Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, also known as my digital diary. I'm majoring in Asian Studies modified with Business, a new program here at Dartmouth, so feel free to ask me anything related to that. Beyond the classroom, I love the Dartmouth sunsets, the traditions, the classes, the merch, and the people, of course. Come along with me as I explore the ins and outs of life in the woods.
A course that definitely surprised me, I did not know what to expect and had very little philosophical knowledge before taking this course. It was a mixture of current and past readings, with the final project to make a group video, testing my technological ability. Professor Bumpus was amazing, and I got to know her more when I took her to breakfast at Pine through the Take Your Professor to Lunch Program.
I was recommended to take a history course, specifically a history course with Professor Lu, and it has not disappointed! This course is cross listed with Asian Studies, my major, but it has made me consider a history minor... We start every class off with a song relating to the topic of that class, and then we move on to discussion based activities.
So far, the Dartmouth classes I have taken have been all based around discussion and essay writing. As an Asian Studies and Government major, I expected that the rest of my time at Dartmouth would follow a similar pattern, but in fact a pre-requisite for the Government major is a Political Analysis class. This class involves coding, analyzing survey samples, and other quantitative methods. The professor is amazing—a friend and I got to know him better by taking him out to breakfast at Pine through the 'Take Your Professor to Lunch' program. The final group project involves making projections for the 2024 elections using past data. Although, obviously, this election already happened, some of our predictions were more accurate than the polls! It is super interesting to take a class that I can see the themes in real world news outlets.
My favorite class this term had to be Developing Vietnam, which is a ten-week course taken in Hanover, in preparation for three weeks in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during the winter break. The goal of this class was to plan and carry out a research project pertaining to development in Vietnam. During our time at Dartmouth, we collaborated with Fulbright University Vietnam students to come up with a shared research topic, research brief, and agenda. The interdisciplinary nature of this class meant that we had the opportunity to explore Vietnam through different angles/themes spanning religion, history, political economy, and environmental governance.
Over the Winterim, I participated in a mini study abroad to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. If you haven't already, have a peek at my overview of the programhere! In short, this study abroad is a 13-week partnership with students atFulbright University Vietnam, consisting of ten weeks of asynchronous class-time followed by three weeks in person in Vietnam, working to produce a research project on the topic of development in the country.
After a packed week one, which you can read abouthere, I was excited for what the second week would bring. Having just gotten back from a weekend trip to the Mekong Delta, we had a quiet Sunday night, and then right back to work on Monday.
My group's project examined social class and mobility through the vehicle of mắm nêm, a pungent fish sauce central to Vietnamese cuisine. Part of our research involved interviewing different restaurant owners across the price spectrum. Research funds provided by Dartmouth allowed us to scout out and dine at potential restaurants, as well as providing the means to book transportation to get around the city. Monday and Tuesday of the second week were occupied by field research, following a research agenda that we had laid out.
Traditional Vietnamese cuisine
We aimed to be efficient doing work during the day, so that our evenings were free to do what we pleased. The famouscafé apartments of Saigon were on my list, and so Monday evening I embarked on a trip to explore every single one of them. From matcha cafes to perfume workshops to vintage shopping, the café apartments did not disappoint.
Me in front of the Café Apartments!
Our big group excursion of the week was to Cần Giờ biosphere reserve, one of Vietnam's largest mangrove forests. Of course, the day we were going to be spending most of our time outside would be the one day where torrential rain was forecasted…
Selfie with Professor Miller
After a brief tour of the local Forest Management Board (including the widest variety of taxidermized aquatic animals that I had ever seen), we hopped on speed boats to visit local households who work as forest rangers. This was incredibly fascinating, allowing us to visualize the environmental activities that we had been learning about in the ten weeks of fall term classes leading up to the trip.
A bit wet…
A group of us visiting Cần Giờ's forest rangers
The next day, we visited two Buddhist temples in downtown Saigon. We participated in a meditation session associated with 'Secular Buddhism,' which was mentally harder than I thought it would be! It was an excellent time for reflecting upon my time in Vietnam so far, and setting goals for the next half of the trip.
At the temples
What is especially unique about this program is how immersed we got not only into the city life, but also the university lifestyle. Staying in a hotel a five minute walk from campus allowed us to come and go as we please. We were also given entry cards, so we had unlimited access to campus buildings. I made every effort to integrate into campus life, attending my teammates' capstone exhibitions as well as choir concerts. It was wonderful to see the fruits of their hard-work, making me realize that despite attending schools thousands of miles apart, we have so much in common.
My teammate, Phuong, with her Capstone Project
As a mini celebration, the instructional team organized a Developing Vietnam karaoke night, renting out a room in one of the many karaoke venues in the city. After some convincing, we even got Professor Miller to sing 'Don't Stop Believing' with us!
Our epic karaoke room
All in all, another wonderful week, full of a variety of experiences. The progress we made on our project was tremendous, supplemented by educational, as well as fun activities. I look forward to our final week in Vietnam, working to complete our research papers and videos. Wish us luck!
My program friend, Ashna and I, signing off for now!
My study abroad experience this past summer helped me grow in meaningful ways. The lessons I learned didn't stay in China—they continue to shape how I approach my life, relationships, and goals today. Read on to hear more!
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Gabe Brigham '26, a psychology and sociology double major, showed me around his dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
On the final segment of The Stretch, we explored other planets, walked atop volcanoes, and went to the very bottom of the Grand Canyon (and back). Read about it here.
