Hi, My name is Alena and I am an Australian-Czech (my father moved to Oz in 1969) but I don't speak much Czech. My knowledge of Czech is mainly passive - my listening comprehension is better than my speaking - I can pronounce words, read some and speak a little, that is all. I am moving to the Czech Republic in September 2004 with my husband. We are going to teach English after we do the TEFL course with the Boland School in Brno. We both already have university degrees. We are teaching in South Korea right now but we are eager to get to THE continent with REAL food and wine and beautiful architecture. I have family in Prague but we decided on living in Brno as it is a little smaller, cheaper and without so many tourists. I would love to hear from anyone who has a similar story (any 'Czechs' not born in the Czech Republic) and anyone in Czechia who can offer me information on Brno, teaching, and where to find Czech language schools or private tutors. I am planning to study the language intensively and would love any help... We plan to live in the Czech Republic indefinitely and I want to 'throw' myself into my father's 'former' culture and language (except for the English teaching of course which is our only career right now). Please write to me... Ally
Dear Alena, my name is Martin, I am 32, live in Brno, my wife Ingrid is from Bolivia, we both speak czech, english and spanish, I work as a cardiologist in a university hospital and my wife is at home with our 2-years-old baby. I have read your message, me and my wife enjoy meeting friends in Brno from all over the world, if you need any help in the Czech republic, just write (martineisenberger@hotmail.com), when you are here, we can meet and have a beer (sorry, wine in Moravia..). In fact I dont know much about language schools in Brno (my wife studied Czech in Prague), nut I hope I will help you somehow else. Here in Brno, you will meet ordinary people, with little money, badly dressed, not very self-confident, but with quite a good sense of humor. Martin
Dear Martin, Thanks for your reply, it is good to hear from someone who is in Brno and we look forward to meeting both you and your wife when we are settled. September will be very busy for us as we will be taking that TEFL course but after that... So what is the real estate market like in Brno? Is there much available in the way of rental or buying? We won't have a great deal in the way of savings but we are hoping in about a year we may be able to put a down payment on an apartment. Are mortgages common in Czech or not yet? I am a citizen so I shouldn't have any trouble with loans. So are you Czech born originally? How long have you lived in Brno? I know Prague reasonably well as I have been twice but I do not know Brno. I have heard that it isn't as beautiful as Prague but I'm sure the old town is nice. Well i must go as i have a 9 class day at my work and I must do some planning. Take care and I look forward to hearing from you. Alena
Hi Alena, I just came across your posting and thought I'd reply as I live and teach English in Brno. I'm English-born but moved to Australia with my family and have spent most of my life there. I've been in the Czech Republic for 7 years and in Brno for 5. Working hours and laziness have got in the way of learning Czech and all I know I have picked up "na ulici". I'm hoping to remedy that in September. You might try the State Language School in Brno - http://www.sjs-brno.cz - the web page is only in Czech. There's also a department of "Czech for Foreigners" at Masaryk University in Brno - http://wwwdata.muni.cz/to.en/structure/ ... ste=211710 If you have any specific questions about living and working in Brno, please write to me at d.brown@iname.com David
Dear Alena, My name is Sarah and I have also just recently moved to Brno, Czech Republic. I moved from Canada at the end of August. I am 23 and I am teaching science in an english school in the area. I have been looking to get to know some people in the area. If you would like to get together sometime to see some of the sites or have a drink or something I would really like that. Sarah
Hi Ally, I am an English girl who is volunteering in The Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation in Brno. I've been here a week and struggling to teach myself Czech. Please let me know which language school you find most useful, and better still, perhaps we could meet up for a beer as I know few people here. All the best, Kim
