18 Summers
That’s what they say — you only get 18 summers with your kids before they’re off building their own lives. So this summer, we decided to make one count. We hired our very first RV, mapped a route and hit the road — Pensacola…. New Orleans…. and Panama City Beach on the way back. Out […]
Red, White, and Wow 🇺🇸 — Our First 4th of July as Green Card Holders
We’re not U.S. citizens (yet), but this year’s 4th of July felt especially meaningful — our first as permanent residents, and another milestone on this wild, wonderful emigration journey. We celebrated in true America fashion:Golf cart parades 🛺 , flag-themed everything 🇺🇸, fireworks 🎆 , lemonade stands 🍋 , dogs in bandanas 🐶, the works. […]
From L1 to Green Card: A Journey Covered in Grace 🇺🇸🙏
On March 5th, 2025 we held our green cards in our hands — just over 2 and a half years after stepping off the plane in the U.S. It may look like a small plastic card to some, but for us (and many other immigrants) it’s the evidence of a journey filled with mountains moved, […]
Celebrate Everything. Even the Little Things. Especially the Little Things. 🥂✨
This weekend, we booked a short family getaway, not because everything is easy right now, but because it’s been three years since we landed in the U.S. Three years of rebuilding, learning, and recreating. Three years of starting over, navigating new, building new, facing challenges, feeling like beginners… all the while still showing up, every […]
You Can’t Put a Timer on Healing 🇿🇦 💔 🇺🇸
On the 15th of August, it will be three years since we boarded that flight to the USA — suitcases in hand, hearts in our throats, and hope tucked somewhere in between. In many ways, we’ve come a long way. We’ve built a new life from scratch. We’ve learned new systems, made friends, bought a […]
Across Oceans, Through Heartache ✈️ 💔 🌍
Emigration is full of layers — some expected, others impossible to prepare for. One of the hardest? Navigating grief across oceans. Just months after we arrived in the U.S., — my dearest high school friend and business partner — received a devastating diagnosis. Despite the odds, she fought courageously and never lost her passion or […]
Abandoners or Adaptors? 🇿🇦 🏉 ✈️ 🇺🇸 🏈
A personal reflection — and maybe a professional one too. My sons grew up playing rugby in South Africa — the kind of rugby that stitches itself into your weekends, your friendships, your childhood. It’s not just a sport back home… it’s a heartbeat. When we moved to the U.S., rugby wasn’t an option at […]
The yellow school bus. 🚌 Do you recognise these from the movies?
You grow up seeing them on TV, probably still do — part of every American childhood storyline — and then suddenly, it’s parked outside your house, and your kids are climbing aboard like it’s the most normal thing in the world. But for me? It still feels surreal. This big, bright, unapologetically yellow bus rolling […]
All the Firsts 🇺🇸✨….. they the things that stick with you
The firsts of any adventure become the stories you tell and the memories that stitch themselves into the fabric of your new life. They’re the building blocks, small moments that somehow hold up the whole house. The first time you experience something, taste something new, cheer with strangers, or feel, even for a moment, like […]
We Were Nobodies
Or at least… that’s what it felt like when we arrived in the U.S. Despite our ages, having bought and sold property, built careers, paid off cars, managed businesses, and raised a family — when we landed here, we started at zero. – No credit score.– No local history.– No proof that we were anything […]
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Emigrating from SA to USA 🇿🇦➡️🇺🇸
The Good: Amazon You cannot really compare Amazon and Takealot. Need a garlic press by tomorrow morning? Done. A weird charger for a toy dinosaur? Already en route. A dog Halloween costume at 9 p.m.? Of course. Same-day or next-day delivery is now a lifestyle. Sadly, it makes for a culture of consumerism and instant […]
The Time Zone Tug
I felt very disconnected… by the “time-zone tug” 🇿🇦 🕒 🇺🇸 🕘 From my people. From my rhythm. From the time on the clock. One of the most unexpected challenges of emigrating to the U.S. wasn’t the paperwork or packing or even missing my family— it was the quiet, constant disconnection caused by time itself. […]