![Kalina standing amidst the autumn leaves](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x420_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/kalina_duncheva_27_-_kalina_duncheva.jpg?itok=NLy4Zbjo×tamp=1694612135)
![Snow-capped mountains](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x236_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/bg/background_photo_4_blogjpg_-_kalina_duncheva.jpg?itok=ij1YDCGf×tamp=1694612154)
Kalina Duncheva
![Kalina standing amidst the autumn leaves](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x420_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/kalina_duncheva_27_-_kalina_duncheva.jpg?itok=NLy4Zbjo×tamp=1694612135)
You are here
![The Fields and the Bees sign in the field with a sunset in the background.](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/hello_from_the_woods.jpg?itok=GrJb_u2n×tamp=1694830313)
Hello from the Woods
Welcome to the woods! I'm Kalina Duncheva, a '27 with too many interests to pick a major. I'm going to be one of your guides as you embark on your virtual journey across the pages of People Places Pines!
How am I so prepared to take you on an adventure through the New Hampshire woods, you ask. Well, I'm coming from the woods, albeit the Bulgarian woods and not the New English ones.
I grew up in a log home in a mountain village near Bulgaria's capital, Sofia. I used to ride the bus for an hour or so to Sofia every day, the city being the epicenter for everything in my life—school, friends, shopping, you name it. People often found my desire to live that far away from the city rather baffling. When I was seven, one kid was so shocked by the fact that you can live in the woods with no TV or internet connection that she asked me wide-eyed, "Kalina, do you really live in a cave?" I have no idea why she thought I was living in a cave, but I believe the place where I grew up explains loads of things about me—from why I chose Dartmouth to why I love the things I love.
The second thing you should know about me is that I love books. I love writing them, I love reading them, and I love talking about them (just so you know, I'm a Gryffindor and would love to live in the Shire). Maybe I developed my love for reading and writing simply because there wasn't much to do in my "cave in the woods" but read and write. Who knows?
All that said, you can trust that I'll be telling you loads of stories about the things that happen here in Hanover. I have to warn you, I won't be covering the flashy stuff; The Dartmouth (the oldest college newspaper in the country, by the way) does a much better job at that than me. The stories I'll be telling you will be about the little things—like that time when I accidentally put three spoons of butter into my soup instead of cheese (American butter looks just like Bulgarian cheese), or when I went on a hike with Flora and Fauna (subclub of the Dartmouth Outing Club) and saw ten deer and a blue mushroom!
So final words: I solemnly swear that I'll be on the watch out for good stories to tell you about my time at Dartmouth, so you can hopefully find your own place in the woods, too.
Posts You Might Like
![Cute tree outside my dorm](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/screenshot_2024-06-21_at_22.46.42.png?itok=cXPj0J_h×tamp=1719024425)
The Dartmouth Alma Mater isn't my most played song on Spotify, but it did teach me a lot.
![Antonio Jorge Medeiros Batista Silva '25](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/blog_antonio_profile_picture.jpg?itok=z4tVogx3×tamp=1632239532)
![My reunions co-workers](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/screenshot_2024-06-21_at_22.38.05.png?itok=m-RnpBDm×tamp=1719023956)
Have you ever thought of working for reunions? Well, neither did I. But it was super fun, come check what it's all about!
![Antonio Jorge Medeiros Batista Silva '25](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/blog_antonio_profile_picture.jpg?itok=z4tVogx3×tamp=1632239532)
![A photo of the sunset over the Connecticut River](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/img_7297.jpeg?itok=fq_5PJIl×tamp=1717862186)
![The sky right outside Collis Patio, one of my favorite study spots.](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/screenshot_2024-05-12_at_10.34.41_pm.png?itok=VFc9JQLs×tamp=1715567804)
Here's a refreshed list of places in Hanover that I like to study at!
![A picture of me!](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/kabir_beotra.png?itok=V9E9ASKc×tamp=1663883042)
![Food from Base Camp Cafe](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/img_0607_1.jpg?itok=h4jazU-o×tamp=1717024982)
![Storefront of the cafe, decorated with white, brown, and green details.](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/blog_1000x700_brigaderio_exterior.png?itok=Jq20xUWp×tamp=1716611963)
Sweets you can't resist. really. can't.
![Profile picture of the blogger outside Sanborn Library](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/screen_shot_2022-09-18_at_6.33.44_pm.png?itok=4qv8jBTV×tamp=1688587481)
![blog_4032 × 3024_kayaking](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/img_7518.jpg?itok=_yZo_F2Z×tamp=1718745977)
What an incredible spring! This term was undoubtedly my favorite that I've experienced thus far, and as I wait to board a flight back to campus for a highly anticipated Sophomore Summer, I reflect on everything that allowed this spring term to bloom.
![Me! blog_828 × 1026_brendilou](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/img_1226.png?itok=U8hQQ4ev×tamp=1663881287)
![a picture of the sunset Kalina saw from the car on their way back from the mountains](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/img_3299.jpg?itok=dSUelDy_×tamp=1716154101)
From Lonesome Lake to Mount Kinsman: my iconic Green Key story.
![Kalina standing amidst the autumn leaves](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/kalina_duncheva_27_-_kalina_duncheva.jpg?itok=1Spk_Kot×tamp=1694612135)
![My host family's home! An image of a sunroom with a flowers on the table and a red couch in the corner.](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/400x274_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-post/photos/img_8275.jpeg?itok=8XBIG5Ww×tamp=1715636452)
I moved to Berlin for three months to live with a host family. These are my thoughts about the process and why exploring study abroad programs with host families is worthwhile!
![Profile Picture](https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/sites/admissions.prod/files/styles/60x60_blog/public/admissions/content/blog-author/image/img_6959_2.jpeg?itok=8Ic27ok0×tamp=1717243884)