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I love kids. I’ve always loved kids. I loved helping my parents look after, raise, change diapers and play with both of my younger brothers and my sister. I dreamed about how I will have my own kids at the age of 30. Fast forward to 35. Took two suitcases of kids’ toys to the largest Brazilian orphanage in Rio de Janeiro and in between tried establishing an agency to help with international adoption, raised money for the building of a primary school in Nepal (which we are opening in April next year), and now the decision has fallen that I become a nanny. To an English-speaking family from Mauritius, which owns a fast-food restaurant where I could help waitress. Yes, I have until now broken the vow that I will never waitress again in my life twice. And to make things more interesting, I’m moving to the West of Australia. On an eight-hour journey. With a plane. This would have already taken me out of Europe back home. 

Moving for a job is, among other things, due to lack of money. Not so much a lack of, as the fact that it won’t be found anywhere. Working in a café and a restaurant doesn’t bring in a guaranteed income. Bad weather, few guests, less work, less hours, and I’ve fallen from 45 hours in the first week, to 10 in the next. I simply can’t afford that. 

This is my fourth visit to the metropolis with a soul.

I arrived in Brisbane in the afternoon. This is my fourth visit to the metropolis with a soul. A soul that charmed me. A game of lights. Greenery. A river through the colorful city. Playful streets. Never too crowded. I’m not a fan of cities. Especially not large cities. For me, even Ljubljana is too large. But Brissy. There’s something about its playfulness. The life it gives. Colors that take you away. I have my favorite spot. Kangaroo Point. It sounds so cliché. So Australian, yet so homey.

View from the top of the climbing wall.

A natural climbing cliff by the Brisbane River

A cliff. A wall-climb. A running track by the river. Cyclists. A picnic space. The river, and on it kayaks. On the other bank that which is a part of any city. Skyscrapers. Hotels. Concrete. Far away. And behind it, the sun. Even cold walls become warm from this point. Nice. The best pat of the day. Sunset. 

I watch them. How happy they are.

In love. Relaxed. Enjoying themselves.

I sat at a table and wrote postcards. I bought them on my first visit to Brisbane. About a month ago. Took them with me to Cairns. And brought them back empty. I would have written different words then. With a different energy. Today, I wrote thanks to my experiences, which helped me becoming a nanny. To move in with an unknown family, to which I will probably quickly get attached. That’s who I am. First, I drank coffee. Then something a bit more refreshing. Then another coffee. And something refreshing again. Approach me. She doesn’t have money for food, but she’s drinking a lot. I’m enjoying myself. I’m living my life. And, as some of my friends would say, taking life with a big spoon. To the left of me, a nice couple sits down. I watch them. How happy they are. In love. Relaxed. Enjoying themselves. Taking life with a big spoon. Like me. That’s when they speak to me. 

“May we ask where you’re from?” “From Slovenia.” “We saw you writing postcards like we used to do when we started traveling together.” Each one of the guests watches the sunset behind their own table. That glowing orb, quickly hiding behind high business skyscrapers and luxury hotels. We’re talking about careers. Traveling. Work. Study. People relationships. Experiences that brought us to the same point. They invite me to sit with them.

“Each one of the guests watches the sunset behind their own table.”

“That glowing orb, quickly hiding behind high business skyscrapers and luxury hotels.”

We’re debating. What I’m going to be doing in Western Australia. How I worked as a waitress on Sunshine Coast. For the first time in my life. How I wish I could do what I enjoy doing. Writing. Creating. Do what I do back home. Instead of watching over the three kids of the family from Mauritius, picking them up from school, playing with them, cooking for them, getting them ready for the night, and escorting them to bed. How I would rather do things and further develop my mind. The man turns to me then, and asks: “If you got a job, would you stay?”

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