Remember to Take the Adaptors! Preparing for A Sabbatical in Prague Richard Sapon-White OLA IRRT Presentation April 20, 2007
Oh My, I’m Going Abroad! Fulbright Fellowship in Prague, Czech Republic for 4 months 7 month sabbatical in 2005 One month prep, 6 months in Prague Take the whole family!
Preparing to Teach Different cultural expectations in education Language barriers Developed 2 classes from scratch College teaching abroad: a handbook of strategies for successful cross-cultural exchanges by Pamela Gale George. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995.
“Strč prst skrz krk!” Important to understand culture and language – even though teaching in English The Coasts of Bohemia – recommended reading from Czech Fulbright Commission Colloquial Czech Made friends with Czech at OSU Examples in lectures reflected Czech culture
Learning about Czech Libraries Searched Library Literature for articles on Czech librarianship Searched the web (especially IFLA’s web site) The more you know in advance, the better you can communicate
Communicating with Czech Colleagues Czechs are busy people Difficult, intermittent, long silences via Be persistent! Keep asking the same questions Keep asking the same questions in different ways
Preparation of Course Materials Asked for – and received – permission to work on prep during last months at work Reserved a month of sabbatical for prep Most prep occurred in Prague anyway!
Moving to Prague Useful publication from Czech Fulbright Commission Banks, computers, schools, phones, shopping, housing, etc. Electric plug adapters Contact with former Fulbrighters returning/returned from Prague Purchased cell phones, printer, boom box from returning Fulbrighters
Housing Czech Fulbright Commission and others: go through realtors! Looked at info on web Tried to elicit help from locals Used a realtor
Schools for the Kids International schools too expensive Czech Fulbright Commission: can enroll in public schools for free Contacted school run by Jewish community but receiving government funding
Food Vegans with wheat sensitivity Czech diet: sausages/hot dogs, cabbage, dumplings, beer Seventh Day Adventist health food store and restaurant Small health food stores scattered around Prague Larger supermarkets carry some health foods and American products
Web to the Rescue! Lots of information Local info: housing, shopping, maps Language and culture Banking (Skype)
Help at Home Friends came forward to Mow the lawn Forward mail Keep an eye on the house Alerted police about our absence Phone, water, garbage pick-up on “dormant accounts”
Other Business While Away Chose to not rent our home Paid bills via the web Made arrangements in a month in advance to make sure it worked! Alerted credit card companies and bank of time abroad
Don’t Forget to Enjoy the Journey! 2 guide books: Dorling-Kindersley guide to Prague Guide to the Czech and Slovak Republics Sections on money and banks, shopping, health care, phones…
Lists Sept. 2004: 4 page list of things to do Jan. 2005: 4 page list of things to do
And Finally… We arrived in Prague Without an apartment Without a school for the kids Without my lectures prepared But We had a realtor We knew about schools I had syllabi for my classes We could speak a little Czech
Famous Last Words Network with friends and colleagues here and abroad Start as soon as possible to prepare for your trip Enjoy the process and your time abroad!
Dekujeme za Pozornost! Richard Sapon-White Catalog Librarian, Oregon State University