A deeper snippet and deep dive into the American dating scene and stories!

Join Mary Grace as she divulges her experiences, fails executed and witnessed, and lessons learned from dating four different American guys in Atlanta, Georgia throughout the year after she left her life in Turkey and Europe behind, plus, as she reveals more about the one European from Germany who changed up the dating game entirely.

(00:00) Intro

(00:33) Episode overview

(02:00) Dating apps & being convinced to use one

(03:54) Guy #1: Mr. Bright and Handsome

(06:40) Dating fail #1 with Mr. Bright and Handsome

(07:53) Dating fail #2 with Mr. Bright and Handsome

(09:07) Why it ended & one sidedness

(10:31) Guy #2: Mr. Southern Christian Boy

(13:32) Different futures & ultimate dealbreaker

(14:56) The list

(16:17) How it ended & people are still good

(16:41) Guy #3: Mr. Superficial

(17:37) Mr. Superficial’s dating fail

(18:30) Work Inflexibility & insecurity

(19:05) How and why it ended

(19:36) Guy #4: Mr. Oblivious and Selfish

(23:48) Dating fail at the brewery

(24:45) Confronting the oblivion and selfishness

(26:51) Transition to guy #5: Marco

(27:47) My dating slump & prayer moment

(29:16) Meeting Marco on Hinge

(31:05) What Marco isn’t and is

(32:15) Last takeaways

(33:14) Episode wrap-up

Inspired by a recent friend group trip to the northern cities of Tayrona, Barranquilla, and Cartagena, Colombia, Mary Grace and Marco take some time to casually reflect upon and discuss a number of scenes and situations they witnessed of locals and what they learned from them during their short time in this vibrant, biodiverse and multi-faceted country than either of them are used to. Enjoy!

(00:00) Intro

(00:33) Episode overview & catch-up

(03:11) Some takeaways from Colombia

(04:37) Thoughts on Cartagena

(07:35) The police stop in Barranquilla

(08:50) Language barrier & you NEED Spanish

(09:51) Socioeconomics in Colombia

(11:28) Humidity

(13:35) Cash, road tolls, measurements

(17:19) Colombian 9-5 & happiness

(20:55) Shakira statue & Barranquilla

(22:32) Local cuisine, costs, drinks

(25:51) Local chain recommendation: Narcobollo

(26:40) Organized chaos traffic

(28:54) Demographic diversity in Cartagena

(29:46) What we wish we would’ve known before going

(32:24) Recommendations for tourists

(35:34) Episode wrap-up

A little throwback to high school days! Join Mary Grace and Marco as they talk about some of their school experiences and comparisons between America and Germany respectively (but primarily from Marco's and the Europeans' point of view).

Enjoy!

(00:00) Intro

(00:33) Episode overview

(01:41) What kind of student were you?

(02:53) Transportation to school in Germany

(04:33) American yellow school bus & choosing your school

(07:08) Quality of education in Germany vs. America

(07:59) Class schedule and breaks in Germany vs. America

(10:44) Teachers own their own classrooms in America

(11:34) School desks in America vs. Germany

(13:58) English class and learning in Germany

(18:36) School lunch in Germany vs. America

(21:45) Extracurriculars in Germany

(23:04) Grading system in Germany

(23:44) Summer school and detention don’t exist in Germany

(25:09) Where were school field trips taken?

(28:31) School size in America vs. Germany

(29:37) Last remarks

(29:50) Episode wrap-up

One of those "do as I say, not as I do" travel throwback stories. In this episode, Mary Grace divulges a very vulnerable and fortunate sequence of events that she experienced on her very first night after arriving solo in Medellin, Colombia, and the aftermath and realization of what happened going into the following morning and day. Fully intended NOT to endorse naive and poor decisions by any stretch, but rather to use this personal, young experience to educate you about Colombia things and always watching after yourself. :)

(00:00) Intro

(00:33) Episode overview

(03:11) The journey to Colombia

(05:06) Getting to Airbnb & first sights of Colombia

(06:32) The Airbnb & my terrible Spanish

(07:50) Preparing for the food tour

(08:33) The people on the food tour

(10:13) Trying the local specialties

(11:09) The local bar and introducing aguardiente

(14:08) The rooftop bar

(16:43) Waking up the next morning

(18:28) What actually happened & true colors exposed

(22:55) How I got lucky

(23:58) What happened next & day in Guatapé

(25:34) Morals of the story

(26:44) Episode wrap-up

So many laughs packed into one collaborative episode! Join me today with my wonderful friend from my time studying abroad in France and at the University of Georgia, Josh. We talk about all sorts of things France and share French cultural insights, tips and memories from our own experiences studying, working and living in France as Americans that we believe you'll really get a great kick out of. Allons-y and enjoy!

