Czech Me Out 2014

Teaching a class about the USA!

Ahoy! Exploring my ancestral roots in the Czech Republic is turning out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I'm am having such a great time, I don't even know where to start! I've been presenting about Texas and the USA for four hours everyday at schools in Prague and in small towns. The Czech children absolutely love it and are so excited and enthusiastic to learn! From playing games, to giving quizzes with prizes, to dancing to country music, it is so fun to teach the kids. Among many things, they love to play football (& soccer), to eat beef jerky, to two-step, and to learn. 

But school is just half of it. I have been doing so many amazing things outside of school- I've barely been home! So far I have stayed in Prague for two weeks and I've been in the countryside for two weeks. Obviously it's so fun to be in Prague :) Us EPs can navigate the city by ourselves and we've visited the beautiful old town area and the castles in Prague multiple times. It is really fun to live and go to work in a group and on our own. I feel a stronger sense of responsibility and freedom than I've ever felt before. 

Old City Center, Prague 

Berliner Stadtschloss

The group of EPs has become very close. We are from Brazil, Canada, Croatia, China, Ukraine, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Pakistan, and the USA! We do pretty much everything together, from teaching to eating to traveling to drinking to dancing to talking about how all of our cultures are different :D Our Czech friends and the LC are amazing, AIESEC Praha is so organized! We have not run into any problems with schools, travels, or host families. They actively communicate with us to make sure everything is going smoothly and they inform us very well of all of the schooling details. Of course, they actively spend time with us to make sure we are having a good time! Haha on the first night we had a beer quiz, and as you might guess I won with my two new Czech friends. If you haven't noticed, Europeans use plenty of emojis and its kind of rubbing off on me... ;) 

I've been learning a lot of AIESEC stuff too, social and non-social. Firstly, it is so cool to see the EP management side of AIESEC that @Y does not really have. The AIESECers here are in the middle of exams, but they still give so much time and effort to take care of us. They'll go to dinner with us just to talk, they organize events like laser tag and board game nights and out-of-town trips on their weekdays and weekends, and they have met us in the middle of the night in the city just to show us the correct bus to take home. Their TtT (Train the Trainers) program was very fun and proactive, so they didn't bore us for days. This whole project- the accommodations, school programs, travel, and schedules- was organized by them and they have given 100%- even while they are super busy- to assure that everyone is getting the most out of this project. And it is paying off. All of the schools have told them that we are the best group they have ever had so they want to realize the project again next year! 

Homemade Czech 

Anyways, I'm on a GCDP (Global Community Development Program). At first I asked myself, "Where is the community development?". I was in Prague, which is already developed. It wasn't until I came into the countryside that the meaning of GCDP hit me. When we left on the bus, us EPs asked "Where are they sending us?". We were in the middle of nowhere and we thought they were smuggling us to harvest our organs or something (jk). But then we arrived at the tiny town of Skvorec (Shkvoaretz) of 1200 where our host families picked us up for our first week of teaching. My host family spoke zero English, and I quickly learned basic Czech words and how to communicate by expressions and Google translate. I can't remember the last time I felt pure joy, but I felt it with this family. The dad, mom, grandma, and two kids of 12 and 9 constantly made me feel comfortable and at home, English or not. We had conversations at dinner with expressions and without much talk. I helped them garden in their beautiful yard and I played soccer and music and cards with the kids. They made the BEST homemade Czech food every night and offered it in abundance. They were so kind and hospitable, I never expected that in the middle of Europe and I didn't know how to repay them. I hope I can return this kindness to someone one day.

The kids of my first host family in Skvorec

The kids, we mean so much to them. I’m not trying to show off, but they treat us like celebrities because they’ve never seen people like us before. It is so special to be reminded that the precious time we give them- although it may just be another presentation, photo, or moment to us- means the world to them. 

Czech culture is rubbing off on me and our cultures are exposing children to the world. They've learned for the first time about our countries. Yet there is something missing from the name GCDP. It should be changed to "Global Community & Personal Development Program", because every EP develops tremendously as a person. My eyes are more opened to the beauty of this world. More importantly, I am more prepared to apply responsibility with independence, to enjoy and be thankful for the beauty of each passing moment, and to form special friendships and connections with those around me. This is the meaning of AIESEC.

Places I've visited? I've been all over the Czech Republic and to Berlin. When the project ends, I will travel to Budapest, Vienna, Krakow, and London.

Now I'm on a farm in a town of 56 people, and the video I made shows what an amazing time I'm having and how amazing my TN is :D With my second family, I went swimming in Czech lakes, I visited castles in the middle of the forest, I rode a horse, I milked a cow, I killed a pig (for its meat), I gathered chicken eggs, I drove tractors, and I picked 30 kilos of strawberries!  Best of all, it is special to sit with my host families by a fire or over coffee and get to know them and became more familiar with their way of life. 

http://youtu.be/PC97lY8RfLA 

Epic selfie

This weekend we went to the village of Cesky Krumlov, and I’ve rarely seen such beauty packed into one place.  We even went rafting through it. Czech out the pics, get it? Cheers (Na zdravi)!

 GO USA WORLD CUP TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!