replied “yeah, we are ‘okay’ at it.” In this moment, I learned the Czech trait of humility.
What I discovered was that their art could be compared to that of established professionals and their musical talents encompassed every instrument and every genre. Over the next several months, I would form bonds with my students through our mutual love for the arts, ranging from a school trip to the museums of Florence, Italy, to attending their AC/DC tribute band performance I spoke of earlier, which lasted until the break of day.
Working at SUPŠ HK also gave me a different perspective on English teaching. Coming straight from my Bachelor’s studies and having little teaching experience outside of tutoring students my same age, I was expecting oral debates and written essays. I found that, because my school placed all students in the same grade in the same English class, I was teaching classes where some students were at an advanced level of English and their classmates were total beginners. Rather than engaging in theoretical topics or political discourse, I found myself creating lessons on subjects they could all relate to: rock bands and woodworking tools. I grew as a teacher, while my students taught me the ins and outs of how to make a guitar, a cabinet, or a 3D model.
The Decision to Stay
Suddenly, it was June 2019, and I had made some of my best friends among both fellow ETAs and locals, become part of an incredible community, learned how to teach students of all skill levels and interests, and started to date a Czech woman. I found myself realizing that I was just like the former ETA who had spoken to us at our orientation 10 months before. My life was here in the Czech Republic—how could I leave?
In that moment, with only weeks left before I flew back to the United States, I made up my mind that I would stay in Hradec Králové. I immediately started job interviews and visa applications.
Photo: David with his partner in the Krkonoše Mountains, September 2023.
Navigating Challenges and Growing in My Career
The next two years would be a whirlwind of job experiences, global pandemics, and educational endeavors. In September 2019, I started working at an elementary school, which I was wholly unprepared for. I felt like I had the energy to teach, but the kids often had ten times more energy than I did. I had no experience guiding smaller children through an English lesson and would spend long nights studying materials on TEFL lesson planning and earning teaching certificates in an attempt to improve. After many months of exhausting teaching days and study evenings, I began to question if this field was really for me.
At the same time, I was giving English lessons at various companies, which sparked my interest in business and in teaching older students. Then, one Monday morning in March 2020, my colleagues told me not to come to work the next day, because the government was closing down schools due to the spread of COVID-19. Once the quarantine began, I was locked in an apartment in the center of Hradec Králové for months with nothing to do. In this time, I realized that I enjoyed teaching and wanted to live in the Czech Republic for the long term, but I also wanted to move my career forward and work with both teenagers and adults in academic and business settings.
In July 2020, I returned to the United States and entered an accelerated Master’s program. Though I was sad to be away from the Czech Republic and my partner for a year, I knew that this was the right step to finishing my studies and solidifying my new career path as a qualified educator and English communications specialist. The next year, I got married to my partner and decided to make the Czech Republic my forever home.
A New Chapter at Biskupské Gymnázium
In September 2021, I started working at Biskupské gymnázium Hradec Králové. I did not know what I should expect from a Catholic eight-year high school, but I quickly found that my new school was an incredibly welcoming institution, filled with brilliant students and supportive colleagues. I still work there today as a full-time teacher, seminar lecturer, Cambridge English Exam instructor, and advisor for various extracurricular clubs. Most notably, I am the school’s teacher advisor and co-founder of the Financial/Investment Club, which competes nationally in various economic competitions. I am thankful for all the opportunities I have been given by the school and I am proud to teach there.
ETA Orientation as a Mentor
In August 2022, I was invited to the ETA Orientation at Liblice Chateau with my fellow 2018-2019 ETA, Alex Saulenas, to give a presentation on the topic of challenges that new ETAs could face at their school and in their community. I remembered this same talk at my own ETA Orientation, which covered topics such as the Easter pomlázka tradition and differences between the US and Czech school systems. I tried my best to create a presentation that would inform these bright new ETAs about what they could expect during their Fulbright year, but what I did not expect was how much they would teach me.
Eager to jump into their new journey in the Czech Republic, these ETAs filled the room with positive energy and a restless curiosity about their new home. I thought to myself how thankful I am that the Fulbright ETA Program exists and has chosen these 30 outstanding teachers to make an impact on 30 schools across the country, which will benefit so much from having them! You couldn’t have chosen a better group of people to build cultural bonds between the Czech Republic and the United States, and to inspire the young people they will come in contact with.
Just like in 2019 when I made the decision to stay here, I once again realized how fortunate I was to be in the Czech Republic and to be a Fulbrighter. I reflected on how lucky I was to be a part of this cohort of amazing individuals, and to be given the opportunity to teach young Czech people about my country. I understood that I was still a cultural ambassador for the United States and was still connecting people from both of our countries every day.
I have given this presentation and a Q&A session at the ETA Orientation three times so far. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet the incoming ETAs every year and to hear their amazing stories that led them to apply to be with us, here, in the Czech Republic.
Photo: David on a hike with the 2023-2024 ETAs at Ostaš in the Broumovsko Protected Area, Fall 2023.
Reflections on Life in the Czech Republic and My Fulbright Experience
The lessons I’ve learned and stories I have to tell from over six years since starting my Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship and five years of living in the Czech Republic are far too many for this blog post. I have been lucky enough to go hiking in nearly every corner of the country, to take part in as many Czech Christmas traditions as you can think of, and to taste countless delicious Czech řízky and piva. Every day here has brought me joy, even accounting for some of the hurdles that have come with it, such as the struggle to master the Czech language or fill out paperwork for government offices.
If there is one message I can leave you with from my post, it is this: Once we are a Fulbrighter, we are always a Fulbrighter. Even after the grant is over, our goals of fostering cultural bonds, educating those in our community, continually educating ourselves, and much more, will continue on with us for the rest of our lives. For these reasons, I consider my Fulbright experience an ongoing one, which will continue with me whether I am in the Czech Republic or across the ocean. And for those of you who may have left the Czech Republic and miss it dearly, or you are currently here and dread the day when you step on the plane to leave, always remember: “Na shledanou” does not mean “goodbye,” but “until we meet again.”
Na shledanou!