Welcome to the transition diary from a big, cold Brazilian city to a small, very cold American town! I fell in love with Dartmouth soon as I got to know the College, and the last three years have expanded my love, as there is a lot to enjoy here in the woods: majors and minors, extracurriculars and clubs, many new open doors to a curious mind like mine! Hope you all like the content!
Introduction to the amazing language of Chinese, taken with Mao Lao Shi. Really got my mornings going! I think all Dartmouth students should make the most out of their language classes, as they offer unique cultural opportunities and stick with you for life. I'm grateful for all who shared that classroom with me, and I am very happy to realize how much I have progressed in a subject so new to me.
My writing seminar, themed on Asian Conflict and Cooperation. I got to discuss a topic beyond my comfort zone, and had a blast! My classmates were really giving their best, and professor Rezvani gave us an incredible learning experience and an organized debate environment. This class opened my horizons , and I am really happy I took it, having looked forward for each class! My writing style improved greatly due to this class, which makes it all the better!
The class that first got me into CS, and eventually led to me choosing my major! I believe this class should be a requirement to graduate. Most students at Dartmouth take it already, and it figures. Great class, provides you tools you can use in whatever field you choose!
I took three Chinese classes this term, so I chose the last one to show off. This was the term I had my LSA+ experience in China! Got to travel all over, and improved my Chinese a ton. I encourage every Dartmouth student to take a language, even if you start at intermediate level, so you can go on an LSA+ or FSP experience!
A blast of a class! Discussion, great readings and a lot of amazing topics to learn. Also, Professor Joe Vignone was a bright spot on my term. A perfectly quirky man, I loved being one of two people to laugh at his jokes and his novelty t-shirts. He is also superbly smart and got me interested on a class I thought I was just taking to fulfill a graduation requirement!
Great Professor, great TAs, great class. I didn't think I'd like this class: it is infamous for being a lot of work. Don't get me wrong, it is, but it is work you do with a smile on your face. The teaching team is great, there is a lot of awesome material to cover and it's great to have some smartphone programming ability. Greatly recommend to CS majors!
Professor XD Yang is one of the faculty teaching this incredible course. Generally, CS classes focus on programming and Math; it was great to spend some time just designing, and thinking about the why, not the how. I recommend this class to all curious minds who are willing to come up with some creative ideas!
Full disclosure: I picked this course for the distributive requirement, SCI. And yet, I fell in love with it! Professor Osterberg gave us not only an incredible overview of the world we inhabit and of the life upon it, but also perspectives on the future of humanity.
I will just go and say it: Professor Tine is my favorite. She is so nice, and has such a strong didactic structure, that I would trust her to teach me anything, and so should you if you ever come across one of her courses. I know a lot more about humanity, development, and even about myself now.
Tapioca - Manioc (local root) flour fried in a pan to become a circular crepe. The fillings vary a lot, going from sweet to salty. Traditional ones include cheese, Nutella, strawberries, meat, or coconut.
Picture this: you are just done with your midterms. The hours of studying paid off, and you did amazingly (and of course you did, you come to Dartmouth, you are amazing). Yet, those same hours also make you feel tired. You need a way to de-stress. Well, fear no more, the Dartmouth Brazilian Society has you covered, with our RECREIO! Food, music and fun, all provided by brazilians to an eager campus community!
You'll often receive Blitzes (Dartmouth lingo for e-mails) from campus student organizations about events they're hosting. Dartmouth is very happy to fund and assist over 350+ campus organizations. They generate incredible benefits to the campus community, academically and socially. Joining one is easy: just tag along to their events and meetings. After some time in the organization, you can even run for a leadership position within the organization! I was elected the Social Chair for Campus Events of the Dartmouth Brazilian Society (DBS) this fall, and together with two other chairs headed our big event for this term: the Recreio, meaning recess in Portuguese
Guarana Antartica - most popular kind of soda in Brazil. Made with Guarana, a small berry that'll wake you up just like coffee and has a particular, sweet taste.
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The idea is simple: providing Brazilian food and music to students after midterms, as a way to get their minds to relax, just like a school recess between hard classes. It involved asking the Collis Center for funding, using said funding to purchase the food, and finally preparing the party for the students attracted to the event. My main activity therein was purchasing food and cooking since, as you may know, I am a passionate baker.
Our menu consisted of tapioca - manioc (kind of like a crepe - savory or sweet!), brigaderios, which are traditional brazilian sweets made of chocolate and evaporated milk, rolled into little balls (they are trademarks in birthday parties and small social gatherings), Pao de Queijo or 'cheesebread,' and Guarana Antartica.
Pao de Queijo - 'cheesebread', a corn starch dough to which is added egg and cheese. Easy to make, but delicious, to be enjoyed hot or cold. We bought a mix online, and simply added water and eggs to it. Roll the dough into smaller balls, give it 25 minutes in the oven, and you'll have traditional Brazilian cuisine. Thanks to Gus, fellow Brazilian '22 and Social Chair, for being my model!
Recreio was on a Tuesday night, and students ate, danced to Brazilian music and chatted. The admissions officer for Brazil, Greg, showed up, and so did the Portuguese Department professors. Altogether, it was a big celebration of our culture and all that showed up had a well-deserved fun night after their hard work. I am so thankful to the Brazilian community and to Dartmouth for making events such as these so widespread around our campus.
After having the most amazing fall term at Dartmouth, I was extremely excited to get back on campus for winter. As I got out of the Dartmouth Coach and first stepped on campus I was shocked at how cold it was.
Picture this: you are just done with your midterms. The hours of studying paid off, and you did amazingly (and of course you did, you come to Dartmouth, you are amazing). Yet, those same hours also make you feel tired. You need a way to de-stress. Well, fear no more, the Dartmouth Brazilian Society has you covered, with our RECREIO! Food, music and fun, all provided by brazilians to an eager campus community!
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