A Week in My Life as a Fulbright ETA in Montenegro

Last Monday, I returned to teaching after a long, amazing break. I traveled solo to Romania, where I spent time in Bucharest and relaxed in Europe’s largest spa. I also traveled to Bran Castle (known as Dracula’s Castle) and Peleş Castle, and visited two other small Romanian towns. My parents also came and visited me for two weeks! Their first few days in Podgorica were spent indoors due to heavy rain, but then we took a trip to Slovenia and saw Ljubljana, Lake Bled, and Škocjan Caves. I’ll share more about this trip later because it was absolutely amazing! Afterwards, I showed my parents all around Podgorica, including my school, the American Corner, Gorica Park, and my favorite restaurants and coffee shops.

Since last week was my first week back, I thought this would be a good time to share what a week in my life looks like. As I mentioned before, when I was applying to Fulbright, there were almost no blogs, Instagram accounts, or anyone talking about their Fulbright experience in Montenegro. I remember seeing content for Fulbrighters in Spain, Italy, Japan, and more, but nothing for Montenegro. I could learn all about the country and lifestyle from my professor and travelers, but nothing about the Fulbright experience. Today, I just want to share my average week!

I thought it might be helpful to share a quick overview of this year’s Fulbright positions first. There are three Fulbright ETAs here, and we are all based in Podgorica, the capital city. I am the only ETA who teaches at a high school. The other two ETAs both teach at universities. One splits her time between two private universities, and the other teaches at the public university and travels once a week to the university’s branch in Nikšić. 

Something interesting about the gimnazija (high school) I work at is that it has two shifts: Half the students come to school 7:30 AM-1:30 PM, and the other half come to school 2:00 PM-8:00 PM. The students’ schedules flip each month. So “group A” has the first shift in January, the second shift in February, and back and forth. Because I work with two different teachers, I’m in the morning some days and in the evening others. Even though I am the type of person who loves (and needs) a consistent schedule, I really like this because I still have some mornings free to work out, occasionally sleep in, read, and go to coffee shops! 

Another noteworthy fact is that I actually teach biology, not English. The gimnazija I teach at has two programs, and one is the bilingual program, where all students’ classes are taught in English. This wasn’t what I expected when I first applied for the ETA position, but given my background in neuroscience, this suits me well. I find it so impressive that my students can learn biology terminology in both their native language and a foreign language at the same time. 

On top of this, they all take a third language, too, often Italian or German. The students all stay in the same group all day, for all four years. They will switch classrooms, but it's always the same group of students. They are grouped based on the third language they take. The students have 15 subjects a week, and each class is held twice a week. It’s a very different structure than American schools, or at least compared to mine, where I had the same eight subjects every day of the week. 

Anyways, finally onto a week in my life! I teach on the morning shift on Mondays, but only for one second grade class, which is equivalent to a sophomore class. Every Monday night, I lead a discussion club with the other two ETAs. At this club, we sometimes discuss topics such as AI, music, the American school system, or whatever the members seem interested in! Last week, we made vision boards and used a bucket of discussion questions. The students would pull a question out, read it aloud, and then everyone would answer. The main goal is for the members to use English in informal settings. With the bucket of questions, they were able to practice both reading and speaking, as well as listening to others speak. Making the vision boards allowed them to practice writing, too. Everyone really enjoyed this format.

On Tuesdays, I teach a TOEFL prep class. TOEFL is a standardized English exam that students must take if they plan to study abroad. It has four sections (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), and I usually focus on one section per week. Another ETA leads a SAT prep class, too. All of these clubs, including the discussion club, are held at the American Corner in Podgorica, which is a US-embassy supported space. Students and adults come here for English-language opportunities. They also have a large library of English-language books, magazines, movies, and more. All courses here are free, too, which is great. After I teach the prep class, I head to Gimnazija because I teach in the evening shift on Tuesdays and Fridays with a different teacher. I have two classes: a second grade class and a first grade class. 

I don’t teach on Wednesdays or Thursdays, unless I am asked to cover or I want to go in and teach. Sometimes, it works best for me to also teach these days, depending on how quickly the students are covering the material! Wednesday nights, however, I co-teach a class at the American Corner with the English Language Fellow. He is an extremely qualified teacher, having taught and traveled all over the world, so I really enjoy and appreciate being able to lead this course with him! The class started out as a Travel Writing course. It was mainly a way for students to practice their writing in an informal setting. However, the students just seem happy to practice their English at all, not caring if the focus is on travel writing. We’ve shifted the class to better align with students’ expectations and will continue to do so as the year continues. 

On Fridays, I teach four classes. If it's the morning shift, I teach 7:30-11:00 AM, but if it’s the evening shift, I teach 2:00-5:30 PM. For this month, I'm working the evening shift. Fridays are probably my favorite days because I have three first grade classes and one third grade class. The third graders’ material is the best to teach, in my opinion. They just finished learning about the nervous system, and I was shocked by how much they learned, especially given that the class was only twice a week! 

Once a month, I travel to the American Corner in Cetinje, which is about an hour away. We lead a discussion club here, and sometimes we extend our time because we don’t go as often. We also do school visits. At those, we introduce ourselves, play a game or make a craft as an icebreaker, and then talk about America or holidays if there is one coming up. The students always love to ask questions about America and our experiences here, so that takes up most of the time. There are events scattered throughout the year, like a college fair or a speaker at the corner, that we will also attend. 

With this schedule, I have plenty of free time. When I first arrived here, I spent time every day either running or working out because I was training for the Podgorica Marathon. I’ve continued to take weekly Montenegrin lessons, too. I’ve explored the surrounding area, tried lots of new foods, sipped coffee at many cafes, and traveled to Montenegro’s mountains and coast. In December, I found myself much busier with planning lessons and balancing my commitments, and I stopped working out and practicing the language consistently. With the start of the new semester, however, I’m trying to get back on a committed workout schedule and really focus on my writing. My weekends are almost always busy: This past weekend, I traveled to a nearby vineyard with my fellow ETAs. This weekend, we’re going to a sushi-making class. I am really trying to take every opportunity I can to try new things, especially when they’re specific to the area. I want to try cooking/baking some local dishes, too, but unfortunately, I am not the best in the kitchen. In a few weekends, another ETA in Bulgaria is coming to visit me, too!

So, that wraps up the average week in my life as an ETA in Fulbright. Of course, each week varies, and some weeks are busier than others. I find myself in a nearby coffee shop a lot, either planning lessons or writing. And that’s where I am right now, about to head to teach my TOEFL prep class. I’ll be back soon with another update, a new location guide, or a travel experience to share. Ćao!