The daily grind: A typical day at ECNU


By
 in , ,
A typical Monday (by far my busiest school day) at East China Normal University goes a little something like this… 9:00 a.m.: Wake up, check all my social media apps and begin to look like a human. So many Snapstories and new pictures on Instagram to check because of this time difference…there’s just not enough […]

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bilbao


By
 in , ,
On my way to work teaching English, I see that lovely blue lights have been laced up through the trees lining the streets of the city center. This is Plaza Moyua, the center of Bilbao, a roundabout that connects many different streets. It’s hard to resist baked goods from Martina de Zuricalday, a Basque bakery […]

It’s beginning to look a lot like a London Christmas


By
 in , ,
Having lived in California my entire life, I feel like I’ve never had the full Christmas experience. There’s something about waking up every Christmas morning to sunny 60-degree blue skies that kind of takes away from the “magic” of the holiday. Every year during the holidays my family and I watch Love Actually (arguably my […]

A Dutch Girl at USC: My first American Thanksgiving


By
 in ,
Ever since I started my exchange semester here at USC, I have been super excited to experience a real Thanksgiving with the American branch of my family. After a sketchy Greyhound bus ride to Las Vegas — during which the bus driver and a woman started yelling at each other and security had to escort […]

“Thanksgiving” in London


By
 in ,
It’s always weird spending a Thanksgiving away from home. The tradition of spending those few days with family while you stuff your face with turkey is a solidified routine for most Americans, so I really had no idea what to expect spending my first Thanksgiving in another country. Because Thanksgiving doesn’t exist in the U.K., […]

Dutch Girl at USC: Watching the European refugee crisis unfold from abroad


By
 in ,
This past summer, Europe entered what might become known as the most monumental migration crisis in recorded history. As capacity for Syrian and Iraqi refugees in surrounding countries such as Turkey and Lebanon was reached, boatloads of desperate families started to arrive in Greece. Not all boats made it safely across the water. Images such […]

Approaching the end of my study abroad semester


By
 in ,
When I returned to Shanghai after a weeklong field trip to Sichuan, I realized just how little time I have left in this wonderful city and, rightfully so, got a little emotional. I had just spent a week exploring a new part of China and making friends with people in my program I had not […]

There’s more than studying in studying abroad


By
 in ,
I was always told that going to college would be the best time of my life. So far it has definitely been wonderful, but I will have to wait for the semester to end to reach a final conclusion. One of the main reasons this stage is so exciting is that you are at a […]

In photos: Nature around the world


By
 in ,
From beaches to mountainsides, lush greenery to desserts, nature looks different all over the world. This week our Troy Meets World bloggers captured what the beauty of nature looks like in the city they are studying in. Bilbao, Spain One of my favorite things about Bilbao is that the city is incredibly green, and it’s […]