On Jumping

When did I decide to study abroad? Well, I guess you could say it was the day I read the article in Time magazine about Denmark topping the chart for the happiness index. Who doesn’t want to go to the happiest place on earth? I must have been about 14 when I read that article (recent surveys confirm that Denmark is still positively fantastic), but it stuck with me and here I am, five years later, headed to Denmark.

At this time last year, my plan was to study abroad in Summer 2012. I began to research the many programs available through CMU and quickly landed on the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS). I was especially enticed by their encouragement of further travel through Europe as many of the classes have study trips as a co-requisite. Come September 2011, I made a visit to my study abroad advisor and she asked a simple question that changed everything: Why not do a full semester? While I was hesitant, fearing everything I would miss at CMU, she helped me realize that sometimes, you have to jump. Take chances. Take risks. So I went for it, an entire semester in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Throughout the Fall 2011 semester, I have been preparing for my trip: signing up for a host family and extracurricular activities, figuring out cell phone service, buying plane tickets, etc. However, my favorite thing, aside from getting a new travel wardrobe, has been picking classes. Here’s what my final schedule looks like:
· European Memory and Identity (my core course, with study trip to the Czech Republic)
· Danish Language and Culture
· Royalty in an Equal Society
· Human Trafficking in a Global Context (the class I am most excited about, with study trip to Amsterdam)
· Nordic Mythology
The best part is that they all count for credit back at CMU! I remember the day I spent crisscrossing campus getting my transfer equivalency form signed by various advisors. That night, exhausted but excited about my success, I remember thinking, this is really happening- four months from now, I will be sleeping halfway across the world!