Hello, and welcome to my corner of the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. On campus, I enjoy writing sports for The Dartmouth, going on as many DOC trips as I can, and hanging out with my friends. I also love Woccoming, doing the daily NYT mini crossword, and paddling!
I took this class as part of Dartmouth's first year writing requirement. We read a pro cyclist's life narrative, discussed research papers on controversial topics in sports, and wrote our own papers on a contentious sports technology of our choice. I really enjoyed this course's emphasis on discussion, and the small class size!
This was my first class in the classics department, which was super exciting as a classical studies major! We learned about the ancient Olympics and the connections between athletics and other aspects of ancient Greek society. I loved the final project in this class, which involved creating an argument about how the ancient pentathlon was scored!
To conclude my language requirement, I took Latin 3! This class was super exciting because we began to read ancient texts and poetry. We also took a class trip to the Rauner Special Collections library so we could physically handle and read some manuscripts. And as an added bonus, Latin counts as a prerequisite for my classical studies major!
As a part of my language study abroad in Italy, I also took a class on Italian history and culture! We went on field trips to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, participated in walking tours of Rome, and watched a lot of great cinema in this class! I loved it so much that I decided to minor in Italian.
This class, in addition to being a pre-requisite for both my major and my spring study abroad, was super interesting! I loved learning about archaeology in a chronological sequence, and I feel so much more prepared for my trip to Greece after completing this class.
A lot of my friends from Dartmouth have been asking me what a typical day in Rome looks like, so I figured I could do a "Day in my Life" blog this week! No two days are the same here, but I try to stick to somewhat of a normal routine during the school week.
I wake up early so that I can read or write for an hour before I have to start getting ready for school. Today, I snoozed my alarm a few times—but I was still out of bed before 7:00! I cherish these early mornings spent alone on the balcony, because they are incredibly peaceful.
On my way to the Dartmouth College Rome Center, I make a stop at the nearby Bar Farnese for breakfast. Usually I get a cappuccino and cornetto, but today I went for an espresso so that I could get a little extra boost of energy!
There's usually a line at Bar Farnese, but it always moves quickly!
I get to the Center before the first drill at 9:20, and depending on the day, I'm there until either 1:15 or 4:00 PM. On Tuesdays and Thursdays (the longer days), I leave the center to grab a quick lunch between classes. But on Mondays and Wednesdays, I usually wait until after school and pick a sit-down restaurant to try with my friends. Today, I ate with my friends at Sushi Koi, a Japanese restaurant near the apartments.
Italian class always includes a lot of collaborative work
There were so many options to choose from!
Once I get back to the apartments, I sit down and get a headstart on my homework. In the late afternoon, I like to go for walks, hang out with my friends, or run errands, like picking up groceries for dinner at Conad (the local supermarket). Today, I decided to take it easy and just chill in the living room of one of the apartments until dinner time.
For dinner, I went to a pizzeria in Testaccio with my friends. I usually try to eat at least one home-cooked meal a day, but as I mentioned in an earlier blog post, all of the amazing restaurants in Rome make that a difficult task. I got a simple pizza with buffalo mozzarella, and it was delicious!
Fantastico!
After dinner, we headed back to the apartments once again. There was a UEFA European Football Championship game between Italy and Croatia, so we projected it in the living room while doing homework. I don't watch much soccer at home in the United States, but it's super big here. I see people in their blue Italia or red and gold Roma jerseys nearly every day while walking around the city.
When I finished my readings for class and the soccer game was over, I joined a small group at the table in the living room to wrap up the rest of my homework. One of our weekly assignments here in Rome is to write 5 pages in a reflective journal, so I got a head start on that.
Finally, I got ready for bed and put on my pajamas. Right before laying down, I spent a few minutes catching up with my roommate. Today was exhausting, but also incredibly exciting!
Dartmouth changed my life. A large part of that change comes from the support I have received from professors. Learn more here about some mentor-mentee relationships I have made!
When asked about my favorite term at Dartmouth, I'll enthusiastically answer, "Sophomore Summer!" Whether it's the enhanced beauty or community on campus, one aspect stands out as the highlight of my term: the start of summer dance ensembles!
