All year long, I've been hearing stories about how bad the economy is in the U.S. And, all year long, I haven't really had a clue about how bad it is. Because here in France, the economy has been relatively untouched. Nobody is losing their job, nobody is scrounging for extra cash, and nobody is particularly worried. Despite the fact that some of our neighbors (Ireland and Iceland, to name only a few) have been hurting for months, France hasn't experienced any of the economic pain that the U.S. has. So I haven't really seen the impact that this has made. Sure, I've been keeping up via telephone calls and the New York Times, but I haven't really felt the impact.
Until now.
About two months ago, I started looking for jobs upon my return to the U.S. I looked for teaching jobs, of course, and applied for two full-time writing positions. Both jobs, unfortunately, sent me a letter saying that, due to budget cuts, the position had been canceled. I looked for adjunct positions, and looks like I'll have one for sure (yay!), but adjunct work isn't enough to live off of. So I applied for administrative jobs, only to discover that they want people with actual administrative experience -- not teachers. Go figure.
And now, as I'm back to square one, I realize how bleak the job market is back at home. No one seems to be hiring in my field, or if any, there is only part-time jobs everywhere. I might end up working part-time at several different schools. And if it's a job that pays, I'll take it!
I've been in denial the whole time I've been here about how bad the economy really is at home. And now, with only 24 days left till I return, it's starting to finally settle in. And that hurts.
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