"What is the verb ´to finish´ followed by?"
Fifteen year-old Lucás, the youngest and most earnest of my five Czech students, sat up
in his seat and thrust his hand in the air.
"Lucás?" I called.
"It´s the verb plus ´ing ´, " he said.
"Excellent!" A feeling of elation swept through me as I realized my students had caught on. Alex, my teacher-trainer, smiled from his chair in the back of the classroom.
Later, I reminded myself to thank my friend Libor for inspiring me to break free from
my routine and take the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course at the Boland School in Brno, Czech Republic.
I´d met Libor in December on a flight from Frankfurt to Prague. He´d amused me with tales of his job as a professional snowboard instructor, and I´d helped him with his English. We´d continued the friendship by e-mail, when
he´d invited me to spend two weeks in April with his family near Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, I
immediately agreed.
Staying with a Czech Family
April came quickly. Libor picked me up at Prague´s air-port, and then drove the three-hours to Brno. In Brno, he chose the scenic route, which wound along the shores of a glistening lake set among hills carpeted by verdant forests. Thirty minutes later the road twisted around the base of a mountain upon which the 12th century Veveri Castle soared high above the trees, standing guard over the countryside.
We passed the gleaming white Chapel of God´s Mother in the outer bailey of the castle, then drove down a short, tree-lined boulevard which plopped us right in the heart of Veverská Bitýška, whose cob-bled streets and historic church spires nestled below the hills like a fairytale hamlet. Enthralled, I opened my mouth and uttered, " You live here?"
That evening after I met Libor´s family, we strolled to the pub across a wooden bridge that spanned a babbling stream, where white swans swam under a sky filled with hundreds of shimmering stars.
Libor´s childhood buddy, Robert, met us at the pub, along with several other friends. They accepted me enthusiasti-cally, and we spent the evening laughing at our communication gaffes. Unfortunately, Renca, Libor´s girlfriend, couldn´t be there - she´d gone away to school.
The days passed, one melding into another.
Each morning I awoke to birdsong and the sweet aroma of Libor´s grandmother´s freshly-baked cherry cakes.
After breakfast, we rode mountain bikes through the forested hills. Libor showed me where he played as a boy, the summer woodland cottage his family had rented, and the path on which his grandpa once rode his bike. A wistful feeling took root inside me - here, life seemed simpler - families stayed close, neighbors knew each other, and friends remained friends for decades.
Volleyball, tennis and soccer kept us busy in the evenings, followed by visits to the pub, or parties at Robert´s house.
When the weather turned cold Libor suggested a trip to his cousin Veronika´s house in Krnov, near the Polish border.
Snowflakes peppered the air as we drove northeast beneath a gloomy sky. On the way, we stopped at Pernštejn Casstle, which loomed over the forest like a fortress out of the set of Van Helsing. Inside we searched in vain for the ghost of the self-absorbed chambermaid Eliska, who, they say, appears with a comb in her hand.
We arrived in Krnov by evening, picked up Veronika and headed for Libor´s Uncle Jiøí´s restaurant - Restaurant Barbara, where we devoured garlic soup with croutons, and roast chicken breast with cheese wrapped in potato pan-
cakes - a Czech favorite.
Hiking to the mountaintop the next day, a spectacular snow-covered vista awaited us. I sighed. My two-weeks, nearly over, had flown by. "Sad to leave?" Libor asked.
"Yes," I said. "I feel at home here."
"Then come back," he said with an encouraging smile. "You´d make a good English
teacher."
Studying in Brno
Libor´s words echoed through my mind during the flight home.
From my apartment I searched the web and discovered the Boland School, which offered a four-week course for the International T.E.F.L. Diploma. With a good curriculum and a location in Brno, it seemed just right, after
contacting a former student for his opinion of the course I signed up - my class started in six weeks. With a T.E.F.L. certificate, I could teach English at summer European camps during my vacation time, and maybe, if I enjoyed it, take a year off my job to teach in Brno.
|
This time Renca accompanied Libor to the airport. Tall, blonde and friendly, I instantly liked her. They dropped me off at the "Pink House" in Brno, where I would live with an American classmate, Valerie, who resided in Ostrava with her missionary husband.
In the morning, the course began in full force. We dove into grammar. We learned how to teach business English, phonics, warm-up exercises, and vocabulary. Four days a week, Jindra, the school opera-tions manager, taught Czech language, my favorite class.
My classmates all had different reasons for getting a T.E.F.L. certificate. Mike, a teacher from Baltimore, wanted to teach English overseas during summer vacations. Barrie, from Wales, hoped to start his own school in Spain. Valerie planned to teach English to memebers of her church in Ostrava.
The coursework required nightly homework, but I spent some weekend days with Libor and Renca. At other times, rather than feel lonely, I decided to make Brno my home. I wondered the Old Town, browsing bookstores, riding the trams, and climbing the hill to the 13th centruy Špilberk Castle for a sweeping view of Brno. I marveled at the towering 14th century Gothic Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, and then shivered in the Capuchin Monasery´s Crypt, built in 1651, where a Latin inscription above the Friars´ tombs reads, "What you are, we were, what we are, you will be."
A chilling reminder to live life to the fullest.
I followed the long-dead monks´ advice. I had dinner with Alex, watched the fireworks competition with classmates, and took dance classes.
During the second week at the Boland School we started teaching. I shook with nervousness at first, but the students soon put me at ease.
The third week, Libor, Renca and Robert took me on a surprise visit to the eons-old Moravian Karst, a beautiful, thickly wooded area north of Brno, honeycombed with hundreds of caves. We toured the Punkva Cave by electric boat, then hiked through the fertile forest.
Difficult Decisions
The fourth week approached, and an interview with International House in Brno resulted in a surprising full-time job offer. Suddenly, I had to make a decision. Stay here, where I felt content, or return to my routine but wellpaid job in America?
A phone call home solved my dilemma. My father, who´d been ill, had worsened - I would go home.
One day I still hope to teach in Brno. For now though, I´m grateful for my experience there. I´ve gained new friends, a T.E.F.L. certificate, and above all, I had the chance to make a small difference in my students´ lives.
I knew I´d accomplished this when I said good-bye after my final class, and Lucás sat up, then thrust his hand into the air.
"Lucás?" I called.
His lips trembled. "Teacher, I will never forget you."
If You Go:
Boland School www.boland-czech.com
E-mail: katie@boland.czech.com
In addition to the T.E.F.L. certificate, the school offers Czech language and culture classes that lead to a T.E.F.L. Czech Diploma, a Czech-specific qualification that shows potential employers that the bearer has been trained in specific areas of difficulty for Czech and Slovak students.
Information on the Czech Republic:
www.czechcenter.com
www.czechtourism.com
Information on Brno:
www.brno.cz
www.boland-czech.com/area.html
Information on Veverská Bítýška
www.obecveverskabityska.cz
Thursday, September 16, 2004
|