Welcome to the woods! My name is Natalie and I'm from California (3035 miles away from Dartmouth)! I'm a political science and crossword puzzle nerd who's excited to dive into the millions of activities we have on campus. I'm a Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major at Dartmouth, and am considering both a History and Human-Centered Design minor. I'm also the President of the Parliamentary Debate team! Go Big Green!
As I make sure to mention frequently in these blog posts, home is far away. San Francisco is a 10 hour travel day away from campus, so I was excited when my mom had some work travel that brought her out to the east coast. Though her conference was in Philadelphia, she made the drive up to campus to visit me, experience Hanover winter, and see campus covered in snow.
And see campus covered in the snow she did! While she was in town, we got over 18 inches of snow overnight. In a great act of benevolence, my professors canceled class, and Mom and I headed out to the skiway to shred some gnar. Just 20 minutes off-campus, the Dartmouth skiway is a 3-lift ski mountain for community members and Upper Valley residents. Season passes (meaning unlimited skiing access for the entire winter) are just 49 dollars for new students. As someone used to the triple dollar sign prices of California skiing, I thought it was cool how the mountain works to keep costs reasonable for students. Mom and I tore up the powder, skiing for nearly 5 hours until our quads burned, and it was time to go home.
After skiing, I took her on a walking tour of campus, pointing out my favorite study spots like the top floor of sunny Rauner library and the cozy vibes of the Tower Room up at the top of Baker-Berry Library.
That night, she generously took a few of my friends out to dinner at Molly's, a local restaurant in town — it was so cool to have her meet the people I'm spending my time with and get a sense of what my day to day life is like. We shared a laugh about the eclectic nature of Molly's menu: from a shockingly good tuna poké to Vermont Dairy Mac n' Cheese to the famous Mud Pie. In such a small town, restaurants have to fill many shoes, and Molly's covers it all.
I know it's a privilege to have my family visit, but I wish I had done it sooner. It seems counterintuitive, I know. We head to college in search of independence and want to find distance from our families. But after several months of being apart, it's a treat to have them up here — and make sure to celebrate that exciting visit with a piece of Molly's Mud Pie.
It's easy to forget how easy it is to access walking trails during the hustle of a Dartmouth term. As graduation nears, I am reminded of how special it is to step off campus and enjoy quiet moments in nature.
With a solar eclipse sweeping across North America for the first time in nearly seven years on April 8th came a road-trip with hundreds of other Dartmouth students to a zone of totality near campus: St. Johnsbury, Vermont!
