We’ve started our August Course, and we asked one of our trainees, Hayden, a few questions about his experience during the course so far.
Where are you from and why did you choose the Czech Republic?
I come from the beautiful state of Oklahoma, where I graduated almost two years ago with a degree studying German. Just before this, I was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, a long distance trail on the west coast of the United States running from Mexico to Canada, when I realized that I wasn’t quite ready to settle down and start a career, so I decided to do this. And something about Prague just called to me. It’s a beautiful city. I was 16 the first time I was here traveling with my orchestra. We even performed in a little church here in the city, though I don’t remember the name. Prague is an easy city to fall in love with, especially if you’re some young and starry-eyed high schooler with romantic ideas about Europe. Even out of the European cities we visited, Prague had this special feeling. I think that feeling drew me in when I was researching programs and found this one in Prague.
What do you think of Prague?
To be honest, I haven’t gotten out much this time in Prague. But I’m very interested in how life in the Czech Republic will be different than when traveling. I think when traveling you spend most of your time at either tourist spots or in international spaces. The little sense of Czech culture I have gotten, I’ve enjoyed and would like to experience more of.
How are you finding the course so far?
I’m enjoying the course so far. The trainers are great. They are all really positive and supportive. The other students are great too. We have a larger group of 15, and it’s nice having a bit of comradery and getting to know everyone. Everyone’s positive, a little stressed, but very optimistic.
What has surprised you so far (either course related or Prague related)?
This shouldn’t be a shock for a TEFL program that’s only a month long, but I’m surprised how exhausted I am. The course isn’t overwhelming by any means. The workload is more than manageable and everything is paced well. I think I just had this idea that teaching English–and getting a TEFL certificate–would be something I could just sort of do. Like something that would just happen on its own, sort of fall into place, and I could just live abroad without a care. But, no, it’s a lot of work, it turns out. And that’s an enjoyable part of the experience too, I think, working hard and putting effort into something. Just different from the idea I had beforehand.
What are your plans for after the course?
My plans were originally to have no plans. To keep my options open and maybe go teach somewhere in Asia afterwards. But within the first week, I’d changed my mind and decided to stay here in Prague afterwards. The reality hit me that I could have a life here, and that sort of excited me. I backpacked in Europe when I was 21 and 22, but living here would be something totally different. Not just something ephemeral, jumping from city to city, hostel to hostel. And I think the possibility of having something that’s not totally ephemeral but also isn’t set in stone for, I don’t know, however long a career is supposed to be, fits perfectly for where I am at 26.
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