Julie Urbišová on language, belonging, and living in a divided America
Julie Urbišová is a journalist, yoga teacher, and podcaster based in New Orleans. In this episode of Czechast, she reflects on identity, motherhood, and what it's like to live in a deeply divided United States while staying connected to her Czech roots and those of her Turkish husband.
This episode of Czechast continues a special series about Czechs living in the United States—conversations inspired by a recent bike trip across America from New York to Pittsburgh. The series began with Adam Holomoucký, a Czech graduate in North Carolina, and now moves to New Orleans, home of journalist, yoga teacher, and podcaster Julie Urbišová.
One theme stands out in Julie’s reflections: life in today’s deeply divided America. She speaks candidly about the atmosphere in her community—and how hard it can be to navigate the silence between political lines.
"Most of my neighbors are Republicans. And the neighbors I know, they're good people, in fact. And I wonder, you know, I'm not brave enough to ask them what they think, how they see the changes, how they, you know, how they see the behavior of the offices that they basically chase people. Okay, they're illegally here, but those people were promised something within the previous governments."
But Julie’s story goes far beyond politics. Born in the Czech Republic, she lives in the American South, has deep family ties to Turkey, and hosts her own podcast "Doma ve Státech"—Home in the States. Her identity is fluid, shaped by multiple places and languages.
"I am completely different in America. I have different personal in America. When I come to Czech, I feel more like I am back to my childhood, you know, as I say, like I have different behavior here. And then in Turkey, again, you know, the way how I talk, the way how I behave, it just changes. So I see on myself that I am not only Czech anymore."
She also opens up about the difficult balancing act of raising children across languages and cultures. The transition can be subtle—but it runs deep.
"I am very realistic. I know it might change, I mean, like my older daughter, she used to read in Czech books. Now she doesn't care anymore. She's like, mom, it's so hard. It's so difficult. I don't understand. And the younger two, I'm reading her. Still, I'm trying to read her in Czech, not every evening, but like, you know, I try to. And I can see she is, she's eight years old now. And I can see it's getting more and more difficult for her because there's so many words that she doesn't hear in our daily life."
In this Czechast episode, Julie Urbišová shares an honest, moving reflection on motherhood, migration, and finding a sense of self in three different worlds.
about programme
Czechast, Radio Prague International
Czechast is a regular RPI podcast about Czech and Moravian culture, history, and economy.
