If you've been following along with me thus far...
we made it!! Here we are wrapping up Month 10 and an incredible Fulbright year. Throughout this year I've been excited for this moment, dreading it, nervous for it, all while believing I'd never really make it here to see this day. Ten months was always something I fixated on while being here just because it was this hard-to-imagine period of time, not quite a whole year, but feels like one, and nothing I've done before can quite compare to this length. So I spent the whole ten months trying to figure out just how long 10 months is and what it means for me. Well, we've made it. And I simply don't believe it. It feels like I literally just got the hang of things all while recognizing my flight to the Czech Republic could very well have been 5 years ago and I wouldn't know the difference.
Although I don't leave the Czech Republic for another 2 weeks, the end really is here. I have super short days, 3/4 of my students have finished, no real lesson planning, and a whole lot of "lasts" are suddenly consuming me. Someone told me the other day that this age of early 20's are always filled with a lot of goodbyes. And I don't know if everyone can really resonate with it, but I sure can. I feel like I'm always leaving people, saying goodbye, moving on to so many new chapters. So in a way, this feels routine. I know the motions of this but at the same time, this one is so wildly different. Goodbyes at college meant I'd have to drive an hour to see you instead of living with you. Goodbyes here mean flying 9+ hours. This is without a doubt the hardest and most indefinite goodbye I've had.
There's so much to say about this chapter ending, and I know I'll get there soon and unpack it all. But I still had an amazing last month here (and 2 more weeks to come) full of the usual highlights, trips, and now end-of-year events! Usually when I'm preparing a big move or a sad goodbye, I get super sentimental, cry a lot, and make everything a little more dramatic than it probably needs to be. That hasn't hit me yet, although I know it will, just going to be a last-minute realization this time I guess. But for the past month, I've grown to look back on this year and truly celebrate all that it was - making it my word for the last month. There is SO much to celebrate. So much I've been undeserving of, so many blessings, so much luck I still don't believe made its way to me. I've never felt this much showering of good in my whole life. And reading this I know it sounds super cliche. People always say "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" and I never really got that. Ever. I think feeling sadness and emotion is a sign of your love and happiness sometimes. It's just a way to express it. And I'm 100% more prone to this reaction, but I think for the first time (at least for right now) I'm leaning more towards the "smile because it happened". This year has given me SO much and I feel really fulfilled knowing I've given quite a bit too. I don't love recognizing that side of it, but I felt so purposeful here and seeing the mutual difficulty of saying goodbye is a little confirmation of that.
So much to say but I can't forget to celebrate the highlights!!
Wrapped up my English clubs which were always a great way to connect with some really dedicated students. I felt like I saw the most excitement and growth from these kids despite their English level. And bittersweet because I had them 3x a week so lots more free time, but less student time :(
Headed to Prague for one last overnight trip with some Fulbright gals. It was the night before our farewell event so we talked about everything and rented out a little paddle boat on the Vltava and Doordashed sushi to the river banks :) Core memory for sure
Fulbright's official farewell! This was insane. We all were invited to the U.S. Ambassador's house in Prague, heard him and other officials speak, and invited our mentors to the celebration too. They deserve all the attention and gratitude as well!!
One last party with the Fulbright group that I'll miss way too much. If it weren't for this I don't think I'd ever come across all these amazing people. We met at an apartment in Prague, had a pong tournament (which I won with Charlie not to flex), did paper plate awards, and reminisced all together.
Had to get myself together fast because the next day some of us traveled to Karlovy Vary a bit west of Prague for a half marathon we signed up for months ago!! I was super surprised by myself that I kept a good pace and didn't stop, running with some other Fulbright girls along the way.
Kelsey came back to Tábor after that fun weekend to see the place and visit my school for a day. It's always fun showing people my place and hearing their takes on it.
This month all my seniors took their final exams called the Maturita, and the English portion is what we've been preparing for ALL year. I had to step into the other classes that week because my co-teachers were proctoring the exams so I didn't get to watch any, but nonetheless, I'm really proud of all of them. I felt some type of way watching them all cram in the hallway and asking me last-minute questions about which prepositions or articles to use for this and that haha.
