Hi, and welcome to my corner of the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. My favorite places on campus include Sanborn (for writing), the river (for paddling), and the Green (for everything else). I'm excited to share a bit about my favorite place with all of you!
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 my major, was super interesting! I loved learning about archaeology through hands-on projects and lectures that felt like TED Talks.
My favorite course on my Italian LSA+ in Rome is focused on Italian literature, which we are studying in a reverse-chronological order! It has been incredibly fun to see different topics and styles evolve over time and to learn from the works of the best writers.
I’m absolutely loving this hands-on introduction to paleography, and the fact that my class meets at Rauner every day! I can’t wait to hear from our guest lecturers, too, and I’ll be sure to share those experiences on the blog. All in all, Latin 10 was a great way to get back into the language after a term away in Rome.
I can't believe the term is already coming to an end, and that it's time to write another recap. As I sit down for my termly ritual, I realize that I'm at the end of an experience I never imagined for myself—I just took three Dartmouth courses in a foreign language and even signed a pledge to limit my English as much as possible on the Italian LSA+ in Rome.
A couple of weeks before the term started, I wrote a post looking forward to my second term in Rome and another one sharing some tips on preparing for study abroad programs. I emphasized my personal goals: engaging more with locals, being more present, staying flexible, and packing lighter. Now, reflecting on the term, I can confidently say that I made meaningful progress on…almost all of them. I still need to work on packing lighter! I didn't fully know what to expect academically from the program, but I have been consistently challenged by my coursework in a way I find incredibly rewarding. Italian 8 gave me a hands-on understanding of Italy's rich cultural heritage while Italian 10 allowed me to learn from a variety of literary voices. Italian 12, the most advanced of the three, pushed me to refine my speaking and writing skills beyond what I thought was possible.
We visited many different neighborhoods to explore their differences and unique styles of architecture, including fascist-era "EUR" in Rome
Beyond academics, living with a host family was one of the most rewarding aspects of my experience. My host family welcomed me with open arms, and I truly felt like a member of their household during long, talkative dinners and fun weekend excursions. I learned so much about contemporary Italian culture from them, and I hope to keep in contact with them when I return to campus!
I loved having a little host sister, who always invited me on walks and to play dress-up with her!
The program's excursions also added depth to my experience—I especially enjoyed a day-trip to nearby Siena during a week-long visit to Florence. However, my favorite travel experience was the week-long break from classes where we were given the opportunity to travel independently. Exploring cities at my own pace, creating my own itinerary, and even navigating bus stops and AirBNB check-ins in a foreign language gave me a sense of adventure and self-reliance that I'll carry with me beyond this experience.
Looking back, I feel incredibly grateful for this experience and for the opportunity to once again deepen my connection to Rome and the Italian language once again. I came into college hoping to study abroad once and never expected to spend such a significant amount of time abroad!
While my time in a different time zone has come to a close (for now!), my journey with Italian is far from over. I hope to write soon about my plans for spring term, and you'll see that I'm keeping up with Italian even back on campus. Until then, grazie, Roma!
Inspired by my fall term recap post, I wanted to share a similar recap at the end of these nine weeks of the winter term. Read on to see what I've been up to!
