Welcome!! My name is Serena and I'm a '28 from New York City. I couldn't be more excited to be here at Dartmouth and share my experiences with all of you! I know I want to explore English Literature alongside a STEM discipline. I love to run, play volleyball, hike, knit, and read books! If you want to hear about a city kid's adventures in rural New Hampshire, follow along as I experience life in the woods!
In this dynamic class, Visiting Professor Vera Kallenberg taught us a survey of Jewish history and culture from the European enlightenment to the establishment of the State of Israel while also sharing her wealth of knowledge with us! Our small, seminar-style class lent itself to profound conversations around the difficult topics that arose during our discussions. From the Haskalah to discourse around the modern-day Israel-Palestine conflict, our class approached these topics with respect and care for one another. We read historical texts and fascinating personal narratives for homework, and then wove our knowledge about the past and present together in class discussions. What an incredible course!
Last Tuesday I left Dartmouth to go home for Thanksgiving and the start of Winterim! Winterim is our 6 week long Winter break. It starts at Thanksgiving and ends roughly after New Year's Day. Many students spend their break different ways, from internships, family vacations, working at home, spending time on campus, and more!
So, I'm actually blogging from home right now! I hope you enjoy some of the reflections and takeaways I will be posting about in the weeks to come.
Read on to hear about the different ways my friends and I traveled home for the break!
New York City:
Three students stand near each other with smiles. Tall columns are on either side of them.
Two Dartmouth Coach buses are lined next to each other. In front of them is the sidewalk wet with rain.
On Tuesday morning, a couple of my friends and I hopped on the Dartmouth Coach at 8:30am. The Dartmouth Coach is an independent bus company that runs buses direct from the Dartmouth campus in Hanover to either Boston or New York City (NYC). The NYC bus usually leaves twice each day at 6:30am or 2:30pm, but since so many people leave for break, they added many more buses and times to the schedule. The Dartmouth Coach waits outside of Rauner Library, conveniently located one minute from my dorm. It then drives nonstop to NYC.
Since our finals end before Winterim, I could relax on the drive back! Five hours later, we arrived in NYC. Two of my friends that I traveled with, Shane and Kelly, still needed to get to Philadelphia. I helped them with their next leg of the journey home, and then hopped on the subway to my apartment! What a convenient way to travel home to NYC!
My friend Shane and I on the Subway platform in NYC!
Pennsylvania:
I mentioned that I took the Dartmouth Coach with Shane and Kelly. Unlike me, their final destination did not lie in New York City! Once the bus dropped us off downtown, I helped them navigate to Penn Station to find their train. They took the NJ Transit to Trenton where their families picked them up and were home a few hours later!
Massachusetts:
My friend Grace lives in a small town in Massachusetts, so her parents picked her up from campus and drove her back! My friend Tilda lives right outside of Boston, so she took the Dartmouth coach to Boston. Her parents then picked her up and drove 20 minutes to their home!
Minnesota:
My friend Taara lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To get home, she took the Dartmouth Coach to Boston (which runs almost hourly) and then hopped on her flight at the Boston airport!
As you have probably realized, the Dartmouth Coach is a very convenient resource that many students use. Dartmouth is often described as "rural" or "hard to get to" but the reality shows that it is actually situated close to big cities with direct modes of convenient transportation there!
The Dartmouth Coach is open to everyone, not just Dartmouth students and faculty. Prospective students–hop on the bus and come down for a visit and tour at Dartmouth!
Dartmouth's dining options are reduced during winterim due to the significantly smaller number of students on campus. Find out about dining options during winterim, from a dietary, logistical, and financial perspective!
