One of the things that I thought about a lot when we moved to New Zealand back in May 2010 was, “Will I stand out as an American?” The answer is yes, of course. My accent instantly makes me stand out as being from North America, though most people can’t tell for certain if I’m … Read more
Happy New Year! Living in New Zealand meant that I got to see 2013 before most of you, and it certainly started off on a good foot in my part of the world. I’ll be honest, making and keeping New Year’s resolutions has not always been one of my favourite things. However, moving to a … Read more
We’re back in New Zealand after having spent a wonderful 2 months in the United Kingdom. We travelled there for my husband, as he needed to do some work at one of the universities, and it worked out that our son and I were able to accompany him. It was a great time and we … Read more
We’ve been in the UK for 4 weeks now. No, we haven’t moved from New Zealand. At least, not entirely and not yet. We’re in England for 2 months while my husband does some work here. All of our things in New Zealand have either been sold, put in temporary storage, or put in long-term … Read more
I was recently asked whether or not I thought time passed more quickly in New Zealand than anywhere else. The question threw me. No one has ever asked me that before. My answer was no, but also yes, and then “it depends”. When we moved here initially, I thought that time crawled by. Looking back, … Read more
Every now and again I get emails or Facebook messages or blog comments with this type of question: “If you were moving to New Zealand all over again, what would you say that you have to bring with you from the States?” When we first moved here, I had a boatload of suggestions, things that … Read more
I used to consider myself a fairly good cook back when we lived in the States. I made dinner almost every night, even if it was nothing more than putting something in the crock-pot before heading to work. Nevertheless, moving to New Zealand made me realize that, in fact, I wasn’t a good cook. I … Read more
There’s been a lot in the news lately regarding the Supreme Court of the United States and their recent ruling on President Obama’s healthcare law. I know that healthcare reforms in the US are fraught with political tension. I’m not going to get into that here. Instead, I’m going to share my experiences working in … Read more
You may have recently heard about the 3 Boston University students that were killed while in New Zealand. They were part of a caravan on their way to the Tongariro Crossing, an absolutely beautiful walk in the North Island of New Zealand, when their van swerved onto the shoulder, overcorrected, and crashed. In addition to … Read more
I woke up this morning, made myself a cup of tea (or two!), pulled a sweatshirt from my university days on over my head, and felt very thankful for warm, woolly socks made right here in New Zealand. I had to confirm to my husband that, yes, it is too chilly for Joe, our 10 … Read more