Update!

Hey all! Pardon the lack of updates. As some of you know, I had to stay in Brisbane longer than I had planned due to having laryngitis for almost a week. Honestly, there is not much to report on when you spend most of your time at the hotel and can't talk (though I did go out to get food because I would have gone crazy staying in the hotel all day!). Even though being sick was not fun, the wonderful hotel staff made my stay more pleasant. One of the things I love about Australia is how nice people are, and the staff at the hotel was no exception. One receptionist even gave me tea and honey. My voice came back on Saturday, and I was chatting with her when I went down to get an Internet card. We were talking about my travel plans, and I told her I was looking into staying at a hostel on the Sunshine coast. She told me that this part of the country is remote and somewhat sketchy, so she invited me to stay with her. I spent a week with her, her partner and three adorable dogs in Booval, a small town about a half hour from Brisbane. This evening I arrived in Cairns, and will be here until Thursday. On Thursday, I'll fly to Sydney and will be there until Sunday. 

So where do I go on Sunday? Well, that's the highlight of this post! Many of you know that my previous au pair job was not a good fit for me. Given my limited time frame here and the fact that I cannot extend my stay due to starting my year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in August, the chances of finding a job seemed slim. However, I decided to search the au pair website because you don't know unless you try! I emailed a few families, and one emailed me back to say she was interested and gave me her number. I called her Friday, and she told me to call her back tomorrow so she figure out the logistics. When I call her back the next day, she tells me I have the job and can come sometime during the first few days in July! Though I have yet to actually book my flight, I will fly to Melbourne on Sunday and stay there until July 28. I just have to call Air New Zealand and change my flight to fly out of Melbourne instead of Brisbane on July 28, but otherwise, I know what the rest of my time in Down Under will look like.

It's late here so I think I'll end for tonight, but I'll write more in the next few days about my adventures in Cairns!