Hello! My name is Maximiliano (or Max, if it's easier) and I'm a '28 from East Oakland, California. I plan to study Engineering, possibly modified with CS. Outside of my academics, I like playing volleyball, soccer, and swimming. I love the outdoors, so I hope to share some of my adventures on this blog. I enjoy video games, Rubik's cubes, and watching anime. I am excited for my four years at Dartmouth and I hope to share some of my fun experiences with you!
Despite what many have been led to believe previously, French Hall, located in the "River Cluster" of West House, is the BEST first-year dorm on campus. French is located on the western edge of Dartmouth's campus. As the name suggests, it is in a cluster of buildings near the Connecticut River, on the border between New Hampshire and Vermont. The other main first-year dorm in the River Cluster is Judge Hall. The River Cluster, and specifically French, is a special place. The unique location and distance from other dorm buildings mean that there is a unique community and bond that is formed with your fellow French Hall peers. After being on campus for almost a month, some of the best people I've met have been my dormmates and the building is a truly close-knit community.
In French, we have lots of fun. Pictured above is the newest piece of French Hall furniture, the foosball table. This addition marks the second piece of furniture to be added this term to grace the common room. The first was a ping pong table, which arrived a few weeks ago. As you can imagine, these two additions to our common room have revolutionized social life at French Hall. People come from all over the world (Dartmouth's campus) to come play ping pong at our table. And, of course, the residents of French Hall are up at all hours of the day getting their games in. It's more than just ping pong or foosball though. There are frequent pizza parties and gatherings in the common room, and one of the dorm floors even has its own game of "Assassin" (similar to Senior Assassin) among themselves. From its residents to its furniture, French is truly a great example of what a college living community should be,
Another underrated aspect of living in French Hall—and the River cluster in general—is the access to beautiful walks. Sure, if you feel the daily walk becomes too much, you can always rent/buy a scooter or a bike. However, no matter how you choose to get around campus, there's no denying that walking to and from the River cluster allows you to see some very pretty parts of campus.
The so-called "long walks" (maximum 10 minutes) to the dining hall, the library, etc., are good not only for the body but also for the soul. My morning, afternoon, and evening walks are nice moments of quiet that are hard to get when you're in class, eating somewhere, or even walking around busier parts of campus.
Another one of my favorite aspects of living in French and the River is the proximity to the Irving Institute for Energy & Society. Not only is Irving a very nice building (and eco-friendly, boasting a LEED Platinum certification), but it is also home to two of my favorite spots on campus. Firstly, The Fern. The Fern is a café in front of the Irving Institute that serves coffee drinks, pastries, and other food. It is such a convenient location to grab a morning coffee, especially when you're craving a latte or some other espresso drink. Secondly, the Feldberg Business & Engineering Library. This library located near the back of Irving is my favorite study spot to date. It is near my dorm, near a café, and it is rarely very crowded. I particularly like the left side, where there are desks and chairs sort of partitioned off, giving you some amount of space and privacy to study comfortably. Especially with the first round of midterms in full swing, I have enjoyed the comfort and lack of distractions that Feldberg provides.
I hope you have enjoyed this glance into what life is like living in the River dorms. I truly love French Hall and enjoy all the things it has to offer. I hope that future Dartmouth first-year students enjoy it just as much as I do. Take care!
Dartmouth requires all students to take three PE/Wellness classes in order to graduate. Upon hearing glowing recommendations, I chose to take the wellness sampler offered by the Student Wellness Center as a way to fulfill this requirement.
In my freshman year, I wrote a blog revisiting my decision of attending Dartmouth College. Now that more than a year has passed, I would love to revisit my decision again, with a more realistic lens.
