It's hard to believe I've been in Australia for five months now. When I arrived in Sydney on September 8 with just a backpack, I had no plans except a few ideas in my head about where I wanted to go. Not realizing how huge and expensive this country is, I foolishly believed I would have seen most of it by now--Melbourne, Cairns, Uluru, Darwin and the Sunshine Coast. I never planned on being in Sydney this long or signing a four month apartment lease with two people that I just met. But sometimes it's the unexpected surprises that turn into the best memories. We don't meet people by chance, and I'm so grateful for all the friends I've made and to be able to call this amazing city home.
Now that my apartment lease is up and my third job contract has ended, I've received lots of inquiries about my plans. Where are you going to live? What are you doing for money? When are you coming home? Two weeks ago, I knew the answers to these questions. I fully intended to take a train to Melbourne and spend a week getting to know the area. Then I planned to travel to Bali on the money from my apartment bond and spend a month on the island volunteering, before flying back home to Houston in mid-March. But the day before I was meant to book my airfare, I got an email about a job opportunity in Sydney--one which is related to my degree and would challenge me intellectually, unlike the hospitality & retail jobs I've been doing lately. So now I'm staying with some of my friends, living out of a backpack again and checking my email hourly, hoping for good news about this job.
I never could have anticipated this happening. But that's the funny thing about plans--you can create the most simple or elaborate ones, and as soon as you think you have everything figured out, life throws a curve ball your way. Maybe this job will fall through, and I'll have to fly home penniless. But I've been praying about it a lot, and I'm confident that things will work out the way they're supposed to. And in the meantime, I vow to make the most of this period of waiting and uncertainty--enjoying the days I get to spend with the girls who were nice enough to share their home with me.
Now that my apartment lease is up and my third job contract has ended, I've received lots of inquiries about my plans. Where are you going to live? What are you doing for money? When are you coming home? Two weeks ago, I knew the answers to these questions. I fully intended to take a train to Melbourne and spend a week getting to know the area. Then I planned to travel to Bali on the money from my apartment bond and spend a month on the island volunteering, before flying back home to Houston in mid-March. But the day before I was meant to book my airfare, I got an email about a job opportunity in Sydney--one which is related to my degree and would challenge me intellectually, unlike the hospitality & retail jobs I've been doing lately. So now I'm staying with some of my friends, living out of a backpack again and checking my email hourly, hoping for good news about this job.
I never could have anticipated this happening. But that's the funny thing about plans--you can create the most simple or elaborate ones, and as soon as you think you have everything figured out, life throws a curve ball your way. Maybe this job will fall through, and I'll have to fly home penniless. But I've been praying about it a lot, and I'm confident that things will work out the way they're supposed to. And in the meantime, I vow to make the most of this period of waiting and uncertainty--enjoying the days I get to spend with the girls who were nice enough to share their home with me.
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
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