December 31, 2018

How Will You Make 2019 Your Best Year Yet?

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, Living Abroad, New Beginnings, North America, Travel, USA 2018, 2019, america, amsterdam, best year yet, calendar, chase your dreams, christmas, disney world, dreams, dutch, europe, female travel blog, goal setting, goals, happy new year, hollywood, january 1, metoo, millennials, netherlands, new year, new year's day, old year, plans, politics, reflecting, scandals, travel blog, traveling, travels, usa 0 Comments

New Year’s Eve is here and I, like many of you, have been reflecting on the incredible year we’re about to say goodbye to: 2018.

Last year, I wrote a piece called Looking Ahead to 2018: Where Will You Travel? So, I thought I’d write a similar one this year– a sequel, if you will- documenting future plans while simultaneously looking back on the wonderful memories made this year.

2018: It was a year of Hollywood scandals and nationwide movements such as #MeToo and March for Our Lives. In the USA, an unprecedented amount of female and minority candidates won coveted government positions. People across the globe experienced crazy weather and natural disasters such as deadly wildfires, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Game of Thrones finally announced when it’s eighth and final season will be released; and that’s one of the many things we have to look forward to in the upcoming year!

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November 10, 2018

18 American Things I Miss Most

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, Living Abroad, North America, USA america, american, american conveniences, amsterdam, differences, dutch, english, europe, expat, expatriates, expats, female blogger, home, homesick, homesickness, living abroad, missing home, netflix, netherlands, new beginnings, new home, new life, target, travel, usa, walmart 8 Comments

I have been living in the Netherlands for almost 3 months now and I feel pretty settled in at this point. I’ve been teaching here for 11 weeks and finally moved into my own studio in Amsterdam. I have made some new friends, am an expert at navigating the city/country via public transportation, and have learned a little bit of Dutch. Recently, though, I’ve been thinking about the things I miss from home. Of course I miss my family and friends and colleagues, but besides the people, I miss many other American conveniences. I figured I’d compile a list of them for you. And for those of you living in the states: the next time you use/see/have one of the beloved luxuries below, feel grateful… because although they may seem simple or “part of every day life”, they’re not everywhere! (more…)

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August 12, 2018

A Female’s To-Do List Before Moving Abroad

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If you know me personally, or simply subscribe to my blog, you know by now that I am leaving my home, job, and family in the United States to live and work in the Netherlands. Tomorrow, I will be leaving the USA to live in Europe for a year while I work to establish and grow a brand new international school in a posh little town outside of Amsterdam.

I have been receiving an outpouring of love, support, and congratulations, which I so truly appreciate. Moving to a new place, especially in a new continent, sounds exciting and intriguing to most. But there is a lot of things one must do before taking the plunge. A LOT. So I thought it’d be a good idea to make a list of the many little things a woman must do before moving abroad- in my case, solo. (more…)

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July 5, 2018

Braggin’ About Brunch: 10 Best in Baltimore

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Food, North America, USA baltimore, best brunch, best food, best of the best, blogger, bloody marys, breakfast, brunch, brunch addict, brunch spots, brunching, canton, city, city life, crabs, downtown, drinking, eating, federal hill, fells point, food, food addict, food specials, foodie, great food, locals, lunch, maryland, md, mimosas, mount vernon, must try, seafood, top rated, tourists, travel, urban, urban life 0 Comments

Who doesn’t love brunch? These 10 places are raising the bar for brunch in Baltimore!

brunch These past 2 years, I’ve been doing a lot of brunching – A LOT. I’ve tried too many different brunch spots to count (and ate at many of them more than once) in the city. Brunch in Baltimore is hard to resist. If there is such a thing as brunching “too much” then I am positive there is a picture of me, stuffing my face, in the definition. After all, I’m Italian, what do you expect? Don’t judge me. Please.

OK, anyway, to the point … Baltimore may be known for its amazing crabs and competitive sports teams, but we have some damn good restaurants serving brunch in Baltimore too. Maybe you’re just visiting the city, maybe you’ve recently moved here, or maybe you’ve lived around here for a while and just haven’t had the chance to venture out as often as you’d like.

I can take all the guesswork out for you and fill you in on the best places for brunch in Baltimore.

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June 18, 2018

Make Your Dreams Your Reality

littlelivesbig@gmail.com New Beginnings, Teaching american dream, chase your dreams, chasing your dreams, dreaming, dreams, europe, fearless, female traveler, goals, ib teacher, international teacher, international teaching, just do it, millennial, moving, moving abroad, opportunities, solo travel, teacher, teaching, travel 2 Comments

Who says dreams can’t come true?

I’ve always believed that if your dreams don’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough. Growing up, I was always encouraged to push past my limits- to challenge myself. One of my elementary teachers often quoted, “Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” I love that. It has been one of my personal mottos ever since.

