Falling in a Rhythm

Posted on by mstavakoli

The past month has brought about the end of summer with colder weather and darker days and a busier work season—a reminder of the routine of winter. It’s hard to believe that a year ago this past week was my first week at my job and the first week of making the routine that has … Continue reading Falling in a Rhythm

Finding that Thing

Posted on by mstavakoli
Fulbright and the Chicago Skyline

It seems like everyone’s searching for something that makes life worthwhile. I think we all share the common things—friends, family etc—but there’s always the extra thing that’s unique to each person that makes you feel like you’re really contributing to something bigger and more exciting than yourself. In my college essay, I wrote about my … Continue reading Finding that Thing

Writing On

Posted on by mstavakoli
writing girl

As many of you who have been following me this year know, writing played a big part in my Fulbright experience.  Not only did writing, both for this blog and for Reach The World, help me to process the ups and downs of culture shock and share my experience with all of you, but also … Continue reading Writing On

All Downhill From Here

Posted on by mstavakoli
2013-2014 Czech Republic and Slovakia Fulbrighters

This past weekend marked my official halfway point of this amazing Fulbright year. As my fellow ETAs and I kicked off our Mid-Year conference weekend reminiscing about great and terrible bands of the 90s and early 00s I figured this would be an appropriate title for this blog post (“All Downhill From Here” is the … Continue reading All Downhill From Here

Czenglish

Posted on by mstavakoli
Znojmo Snow

This week, for the first time since September, I was asked to give a formal introduction of myself to a new group of people. I dug back in my brain to the presentation I made last summer in preparation for meeting my students at the beginning of the school year that showed pictures of the … Continue reading Czenglish