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Remember to Take the Adaptors! Preparing for A Sabbatical in Prague

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

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Remember to Take the Adaptors! Preparing for A Sabbatical in Prague

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  1. Remember to Take the Adaptors!Preparing for A Sabbatical in Prague Richard Sapon-White OLA IRRT Presentation April 20, 2007

  2. 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!

  3. 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.

  4. “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

  5. 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

  6. Communicating with Czech Colleagues • Czechs are busy people • Difficult, intermittent, long silences via email • Be persistent! • Keep asking the same questions • Keep asking the same questions in different ways

  7. 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!

  8. 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

  9. Housing • Czech Fulbright Commission and others: go through realtors! • Looked at info on web • Tried to elicit help from locals • Used a realtor

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. Web to the Rescue! • Lots of information • Local info: housing, shopping, maps • Language and culture • Email • Banking • (Skype)

  13. 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”

  14. 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

  15. 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…

  16. Lists • Sept. 2004: 4 page list of things to do • Jan. 2005: 4 page list of things to do

  17. 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

  18. 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!

  19. Dekujeme za Pozornost! Richard Sapon-White Catalog Librarian, Oregon State University richard.sapon-white@oregonstate.edu

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