Settling In

As of today, I've officially been here in the Czech Republic for 9 days! But can I just say it feels like I've lived here for at least a month. Maybe two. But wow - what an incredibly exciting, crazy busy, informative 9 days they have been.

My first few days in the Czech Republic I spent in my new home town of Tábor. My mentor Martina and her husband Luděk picked me up from the airport in Prague right away and we drove off about 1.5hours back through what honestly reminded me of Carroll County. I was surprised by the farm land, the random cows on the side of the road, and then a random gas station and McDonalds. It was oddly comforting for a time when I fully expected to be on the verge of tears and anxiety.

I immediately got settled in to my apartment which is on the third floor of a family's home that was recommended by the Fulbright student who lived in my town 2 years ago so I came in feeling pretty confident that it would be good for me. There's a woman who lives below me and her mother on the bottom floor, both of which don't speak any English yet have this energy about them that made me feel so welcome and wanted. It was honestly so surprising for me because the Czech language sounds pretty aggressive and we learned so much about the cultural differences in body language etc. so I was prepared for the total opposite. But again, this weird sense of feeling comfortable was such a huge thing for me the first day or two.

After unpacking slightly I joined Martina and her family at their home for dinner where we had your to be expected basic conversations getting to know each other with definitely some awkwardness haha. I found that Czechs are entirely way too comfortable with silence than I'd like lol. Those weird pauses in conversation where you just take a deep breath and sit, are like normal for them...and I cringe every single time. I think it might be a good thing for me to get used to since American culture is so fast paced and even a little artificial in that sense of somehow always having something to say or an opinion to insert.

The next 2 days were well spent with Martina getting oriented with the town, taking a driving tour, showing me the grocery stores and essentials that I'll need - basically your standard home town tour. We went out to lunch at local classic Indian restaurant haha which was really great, and just took everything in. It was information overload that everything I was seeing and being introduced to was going to be my permanent home for 10 months. These places weren't just a "in case you need this", it was a "here's your grocery store that you'll see every week". That was definitely a weird feeling to sit with because I already felt pressure to like LOVE it all and immediately feel comfortable with it all. Which is so unrealistic but classic Michaela. One of those days I also met up with my first Czech friend named Jirka (George) who I was connected with before I even left the States. He is just one example of the generosity that's so ingrained in Czech culture. He offered to meet me close to the apartment, take me to BurgerFest (a small little food and music festival that was happening), buy my food and drink and walk me all the way back to the apartment even though his stop was a different direction. It hasn't been just him to do all of this for me, and it's honestly something I need to get used to. I think I'm experiencing for the first time in a while this actual need to rely on people. If I didn't let him walk me back I'd probably get lost haha and when excursions are offered to me, I need to say yes so I don't feel so lost and alone. It's a bit uncomfortable to know that there are people here who know I have no friends, who know that I probably don't know my way around, and know that I'm likely gonna struggle to get comfortable. And when they offer to help ease that it's a weird feeling of vulnerability and being taken care of that isn't something I'm used to.

The next day started Fulbright's official ETA (English Teaching Assistant) orientation right outside of Prague!! So I got on my first train here in Czech Republic, luckily met 2 other ETA's who got on the same train just at different stops, and navigated our way to Prague with only a couple bumps in the road haha. The conductor didn't speak English yet I managed to understand that he actually denied my student discount, we mid-ride had to change our route and find a metro stop since there was construction on the road, and asked about 5 strangers in the process if they spoke English so we didn't miss our stops. Again, something I don't think I've ever felt comfortable enough to do until now. But after we finally made our way there, the best 4 days begun!!

I think at this point I was really craving the ability to vent to someone who was experiencing the same thing. I was feeling kinda desperate to bond with these people because I knew they'd essentially become my family over these next 10 months and be the people I'd visit if I needed to feel at home. There was only a little part of me that was scared that wouldn't happen, but I kind of knew it would happen because there literally wasn't another choice for me haha. So I made an intention to talk to every single ETA (33 total I think) on more than just a surface level - and pretty sure I succeeded?? This was the first orientation thing I'd been a part of as an adult I think. Like college orientation was weird because you

kind of still cling to your old ways of sticking with the people you know, maybe going up to one person MAYBE, and at least for me, waiting for people to make moves towards you. But this time there was such a maturity about these people that was so refreshing and comforting because I didn't feel judged, or weird, or different for any reason. Every single person was so great to talk to and sit with at all of our random lectures, and there was genuinely no awkwardness of who will I sit with, who will I talk to, because everyone was in the same boat of being equally nervous but excited and genuine -- if that makes any sense.

A couple thoughts on orientation:

1. Fulbright: I did in fact develop a pretty strong sense of imposter syndrome because damn Fulbright chose some pretty incredible people to do this. And they say to never compare yourself because everyone was chosen for different reasons, but I couldn't help but feel unqualified in a lot of ways for this. Other ETAs had been teaching for years, had studied teaching English as a foreign language, had insane life stories about being the first in their family to get an education, had such unique talents and capabilities that I felt I couldn't really compare to. I would start to have conversations with people and then hear something in their experiences or stories and to myself be like, "Ohhh and that's why you're here". It was like everyone had some crazy unique element that made them so beyond worthy of this. The depth of the ETAs, despite their more literal qualifications that would come out in conversation every once in a while, was also something I felt right away. These people can hold incredible conversations and be vulnerable and ask such intelligent questions all throughout. People weren't afraid to get emotional and be honest about how this is making everyone feel. I felt like I was surrounded by people who were quite literally going to change the world one day - because they will.

2. Teaching: Kind of weird how I applied for this with no genuine intention to pursue teaching as a profession in my future. And I'm still not exactly sure where I stand on that but ask me in 10 months because I'll be pretty familiar with it by then haha. But during orientation we had a number of lectures from this professor at Charles University in Prague who basically gave us crash courses on being an effective teacher of English, create lesson plans, and co-teach with our mentors. Can I just say that man was the most inspiring person I've come across in a long time. His energy and passion for teaching made me want to be his student. I wanted to learn, to be like him, and impact people the way he did us in just a couple of days. He spoke about the power teachers have to shape young people in a million different ways, and especially the power we'll have as native English speakers here in our small Czech towns where we'll likely be the first for many of our students. This whole time I was reminded of my language learning experience and some of the very best teachers I've ever had who just so happen to also be my French professors. I could go on about some of the revelations I had, but I'll just say I'm planning an email to some of them because of this overwhelming feeling of gratitude and appreciation for the role teachers can play in someone's life. Especially in a world like we live in today, teachers have an incredible opportunity to shape these young people into being better people and leaving places a bit better because they were a part of it. I'm feeling really ready to hopefully make a difference and get to know these students on a personal level. To be able to say I affected even 1 student in the way I was, would make this entire thing worth it.

These past few days have been such a whirlwind but I can honestly say I've learned so so much. About a lot of things, some of which I can't even really put words to. But if I'm already feeling this way I can't imagine what 10 months is going to do for me. Looking forward to processing all these emotions a bit more and writing about them - this experience is going to be a powerful one I can already tell because I feel like I've already changed for the better in just one week!!

Thanks for reading this all the way through, let's see what next week brings whoohoooo