What are your favourite local spots?
Many people outside of Utah associate this state with the Mormon church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Although the first wave of European settlers was largely Mormon, the population is a little more diverse today.
Mormons don't drink coffee though, so the establishment of a coffee roasting plant and a cafe in Logan was quite an adventurous move when our friends Sally and Randy first set it up in the 1970s.
Cafe Ibis has been my social centre for many years. Until Covid, every coffee date was held at the Ibis. I would always bump into someone I knew there and the barista started making my drink before I ordered it. It hasn't shut down but they only do take-out at the moment and I really miss the place.
How is the city living with Covid-19 now?
Honestly, Utah as a state and Logan as a city has been a mess. Our rates of Covid got pretty high and we did have a lockdown for a while but there has not been a mask mandate where I live nor can you require vaccination.
My friends who are teachers look out on a sea of unmasked students and hope they don't catch Covid. University students have been a little better about wearing masks but again they cannot be compelled to do so. Unfortunately, it's been a hugely political and divisive issue in this state.
Have you travelled anywhere nationally or internationally since March 2020?
Covid was so difficult for people in Utah and also for my family in New Zealand and I was just desperate to come home.
We didn't travel internationally in 2020 but we took the opportunity to do a bit of travel in the west. We were looking for what seemed like "safe" travel, if that really existed. We took a trip to Southern Utah and cycled in Moab and the Valley of the Gods, we went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks to hike and we drove up the coast of California.
At the end of 2020 I came back to New Zealand to see my family and escape the Utah winter. MIQ was tough but once I got out it was paradise. Everything was open and I didn't have to wear a mask.
Getting back in 2022 was a bit more difficult but I got lucky with the MIQ lottery. I hope never to do another MIQ stay but it was a price worth paying to come back.
Are there any destinations you're dreaming of visiting now?
We had planned a trip to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar that we cancelled because of Covid. We are hoping we can squeeze that in this year.
Do you miss anything about New Zealand?
Oh, I miss so much about New Zealand! I have had a great life in the US, have enjoyed my job and raised children there but I still feel very much a New Zealander.
New Zealanders are very direct, pragmatic and community-minded and we are problem-solvers.
I work in the arts and whenever I am back I experience fabulous theatre, music and visual art. We are really a talented bunch. I really never intended to live the expatriate lifestyle but that is how it has worked out. I am pleased I have been able to give my children New Zealand as well as American citizenship.
What advice would you give New Zealanders who still aren't ready to travel internationally?
Get to know your country. There are so many parts of New Zealand that I haven't been to. I imagine this is the same for lots of New Zealanders.
Do you know a Kiwi living overseas who would like to share their experiences of life after lockdown? Email travel@nzherald.co.nz with Life After Lockdown in the subject line.
