V září tohoto školního roku začali studenti naší školy potkávat na chodbě novou studentku – patnáctiletou Lindsey Wala, která přijela do ČR strávit pár měsíců za účelem naučit se česky. Strávila na naší škole celkem 8 měsíců, základy češtiny zvládla a navíc, vstoupila do života mnoha z nás tak, že už v něm navždy zůstane… Bohužel, 7. duben je jejím posledním dnem stráveným v České republice, ale jak sama říká, určitě se vrátí… Pokud se chcete dozvědět o její motivaci k příjezdu do ČR, o jejích dojmech a zajímavostech z jejího života…. a umíte anglicky :-), přikládám dopis, který nám všem Lindsey adresovala.

Jana Triguinho

I guess this will be my official goodbye to everyone. So I, Lindsey Robin Wala bid you a farewell and a thank you. Thank you to all the people who would smile or nod at me as I walked passed, to my class, to my teachers, to the school. No one will ever really know what this year meant to me, how much it changed me, how much I loved it, but this school, the students, the teachers, the workers, everyone in it is and were so extremely incredible and nice to me. Thank you, to everyone. Now I will tell my story that will hopefully complete answer to the extremely popular question “Why the Czech Republic?!?!?”.

So my back story is that I was born and raised in Arizona, USA. I started traveling when I was about 5 years old and my family does it a lot, I have been to something like 48 different countries and all of the continents except Antarctica. Anyways my grandparents took an exchange student from the Czech Republic a long time ago. They really hit it off with her, my family met her and later on and then we met her family. Through my life we went to visit them in the Czech Republic and them in the US. The brother of that exchange student my grandparents had is now my host dad. It was pretty funny how it came about, me being an exchange student though. I was really not happy in my school in the US, I went to a public school and then dropped out to go to an online school because I hated the highschool so much. The online school was great, but I was lacking social interaction and felt really lonely. I didn’t really know what to do. During the winter my family and I went on a trip to Russia for the Olympics and we traveled around some, we then decided to visit my now host parents. We were talking about exchange students, because through an exchange student is how we got to know each other. They said something about how if they would ever take an exchange student again they would want them to be a native english speaker. I didn’t say anything because ever since I was little, my parents told my brother and I that we would never be exchange students because they didn’t want to give us up for a year. So I never really let myself hope to be one. Later that day I jokingly mentioned that I am a native speaker and that I really don’t want to go back to American schools again. Well my parents took it seriously and well that’s how I got here. It was all a matter of luck, and as I personally believe maybe a small bit of fate or destiny.

    I remember the first time I walked through the school. There were no kids at the time and I thought it was so sad and depressing looking. Then I remember walking into my classroom the first day of school and feeling so overwhelmed. I walk in there with my extremely tall host mom standing next to me feeling like it is my first day of kindergarten all over again. I was so nervous but excited, I am pretty sure I was shaking when we went into the classroom. I remember my host mom and I stood there for like 2 minutes while everyone stared at us, goodness it was so nerve wracking! I was starting to have second thoughts about going to Czech school when a swarm of girls surrounded me. I am not sure which was more terrifying, the being stared at for 2 minutes or being caught in the middle of a posse of excited 14 year old Czech girls. Either way I am happy I walked through those doors, even though my first few minutes were a small bit horrifying for me. The second day wasn’t a lot better, I missed the bus stop that I should have gotten off at and ended up getting lost in Ceska Lipa in the rain and came to school wet, cold and nervous. Obviously it all got a lot better, I learned how to navigate the buses, I mean I still have no idea what to do when I get stared at but I don’t think anyone really knows what to do. I have become extremely close with my classmates, even though they scared me at first, I mean they still kind of do now but in a different sort of way. My classmates are some of my best friends and I am so happy that I was put in that class because I hope to keep those friendships for as long as possible. As well to the random english classes I am/was in, I can’t even count the number of times that those classes made my day.

   With my time here I learned a lot of things about life and skills I needed. Like before I came here I really didn’t know how to mop a floor, I do now. I didn’t really know how to cook, I do now but nothing too great. Before I came here I was so unsure of myself, I had a low self esteem, now I think I am a lot more confident. I learned how the world works, how people are, a different culture, I even learned some Czech along the way. The best thing my time here has taught me though is who I am without my parents and without the expectations in the US. I learned who I am, who I want to be.

   So thank you, to the teachers, to my friends, to the people who smiled or said hello to me, to everyone. You made my life here incredible, I will never forget it. Thank you, and best wishes.

.S. If anyone from this school is going to be in the US give me a message I can give recommendations or maybe meet up with you