Baylee Brown | Fall 2024
Hej! Another big Danish hello to all! I have just gotten back to Copenhagen from my study tour. Study tours are trips that your core class goes on, mine being Cognitive neuroscience of consciousness, during our semester here in Copenhagen. My class went to Florence, Italy for almost a full week to study how culture can affect consciousness and have a little fun in Italy.
I got to eat some amazing pasta and pizza and even got to make my own pasta in a pasta making class. Our chef, Marco first taught us how to kneed pasta dough. We first made tortellini with ricotta and lemon filling and then moved on to cutting ravioli with the same filling and made these huge noodles with the rest of the dough. Marco then cooked the pasta and some amazing sauces in front of us and we all ate until we felt sick. It was so cool to be using fresh ingredients and learn the authentic Italian way to make pasta. We also went on a food tour of florence where we got to try so many amazing foods from local businesses with a Florence native. I tried coccoli (a fried dough sandwich with prosciutto and cheese), fried octopus, and so many amazing flavors of gelato like pistachio and tiramisu.
Since this was a trip with my class, we also got to go to a research facility in Lucca, Italy to speak with researchers. Three researchers presented us with their fascinating work including studies on emotion and differences in brains of those who were born blind and those that were not. As a class, we also got to present our own research that we have been working on this semester and receive feedback on how to improve our methods.
We also got to admire some beautiful art while on this trip including the gallery of Uffizi with various collections of amazing artwork and found ourselves climbing the over 600 stairs to the top of the Duomo for a gorgeous view of Tuscany and the cathedral below. As fun as this trip with my class was, at the end of the week I was ready to be back in Copenhagen. By the time we all arrived back, everything was decorated for Christmas and there was beautiful lights up and down all the streets. I can’t wait to celebrate the holiday season both here in Copenhagen and when I get back home to my family.