Trouble in the Land Down Under

A Down Under update . . . . Nicole's adventure in the Land of Oz has had its ups and downs, for sure. Her stay as a nanny did not, sadly, work out as anyone had hoped and planned, which resulted in her moving out and into Brisbane. There, she is sharing an apartment with a very nice young woman, and has branched out to have several fabulous adventures, including going to a convention and meeting Spike (from "Buffy"). 

However, in the last couple of days we have all come to a sobering realization. Since she is going to have to come back home much sooner than expected, this places her return closer to the holidays. Any guess what happens to ticket prices around Christmas and New Year's? 

Yup. The $1000 she had budgeted for a ticket home is more than doubled unless she waits until February/March. Unfortunately, the money it would cost to wait that long (food, lodging, etc.) is almost as much as she would need for that ticket. 

A dilemma for sure. 

Why not just get a job while she is there, you might ask? Fine question. Australia makes that more than a little challenging. She has to LEAVE the country to change her visit from a visiting one to a working one. This means flying to New Zealand and then staying there one to two weeks while the new visa is processed. Sigh. 

We are spending a lot of time on the phone, IM, Skype and Facebook trying to figure out how to best help her. I'd love to plop a couple of grand into her bank account and make the question moot, but I don't have it right now. A few hundred, sure, but that's it.  And I am frustrated from here as I want her to do all of the adventures she wanted to do, see the sites, take the train trip, and I cannot figure out how to help her do it and still FLY HOME. 

In other parts of my life . . I'm fine. Missing the sun, bought one of those "happy lights" to stave off the depression that lurks at the periphery of my days. Trying to meet deadlines. Loving my husband, and watching my sons grow up so fast that I sometimes don't recognize them when they get up in the morning. 

And mostly worrying about my girl in the Land of Oz and what I can do to help her.