Living in Another Language

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10 Ways Alaska and New Zealand Are Remarkably Similar

Written by: Amanda // Category: Alaska, New Zealand, United States

Derik and I always knew we were to eventually make it back to the United States, and after 3.5 years of making our home in foreign countries, and a six month full-time travel stint through Asia and Europe, we thought it was high time to enjoy a more familiar side of the world. The problem was, we couldn’t put a finger on where exactly we wanted to go, because nothing really screamed "New Zealand" the way we wanted it to. You read that right, New Zealand.   After traveling for 6 months and visiting multiple countries, we began to realize how homesick we were for the place we just left. I’m not sure how NZ captured our hearts the way it did (actually, who am I kidding, of course I know how it happened…if you’ve ever lived or visited New ... Read More

Cruising Milford Sound

Written by: Amanda // Category: Cruises, New Zealand

New Zealand is by far the most beautiful country I have ever visited. It’s a place that Derik and I both fell head over heels in love with, and a place that sends a ping of sadness through my heart when I think about how far away it is from us now. During our time in New Zealand, cruising Milford Sound was at the very top of my bucket list. Strangely, I spent an entire year wishing to visit, and it didn’t happen until our last two weeks there. We went on an amazing comprehensive New Zealand tour with Haka Tours, and I knew the opportunity to book a cruise with Jucy to Milford Sound would be in the runnings of 'things to do while on tour.' It was either that or spend a day in Queenstown (which is equally as amazing for first-timers), and ... Read More

24 hours in Wanaka

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand

Jetting away on the weekends or anytime we could squeeze in a day trip, was something Derik and I would do quite regularly while living in New Zealand. When my brother and sister-in-law came to visit earlier this year, it was pretty much required that we took a quick 3-hour drive over to the west coast to show them the mountainous grander that is Queenstown and Wanaka. Now, as someone who has traveled New Zealand from top to bottom, if you're looking for a place that has everything you ever thought New Zealand to be, the west coast of the South Island is that place: mountains, glaciers, the bluest rivers and lakes you've ever seen, LOTR locations, and of course, sheep. If it wasn't so expensive to live in the Queenstown/Wanaka area, in ... Read More

Finding and Photographing the Aurora in New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Photography, Photography Tutorial

The Aurora Australis (otherwise known as the Southern Lights) is a rare beauty that only shows its splendor to those who seek it. Intrigued? I know I was! One of the biggest bucket list items I had while living in New Zealand was to see the Aurora Australis, especially since I grew up seeing the Borealis…there's just something about being able to witness such a gorgeous phenomenon in both hemispheres! Or maybe I'm just overly hyping that up? Anyway, I wanted to get down to the nitty gritty with you guys today and explain all you need to know about finding and photographing the Aurora Australis. It's simply not as easy as waiting until a friend calls you up on the phone and then walking out your door(or maybe you'll be the lucky one ... Read More

8 Must-Try Foods in New Zealand

Written by: Derik Grove // Category: New Zealand

As mentioned previously, one of my favorite things about travel is discovering new foods! Though many may not initially think of New Zealand as a foodie’s haven, there are several delicious meals you must try while visiting the most beautiful country on earth. It's no small secret to my friends, family, and now our blog readers…I'm a foodie. One of my favorite things about traveling is discovering the local cuisine, and am more than willing to try things at least once. Though many may not initially think of New Zealand as a foodie’s haven, there are several delicious meals you must try while visiting the most beautiful country on earth. Luckily for me, working locally, I was able to get the inside scoop on some of the best meals ... Read More

Kaikoura Dolphin Encounter

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Review, Tour Reviews

The horn blared loudly signifying it was okay to jump in, and we slipped off the end of the boat into the icy cold water, immediately surrounded by a pod of 250-300 wild dusky dolphins. I couldn't believe my eyes as I sat there floating on top of the water looking to the left, right, behind, and below me — dolphins were everywhere! Having the opportunity to swim with dolphins may just be [hands down] one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my entire life. Kaikoura truly is the hidden gem of the South Island, and if you're one of those that takes the extra time to visit, you'll know exactly why it's so special. This coastal town is nestled right between the ocean and the mountains, giving you scenic views every direction ... Read More

Living Expenses in New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: Expenses, New Zealand

I'm writing this post because a year and a half ago when we were planning our move from Korea, I wish I had a reference point on living expenses in New Zealand . It was incredibly frustrating to be told "It's super expensive" yet have nothing to base it off of. Living in South Korea was also pretty expensive, and I just wanted to know in comparison how much we were going to have to budget each month and overall to make our time in New Zealand not the worst thing ever on our bank accounts. For all you fellow "I-want-to-travel-and-live-in-New-Zealanderers" hopefully you can use this as a general guide to help you get an idea of what things are going to cost while living, or even just visiting New Zealand. PLEASE NOTE: our living ... Read More

An Adventure Tour through New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand, Review, Tour Reviews

Once Derik and I figured out we would be leaving New Zealand in a matter of a few weeks, we were hitting things pretty much full throttle trying to arrange flight tickets, get out of our rental agreement, what to do post-New Zealand, and packing up our stuff. We both had this nagging feeling like we hadn't seen enough of New Zealand (or even participated in an official New Zealand tour) to be completely satisfied before we left can you ever be completely satisfied?. Yeah, sure we lived in NZ for an entire year, but if you've ever visited you'll know what I mean when I say you can't ever have enough of "the most beautiful places on earth." That's where Haka Tours came in. First of all you should know that I love planning and knowing ... Read More

Fall in New Zealand

Written by: Amanda // Category: New Zealand

I bet you didn't expect to see a post full of colorful fall leaves in May did you? As the rest of the world is transitioning into summer, the Southern Hemisphere transitions into winter. I can't even look at Pinterest anymore, as all the spring and summer pins leave my mind super confused as to where I am and what time of the year it actually is. I think I'm starting to adapt to this whole season reversal thing, and I'm learning to embrace the changing seasons (namely fall/winter). Luckily, finding little patches of autumn heaven, as you see in the pictures of this post, help me out a ton. Last weekend we had absolutely gorgeous weather (which has luckily continued on into this week), so Derik and I went on a photo adventure to find the ... Read More

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Currently on Instagram

2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a coup Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a couple days enjoying the beautiful weather in the land of chocolate, cheese, mountains, and cows with bells 😍😍🤩. If you remember, we visited the same area  a month shy of two years ago but but the weather was quite the opposite! I’d have to say though, when you visit such a majestic and beautiful area, it doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re going to be in awe and love it anyway!
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