Welcome to the woods! Dartmouth is hands-down my favorite place, and I look forward to coming back every term. I'm not even kidding. After a day and a half of traveling, I step off the Dartmouth Coach and breathe in the crisp Hanover air. Dragging my two humongous suitcases, I trudge across campus, climb three flights of stairs, fumble for the key in my pocket, and finally open the door to my new corner dorm. I let out a sigh of relief at the sight of my bare twin XL mattress.
While being trapped in the plane for 20 hours, I binge-watched 3 Harry Potter movies, drank 6 cups of cherry juice, and did basically everything but sleep. Of course, my eyelids felt pretty weighty, but every time I did close my eyes, I would go through about 20,683 scenarios (mostly daunting ones) of my first day on Dartmouth campus. Needless to say, it was a rough journey. Fortunately, I arrived in one piece and my past 3 weeks here have been more than incredible.
Baker-Berry Library
Anyways, I think I should introduce myself:
Sawasdee ka, I'm Memo from the sunny city of Bangkok, Thailand! We have amazing food and beautiful beaches. The 4 seasons are summer, rainy, even-hotter-summer, and 3 days of "winter." Let's just say, living in Hanover will be interesting for me. On top of that, outdoor activities don't come easily for me. In fact, you'd probably hike better than me in flip-flops. Unless I am peer-pressured to be outside, I usually rewatch Tangled, Cruella, or any Disney movie. I'm pretty excited about cosmetics and beauty, especially the chemistry behind it, so a chemistry major might be my answer. In addition to that, I might also do QSS (Quantitative Social Science). I have no idea.
When I actually should be studying, I play unlimited Wordle (is this a crime?) and speed through an entire season of 'How I Met Your Mother.' I usually blast Taylor Swift, NIKI, Keshi, Laufey, Grent Perez, and Jeff Bernat when I read, and that's why I have to reread the same paragraph 3 times over. To keep myself active, I play basketball and volleyball, but I plan on exploring many more winter sports. After 2 hours of exercising per week (wow!), I love getting some of my favorite nourishments I would say: boba, Foco (The Class of 1953 Commons, aka our dining hall) cookies, and sushi.
That's me–for the time being anyways. With 4 more years at the college on the hill, I'm sure a lot of things will change. During just 3 weeks on campus, I've already baked a chocolate cake in the middle of the woods, jammed to live Mariposa (by Peach Tree Rascals) at Fallapalooza, star-gazed at the Occom pond, savored a free hot dog at a volleyball game, and collected more Dartmouth swag (merchandise) than any '26 on campus. Crazy.
The best chocolate cake ever.
Basically, the Dartmouth that I'm experiencing right now is quite amplified compared to what I imagined. It's safe to say that traveling 13,500 km (many many miles) here is definitely worth it. So I thought "Hey, wouldn't it be cool to detail all future random, wonderful, or maybe questionable events I'll hopefully encounter in blogs?" And here I am.
I hope that when I walk across the stage at my graduation, I will look back at my blogs and see how much I have changed throughout my time here at Dartmouth. Shameless promo, but if you want to journey along with me, make sure to hang around. I'll keep you informed and well entertained. I promise!
The big-little process in my sorority has strengthened my bond with my big, fostered new friendships across class years, and deepened my sense of community and belonging on campus.
Dartmouth's Chinese New Year celebrations brought a sense of home through themed dining, student-led events, and cultural gatherings, fostering community and appreciation for the holiday.
An international student's perspective on Dartmouth's unique and inclusive Greek life culture, exploring the diverse motivations, experiences, and social dynamics behind joining a sorority.
