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CGE Storyteller: Baylee Brown | Coping with Homesickness While Abroad for a Semester

Baylee Brown | Fall 2024

Hej! Another Danish hello to everyone reading this! I’m so excited to update everyone on how I am settling in and my recent adventures! I have made my room a little bit homier with some of the knick-knacks and pictures that I bought while on a day trip to Malmo, Sweden! Malmo is a little city in southern Sweden that is only about an hour’s train ride from Copenhagen. My new friends and I went to some cafes for pastries and coffee and then went thrifting! Sustainability is a really big focus in Europe. Most cafes will only serve your pastry and coffee on real plates and cups so to-go orders are a lot less common and there are so many second-hand clothing stores that students like us take advantage of. The real dishes and second-hand furniture in cafes make them all so cozy. I found a cute little jewelry tray and some art pieces for my room! 

I’m sure you are wondering if I am feeling homesick yet and the answer is yes! I totally miss my home! I miss my family and my friends but I’ve been keeping in touch with them whenever the 6-hour difference between the two countries allows. However, I have found such a sense of community that I always feel supported. Whether it is the friends that I have made, the students I live with, or the students in my class, I know that they are feeling the same way and that they value my presence which helps tremendously. We have all talked about how we have been homesick and have all comforted each other. I am so lucky to have already found such a supportive group. 

I have just returned from my first big trip! My “core” or main class that studies the cognitive neuroscience of consciousness went to Aalborg, Denmark for a few days. It’s a city in northern Denmark where we participated in experiences like music therapy and aerial yoga. Both were very relaxing and allowed us to experience an altered state of consciousness that was closer to unconsciousness. Our guest lecturers gave a first-hand account of what it was like to be living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and how it has affected their lives. One of them was a schizophrenic man named Anders Schakow who had a positive approach to his diagnosis. We also got to know each other over food, and become closer as a class while seeing the

northern lights. We have another trip coming up in November to Florence, Italy and we are all so excited!

More about DIS Study Abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark >

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