Hej! My name is Jessie and I’m a junior at the University of Michigan studying Cognitive Science, CS, and Entrepreneurship. I’m from San Diego, California — a sunny, laid-back, and culturally diverse city along the west coast. I’m excited to escape a brutal Michigan winter for a slightly warmer semester in Copenhagen! field notes is a casual blog featuring my candid thoughts on my experiences while abroad this semester! Follow along for food recs, travel reflections, and a good time :)
Ever since I traveled to Scandinavia in December of 2019, I’ve wanted to go back. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to study abroad during college, but a couple friends (who have since graduated) shared that their semester abroad was one of the best times of their lives and convinced me to take advantage of Michigan’s study abroad programs. As I researched Michigan’s extensive study abroad programs and partnerships, I thought, why not Copenhagen?
I’ve traveled a lot throughout my life and absolutely love it! Getting to meet people from new cities and countries, and learning more about their cultures has really opened up my perspective of the world. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also become more interested in learning about my heritage. Most of my family lives in China, and getting to see them in the summers and exploring more of the country, where every city is so unique in its geography, history, food, and attractions, is fascinating. My top travel destinations so far have been southeastern Kenya, Beijing, China, and Lapland, Finland.
Courses I will be taking at DIS Copenhagen:
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Core Course: Cyberpsychology (long study tour in Amsterdam!)
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Computational Analysis
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Entrepreneurship Practicum
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Social Change & Innovation Through Food
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The Good Life (a philosophy course at the University of Copenhagen)
These courses count toward my major, minor, and college’s humanities distribution requirement so I’ll be getting things done!
Here’s a little bit more about me. I love…
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hiking (especially National Parks!)
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playing the violin
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trying new foods, reviewing restaurants, & cooking (add me on Beli! @jessshen)
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snowboarding
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figure skating
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traveling & exploring underrated parts of the world
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photography
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making the occasional vlog to document my life
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learning new languages (have kept up a Duolingo streak for over 1.5 years! improving my Spanish, Chinese, and now learning Danish!)
I’ll be living in a Kollegium in Frederiksberg, sharing a flat with another American student and a few Danish students! My Kollegium is in such a peak area; it's just a 15 minute bike ride away from DIS!
While abroad, I hope to meet lots of new people, make new friends, be outdoors (even though it will be dark for the majority of the day), explore the food scene, embrace hygge, travel, and make the most out of this incredible experience!! Thanks for checking out field notes!
