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.
Quite a while ago, Professor Mowry (Mao Lao Shi), my Chinese 1 professor, encouraged me to go on the LSA+. One of her arguments was the trip to Tibet. She said it was a unique opportunity to get in touch with a culture inside of China that is not what we traditionally think of as 'Chinese.' It is also a chance to verify that China is indeed a plural country, not the homogenous place we tend to think of in the West. After taking said trip, I must say I agree with Mao Lao Shi.
My friend Katie and I near the bluest lake in the world.
Tibet is a region with a complex past. The relationship between Tibet and China dates back to the Tang dynasty, when a Chinese princess married the Tibetan king. Since then, a tradition of cultural interchange unrolled. Even then, Tibetan culture is still alive and truly distinct. With their own language (Tibetan) and religious practices with the many sects of Tibetan Buddhism, there is a lot to discover up on the mountains.
Yaks are a real symbol of the Tibetan plateau.
Tibetan food is one of a kind. With such high altitudes, not many animals can be farmed. Yaks are naturally adapted to those conditions, and therefore form the basis of Tibetan diet. Yak milk, cheese and meat were all present in every one of our meals. The taste is very unique, and I for one really liked it. The thin air of the mountains can make you sick very fast, and I found the heavier food helped in dealing with this problem.
Our visits centered mostly around the many temples of Tibet. I had seen Buddhist temples back in Brazil, and they always sparked my interest. However, my previous knowledge did not prepare me for Tibet. The temples' air is thick with incense, and the small spaces in them made me experience a mix of coziness and claustrophobia. The many statues that adorn the chapels may cause discomfort at first, but after a closer look and better understanding, one quickly finds themselves entranced by them. I had many good spiritual experiences in these chapels, and gained a newfound admiration for Tibetan Buddhism.
Was Mao Lao Shi right about this trip? Definitely. I gained a newfound understanding about diversity and multiculturality in China. I also discovered a small paradise in the mountains, where despite any hardships people are always friendly and warm. The air of Tibet may be thin, but it definitely got me hooked!
As the end of my first term arrives, a retrospective, reflective kind of mood has got to me. One year ago, as I clicked submit on my Common App, I would never have imagined my freshman fall would have been like this.
One thing that many people contemplate before coming to college is whether they will perform to their expected standards, and in this blog post, I am going to share with you what helped me navigate my classes.
I can't tell you how to avoid feeling overwhelmed, as I'm still working on that myself, but I can tell you a piece of advice that's helped me along the way: Saturday Mornings Are Sacred (SMAS).
Have you wondered what Dartmouth being a small school means? How about extra circulars and a sense of the social dynamic at Dartmouth? Come along, and I'll give you my take!
My friend Katie and I near the bluest lake in the world.
Yaks are a real symbol of the Tibetan plateau.
Look, mom! I'm on the roof of the world!
