Hi everyone! I'm Rika, a semi-international '28 from Japan, India, and Malaysia. I'm interested in studying women, gender, and sexuality studies, as well as public policy, global health, and biology while also being on the pre med track! In my free time, I love to read books, cook and bake, play violin, spend time with animals, be sarcastic, and drink hot drinks (especially teas!) I'm so excited to share my exploration of Dartmouth with everyone :)
Academic Program
Intended WGSS on the Pre-Health track
Favorite Thing Right Now
Decorating my dorm to make it more homey! Also the FOCO ice cream bar :)
Sex, Gender, and Society is a class in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) department. It focuses on how gender and sexuality are represented in the media and explores different ways society shapes our perspectives. This discussion-based class features multiple group projects, which allowed me to meet and interact with many of my classmates, which was super helpful in my first term! Fun fact: this class taught me how to plan, film, and edit a podcast on campus!
From the age of five, I grew up in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the very tropical capital city of Malaysia, where it was summer all year round, the sun rose and set in 12-hour intervals, and automobiles of every shape and size blew past pedestrians. So when I decided to attend Dartmouth, I excitedly told people, "I'm finally going to experience the actual change of weather!" While climate is the difference people think of immediately, there are so many other aspects of Hanover that greatly diverge from my hometown. KL is truly a bustling city, with a population of 2.1 million, and around 180 skyscrapers exceeding 500 feet (including the tallest set of twin towers in the world!) within 94 square miles. Hanover, on the other hand, has around 8200people and absolutely no skyscrapers in its 50 square miles of land. So… yes. It's very different.
The KL vs Hanover skylines!
I was lucky enough to visit Dartmouth before applying, so I wasn't in a position where I was discovering just how different Hanover was from KL during orientation. However, knowing and experiencing are two very different things, and my transition to life in college, Hanover, and the United States in general was exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time. When I arrived in Boston, my parents and I drove up to Hanover to explore the town before myInternational Student Pre-Orientation Program (ISPOP)started. We drove around my dorm—Little Hall—in the Choates Cluster, and I remember trying to internalize the campus so I wouldn't get lost during my first few days. I took note of the short but surprisingly comprehensive list of stores we had on Main Street and had my first (of many) bagel sandwiches from The Works. Then, before I knew it, it was time to move in!
My first Southwest Chicken Egg sandwich on an everything bagel. Still my go-to sandwich!
Move-in was relatively tame for me because I was only moving in with a group of around 100 international students who arrived early for ISPOP. I unpacked my SIX big suitcases (definitely overpacked) and started making my room my own. And then it was 9 AM—time for the first orientation session.
All moved in! (ft. my parents)
ISPOP is still one of my favorite times on campus. Organized by the Office of Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL) and run by returning international students, it allowed us first-years to ease into Dartmouth with people of similar experiences. The small cohort of international students bonded over trying to name all 50 states, learning to call what I know as "football" as "soccer," and comparing how long it took us to travel to Hanover (my 26 hours were pretty impressive). Offered sessions included how to open a bank account, visa information, and so much more. ISPOP culminated with a super fun talent show where people rapped, danced, did push-ups, and magic tricks. I'm still friends with the people I met during ISPOP, and we often talk about how helpful it was for us to find friends who understood this specific experience so well. Once general orientation started, I found myself quite well-adjusted to life in Hanover and met so many of my closest friends.
Our very busy ISPOP schedule!
My friends at the Twilight Ceremony!
In terms of weather, it was still summery when we started classes, but by week three, we entered some chilly days. It took me a little bit of time to figure out how to style warm clothes, but I took inspiration from other students on campus and sometimes asked my friends for advice. Surprisingly, my first winter wasn't the blizzard I was dreading. Of course, it's chilly (-20 °C??!!) but the sun shines most days, we have fun skiing and ice skating almost every week, and lots of snow just means…SNOWBALL FIGHTS AND SNOW ANGELS!!!! Also, dressing for winter is not as hard as I thought—I just layer, layer, and layer :)
Early fall weather!
Occom Pond is completely frozen!
Winter, winter, winter!! (Snow, snow, snow!!)
So, as different as Hanover is from Kuala Lumpur, the move was not jarring. At all points of my transition, I felt supported by OPAL, my ISPOP mentor, my new friends, and the college itself. I always felt I had someone to turn to the instant I needed help. It also helped that everyone was new to Dartmouth, and almost everyone, regardless of international or domestic status, was not from a town like Hanover. We all got to discover the nooks and crannies of our campus together excitedly, and it truly felt like the transition was simply from one home to another!
When I arrived at Dartmouth, I assumed dorms were the only housing option. It wasn't until sophomore year that I discovered Max Kade House, a German-themed Living Learning Community, and realized what I had been missing.