It’s funny- I was born and raised, and currently live, in the United States of America. The USA is a place known for making dreams come true, hence: The American Dream. People have migrated to America for decades in hopes of providing a better life for their families and accomplishing goals they could simply not accomplish elsewhere. But why is it that so many Americans are afraid to chase their dreams? Why is it that so many of us don’t dream big enough? I mean, the majority of working Americans don’t even use all of their vacation days. (more…)

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June 12, 2018

10 Tips to Land a Teaching Job Abroad

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, Living Abroad, New Beginnings, Teaching, Travel abroad, application, career, cv, education, europe, expat, free, getting a gig, ib, international, international teaching, jobs, landing a job, living abroad, moving, moving abroad, netherlands, resume, schools, teacher, teaching, tips, travel 8 Comments

In early August, I am moving to the Netherlands where I will be teaching in an international school.

Many people have been asking me, “How did you get this job?”

The other day, I wrote a blog post announcing my new job and big move. I briefly described how I made the life-changing decision to accept the offer, and outlined my next steps as I prepare to move from the USA to Europe. It makes sense that after reading all of that, people have questions. How? Why? What? When? Where? How long? (more…)

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June 9, 2018

International Teaching: I’M MOVING TO EUROPE!

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, Living Abroad, My Story, New Beginnings, Teaching, Travel 12 Comments

In February 2018, I began applying for teaching positions at international schools in Europe.

I went through three months of early-morning Skype interviews.

I turned down an attractive offer to teach in a small town in Sweden- I was holding out for a job in the Netherlands or Germany, even though I knew I had a slim to none chance of obtaining one.

On May 12th, 2018, I received my Master of Education from Lamar University and began applying to local positions in Maryland where I could put my new degree to use, since teaching in Europe was obviously not going to happen.

On May 25th, 2018 I was offered a primary teaching position at a brand new international school in the Netherlands, 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam!

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June 1, 2018

First Graders Embrace Opportunity to Teach U.S. Officials

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Teaching behavior, betsy devos, circle time, class, commission, community building circle, connections, diverse, diversity, education, educator, elementary school, expectations, field trip, field visit, first graders, friendship, greeting, make a difference, morning meeting, morning routine, opportunity, parkland, pbis, positivity, president's cabinet, public education, public schools, question of the day, redfored, school, school climate, school violence, secretary of education, students, teacher, teaching, tragedy, trump, u.s. officials, usa 4 Comments

Yesterday was a big day in Miss Snyder’s classroom.

Oh, I’m Miss Snyder. 🙂

As you may know if you’ve read my About Me, or know me personally, I am a teacher. I have been teaching for 4 years now and I currently teach first grade. I have 23 first graders in my classroom this year. But yesterday, the number of people in my room nearly doubled.

Why?

Federal officials came to visit my school to observe the PBIS and Restorative Practices we have in place, and my principal chose my room to showcase my students’ community building circle. Representatives from the United States Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General’s Office sat in my room to not only observe, but participate in, my class’ daily circle time, which my first graders simply call: Morning Meeting.

Yup, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sat in my classroom yesterday.

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May 29, 2018

Little Eats Big: Two Nutritious, Delicious Breakfasts

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My blog is called Little Lives Big because I am little and enjoy living big, duh. But not too big, if you know what I mean.

I stand at 5’0 tall (or should I say short?) but when you like doing- and eating– big things, you need to be careful. I am a single 26 year old woman living in Baltimore city. I am trying to make new friends in the area, and maybe even meet my Prince Charming, if those still exist, and so I am often out and about drinking, eating, socializing. Going out and having a good time often means consuming a lot of calories. Not always, of course, but often. Especially when you live smack dab in the middle of a bustling city with bars and restaurants on every corner. So what gives? (more…)

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December 31, 2017

Looking Ahead to 2018: Where Will You Travel?

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, New Beginnings, North America, Travel, USA 2018, adventure, agenda, around the world, blog, blogger, bucket list, discover, europa, europe, eurotrip, explore, female blogger, female travel blog, globetrotter, goal, millennials, new year, plan, resolution, sights to see, things to do, travel, travel blog, traveler, usa, vacation, visit, wanderlust, world travel 4 Comments

Today is New Year’s Eve and I, like most of you I’m sure, have been reflecting on the tremendous year we’re about to say goodbye to: 2017.

2017. It was the year of ingenious memes, terrible hurricanes and fires, and the most divisive presidential campaign in U.S. history. Malala Yousafzai went off to college and Prince Henry got engaged. Amazon is slowly but surely taking over the world. 2017 also leaves behind a few lingering questions: How much longer until Facebook suffers the same fate as MySpace? Will Apple be able to make up for their super slow iPhones and subpar battery life? WHEN WILL GAME OF THRONES RETURN?! (more…)

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