Due to budget cuts, George Mason University did not book me ahead of time to teach history courses this semester. Hence, I took a couple more ESL courses at LADO. Of course, the History Department at Mason offered me something right before its semester started, but I was already working at LADO by that time. Saying no to LADO at the beginning of January on the mere chance of work at Mason was not an option.

The downside is money. Of course, that’s always an issue for teachers, but it’s particularly difficult for people teaching at private language schools. Universities pay adjunct professors by the course, which leaves financial gaps between semesters, but which also leaves time for other part-time jobs. ESL schools pay only by the hours one actually teaches, meaning five hours of actual teaching is only a “part-time” job, never mind preparation time.

Another downside is my crazy schedule. Besides teaching ESL in my DC neighborhood on Saturday mornings, as I did most of 2008, I am teaching mornings in Arlington and evenings in DC. This schedule can be a little disorienting, not to mention tiring. It has an upside too, however, insofar as it leaves me time during the day for job hunting. The trick is to switch gears between the classroom and this other side of my life, and to remember that the actual job search is the most important thing. That’s not easy for a teacher whose natural inclination is to give his classes the highest priority.

One practical upside to my current routine is the lack of long trips out to Fairfax. I have also been enjoying the break in my routine. Teaching ESL to students at a private language school often means the students really want to learn. They can see how the material affects their ability to interact with their environment, unlike students who take an introductory history class simply because it is mandated by the university.

It’s also fun meeting people from so many countries. Lumping my current courses together, my students come from Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bolivia, Brazil, Poland, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Japan, Algeria, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. Many of them work as au pairs or nannies, and some come from the diplomatic community.

This summer I’m scheduled to teach Euro Civ I and II again at Georgetown University. I’ve also got two history courses at George Mason University, Western Civ again and also one on the Great War. The courses at each university are intensive, but they come one after the other, so I won’t be teaching more than two intensive history courses at a time, though I might also continue with the Saturday course at LADO.

Meanwhile, the search for a full-time job must pick up. It might be at university, but I am seriously considering history at private schools as well as possibly something that matches my skills in the government. The State Department could make sense, especially as a foreign service officer who does public diplomacy. Unfortunately, the process for getting that kind of job can take a very long time, as much as two years, if I understand correctly.

Meanwhile, life goes on.