As I continued to tutor Eva, and the other students, at Chiang Mai University in Northern Thailand, I became fascinated by her flexibility to communicate in different languages and across international communities. When I returned home to Nevada, I took a serious interest in language learning in the classroom as a part of my major in education. I began working with students and families who spoke Spanish as a first language in the Nevada public education system. As I did so, I became more and more interested in teaching English as both a second and a foreign language. In fact, in my last year of college I was still so inspired by my time abroad that I decided to go back to Thailand to teach in an American international school with students from all over the world. I loved it!
While in Thailand in December 2017, I graduated from university and finished the year as a full-time teacher, but it was always my dream apply for a Fulbright scholarship after I finished my degree. I knew I had to at least try and apply as a part of my career path. Excited to finally have my credentials, I logged onto the Fulbright website to look at the locations I could apply to, and my heart sank a little bit. I was automatically disqualified from teaching in Thailand since I had been teaching there within the last year. I loved the time I spent in Asia and I had invested many hours in learning about Thai language and culture, so this was disappointing to find out.
After taking some time to think, and getting encouragement from my friends and family, I decided to take another look at the application for other locations that offer a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grants. I noticed that the Czech Republic was on the list.
