from au pair to unemployed to ETA in 10 days or less

Sometimes it's funny how quickly life can turn around. For example, I'd like to give you a break down of the last 10 days in regards to what I'm going to be doing next year. 

Sunday, May 15: Get confirmation that the au pair job in Zürich would help me organize my visa to start working in August.

Monday, May 16: Book my round-trip flight to Georgia for 3 weeks in July.

Tuesday, May 17: revel in my seemingly flawless future plans

Wednesday, May 18: continue reveling

Thursday, May 19: Find out Gemma has gotten a job to tie her over for a while in Germany, we celebrate our mutual having of a future

Friday, May 20: Gemmani (that means Gemma and I) throw ourselves a little we rock at life/still can't afford to go out on a Friday night party and think about how awesome life is going to be next year when we're still [almost] in the same country

Saturday, May 21: Wake up to a shocking email from Zürich that they will not be able to procure an au pair visa for me. Something with my horrible American passport and government and blah blah. The next best option is a student visa. I spend the rest of the day sunk into a depression.

Sunday, May 22: Get to avoid my sudden lack of future because of all day band rehearsal. Will face reality later.

Monday, May 23: Start attacking my future. Email a university about a masters program, sign up for 3 au pair websites and one questionably legit "Help Americans find Work in Germany" website (just the free version, though). The day ended with a response from a family in Munich looking for an au pair. 

Tuesday, May 24: Respond to Munich au pair job, and get a call from them, a sort of mini interview, and an offer to come meet on Sunday in Munich for a real interview. Get another response from another family looking for an au pair. Get excited about the Munich job and pretend I've already got it.

My acceptance letter, because I'm that lame ;)

Wednesday, May 25: Spend half my day convincing myself that I'm crazy excited to be working in Munich next year (mind you, it's not even actually decided) and that I'll still be close to Gemma and Forchheim. And there will be babies! Then, out of nowhere, comes the letter that I've gotten a placement as a teaching assistant for a second year! No visa worries, no money worries (well, significantly less than the standard au pair rates), and it's in the German state that was my original first choice last year!  Yes, yes, and yes! Done, where do I sign? OMG, I'm moving to Nordrhein-Westfalen! 

so this week has been an exhausting emotional joy-ride of sorting out the future and trying my best to find legal ways to stay in Europe. And what have I learned from it all? Well, suffice it to say I'm going to start planning my post-2nd year ETA life probably in September instead of May (even if the world is going to end shortly after my next assistantship)! 

I also would like to take one brief (and mildly cheesy) moment to say that I recognize how truly lucky I am to have fallen into something (anything) like this. Ever since I lived in Zürich, all I've wanted to do was to come back to Europe and stay as long as possible. And somehow I'm making that happen. And I do not take that for granted! 

Also, you can now disregard this post