Ei! My name is Antônio Jorge Medeiros Batista Silva (yes—four last names!) and I'm a '25 from Governador Valadares, Brazil. My journey to Dartmouth has crossed two continents, three countries, and over 10 schools—and I'm a strong believer that everyone's path to the Big Green was unique in a way. At Dartmouth, I am interested in studying Linguistics, Native American & Indigenous Studies, and Spanish. I am really passionate about social justice, learning languages, and the oxford comma!
This class is an introduction to the Spanish minor and major courses and, although I did not expect to particularly like it, it not only turned out to be my favourite but it made me start considering a degree in the department!
In this class, we analysed different productions of Latinx American theatre. Prof. Analola Santana was probably the best person I met this year at Dartmouth. Being her student was a very important experience as I try to navigate my potential majors and minors.
In this class, I was able to carve time out of my busy Dartmouth schedule to study and learn my Indigenous language: Krenak. With the help of Prof. Gokke, all students were encouraged to develop a final project that spoke to their community's needs for language learning and revitalisation. It was an extremely important class for me, not only academically, but also for my personal healing process.
I had the honour of spending my sophomore fall in Madrid, taking part in the Spanish FSP. There, Prof. Martín was not only a great professor, responsible for my favourite lecture of the program, but also an incredible company throughout our classes and in-country trips. Great way to wrap up my Spanish minor, honestly!
This was my second class in the NAIS department, and thus it took me one step closer to wrapping up my major. Nonetheless, it was Prof. Powell's genuine charisma and caring personality that made it my favourite of the term!
This course was definitely life changing! Prof. Pochedley, a visiting post-doc of the Potawatomi nation did a great job at keeping the students engaged while teaching us to see the land we inhabit as a source of knowledge and spirituality. In a majority Indigenous classroom, we got to develop individual projects related to our traditional homelands, learning to navigate the world through Native world lenses.
Prof. Gómez is one of those profs I've always wanted to take a class with. His work with the Horror genre in Modern Spanish literatures amazes me, and it was an honour to guide in-class discussions and develop my own research on the themes of science, testimony, and fear.
LING54 is an umbrella course: the actual content of the course may vary each year, but it is the common letter-number code to refer to the course taught abroad by your accompanying Dartmouth Linguistics professor. In this year's Linguistics Foreign Study Program (FSP), LING54 was a 'Language Documentation' class, wonderfully taught by Prof. David Peterson.
Honestly, I cannot wait to be home. Although Dartmouth has been a home for me for the past nine months, the college experience is made of many ups and downs. To be a queer international student at a predominantly anglophone school is not an easy task. Writing this, I start to reflect on what I would like to have read on this blog last year as I prepared myself to embark to Hanover.
There are many things about college that are worth being warned about: the academic pressure; the heavy influence of the Greek system on social life; the heteronormativity, racial homogeneity, and the feeling of not belonging. Nonetheless, since January, when I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I decided to take note of the things that bought me joy about this place.
My friends and I!
As part of my treatment, reflecting on the good parts of my first year at college has been extremely important. My blog here at People Places Pines has played a massive role in keeping track of these things. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I see this blog as my personal journey, where all my favourite memories from Dartmouth are recorded.
No one is going to tell you this place is perfect or flawless. There are instances where I disagreed with certain institutional decisions, as well as with the way I was treated by professors and fellow students. Nonetheless, there have been many times when I was 100% sure there was no better place for me to be.
A lovely tree I found on my way to class these days!
When it comes to my personal mental health, it has meant the world to me to find support here. Not only have Dicks House and the Student Wellness Center done wonders for me, my professors have also been very understanding of my situation. I realise then, that my problems are not necessarily tied to this institution. I was in need of help, and the college has never intentionally hurt me in that sense. Honestly, it was the other around. Everyone in my social circles did everything possible to make sure I felt safe and comfortable navigating college.
The friends I made during International Pre-Orientation, as well as Native Pre-O, are still an important part of my campus life and support network. The professors I took classes with these past two terms have also helped me in ways I cannot even explain. My UGA, my counsellor, and my advisor have been here for me when I was away from my family, home, and friends.
By sharing my rocky trajectory adapting to Dartmouth, I hope to reach those who fear the space they are about to walk into. Living on campus is hard. Studying at Dartmouth is hard. But, the one thing I can assure you, is that you will never be alone, no matter in how bad of a situation you find yourself in. I look forward to coming back as a Sophomore.
It's easy to forget how easy it is to access walking trails during the hustle of a Dartmouth term. As graduation nears, I am reminded of how special it is to step off campus and enjoy quiet moments in nature.
With a solar eclipse sweeping across North America for the first time in nearly seven years on April 8th came a road-trip with hundreds of other Dartmouth students to a zone of totality near campus: St. Johnsbury, Vermont!
Over half of Dartmouth students study abroad at least once during their undergraduate journeys—quite a high percentage, right? Do you want to know how to best prepare for your own abroad experience? Come check what it was like for me.