Got to do a joint lesson with the Czech Language course on...Pride and Prejudice haha. The teacher really wanted to combine it with English so ignoring the fact that I haven't touched that book in almost a decade, I refreshed myself and managed to pull off a 3-course long lesson on it!
Had literally the BEST weekend in Mikulov again. I've been before to visit Kelsey, but this was the last weekend for a big group of us to get together. We had no plans, wandered to a quarry, found some coffee stands, and hung out with local friends, it was the best. I just love those girls so much!!
Got in a couple more last-minute plans with teachers after school. I'll miss the spontaneity and last-minute invites, genuinely. I visited a teacher's house, went on a walk with her dog, and saw some pretty amazing views of the farmlands out here.
Stumbled upon the PRETTIEST sunset I'll ever see. Check the pictures below
Summer music in Tábor has started again!! So nice to see music in the square every Wednesday and Saturday and see it come to life again.
After weeks of preparation with 8 of my classes, we finally pulled off American Day at my school. Each class prepared a food, sport, and trivia specific to their region of the U.S. that I gave them. Some highlights were Old Bay chips, cornhole, lacrosse, and puppy chow :)
The goodbyes officially started :( This whole year I've had another ETA only 15 minutes away from me and with him leaving early it really set in how it's all coming to an end. I know I'll see these people again but we'll never have the same experiences like we did here in Czech.
Small little win but only now just discovering espresso tonics!?! Where have they been my whole life?
Super unique experience this month! Got to see the Czech National Cheer Competition which one of my students was competing in!! I went to Prague with her team, watched 60+ performances, and watched her take 1st place whoohoo national champs!!
I was gifted the most special opportunity by all my colleagues at the school this year - a sightseeing flight of South Bohemia!! Check out the pictures below. It was the most amazing and special thing I've ever experienced and made me a little emotional to see this little bubble from so far out that I've called home for a whole year.
Ok one tragic story. My worst fear came true. I saw an elderly woman trip and fall on the cobblestone, taking the hardest hit I've ever seen landing literally on her face. Her glasses flew feet away and broke. I ran over to her immediately (not to mention the 5 Czech people close by...that just stood still...) and tried my best to help but the language barrier was so horrible. I felt so inadequate. She was bleeding badly from her forehead but insisted on getting up right away and walking fast down the road probably out of embarrassment. It was the most horrible thing I've seen and felt so bad I couldn't do more :(
As I wrap up my last classes, some took it upon themselves to get me little gifts or surprises before I left. One class all wrote individual notes in little glass bottles for me to read when I get sad, some got me chocolate with notes, they all wanted to take pictures, and one even made a Kahoot of all the fun memories we've had. It's been hard to keep myself composed for things like this
Sweet Allie's birthday came up so yet another trip to Prague!! We had the loveliest dinner outside along the river and went out all together one more time. Hanging out on the riverbanks and running across Charles Bridge like we were 12 will again be such a core memory for me.
Had one more farewell in KolÃn with another group of Fulbright people which never gets easier. This time I knew I'd see most of them for our celebratory vacation after our time here, but still.
This month is finishing off with a lot of loose ends being tied up! Lots of gifts to prepare, letters to write, things to clean, and lotssss to pack. I'm making progress slowly but surely!
Although this was my last full month, I know the upcoming 2 weeks will carry most of the emotions that come with leaving. They bubble up and catch me off guard sometimes, and I never really know when I'm about to lose it haha. But I just keep remembering myself 10 months ago when I literally could not imagine this day, and also had no idea how I'd be feeling. My bitter self thought I'd be so eager to go. That's why I booked a return flight for the day school ends. Little did I know how sad and scared I'd be to leave here. This year has been actually so life-changing and I've never seen such growth in myself, honestly. Going back home feels like going back to the old me which is not what I want. So I'll be doing my best to keep this momentum!! Check back in to see how it goes...
