About

Katie

minnesotan. avid passport stamp collector. runner. SCUBA diver. australian university graduate. aspiring yogi. (overly) obsessed with her dog. dreams of a world where people start to view basic human needs (access to clean water, nutritious food, housing, education, health care) as basic human rights. always in need of sunshine. prefers bare feet. beer drinker. tries to love unconditionally. espresso addict. tattooed and pierced. binge reader. lover of all things ocean. longs for the mountains. strives to make people laugh. believes in big dreams, fresh starts, love and letting the world surprise you.

Joost

dutch. 6’7”. self-proclaimed nerd. runner. traveler. pianist. devours breakfast cake by the loaf. mathematician. game of thrones addict. ambitious. not obsessed with katie’s dog. believer in quality family time. techie. prefers cycling over other means of transportation, like a true dutchman. dislikes rain, unlike a true dutchman. focused. tiramisu connoisseur. hopes to start his own company so that he can one day retire and build robots.

We met in Brisbane, Australia at The University of Queensland at the end of 2010. Joost was studying abroad at UQ for the semester and Katie was part way through her Bachelor of Arts degree. We bonded over whale watching, camping, trips to the Gold Coast and feeding kangaroos together.

Just a couple short weeks after becoming ‘official’ (it’s not official until it’s Facebook offish), Joost returned to the Netherlands, leaving us to navigate a long distance relationship for 22 long months. Joost was in the Netherlands and Katie was spending 9 months a year in Australia and 2-3 months in the USA.

Since beginning dating, we’ve enjoyed many (many!) hours on Skype, visiting each other in the Netherlands and USA, running, playing tennis, eating stroopwafels, attempting yoga, volunteering, hiking, cooking, fishing, road tripping and spending time at the cabin and on the lake in northern Minnesota.

At the end of August 2012, Joost arrived in the USA and we road tripped from Minnesota to New York, where we lived for three months. We then spent a month living in Minnesota, three months volunteering in Tanzania and are now living in England, where we’ll be for six months! Despite the craziness of our lives, we appreciate every single second we get to spend with each other. Having to date a pixelated, flat face on a computer screen for so long really taught us to appreciate the time we have together!