(00:00) Intro

(00:33) Episode Overview

(01:44) Welcome and where we’re recording today

(02:24) Intro to Josh

(03:20) How Josh and I met and studying abroad

(03:36) Living with a Senegalese French host family

(05:55) Beach times in southern France

(06:33) Our American study abroad group

(07:34) Opinions of Paris

(08:25) Keep these in mind when in Paris

(08:55) Parisians and French people

(09:18) Trash on the streets of Paris

(09:55) Other thoughts on Paris and France

(10:17) Getting tear-gassed in Lyon

(10:54) The Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Jackets) protests

(12:10) Funny stories from teaching in France

(13:08) Kids going on strike in France

(15:44) The UGA “doggy-doggy”

(16:11) Things you hated about living in France

(16:37) French Bureaucratic administration

(19:14) Writing a LETTER to cancel a phone plan

(20:23) Writing a LETTER to close a bank account

(21:58) Things you loved about living in France

(22:42) it takes time to befriend French people

(23:46) Other things you loved

(24:59:) A little French goes a long way, but it's hard

(25:50) The English menu may be more expensive

(26:53) Tipping culture in France

(27:55) Things French people should know before coming to America

(30:05) The “Too Good To Go” app for discounted baked goods

(31:22) Last thoughts and remarks

(32:07) Episode wrap-up

A spontaneous mini VIDEO episode and announcement to throw into our weekly mix! Enjoy!

(00:00) Intro and hello

(00:31) The podcast name has changed!

(01:19) Your feedback

(02:21) Why I’m changing the name

(04:15) Why “Once Upon a Trip”

(05:51) Next things to come

(06:32) Dedication and appreciation to you :)

(08:07) Wrap-up

In today’s episode, we take a very comprehensive dive into this highly popular question that Mary Grace has been asked regularly throughout the years, and how Mary Grace was able to live and travel abroad in Europe and Turkey for the majority of her twenties.

Enjoy!!

(00:00) Intro & episode overview

(02:19) How it all started & my first trip to Europe

(03:35) Studying abroad in France & how I traveled as a student

(05:30) Transparencies

(06:53) Budget travel in Europe is cheaper and easier

(08:20) Online friends in Europe made travel easier & websites to meet people

(10:58) Summary of how I traveled as a student

(11:48) How I could live and travel abroad post-university

(12:39) Living arrangements, salary, & costs in northern France

(13:48) How I was able to travel as a teaching assistant & what I did

(15:37) The next opportunity to stay abroad, salary, strings attached

(17:32) Where I lived to make my money go farther

(18:34) The first hack & fun unexpected fact

(19:12) Social media is deceiving & truth about my content

(20:25) First hack continued & how to apply it

(21:44) The second hack on how to travel so much

(22:35) How I booked and took flights

(23:23) The third hack & things I didn’t have to pay for

(24:55) Summary of hacks to traveling so much

(26:05) My perspective these days on how to travel so much

(27:33) Last remarks & wrap-up

It's throwback time! In this episode, Mary Grace and Marco take a trip down childhood memory lane and talk about their kiddy favorites and flashbacks growing up in America and Germany, respectively, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Listen for nostalgic and happy feels, thinking about your own childhood experiences, hometown, foods, candies, TV shows and cartoons, and the things about childhood that Mary Grace and Marco now miss that you may miss just as much. Also listen for a very special German 1st day of school tradition that’s especially huge in the East of Germany that you may never have ever seen before.

Enjoy! Much love from the Ameropean at heart 🤍

(00:00) Intro

(02:47) Character and Personality

(04:36) Marco's home environment

(05:50) Mary Grace's home environment

(06:24) Suburbia difference in Germany

(07:19) German Zuckertute school tradition

(08:39) Random German kid stereotype

(09:25) Other candy for Zuckertute

(10:12) Marco's favorite sweets

(11:36) Mary Grace's favorite sweets

(12:13) Marco's favorite snacks

(12:53) German kids drink hot tea

(13:26) Mary Grace's favorite drinks and snacks

(14:35) Favorite fast food place

(15:56) Bosnia doesn't have McDonald's

(16:19) Summer holidays and where you traveled

(19:44) Marco's favorite cartoons

(21:14) Mary Grace's favorite cartoons

(22:03) Bernd das Brot German ''cartoon''

(22:56) Other TV shows shown in Germany

(23:26) American TV show Mister Rogers

(24:08) German science TV show with Peter Lustig

(24:43) German TV show "Die Sendung mit der Maus"

(25:10) What are things you miss most about being a kid?

(28:17) Episode Wrap-up and Outro