When I first departed Clifton Park, New York on the humid, cloudy morning that was June 25, 2019, I told my family that I might be back in a month. At the very most, I’d be gone a year.
Fast forward to 2021. I didn’t come back after a month. I didn’t come back after a year, either. Yes, I remain a Praguer.
And I’m okay with that.
When I think of everything that has happened in the last 730 days, my head starts to spin. So I wanted to present my two-year reflection in an organized way and in a way that only a teacher could. That being said, here’s my own personal report card for the end of Year 2.
Before we start, just a few disclaimers. First, I decided to grade myself in three broad areas: Personal, professional, and social. Additionally, as many of you know, I’m the biggest perfectionist on the planet. I will grade myself harshly.
Now that we have that out of the way, here we go…
Personal: A-
I’m thrilled with my personal growth. Just taking the step of going outside my comfort zone and moving to a foreign country deserves a good grade. I’ve shown everyone—and most importantly, myself—that I can do just fine on my own without having family nearby. I’ve successfully navigated the world of visas, bureaucracy, and the Ceska Posta, whose employees speak about as much English as the chair that I’m sitting on. I found a place to live, twice (and possibly a third time before long). I’ve applied for and accepted multiple jobs. I still can’t cook, but I’ve managed to eat well and not disintegrate into nothing. I found a doctor and got the first dose of my COVID vaccine. I’ve done research on, watched videos about, and read books focusing on self-improvement. It’s all about becoming the best version of yourself. Again, if you’re not doing that, what are you doing?
The only ding, and the reason for the minus, is that I have not consistently worked out or taken great care of my body. I’ve worked out here and there and have been to the gym once, but I’ve lacked a routine. This is one of my main areas of improvement for Year 3. It needs to be. After all, I’m not getting any younger.
Professional: B+
Overall, I’m happy on the professional side as well. For much of my time here, I’ve taught adults through two leading language schools here in Prague. It’s allowed me to meet some great people and do them a service. While COVID has made it hard at times, I think I’ve done well at maintaining income and getting myself a full-time schedule. As time has gone on, I’ve become a more confident, polished, professional, and better teacher. I’ve learned from my mistakes (there have been a lot). I’ve learned from my fellow teachers. I’ve learned from my students. As I prepare to transition into a role working with children, I can apply these lessons to succeed in a new challenge. Additionally, I’m also grateful for the time I’ve spent at summer camps, which I’ll be doing again this summer. I’ve had a lot of fun and made tremendous connections with wonderful people. That, too, was one of the better decisions I’ve made during my time here. When I do leave Prague, I’ll have experience with both adults and children, which will make my resume (or CV, as they call it on this side of the pond) more marketable.
There are two blemishes, hence the reason for the B+. First, the beginning of my time with the language schools wasn’t the smoothest. I had to learn some difficult lessons and make some critical adjustments along the way, but eventually, I settled in. Second, at the start of the pandemic, I tried to delve into the world of online teaching. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out, as I just couldn’t get classes. If I could go back and do it over again, I’d try harder on that front. I can always try again in the future. Never say never.
Social: B
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the coolest person with all the friends in the world and 1 being a complete loner who never speaks to anyone), I’m at about a 6 or a 7. I have met some really great people from so many walks of life. I’ve met Czechs, Americans, Brits, Germans, Italians, Aussies, you name it. I don’t have a huge number of friends, but the quality of the friendships is perhaps better than it’s been in my entire life. When you have friends that you can open up to anything about and end conversations with “I love you,” you’re lucky. I do have a handful of those friends, so I can’t really complain. These are not friends who I hang out with just to have a drink once a month or six. These are people I can trust with literally anything. There are definitely people that I will remain in touch with when their or my Prague experience comes to an end. I’ve had friendships lead to job leads, exciting travel opportunities, fun holiday gatherings, learning new skills (like snowboarding, for example), and having new foods for the first time. For the record, my food skills are way different than they were two years ago, when I didn’t drink coffee and had no idea what bibimbap was. And oh by the way, there was the step I took to stop drinking, which was partially inspired by my friends. My good friends have supported this, held me accountable for it, and not held it against me.
On the negative side, we have the combination of social anxiety, COVID, and people leaving for the United States or other locales. My social anxiety makes it difficult to find and maintain friendships. Personally, I’ve found the maintain part to be much tougher. Sometimes, I feel like I’ve said, done, or posted the wrong thing and it’s sent the wrong message to people. Again, that’s all in a day’s work for someone who deals with anxiety and depression. I also have a tough time reaching out for the phone because I get nervous about how the other person will react. What if they don’t want to hang out with me? What if they don’t respond? This is why I’ve sometimes gone days or weeks without speaking to even my best friends. Over-personalizing and catastrophizing are tendencies I need to quit. COVID restrictions have made it hard to hang out with people as much as we might like, so naturally, some of my relationships have been weakened because of that, although the really good ones have been able to overcome it. It doesn’t deny the fact that pandemic isolation is real, folks. Finally, I’ve recently had a number of important people in my life leave Prague, and I know more are to come in the future. I know that I can stay in touch with these folks through technology, but it’s not the same. On the whole, however, I think I’ve been a pretty good friend to people (even though anxiety and depression sometimes try to convince me otherwise). I’ve tried my very best.
Overall grade: B+
I’m happy and blessed. But did you really think I was going to give myself an A? I hardly ever give my students A’s!
I’m excited for the adventures and new experiences that await in Year 3. There have been a tremendous number of changes recently, some good, some bad, and some scary. As the year progresses, there will be days I want to pack it up and go home. My ability to adapt is going to be tested. So is my mental fortitude. But I’m going to go out there and try my best. My goal is, once again, to be the best version of myself and to make my family and friends proud. If I do that, great! If not, I took this step, and no one will ever be able to take that away from me.
Czeching Out the World of TEFL 