Cate Pfau is a teacher. She currently 
teaches Kindergarten at Marymount School of New York and previously spent the 2025/2026 school year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Obchodní akademie Uherské Hradiště.. When she first arrived, the town felt unfamiliar and difficult to navigate. Over the course of her Fulbright year, however, Cate began creating a very different kind of map, one made up of classrooms, cafés, walks along the Morava River, shared adventures, and, above all, the people who made Uherské Hradiště feel like home. “I may have arrived with an empty map, but I left with one filled with memories, relationships, and places,” she writes as she looks back on a year that changed the way she thinks about home, teaching, and discovering a new place.
When I arrived in Uherské Hradiště, it took time to orient myself. Relying on a map for such a small town might have seemed unnecessary, but early on I couldn’t navigate anywhere without one. Whether I was finding which streets led to my school, where to buy groceries, how to get to the bus station, or which turn would take me back home. At the start of my Fulbright year, the town felt unreadable, and everything was new to me. The streets were unfamiliar, and the Czech signs weren’t exactly offering me helpful hints. While I started the year studying Google Maps before heading to a new area of town, throughout my time there I began making a different kind of map. My map took shape through the places that slowly became meaningful: a classroom where mutual learning happened every day, cafés where I became a regular, a river where I learned to find comfort in my own company, and a town square that came to feel familiar through its culture, traditions, and faces I grew to know. Places that initially seemed insignificant became personal landmarks. Not because of what they were, but because of the people I met and the moments I experienced there.
Photo: Fulbright ETAs at Uherské Hradiště Wine Festival, September 2025.
I will begin with the heart of Uherské Hradiště, the two town squares. Masarykovo náměstí and Mariánské náměstí are both central points of the town and became very important starting points on my personal map of the town. When I arrived to town I heard all excited anticipation for Uherské Hradiště’s famous wine festival, Slovácké slavnosti vína a otevřených památek. This event was the best welcome as the squares and city center took on an entirely different meaning and brought the town to life. During the folklore festival, the streets and town squares were filled with traditional costumes, music, dancing, celebrations, and of course wine and burčák. This offered my first glimpse into how lucky I was to be placed in a such a distinct and special region that cares and holds onto their traditions so closely. The festival in the center of town is one of my fondest memories of the year because I attended with many English Teaching Assistants from other Czech towns. Our ETA cohort was just getting to know each other, and it provided an opportunity for the cohort to bond and get to know each other. I will never forget when it started downpouring and 13 Americans were running through the tiny, winding streets of Uherské Hradiště to escape the rain. By being able to experience the deeply engrained Czech traditions and culture while making lifelong memories on the town squares, I realized I was becoming a part of Uherské Hradiště.
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Illustration: My personal map of Uherské Hradiště, marking the places that became part of my everyday life throughout the year.
Another increasingly significant place in Uherské Hradiště was where I was spending most of my days, which was teaching English at Obchodní akademie Uherské Hradiště. I entered Fulbright thinking I would be teaching English, yet I left realizing I was learning so much from my students, my colleagues, and the moments we had week to week in class. I could never have predicted how quickly the students, teachers, and staff would make the school feel like a place where I belonged. Whether my school community knows it or not, every moment was so impactful to me. Some of my favorite memories are the everyday “hellos” and smiles I would receive in the hallway, bringing fun into the classroom through competitive challenges and interactive activities, and the multitude of invitations and welcoming gestures I would receive from colleagues as they allowed me into their lives, families, and traditions.
Photo: A special Halloween lesson with my first year students, October 2025.
Some of my favorite places on my map of Uherské Hradiště were where people intentionally gathered. At Hub 123, the Language Café brought together a group of people I never could have imagined finding in the same room in a small Czech town. People of all ages and nationalities came to practice English and create community. There was something so magical about sitting around a table with people from such different backgrounds, all using English as our common language. The Language Café brought together a group of people who, on the surface, had very little in common. Czechs, Ukrainians, Russians, Brits, and others came together because they wanted to practice English, meet people, or simply have somewhere to socialize on a Thursday evening. Often, the evening did not conclude when the Language Café ended. A group of us would make our way to Café Portal, where conversations continued over drinks and coffee. Eventually, Café Portal became one of my favorite places on the map I was creating. I could relax with a cappuccino, run into someone I knew, or spend an afternoon by myself and still feel connected to the town around me as I could see people walking the streets from the windows above. This is was the first time I had ever been attracted to the concept of a ‘third space’.
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Photo: Enjoying Language Cafe at Cafe Portal in Uherské Hradiště, June 2026.
