Culture Shock
Did you experience culture shock when you first arrived at Dartmouth? If so, what type of culture shock did you experience and how did you deal with it?
When I first came to Dartmouth, I was surprised by the diversity on campus—it was a complete change of pace from my high school experience.
Because of my research during the college application process, I was aware of Dartmouth's diverse student body; I'd seen all the statistics, but knowing the numbers did not prepare me for the real thing. It all started with First-Year Trips.
In my first day as a Dartmouth student, I was assigned to a group of total strangers with whom I would spend a week in the woods deprived of cell phones, showers, and most of modern-life's comforts. From the start, it was clear that my trippees (aka groupmates) came from completely different backgrounds. In our group, we had an Olympic powerlifter, a seasoned rugby player, a horse-rider, an international student, and two first-generation college students. At first glance, we had nothing in common! I was excited to get to know my trippees—some of whom later became my best friends at Dartmouth.
This pattern continued when we returned to campus. I never knew what to expect when I met someone new. In fact, that is true to this day—though I've become used to the diversity, Dartmouth students never fail to surprise me.