First Week of Teaching

Sorry for this being a little late. I had some technical difficulties, lost everything I had written, and had to start from scratch.

Today my first week of teaching at the agricultural school in Opava ended. It's been a whole lot of fun and immensely interesting. It varies from class to class and teacher to teacher but it seems as though my job will mostly involve me just talking, a skill that I've always been good, (sometimes too good), at. I've grown accustomed to walking into classrooms of whispering young men and giggling young women of ages fourteen to twenty-two, depending on the class, and giving my personal information to blank stares, accompanied by even more snickers and mumblings. (My usual spiel is as follows: "Hello everyone, my name is Alex Bednar. I am twenty-two years old. I enjoy listening to music, reading, writing, traveling, running, and watching Basketball and American Football. I am from Nebraska. Nebraska is one of the fifty United States of America. Nebraska is located in the center of the U.S. Nebraska is known mostly for its American football, corn, cows, farms, and for being very plain and relatively boring. I just graduated from University and I would like to one day be an American History professor. I came to the Czech Republic to improve my teaching skills, learn more about Czech culture, and take a break from school. If you have any questions about the English language, the U.S., or anything, don't hesitate to ask.") After I step off my soapbox, I ask the students questions and watch them shrug their shoulders and turn ten shades of red. Occasionally I get an answer in pure and nearly perfect English, other times in nervous Czech, but usually I get absolutely nothing but an embarrassed student squirming in his/her desk. Sometimes I have to talk about a specific topic while other times I can speak about whatever I'd like. Some teachers have prepared lesson plans with lots of responsibilities for me, while others seem to make everything up as they go and only want me in the classroom as a resource. Everything depends on the teacher, the class, the day, and everyone's moods. I'm having a whole lot of fun with the unpredictability and variety of everything. It's also fun because the students can ask me questions as well. Usually kids that didn't understand my introduction speech ask questions that I've already covered and most of the other students are too shy to ask anything, but other times a brave student will ask about certain U.S. bands, why I picked the Czech Republic, U.S. politics, etc. and even braver students will ask if I'm single, do I like Czech beer, what do I think of Czech women, etc. Every class and every day are different and that's great for me. The other thing I've really enjoyed about teaching are the constants that can be found in almost every high school/college around the world. Even though Czech culture, language, and education systems are completely different from what I'm familiar with, the students are still awkward teens with faces a bloom with zits. Some wear pants that are way too baggy, while others wear jeans that are much too tight. They are usually armed to the teeth with the latest technology, headphones in ear and phone in hand. Strangely, seeing those pimpled but proud faces brings me some level of comfort and eases my homesickness. Kids are kids almost everywhere in the world.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of my first school with this post. I didn't have any chances to get a snapshot of the building or classrooms without feeling like a total American and/or creep/perv.

I'm still getting settled into my home here in Hradec nad Moravici (see pictures). The family I'm living with have continued to be wonderful. They spoil me constantly and are always extremely friendly and accommodating. I've been walking and running more and more often around the town to see the sights and get a feel for my surroundings. The town has one of, if not the, best castles I've seen here in the CR (the Hradec part of Hradec nad Moravici). There is also a nice little river that flows through town, (the Moravici part of Hradec nad Moravici), that has an excellent bike path where I have really enjoyed running, (I'll have a post up about running sometime in the future).

On Monday I head back to Prague for a week of meetings with the full Fulbright staff and all of the other Fulbrighters. I'm happy to head back to one of my favorite cities in the world. I get to see an Opera, have a brunch at the U.S. embassy, and stay at a fairly swanky hotel all on the governments dime, (thanks fellow taxpayers!). Seeing as how I'm going by train, the trip down to Prague should be an adventure as well. I'll make sure and keep you all updated and take lots of pictures.

Thanks for reading!