The Morava River became one of the places where I learned the most about myself, often without really trying to. On afternoons when I had nowhere to be, I would walk along the river. Living in a small town where I didn’t always know what was going on or who I could spend time with taught me how to be alone in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Along the Morava River, I slowly became more comfortable with the quiet. I learned to enjoy a long walk without needing to call someone and to appreciate an afternoon that didn’t have any particular plan. The river was a reminder that I didn’t always need company to enjoy myself. I could explore on my own, find my own routines, and feel at home in a place even when I was by myself. When I look back at my Fulbright year, it is easy to think about all the ways I grew through the big experiences, but also through the ordinary afternoons that belonged entirely to me. The Morava River will always remind me of the independence I found there, and of learning that being alone does not have to be lonely. My mentor, Martina, would always mention that seeing Castle Buchlov in the horizon of the rolling hills while walking along Morava always signifies home to her. I like to think the same now.
Photo: My usual afternoon walk along the Morava River, November 2025.
The last place to be mentioned may sound the least significant, but it has the biggest impact on my year. I was lucky to live across the street from my amazing mentor, Martina and her family. A street corner in Uherské Hradiště became one of the most familiar places in my life map. A typical Saturday in my life would be exiting my apartment building, walking 50 feet, and being greeted by Martina, Petr (Martina’s husband), Matěj, and Terka (Martina’s children). The corner meeting point was where we would meet before heading off for a hike, bike ride, ski trip, festival, holiday celebration, and so many other adventures! Or the simple gesture of getting an afternoon text saying “I have a delivery for you!” and I would be presented outside with a baked good from Terka or Matěj as they practiced their English saying “For you, Cate!” Sometimes the corner between our two homes was the starting point for a planned adventure, and other times just another small moment within the year that allowed for me to create such a close relationship to my school, town, and mentor and her family. When I first arrived in the Czech Republic, Martina was my mentor. Over the course of the year, she became far more than that. She welcomed me into her life and her family in a way that made a place thousands of miles from home feel a little less far away. I was included in family trips, weekends, meals, and all the ordinary moments in between. Somewhere along the way, I stopped feeling like a Fulbright ETA being welcomed into someone else’s life and started feeling like I was a part of life in Uherské Hradiště.
I will begin with the heart of Uherské Hradiště, the two town squares. Masarykovo náměstí and Mariánské náměstí are both central points of the town and became very important starting points on my personal map of the town. When I arrived to town I heard all excited anticipation for Uherské Hradiště’s famous wine festival, Slovácké slavnosti vína a otevřených památek. This event was the best welcome as the squares and city center took on an entirely different meaning and brought the town to life. During the folklore festival, the streets and town squares were filled with traditional costumes, music, dancing, celebrations, and of course wine and burčák. This offered my first glimpse into how lucky I was to be placed in a such a distinct and special region that cares and holds onto their traditions so closely. The festival in the center of town is one of my fondest memories of the year because I attended with many English Teaching Assistants from other Czech towns. Our ETA cohort was just getting to know each other, and it provided an opportunity for the cohort to bond and get to know each other. I will never forget when it started downpouring and 13 Americans were running through the tiny, winding streets of Uherské Hradiště to escape the rain. By being able to experience the deeply engrained Czech traditions and culture while making lifelong memories on the town squares, I realized I was becoming a part of Uherské Hradiště.
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Another increasingly significant place in Uherské Hradiště was where I was spending most of my days, which was teaching English at Obchodní akademie Uherské Hradiště. I entered Fulbright thinking I would be teaching English, yet I left realizing I was learning so much from my students, my colleagues, and the moments we had week to week in class. I could never have predicted how quickly the students, teachers, and staff would make the school feel like a place where I belonged. Whether my school community knows it or not, every moment was so impactful to me. Some of my favorite memories are the everyday “hellos” and smiles I would receive in the hallway, bringing fun into the classroom through competitive challenges and interactive activities, and the multitude of invitations and welcoming gestures I would receive from colleagues as they allowed me into their lives, families, and traditions.
My students constantly surprised me. They made me laugh every day, challenged me with questions I was maybe not prepared for, and reminded me how important it is to create a community within the classroom. My colleagues taught me just as much outside of the classroom. From the very beginning, they all welcomed me into the rhythm of their school, answered my endless questions, shared their traditions, and made an unfamiliar education system feel navigable. Obchodní akademie gave me a passion for teaching that I was unsure whether I would find. I left my Fulbright year excited about teaching. I found joy in getting to know my students, creating a classroom where they felt confident enough to take risks, and discovering the different ways each of them learned best. When I look back on my year, I remember less about the lessons I planned and more about the students and colleagues who made teaching so meaningful and inspired me to continue in the education field.
