The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 Hawaii.” And in any case, Sanibel gets more than its share of Foreign Service visitors —Dan Kurtzer and Ellen Laipson are speaking here this winter. While I do miss Wash- ington, D.C., I see it about as often as I did when stationed abroad. The retirement seminar was very helpful; everyone should work that into their schedule. My one suggestion would be for State to figure out some way to get and keep more re- tirees on the WAE rolls. Short-term jobs tend to come up quickly and do not allow for the paperwork needed to get on the roster from scratch. Certainly, they do not allow for starting security clearances from the beginning — although updating those for someone living in a vil- lage where no one even locks their door should not be expensive! I have not actively searched for employment, but I have done various types of volunteer work. One after- school enrichment program I helped lead at the Sanibel Recreation Center taught second-graders about differ- ent languages, alphabets and customs, and explored how Americans use manners as part of our culture. I love working with students who ask questions, and this group never stopped. When we wrote their names in Greek, they wanted to know what cursive Greek looked like. And they stumped me on whether drinking tea or coffee was the older practice (it turns out tea was first drunk around 3000 B.C. and coffee only in 800 A.D.). Moreover, any class that serves cucumber sandwiches is memorable! Judith Jones Sanibel, Fla. T IME FOR S OMETHING C OMPLETELY D IFFERENT Joining the Foreign Service is the best decision I ever made. I had a very rewarding 33-year career as a politi- cal officer, Southeast Asia hand and, eventually, ambassa- dor. But when the time came to retire, in 2005, I found I had a strong desire to do something completely different. Luckily for me, I have found a great new dream job as an instructor in English as a Second Language. I work at George Mason University’s English Language Institute, where I teach adult visa-holders from around the world. To help get their English skills up to par for college work, I teach them the in- tricacies of grammar, punctuation, composition, vocabulary and read- ing comprehension. My colleagues and I also do our utmost to prepare them to succeed in an American academic environment. It is great fun. I love the multicultural environment of our institute. Many of my students are Chinese, Saudi, Vietnamese, Azerbaijani, Korean, Thai, Iranian, and Libyan; others hail from all over West Africa and Latin America. The one thing they have in common is that they all want to improve their English, and they are gratifyingly willing to listen to me and to work hard. They are also amazed and pleased whenever I reveal some familiarity with their country, history or language. It really feels good to see them making progress. The work is pleasantly challenging, enough to keep me fully occupied but not so much that I’m wearing my- self out. And I can draw on many skills developed during my FS career. My experience learning Thai and Chinese at FSI has given me an understanding, empathy and re- spect for these adult learners’ efforts to become highly proficient in a difficult language. I have also used diplo- matic insights in the elective classes I’ve taught. My course on American politics, offered during the historic 2008 presidential campaign, was a big hit; if you can explain American elections to your foreign contacts, you can easily teach a roomful of bewildered college stu- dents. And the dramatic techniques perfected in the course of a diplomatic career —“My government is deeply disappointed by your country’s vote at the United Nations, Mr. Minister!” — came in very handy for my “English Through Drama” class. It is not difficult to get into the ESL field. The Wash- ington, D.C., area abounds with volunteer opportunities and community education classes that require no special training for teachers. To teach at the college level, how- ever, a master’s degree in linguistics and/or a TESOL cer- tificate are required. Happily, I was able to complete the training within 18 months of my retirement and began teaching immediately. I highly recommend a second career teaching ESL, at any level. It’s fun, rewarding and, in my view, an espe- F O C U S My plan for dealing with the loss of a successful career can be stated simply: Start a new one.