Ms. Peacock in the Conservatory: On life in Litomyšl and some other places

My latest article for the TEFL Institute Newsletter w/ pictures. & Get this, now they are going to pay for little articles like this, snap!

From sulfuric geysers in Iceland, to the pagodas of Burma, to the formerly tyrannical Red Square of Moscow, to the intense fusion that is small island of Mauritius; I have seen innumerable countries. However, at twenty-four, I was filled with lament that while I could boast a myriad of travelling experiences I had never lived, really lived, somewhere long enough to feel homesick, develop the routines of a host country, or fully know a culture inside and out.

In January of 2011 I made a New Year’s Resolution that I would be teaching abroad by the end of the year. I walked into the TEFL institute office in Chicago and slapped down the largest investment I had made in myself since I graduated college three years prior. I signed up to take the nine-week online certification course and it was all uphill from there. While resolutions of this sort may seem idealistic and trivial, sometimes that lofty goal becomes important when you need to push yourself through the endlessly exhausting and horrifying tasks of: finishing the course, completing the practicum, applying for employment, leaving friends and family, acquiring a visa and/or necessary documents before leaving, and eventual acclimation to your new destination. If you have the goal in the beginning, by the end of it all you will be remiss if you an unable to acknowledge your accomplishments of making it that far (literally and figuratively). Having been through this process, and living here on my own, it is my whole belief that if I want to do something I can actually do it, which is something I never believed before.

I had applied to forty-two positions in twenty-five different countries and had had eleven interviews before I chose my final destination. Needless to say, I was not actually sure where I wanted to go, but I knew I wanted to find an institution that fit all my needs including: the type of students I would be teaching, the location of the school, visa woes, medical insurance, and the actual economics of it (would I be making enough money).

I eventually found my job on TEFL.com, but I found many tempting positions on Tesall.com and esljobsworld.com. I have kept in contact with a few of these recruiters for my next adventure.

I am currently living in Litomyšl, Czech Republic, which is about two hours east of Prague. While Prague, Brno, and Plzen appear to be the hot spots for English teachers in Czech Republic, I had been living in a big city for five years and I was interested in testing out my big fish-little pond theory, as well as some of the more pastoral areas of Eastern Bohemia. My town is one of the most beautiful places. At the city center sits a massive castle and Cathedral, which are surrounded by a lavish town square, historic Jewish graveyards, great biking trails, and (to me) a large forest about ten minutes from my home. While I do not have some of the amenities of larger cities- i.e. many disco techs and cafés open all hours of the night—I find that being one of two native speakers in a town of 10,000 definitely has its perks. Throughout the course of the week I am often invited to dine with a family, join one of my students for a hiking class at the gym, see a fellow teachers band play in the square, or even join new friends out for a beer. Given that the town is so small, there are limited degrees of separation. I can be at the kino (cinema) and someone will speak to me in Czech and I will politely and blushingly have to say, I’m sorry, I do not speak Czech well. Do you speak English? To this they will reply, Oh! You are the English teacher from the Kindergarten, I have heard about you! You are teaching Jakub. I am his Aunt or “You live with the Dvořák’s my daughter went to school with them.”

I work through a language school that has contracted me out to work with one of the local kindergartens in town. This is the first year of any English curriculum at the kindergarten and the first time that many of the children have come into contact with a native English teacher. I love being part of an innovative curriculum project in a small town that is attempting to bridge the gap and connect people from different cultures and languages. While at times the task of teaching these children English can be daunting, and the pressure to make this class a success utterly overwhelming, it is worth it when you see the children recognize a color that you have said. I have a co-teacher who speaks to the children only in Czech and I speak to the children only in English. This dynamic has been working wonderfully so far and I am eager to see the continued language advancements of my students. One of the reasons I chose in Litomyšl, in addition to its beauty, was the opportunity to teach and tutor older students in the afternoon. I had taught children back in the States, but I wanted to take this experience as the opportunity to try out different levels of teaching. I now tutor four adults and teach two basic classes throughout the week. Being able to teach these two different levels has been rewarding each in its own right.

Living in a smaller town is often times more economically sound than living in a big city. To put it in perspective, this past weekend I had the occasion to visit some friends in Praha, and while out, I met a fellow English Teacher who was working behind the bar. According to him a lot of English teachers in Prague work a second job in the industry to make ends meet. He had been living in Prague for four months, but has been working seven days a week for three months. The pay, whether in a big city or small city, is much the same and your expenses in a smaller city are far less than those of a bustling metropolis. Don’t get me wrong, there are some days that I would love the be able to walk out my door and be overwhelmed with the possibility of going anywhere, but for now it remains a nice place to visit.

Teaching and tutoring here in Litomyšl has been wonderful and I am anxious and excited to see what becomes of my Czech language skills and teaching over the next nine months. You can check out my adventures here. & best of luck to all on their upcoming teaching adventures.

Eye-Spy Victoria:

Okay, so I am no in this one, but India is CRAZY crowded & alive with pizazz.