poof! there they go... bye dreams! see you later!

poof! there they go... bye dreams! see you later!!

Maybe I'm being a tad bit overdramatic?  The problem with long term plans of international travel is that government regulations are constantly changing.  I'm sure that the problem is government regulations.  I'm sure that I must have looked into the age restrictions on obtaining an Au Pair visa in Germany before I decided that it was a good idea to come to Japan first, right?

That map on the wall is looking less depressing and more inspiring every minute!

Well today, in trying to convince a friend to take a gap year to Australia, I found myself wandering through the Australian Immigration website yet again.  I was once again comtemplating all the various ways I could weasle my way back into the country and decided to check on the possibility of Au Pairing in oz!  I looked at an Au Pair website only to see many Australian families listed!!  Had I missed something on the DIMIA website all these times?  Was there such a thing as an Au Pair visa for Australia?  Could I be heading back down there for an extended stay sooner than I thought?!?!?  No.  There is no Au Pair visa for Australia and those interested in being Au Pairs are required to enter the country on a working holiday visa which you can only get once (unless you happened to have done more than 3 months on a farm during your first stay) and I, of course, have already used mine.

So I decided, just for the heck of it, to look at some families in Germany and see where I might be going in 2 long years once I am done in this (explitive deleted) country.  Then I thought I would check the visa regulations.  Yes, this is a long winded story, but I must set up for you the utter shock of discovering that it is only possible to be a Canadian Au Pair on an Au Pair visa in Germany until the age of 25 (meaning you must not have yet turned 25 when lodging the visa application--which you do once you have arrived in the country).  This gives me until October.  I fear that that is not possible.

Luckily, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Sweden all allow Au Pairs on Au Pair visas until at least the age of 27 or 30.  My new plan is to be an Au Pair in Switzerland for a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 18 months (required by regulations).  Upon completion of this term, my German will be very good (even it is tained with the Swiss German factor) and thereafter I can apply for a job as an ESL teacher in Germany.  (one year experience, check, native english speaker, check, degree, check, german ability, check, tesl certificate, I can get one).  Back to that again.  At least at that job I can make more money than Au Pairing (about 1000 Euors per month instead of 260) and I will have my own place (there goes some of the profits), cook for myself (there goes a little more), and have some freedom.  The only problem, of course, is that EU citizens get preference (being that they don't need to go through the hassle of getting them visas and such) and that ESL jobs for native english speakers in Germany are few and far between.  Maybe I will have to pick up another skill somewhere along the way that will get me in.  Maybe I will just have to accept the possibility that I may never be able to live and work in Germany.  Why can't Canada hurry up and join the EU?

This whole new plan means that, really, I have to get the heck out of dodge a lot sooner than 2 years from now!!  I don't even like this country so why am I going to stick around living like a pauper to make enough money to enjoy myself in Europe?

The new plan is this:  make enough money here to pay off my debt and for my ferry/train tickets to get me into Europe, only.  Hopefully I can do this by the end of my contract (Sept 28) but if not, I will go to Tokyo to be a hostess and save every penny until I have enough to get me on my way.  I would like to stay until at least the first weekend in December so I can write the 3rd level JLPT test before I go (and then never speak Japanese again--you never know when an official test score might come in handy!) but there are no guarantees at this point.

Far short of 25 months left in Japan, I may have as little as 10!!  Of course, donations and contributions to get me on to the next stop are always welcome!!  Just kidding (well they are welcome, but you know what I mean).

Maybe I should check into some more countries' regulations a bit deeper too... Of course, Germany was the only country I was really set on.  Except for Australia, but I don't think it is possible for anyone to know more about that country's immigration regulations than I do now.

Big changes and now I have to readjust my mindset and let myself smile a little at the thought that this might all be coming to an end sooner than I ever dreamed...  That map on the wall is looking less depressing and more inspiring every minute!