Photo: My final lessons at Obchodní akademie Uherské Hradiště (with many tearful goodbyes), June 2026.
Some of my favorite places on my map of Uherské Hradiště were where people intentionally gathered. At Hub 123, the Language Café brought together a group of people I never could have imagined finding in the same room in a small Czech town. People of all ages and nationalities came to practice English and create community. There was something so magical about sitting around a table with people from such different backgrounds, all using English as our common language. The Language Café brought together a group of people who, on the surface, had very little in common. Czechs, Ukrainians, Russians, Brits, and others came together because they wanted to practice English, meet people, or simply have somewhere to socialize on a Thursday evening. Often, the evening did not conclude when the Language Café ended. A group of us would make our way to Café Portal, where conversations continued over drinks and coffee. Eventually, Café Portal became one of my favorite places on the map I was creating. I could relax with a cappuccino, run into someone I knew, or spend an afternoon by myself and still feel connected to the town around me as I could see people walking the streets from the windows above. This is was the first time I had ever been attracted to the concept of a ‘third space’.
.jpg)
The Morava River became one of the places where I learned the most about myself, often without really trying to. On afternoons when I had nowhere to be, I would walk along the river. Living in a small town where I didn’t always know what was going on or who I could spend time with taught me how to be alone in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Along the Morava River, I slowly became more comfortable with the quiet. I learned to enjoy a long walk without needing to call someone and to appreciate an afternoon that didn’t have any particular plan. The river was a reminder that I didn’t always need company to enjoy myself. I could explore on my own, find my own routines, and feel at home in a place even when I was by myself. When I look back at my Fulbright year, it is easy to think about all the ways I grew through the big experiences, but also through the ordinary afternoons that belonged entirely to me. The Morava River will always remind me of the independence I found there, and of learning that being alone does not have to be lonely. My mentor, Martina, would always mention that seeing Castle Buchlov in the horizon of the rolling hills while walking along Morava always signifies home to her. I like to think the same now.
The last place to be mentioned may sound the least significant, but it has the biggest impact on my year. I was lucky to live across the street from my amazing mentor, Martina and her family. A street corner in Uherské Hradiště became one of the most familiar places in my life map. A typical Saturday in my life would be exiting my apartment building, walking 50 feet, and being greeted by Martina, Petr (Martina’s husband), Matěj, and Terka (Martina’s children). The corner meeting point was where we would meet before heading off for a hike, bike ride, ski trip, festival, holiday celebration, and so many other adventures! Or the simple gesture of getting an afternoon text saying “I have a delivery for you!” and I would be presented outside with a baked good from Terka or Matěj as they practiced their English saying “For you, Cate!” Sometimes the corner between our two homes was the starting point for a planned adventure, and other times just another small moment within the year that allowed for me to create such a close relationship to my school, town, and mentor and her family. When I first arrived in the Czech Republic, Martina was my mentor. Over the course of the year, she became far more than that. She welcomed me into her life and her family in a way that made a place thousands of miles from home feel a little less far away. I was included in family trips, weekends, meals, and all the ordinary moments in between. Somewhere along the way, I stopped feeling like a Fulbright ETA being welcomed into someone else’s life and started feeling like I was a part of life in Uherské Hradiště.
Photo: The trip and adventure of a lifetime with Martina and her family, hiking the French Alps, July 2026.
Looking back, it is hard to pinpoint exactly when that happened. There was no single moment when Uherské Hradiště suddenly felt like home. Instead, it happened gradually and so naturally, through invitations, familiar routines, shared adventures, and the comfort of knowing there were people who wanted me there. That street corner became a small marker of all the things that grew from that mentor/ETA relationship and all the places we would go together. When I think about my map of Uherské Hradiště, there are more special places to me, but this is perhaps the most meaningful place to end the trail on this map. The map is not really about the physical streets I learned to navigate or the landmarks I learned to recognize. It is about the people who gave those places meaning. I arrived knowing very little about what my life would look like for the next 10 months. Yet, I left with a second home, a family I never expected to find, and a collection of ordinary places that will always remind me of the life I was lucky enough to build there. I may have arrived with an empty map, but I left with one filled with memories, relationships, and places I know I will carry with me long after my time in Uherské Hradiště has ended.
Photo: Celebrating outside our apartments after completing the Poděbrady Triathlon, May 2026.