Midwest Kiwis

It’s peak summer here in New Zealand, and while it’s quite common to hear local Kiwis complain about the “shit summer” we’ve been having, I’m finding it hard to complain when the alternative is freezing temperatures, endless snow and “false Spring” back home. For us South Dakota natives, summers are notorious for being highly anticipated…

There’s a lot of things you learn about yourself when you move halfway across the world. Many of these lessons are predictable and cliché, such as realizing you’re capable of more than you ever imagined, or that taking risks and enduring discomfort can lead to personal growth. Or perhaps you come to terms with the…

For someone who is unemployed with an abundance of free time, you’d think I’d be better at keeping up on writing new blog posts. Alas, Kiwi summer is here and the joy of feeling settled in our new home has had an alluring effect on me. I’ve let go of the expectations of what I…

It’s a beautiful warm Spring day as I sit in my bedroom writing. The sky is that perfect shade of “sky blue” and the sun is shining intensely, blocked occasionally by weak wispy clouds. With the windows open, you can hear the palm fronds rustling, a calming sound I’ve grown accustomed to in our island…

It’s been a minute since our last blog post, but it’s hard to find the time to write when we’ve been so busy settling into our new home – (cue the Hallelujah chorus!) Since our last update, we’ve officially moved into our house in Milford, a friendly-neighborhood nestled in the central part of the North…

From the moment we decided to leave the States and relocate to New Zealand, I knew almost instantly that I wanted to create a blog to document our experience. I’ve resorted to writing as a creative and emotional outlet since quite a young age. In fact, when my mom passed away and we were going…

It’s been a wild few weeks for Krause House this side of the Pacific. After being rocked by the worst chest cold I’ve ever had, followed by the worst sinus infection I’ve ever had, I am slowly but surely on the mend. Being sick for over a week in another country while staying in an…

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon while I rest at “home” (aka – our 2nd Airbnb where we will stay until we move into our official home in Milford on Oct. 17th). What started as a sore throat has turned into a nasty chest cold (or something viral), leaving me feeling achy and fatigued. The changing…

Growing up in South Dakota, living amongst a homogeneous, predominantly white, Christian community, we had little exposure to other cultures and beliefs. The extent of diversity around me was limited to the few Jewish or African American classmates who were put on display for Hannukah or Kwanza, expected to teach the rest of us about…

It’s only been nine days since we landed in New Zealand, yet somehow it feels as though we’ve lived a month’s worth of experiences. We’ve settled into our small, but cozy Airbnb in Rothesay Bay, growing more and more accustomed to the slower, quiet life of living on the North Shore. We wake up each…

It’s early morning as Larsen and I sit together at our small Airbnb in Rothesay Bay, listening to “Cozy Jazz” on Spotify, Austin still snoozing in bed. The Tui birds can be heard chirping outside, a small reminder that we are half a world away from our family, friends and former lives. We arrived in…