I am a 35 year old American that has been living and teaching English in the Czech Republic for the past 10 years. I am married and I have a little daughter. I was born in Southern California and I lived there until I was 21. Then I moved from the big city to a small farm town in Missouri. From there I traveled to Israel every year where I met my wife Irena. She told me that she is from Czech. Of course, I didn’t know where Czech was, but who does? Americans think that Czech must be a small village in Russia or at best the country of Chechnya.

 

I have been teaching all my life. I love it. This is what I was born for. The first language I ever taught was Hebrew. I studied Hebrew for several years in the USA and in Israel. Because I come from the USA and have lived in Israel and now live in Europe, I have a very special worldview and I incorporate this into all of my teaching. The world is changing fast and it’s not the nice safe place it used to be. There are many important things that need to be discussed and we need to know and understand the difference between right and wrong in order to have a balanced and sensible worldview.

 

 

People often ask me;

 

DO YOU LIKE LIVING IN CZECH?

          Yes, very much. Most Czechs are surprised to hear this, but it's true. Czech is a fantastic place to live. I love the nature, food, culture and people. Czech people often take for granted the amazing social systems that are in place here in Czech, for example, healthcare and social care for new moms. For an American these things are a luxury that most people in America can't afford. My favorite meal is Svíčková. So good! My favorite place is Štramberk and my favorite Czech word is kopřiva.

 

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CZECH AND THE USA?

          There are so many, where can I begin? Well, in Czech you take off your shoes when you enter your home, then you change into home pants and slippers. In America we keep our shoes on all day and we even walk in the house with muddy shoes. Czech's don't like hugs, but Americans love them. Czechs hate fast food but love hiking and biking. Americans love fastfood but hate too much activity. Czech healthcare is free, but American healthcare will cost you an arm and a leg. Czech cars are small and Czech roads are very confusing. Americans love huge cars and simple roads. Besides these things, it's not all that different. Many Czechs wish they could live in the USA, but they don't realize that it's basically the same here in Czech and in many cases it's better.