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.
It's that time of year again—winter in the Upper Valley. Yes, winter may be cold here, but with the drop in temperatures come many wonderful opportunities for fun. Amongst the myriads of winter sports available, ice skating stands out to me both as the most enjoyable as well as the one that I am most adept at. So, come skate along with me as I talk about the different places to skate on and around campus.
Firstly, Thompson Arena, where ice hockey matches are held, often hosts free skate nights. This year, a figure skating exhibition was held before a free skate hour, giving us a goal for our own skating. Fun fact: Dartmouth has historically been home to a nationally competitive figure skating team, winning six national titles between 2004 and 2012.
Skates are provided, and we get about thirty minutes on the ice, before the ice resurfacer arrives to freshen up the ice.
Another one of my favorite destinations for ice skating is Occom Pond. Conveniently located and not subject to timing restrictions like Thompson Arena, skating on Occom was the first time I had skated on a surface that wasn't man made. On Saturdays, Winter Fundays organized by the DOC mean that skate and sled rentals are provided, as well as hot chocolate and a firepit once it gets too cold. On Occom, ice hockey nets are also set up, allowing for spontaneous pickup games, turning the pond into a mini hockey rink.
Catch up, Joanna!
Beyond Saturdays, though, Occom is still open for ice skating! Students can rent skates from Dartmouth Outdoor Rental, conveniently located right across from Foco, our dining hall. Fellow blogger Joannaand I recently spent our afternoon skating (albeit slowly) around Occom. It was a bit chilly, but only made us want to skate faster. We attempted to show off tricks to each other, but we were pretty unsuccessful…
Pre-skate selfie
Probably my favorite place to skate is Lake Morey, about a twenty-minute drive from campus. It boasts the longest ice skating trail in the US, totalling at 4.5 miles. As we recently had a heavy snowfall, it is covered in snow, except for a maintained trail. Benches out on the ice mean we can leave our boots and set right off.
It took about an hour to get all the way around, with several stops. Once we reached the halfway point, after noticing that we had been skating with the wind for more than two miles, we realized that the way back would be entirely into the wind… It definitely made for a good workout, though!
Attempts at skating backwards
So, there are my three top ice-skating destinations in an Upper Valley winter. I am always on the lookout for other rinks, but for now, these three are more than enough to keep my weekends happily occupied.
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.
