It was a chilly day in March 2013 when I landed in Brussels, Belgium. I’d flown to the capital city from Denmark, where I’d been studying on exchange for the last two months, to report from the European Commission (the executive branch of the European Union) for a class assignment. It would be a week-long trip spent alongside my fellow classmates and teacher. I would get to meet the Danish commissioner for climate action, and have the chance to sit in on several important committee hearings — and write all about it. It was going to be a big week.