All my life, I’ve been perpetually regaled with stories of my parents’ less-than-relaxing memories of good old Midwestern family vacations—loading up the family van with salami sandwiches, beer, and sleeping bags, cramming a family of 6 in there, and driving off to whatever mosquito-infested campsite my grandpa decided to stop. After moving to Los Angeles and beginning to embark upon their own family vacations, it’s no wonder that my parents’ main priorities in selecting a travel destination were always proximity to a beach (the closer the better), amount of time spent sleeping (the more the better), and the availability of cheap tropical drinks (again…the more the better). Thus, unlike my more “cultured” friends, I have never before eaten fresh crepes under the Eiffel Tower of Paris, or taken an idle gondola ride along the Venetian canals in Italy, or… anything, really. But that’s all about to change.

I’m going to Copenhagen, Denmark for the fall of 2010, and studying Public Health — a perfect fit for my Social Policy and Economics double-major. I am so excited to both live in Copenhagen — named the happiest city in the world — and travel around Denmark and Europe as a whole. My time in Europe, for me, is about truly soaking it all in, taking every opportunity, making every connection, and — let’s be honest — eating everything. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.