✍️ Blog Part 2: Learning to Live Again – Our Early Days in Aotearoa

When we arrived in Palmerston North in 2011, we had no idea what was ahead. We didn’t know a single person. My husband needed to study again to convert his nursing license. That meant international tuition, visa fees, living costs — all from our small savings.

We rented the cheapest flat we could find. It was cold and damp, and our baby got sick again and again. We bought an old car, over 20 years old, and tried to stay hopeful.

I didn’t speak English well. I could barely introduce myself. I studied during every nap time and late at night after putting the baby to sleep. I kept telling myself, “One day, I’ll be a nurse again too.”

But life wasn’t waiting. We were running out of money. We were tired. And my husband needed a job — fast.

Then we found a hospital job posting in a tiny town at the very top of the North Island: Kaitaia. It felt impossibly far. But it was our last hope.

So we packed up the car and drove the full length of the island — with a baby in the back and all our hopes in that one interview.
If he didn’t get the job, we’d have no choice but to return to Korea, empty-handed.

But… he got it.

We moved to Awanui, a peaceful town just outside Kaitaia. It was quiet, breathtakingly beautiful, and so full of kindness.
Those two years were healing years. We found peace again. We found space to breathe.

It was the first time New Zealand truly felt like home.