Hello! My name is Mario and I'm a Dartmouth '28. I plan on majoring in Government with a concentration in International Relations (Focusing on Foreign Policy or International Security). During my free time I love spending time down at the Connecticut River or at the Dartmouth Skiway!
In this week's post, I would like to tell you about some cultural-based activities around Dartmouth's campus. For the past two weeks, we've had several activities celebrating traditional holidays with my international friends from Nepal and Bangladesh!
Last week, my friends and I celebrated a traditional Nepali holiday called "Dashain"—one of Nepal's biggest and most important holidays—where the Nepali Student Association organized an event filled with traditional Nepali music, food, and dancing. After trying out new food and learning new traditional Nepali dance moves, my friends and I participated in one of the most competitive events of the night: a game of Pictionary of Nepali monuments!
A week later, there was another event organized by the Bangladeshi Student Association. Similar to the Dashain celebration, the Bangladeshi Student Association presented Bangladeshi and non-Bangladeshi students with a wide variety of delicious foods and great traditional Bangladeshi music!
Look at how much food was offered at the Bangladeshi celebration!
Lastly, last week, there was an event celebrating Indian identity and holidays. The event was filled with Indian professors, Indian members of the community, international and non-international students, and non-Indian members of the community. The event was also filled with delicious food and traditional Indian music.
A traditional Indian dish featuring rice, curry chicken, and tortillas!
These events happen all over campus and throughout the term and are organized by various identity-based organizations. The best thing about these organizations is that they're open to anyone in the community who would like to participate and become more involved in their culture, and there's no requirement to partake in them.
These great events are organized by students, for students and members of the community to offer an opportunity to all to learn a little bit more about different cultures and the opportunity to make new friends and meet new people from all over the community and all over the world. Dartmouth provides a space for all individuals and members of its community to feel accepted and find a place of self and belonging through these events. These events are a true reflection of how Dartmouth's community stands for acceptance of different traditions and curiosity to learn more about the world.
Thus, these events provide an opportunity for students, faculty members, and members of the community to be part of and appreciate traditional identity-based events while enjoying some traditional music and food delicacies originating from the culture that's being celebrated. I sure can't wait for the next event to continue learning more about different cultures and holidays while tasting more delicious food!
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