Fulbright Reality Czech

Alexandra Saulenas, Amzie Dunekacke, Emily Kohlman, Jennifer Dorn, Lizzy Ehren, and Parker Henry are lifelong friends and also 2018/2019 Fulbright alumni. Their friendship journey began over eight years ago in the lobby of a Brno Hotel. In late August of 2018, 30 new, excited and nervous English Teaching Assistants and Fulbright Commission staff met for the first time to start the in-country orientation. At the end of the four-day training, the ETAs traveled to their host towns. Alex and Emily took a bus to Znojmo, as Alex was placed at the Nursing School and Emily at the Gymnázium and Pedagogy School in Znojmo. Lizzy was placed at Gymnázium Hustopeče, Jen at Gymnázium Zábřeh, Amzie at Gymnázium Svitavy and Parker at Gymnázium Šlapanice. At that time, no one would have guessed how much travel, adventure, support and joy this group would share. Today, six years after the start of their Fulbright journey, we can surely call this a Fulbright love story. The group keeps in touch, and they

Petr Nguyen vede Laboratoř srovnávací cytogenetiky a genomiky na Přírodovědecké fakultě Jihočeské univerzity v Českých Budějovicích a působí jako vědecký pracovník Entomologického ústavu Biologického centra Akademie věd. V roce 2016/2017 strávil osm měsíců s Fulbrightovým stipendiem pro vědce a přednášející na University of Kansas v USA, a pronikl tak do základů bioinformatiky. Rolí dnešních výzkumníků je podle Petra Nguyena  příprava studentů na praxi nebo vědu, posouvání lidského poznání, kultivace společnosti a řešení problémů, které by nás všechny měly trápit. S Petrem Nguyenem hovořil Ladislav Loukota ze stránky  Vědátor . Rozhovor je osmým dílem seriálu příběhů ke 30. výročí Fulbrightovy komise. Videozáznamy najdete každou první středu v měsíci na našem  YouTube  kanále a  Facebooku . V pátek Vám přinášíme částečný přepis rozhovorů zde na blogu . Co je obor vašeho výzkumu, jak vypadá vaše denní činnost? Zajímá mě organizace genomu, její změny a jejich role v evoluci. Ve výzkumu s

Michelle Devereaux is an Associate Professor of English and English Education at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Her work is heavily influenced by her five years as a high school English teacher. In 2018/2019, Michelle was a Fulbright Scholar at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. Passionate about excellence in teaching, Michelle helped to train American Fulbright English Teaching Assistants in the Czech Republic and their local colleagues while on her grant. In this blog post, Michelle reflects on the past year of teaching mostly in the virtual world and on the lessons of critical empathy that she has learned from her students.     We had done everything right. We had researched, planned, drafted, and then researched again. We had received permissions and signed forms. Our academic unit was done. The 10th grade classroom and its teacher were both ready to go. The curricular unit on Global Englishes was our brain child. We hadn’t found any previous research that

The most unique and enjoyable aspect of the Fulbright experience has been the complete cultural immersion. I’m the only native-English speaker living in this tiny Czech town, and for most people, I’m also the only American that they’ve ever met. Unlike when I studied film in Prague (where there were always fellow study-abroad-students or tourists), I am completely and entirely surrounded by Czech natives. This unique situation often presents me with two very different options: stay at home looking at my computer all day, or go out and experience as many Czech foods, customs, holidays, and other events as I possibly can. This has resulted in me developing what I’ve been calling a “yes-driven” mentality; I try to accept every invitation that comes my way. Thankfully, this has led me to attend many great events, such as a typical Czech dance ball, a Guláš festival, a wine tasting event, traditional Christmas celebrations, cross-country ski trips, and occasional nights