Paulina Cuadra

During summer I counted down the days until I could be back on campus and see all of my friends! While being homesick is definitely a natural part of going away to college, I did not expect to be homesick for Dartmouth. Thankfully from the very moment I stepped out of the Dartmouth Coach I was greeted by a bunch of my friends and warm hugs! A week into the term and I have yet to stop encountering friendly faces! Dartmouth is such a small campus so bumping into people you know is an inescapably lovely circumstance. 

Even coming from Nicaragua and having enjoyed the tropical heat and sunshine for the entire summer, I have come to love the seasonal changes. I now love the way in which summer ebbs into fall, becomes winter, and then spring and rolls back into summer. As we move into September, that can only mean that fall is coming soon, and I couldn’t be more excited! I am already waking up to crisp cool mornings and I couldn’t be happier. Given enough layers, I now love the energizing chill. 

I am so excited to finally be concentrating on classes surrounding my intended major in Economics and Geography. Fun fact –Dartmouth has the only Geography department in the entire Ivy League! This term I am taking Development Economics (ECON 24), Human Geography (GEOG 2.01), and a Public Speaking (SPEE 20) class. I am in love with these classes as they are all really different from one another and make an amazing balance. I am always amazed by the liberal arts curriculum at Dartmouth and how I am able to take classes in a wide range of disciplines and still find connections between them. My Geography class is also taught by one of my favorite professors here, Coleen Fox, who studies political and environmental geography and often focuses on the impacts of dams. I love being in her class and learning more about humans and how we interact and are impacted by the natural environment. Overall, I am so excited to see what new academic interests this term sparks!

Richardson and the Fayerweathers (North Fayerweather, Mid Fayerweather, and South Fayerweather) are all-freshman dorms that are extremely centrally located. Richardson has beautiful views to Baker Berry Library and the Fays are right behind Dartmouth Hall and an extremely short walk to the Green which serves as the center for campus. These are both pretty old buildings but rooms are generally a bit spacious. The majority of rooms in the Fays are composed of two-room triples with a half bathroom inside the room and showers in the hall. The Fays are all connected with each other through the basement. The room configurations in Richardson are a lot more variable ranging from singles, doubles, triples, to quads. The floors in both buildings are divided by gender, and because these dorms are composed of all freshmen they are a pretty popular spot amongst first-years and tend to have pretty close friendships among floors. Having lived in the Fays my first year, I am an undying Fays fan!!

Dorms in East Wheelock are located near the Alumni Gym. These dorms are not the most centrally located but are very nice and more modern than most other buildings. The majority of freshmen living here are either placed in singles or two-room doubles. Students living in East Wheelock also tend to study and hang out in the common rooms. Upperclassmen also live in these buildings but in non-freshman floors. An added East-Wheelock perk is the Brace snack-bar that has late-night (8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) snack options available for purchase. 

Wheeler is one of the most centrally located dorms on campus as it is right in front of Baker Berry Library. Dorms are composed of singles, doubles, and triples. There are four buildings designated as the “Choates” which are Brown, Little, Cohen, and Bissel. Only Brown and Little are in School House and these two are connected with each other. Most rooms in the Choates are one-room doubles with some singles. You can be at Novack and some academic buildings after a really short walk and are placed right behind frat row. While the Choates are generally considered to be pretty old, these are one of my favorite dorms since they host amazing communities. People living in the Choates tend to form pretty strong bonds with each other, and given their proximity to frat row they are a pretty popular destination amongst freshmen. 

I love getting an early start to the day, especially in the spring as I can enjoy the beautiful morning glow that has overtaken all of Hanover. Today, I was at FoCo (Dartmouth speak for Food Court) by 8:00 a.m. to grab a meal with a friend. At 8:45 we were done and I headed over to the Steel building to have office hours with my professor. Given the beautiful spring day, the office hours were outside! During this time, we spoke about an upcoming class project and overarching goals and expectations for the class. 

After my office hours, I headed out to my 10:10 class, Introduction to International Development. During class we discussed the pros and cons of microcredit directed towards women as a development initiative. 

After class I went to Still North, which is a bookstore in Hanover started by a Dartmouth alum from the Class of 2011. I bought a book my friend recommended to me and read it for a little while at the store before my lunch plans.