“And I asked myself about the present: How wide it was, how deep it was, how much of it was mine to keep.”
-Kurt Vonnegut
Today marked the ending of my Czech Language and Culture course at Charles University, and I have made friends I hope to keep for life. For better for worse, we spend the larger part of our time together—class, museums, daily commute, and in-between time at bars, cafes, or just seeing what we can find in the city.
Most of my time so far has been utterly fulfilling. But other days, I feel like this:
These people make it better!
Czech is hard. I’m encouraged to learn not only out of sheer necessity, but also through the camaraderie I have experienced in Prague–A kind of friendship which is only achieved through travel.
I have answered questions about my own identity, which I never needed to consider in my own country. I have fallen in love with a time and place in a way I had never anticipated. My (quite patriotic) friend from Russia said it best:
“Russia is like my mother, but Prague is like my mom.”
Now, for the real work–Tomorrow morning my Fulbright Award officially begins. I will spend next week at orientation in Brno, and then I am a teacher in Hejnice. No more Americans. No more English.
I’m gearing up for a new wave of culture shock. But this special group of people will be in the back of my mind, encouraging me to chase the unknown.
