Fulbright Reality Czech

Michael Kenney has been  teaching English at Catholic gymnasium Varnsdorf since September 2021. With a Master’s in Education, a Bachelor’s in American Studies and minors in Entrepreneurship and Theology, two years of full-time teaching experience at a Catholic middle school in the U.S., and a life-long passion for sports, this general school with students from the age of 11 to 19 seemed to be the perfect fit. Many of the 6th and 8th graders whom Michael taught English and Theology in the U.S. came from immigrant backgrounds, but his only international travel experience was a week-long study trip to India. Setting off to Varnsdorf, a town of 15,000, located in North Bohemia, right on the border with Germany, was a grand transition. Today, Michael recalls the two specific images—one mental, one literal—that framed his perception of the Czech Republic and its culture. He shares that: “Over time, this pair of pictures has grown into a full album, as each day has handed me new images in the

„I got you babe… I got you babe…“  Tak se mi ozývá hudba z budíku každé další ráno v karanténě. Jak někteří filmoví nadšenci poznali, je to stejná píseň, která zní ve filmu Na Hromnice o den více, na kterou se probouzí každý den hlavní postava, ztvárněná Billem Murrayem. Hlavní hrdina prožívá stále tentýž den znovu a znovu, což ho přivádí uprostřed té monotónnosti téměř k šílenství. Co se mi zpočátku zdálo jako malý vtip, připomínající právě tento film, zapříčiněný pandemií koronaviru covid-19, bohužel přešlo velmi rychle během několika týdnů do celostátního stavu nouze. Kromě toho ale i do stavu nouze mysli, v níž jsem našel stav znudění prolínající se s otráveností stejně jako hlavní hrdina filmu. Svůj pobyt v Česku jsem započal jako cizinec studující obor česká média a politologii na Fulbrightově stipendijním programu americko-české organizace založené za účelem podpory vzdělání, vědy a kultury mezi oběma zeměmi na Univerzitě Karlově. Poté, co americké velvyslanectví ukonči

Posted by Sarah Rothmann (English teaching Assistant at Gymnázium Jozefa Bočka in Český Těšín, currently quarantined at home in USA) Some may say I am a planner. I think I would say that as well. What can I say? Plans are nice. I love being able to guess what’s going to happen and how I will react. Especially when plans work out. However, they can also be devastating when they fall apart. After these past few weeks, whether a planner or not, I think we all may agree that the grief, frustration, and utter confusion that follows absolutely blows. However, since arriving back to the United States from the Czech Republic I have found that being discouraged overshadows all the joys and love that life holds for everybody every day. Being discouraged is very easy and natural right now but is unproductive and has the power to drive anybody crazy. Letting this grief, frustration, and utter confusion consume life is the opposite of what I plan to do for these quarantine days. Instead of

By Miriam Siroky (Fulbright Scholar’s daughter) Dear Diary, Today was quite an average school day. To be honest, I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I was excited to see my friends. I slowly got out of bed and ready for school, but I really didn’t really want to go outside, and started to imagine: “If only there was a zip line from my bed to the classroom…” I really have nothing to complain about, since my whole commute takes less than oneminute by foot. Only when I sleep over at a friend’s house do I have a reason to complain about how long it takes to get to school, and it only makes me grateful to live so close to school. As my feet drag me through the two doors of the school, I start to question why I’m not in bed still, since it’s only 8. As the second door opens, I go straight to my locker, where I change my shoes, and put my jacket inside. After exiting the locker room, I head up the two flights of stairs to my classroom, where I see my friends! About a minute later

In the last few days, the Czech Republic has been experiencing major changes day by day. Every day, the government is tightening measures to win the stuggle against the coronavirus. There are closed restaurants, most shops, but mainly schools and universities. Our grantees have faced a major challenge this week. To go or not to go home to the USA. In this post we are sharing some of the touching confessions of our grantees who have been faced with the big question of whether to stay or to go in recent days. Read about Alanna, Anya and Jubilee's decisions in this post. This text was written by Alanna Powers (current English Teaching Assistant) Family, friends, students, and everyone in between:  The past 24 hours, have been, without a doubt, the hardest of my life. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, the Czech Republic is closing its borders on Sunday, allowing only citizens and those with long-term residency (that’s me) the option to stay. No one will ha

