It’s crazy to think that it is winter here in NZ right now. It does get cold but it’s definitely not Bellingham cold. It was probably colder in Bellingham last March (when I returned to the US after 6 months in NZ) than it is now in NZ. It’s just about as rainy though!

I think I am finally getting a sense of the seasons again. Moving to the opposite hemisphere can just mess with your sense of time. You have cold, rainy, Thanksgivings where you huddle around a hot fire and drink tea and hot cocoa all the time. Christmas is freezing and everyone hopes for snow as you dig into roast turkey or ham. Then you have a few months of cold weather and relentless rain (or snow) with no fun holidays to break it up. Then spring finally comes around, and there’s Easter as it starts to thaw out, then by Memorial Day it’s actually getting warm again. The Fourth of July is hot and (hopefully) sunny, and it stays light until 9 or 10 so fireworks don’t get started until late at night. As the summer comes to a close and everyone’s thinking about school again, you have Labor Day, and the crisp fall days that come with it…

Then you move to the other side of the world. You celebrate Thanksgiving in warm weather, Christmas is spent at the lake and Christmas dinner is barbecue. January, February, and March are hot and sunny and if you live in NZ you’re never more than a few hours’ drive from the ocean. Easter is when it starts to get cold, and Memorial Day doesn’t exist here. Fourth of July? Sure we have July 4th… but it doesn’t mean anything. The weather grows colder but surprises you. For a week it will be so cold you’ll need your heater going before you can get up and do anything. Then it will be actually *warm* for a few days, and then as rainy as Bellingham.

When Jared and I got married and moved to NZ, I was so glad that it was almost Spring. We got to NZ in August and spring started on September 1 (keeping track of seasons is so much easier when they start on the 1st!). Moving across the world is hard. Even when you are madly in love! Even when you have friends and even family in your new home. It’s not easy at all, especially when you have amazing family and friends that you must be crazy for leaving behind. Seeing the leaves return to the trees, flowers, birds singing… it helped a lot. Sometimes autumn and winter can be kind of dreary, but you can’t help but love the growth that comes with springtime! And while moving across the world is hard, it was so worth it. Look at this handsome face I get to see every day!

It’s really crazy when you move to another country how many things are different. I got so excited to see Stagg’s Chilli in the grocery store and I don’t even know why! It was just to weird to see an American product that I hadn’t even thought of in ages.

At first you miss the big things, like your family, friends, church, etc. As times goes on though you realize the little things that make it even harder. Not knowing which brands are quality and which ones are cheap. Makeup prices being twice as high in NZ than in the US for the same brands and same products. Sometimes it would be nice to just see a Walmart or Target, or to see a brand you recognize, or a food that you always had at grandma’s house. There’s so much more too, I just can’t think of it at the moment. They’re not things that you can sit down and think of, but things you’ll notice as you’re at the grocery store or on the way to church, and you suddenly realize, man imagine driving on the right side of the road again! I haven’t seen snow in so long… man I would love to go to the mall in Bellingham one more time.

It’s odd on a holiday when nobody cares. You’re all excited to celebrate Thanksgiving or Independence Day but most people don’t have a clue that day is special to you.

BUT there are fun things about moving as well! You get to learn another language! I mean yes we speak English in NZ but there’s so many words that are different, and slang words. I’ll just give you a few comparisons of American words vs their Kiwi counterparts!

Bathroom – Toilet. Unless it’s a bathroom *without* a toilet (because it’s in a separate room), THEN it’s a bathroom.

Counter – Bench.

Garbage/Trash – Rubbish.

Cookie – Biscuit

Biscuit and Scone – Scone

Have you ever moved to another country? Was it similar to the one you came from, or different? I can say that moving to another country is pretty weird. It takes a while to get used to! But I love being in New Zealand. From the first time I came here, there have been some great, friendly people who have helped make the transition easier. Shoutout to you guys! (that is; basically all my NZ friends and family. Love you guys!)