Welcome to the transition diary from a big, cold Brazilian city to a small, very cold American town! I fell in love with Dartmouth, and I'm sure my first term will expand 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! This was written to lofi hip hop, which I could listen to all day if I could, so come to me if you want some nice music to study or relax to. Hope you guys 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!
I have a passion for cooking. Really, even my personal statement essay for Admissions was about it. However, I didn't get to exercise that trade at Dartmouth much. Despite kitchens being easily accessible at every dorm, I always found something stopping me from a nice cooking day, be it a busy schedule, the bad prospect of a long walk to the Co-op Market or a lack of cooking equipment. However, after I joined a fraternity and discovered their great kitchen, stuff changed a lot.
Cheesy pasta recreating one of my Pasta Monday creations :)
Spices! Cooking equipment! Plenty of people with cars willing to drive me to get ingredients! It was a cooking paradise! I even took the leashes of Pasta Mondays and got to cook many delicious pasta dishes with my brothers. Of course, it wasn't always an easy ride; our Mac n' Cheese might have caught on fire once or twice, and we might have forgotten to buy bread to make garlic bread. However, more often than not, we ended up with delicious meals we could all enjoy together.
And I had so many plans for Spring…oh, just the thought makes me dreadful. Because of current circumstances, we are all so far away! And Pasta Monday is ruined! Or is it? We, Dartmouth students, love to be inventive, to find solutions. And we found one for this conundrum: Discord. The chat service allows us to both share pictures of our creations and to find some nice recipes other might have come across. It is really handy when you (inevitably) run out of ideas!
This Stuffed Zucchini dish was my best attempt to mimic my grandma's cooking. Home feels!
We use our group chat for other things, too. Playing video games, chatting, sharing funny stuff from around the web. It has been an awesome resource to combat loneliness and even strengthen our bonds. It is often said that it is during troubling times that we show how strong we are. I believe this is one of many bits of evidence that our community is becoming stronger than ever!
My ultimate creation: homemade Tangerine Jam! Turned out way better than expected if I'm being honest...
As a member of Dartmouth's Native community, just a few weeks into my sophomore summer, we've been busy revitalizing our community and making Dartmouth, once again, feel like home.
Whenever you ask a Dartmouth alumnus about their favorite term in college, many of them will tell you sophomore summer. Here are some of the activities I am most looking forward to this term:
Being back on campus, especially seeing all the faces, familiar or not, somehow help me return to a certain sense of normalcy. Little by little, I'm getting there. And maybe, it's okay if the feeling of complete normalcy is still far down the road.
I noticed a free paddle boarding lesson sponsored by the Outdoor Programs Office (OPO) at Dartmouth and made the 20-minute trek from my Topliff dorm to Ledyard Canoe Club, situated right on the Connecticut River.
Cheesy pasta recreating one of my Pasta Monday creations :)
This Stuffed Zucchini dish was my best attempt to mimic my grandma's cooking. Home feels!
My ultimate creation: homemade Tangerine Jam! Turned out way better than expected if I'm being honest...