Napsal Mgr. Jan Tomáštík, Ph.D. z Přírodovědecké fakulty Univerzity Palackého v Olomouci ze Společné laboratoře optiky, který momentálně působí na Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University v Blacksburgu ve Virginii. Otevírám rozespalé oči a rychle vyhrávám nekonečný souboj s budíkem. Díky tomu neprobudím mou ženu, která si díky medikaci pospí trochu déle. Snažím se chytit trendy života ve Virginii, takže si z krabice sypu americké vločky do amerického mléka a v americky obrovském dvoupatrovém bytě se připravuji na další den vědátora v USA. Pracovat ve vědě má i své nevýhody – prokletí, že nikdy nevypnete mozek a nikdy nemáte doděláno. Ale velkou výhodou naopak je, že máte práci jako hobby, a vaším denním chlebem je vždycky aspoň špetka nového poznání. S vědou se navíc pojí cestování. Dříve díky konferencím a tréninkům, nyní díky vědecké spolupráci jsem už pobyl v Británii i na největším teleskopu na planetě v Argentině. Cílem vědce musí být neustrnout a nestagnovat

by Madison Kambic (current English teaching Assistant in Ostrava) I had the privilege of attending one of the strangest culture-bomb events I have ever seen in my life. What is Masopust? The way my Czech friend-of-a-friend explained it to me was this: it’s a three-in-one festival in early spring. It’s a combination of Czech Mardi Gras, a welcoming of the spring season, and the beginning of a “fertility” period. I hadn’t planned to attend, but I found myself in Prague with an invite and nothing else planned for that day. I arrived at the festival with a few other Fulbrighters; three scholars and myself as an English Teaching Assistant. Also joining us was a group of NYU students and their Czech professor, Matej, for the festival. What first got me curious was the amount of people on the train to the festival. We were only travelling three stops from a smaller Prague station, but the train was  p a c k e d with people. Almost everyone was wearing a costume. There wasn’t

Authors: Griffin Trau, Katie Winner, Alanna Powers (current Fulbright ETAs) If you’re an American, chances are we all had similar prom experiences in high school. Usually a few weeks before graduation, boys ask girls to the prom. Girls buy a fancy dress, and boys a nice suit with a matching tie. Prom night consists of about an hour of picture taking with your date and friend group, followed by a ride to prom in a nice car or a limo. The dance itself is about three hours long, and the only people in attendance are typically students at the school with a handful of teacher chaperones. After prom ends, around 10 or 11 p.m., all the students leave and go their separate ways for the night, usually to a post-prom hang out. After attending six (and counting!) Czech proms, I can confidently state that Czech proms are nothing like American proms. At all. My school, Střední Škola Informatiky a Služeb, is a technical school with seven different concentrations of study. Of these seven, s

by Chloe' Sky  Maeve Duffy is serving this year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Rakovník (17,000 people), although she lives in a village called Senomaty (1000 people). Having majored in Theatre at Barnard College, Maeve is bringing Broadway to Czechia by directing a play in her town. Read below to find out exactly what classic American story she’s working on with her students, how she deals with the tough topics that are seen differently in Czech and American culture, and how being so close to nature has impacted her life. Fast Facts Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland Age: 22 College, Major/Minor: Barnard College, B.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Acting, pre-med track, minor in Biochemistry School in the Czech Republic:  Gymnazium Zikmunda Wintra Rakovník Favorite Czech word or phrase: veverka, squirrel. “Day 2 of my grant I was attacked by a squirrel, so this was one of the first Czech words I learned. I used it in the classroom and now my st

Sarah Marie Kidder by Sinia Amanonce While attending Penn State University, Sarah Marie Kidder was part of a hip-hop dance team that hosted an event featuring Jaja Vankova, a famous Czech dancer, as one of their judges. As Sarah and Jaja spoke about dance, culture, and the Czech Republic, Sarah was inspired to apply for Fulbright in the Czech Republic. Read below to find out what Sarah has to say about building bonds with students and her experience living in Česká Lípa. Fast Facts: Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Age: 24 College, Major/Minor: Penn State University, University Park, Biobehavioral Health School in the Czech Republic: Obchodní akademie Česká Lípa Favorite Czech word: “I really like “veverka” which means squirrel and the phrase “tak ahoj!”[bye]” Favorite Czech food: Chlebíčky Favorite Quote: “The sun is perfect and you woke this morning. You have enough language in your mouth to be understood. You have a name, and someone wants to call it. Five fi