Joanna Jou

I left campus and celebrated my 19th birthday in Boston with my beautiful mom! We went to Saltie Girl—a seafood restaurant—and had such a wonderful dinner. Afterward, we walked to Matcha Cafe Maiko and had some delicious matcha floats (soft serve matcha + matcha tea). 

I decided to visit my boyfriend this summer, who lives on the outskirts of Albuquerque in a village called Corrales. We drove up to the highest point of the Sandia Mountains (called the Sandia Crest) and hiked around the nearby area. My brother also happened to be in Albuquerque for a summer program when I visited, so I also enjoyed watching his presentation on the final day of his program.

I was in Los Angeles for a few days, so I met up with Daniel '26, one of my best friends from Dartmouth! We went to eat sushi in Little Tokyo, walked around the district, visited a Japanese grocery store, and then grabbed some matcha desserts. Daniel got the matcha soft serve, and I got a matcha smoothie; however, we started getting headaches and felt a bit shaky—it was safe to conclude that we were overcaffeinated from the very concentrated matcha, so we called it a day. 

One spring morning, my friend Lauren, whom I met during my winter spin PE class, invited me on an afternoon walk with her and Becca, which I immediately said yes to. We decided to walk to the Co-op Food Store, which is on the east side of Hanover (closest to the East Wheelock dorms)—there are two routes you can take to get to the Co-op; one is walking down West Wheelock Street (near the gym and sporting facilities) and then turning to South Park Street (near Thompson Arena and Leverone Field House), or walking down Main Street (downtown Hanover), turn at the corner of Starbucks, and then past Hanover High School. Becca and Lauren mentioned that they hadn’t been down the second route to get to the Co-op, so we decided to go this route instead. Coming back to campus, we decided to walk via the first route back up just for a change of scenery. I love grocery shopping, so I find a visit to the Co-op to be seemingly therapeutic and a sense of entertainment; the pricing at the Co-op is also affordable and student-budget friendly, which is another feature I appreciate. In addition, the company provided by Becca and Lauren was also a highlight of this walk—some of the sweetest and loveliest friends on campus!

During the fall, my friend Julia was visiting from Yale, so I decided to take her to Pine Park (located past Occom Pond and the golf course). I hadn’t visited Pine Park yet, so I thought it would be fun to bring along a friend as we explore the outskirts of campus and the nature that comes with it. There are a variety of gorgeous trails through Pine Park; whether you are looking for a route on the shorter end or something longer, the Pine Park Visitors’ Map has got you covered. I must admit, I am a bit geographically challenged, so I took Julia around Pine Park without actually knowing where we were going. Luckily, I still had a signal on my phone, and Pine Park has many signs you can follow; eventually, we made it back! 

One of my favorite evening activities is definitely a woccom (a hybrid of "Walk" + "Occom"), which is where you can probably find me at night, especially during the fall and spring terms. Occom Pond is located on the north edge of campus near Dick’s House (the student health center/clinic). You can do a woccom clockwise or counterclockwise, so there is some flexibility in your scenic route; additionally, you may also encounter deer around Occom, which was surprising as I don't usually see any deer back home in El Paso. I love going on woccoms by myself whenever I need some alone time or time to decompress, whether that is listening to music on my walk or talking on the phone with my mom. Woccoms are also great with friends! I did a lot of woccoms during my spring term as a way to catch up with friends while staying active.

At 10:30 am, my boyfriend and I took a Zipcar, a car-sharing service (that we booked a few days in advice), so we could drive up to the farmer's market in Norwich. Back home in El Paso, my mom and I used to drive to the farmer's market in our neighboring city/state Las Cruces, NM, where we would buy (very good) freshly popped kettle corn and raw honey — one of my favorite things to do back home. I had not been up to the famous farmer's market here yet, so this trip was definitely something I looked forward to starting my day off with. Ranging from farm products to prepared food to handmade arts and crafts, we first visited all the booths before deciding where we wanted to eat. I ended up getting a cold brew from Abracadabra and a plain bagel from the Bagel Lady — all being very delicious! There was also live music, which made my morning extra special. 

After the farmer's market, we decided to drive to West Lebanon and just explore the area. My boyfriend came across a small store called "Lebanon Pet and Aquarium Center," thinking that it would be fun to take a look inside. I was initally hesitant to step in since the only vision I had of an aquarium happened to be from the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan, and it was huge. After stepping in, we went down the stairs to the aquarium, which ended up being very interesting. Ranging from freshwater to saltwater fish, there was a sense of tranquility that stemmed from watching the fishes roam around their tanks. Overall, this was an awesome exhibit!

Coming back to campus, we stopped by the annual Pow-Wow held on The Green. The Pow-Wow is a gatherine/celebration where many members of the Dartmouth community and Upper Valley get to observe, participate, and learn about various Native American and Indigenous cultures and community. There were a multitude of vendors owned by the Native community, and a lot of music, dancing, and drumming in the circle, and a lot of support from the community which I really enjoyed as I got to learn a little more about Native culture and its significance. The day after Pow-Wow is Lu'au, a celebration of the Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and its existing and growing representation here at Dartmouth.