Hi everyone! I'm Yehalah and I'm a '26 coming all the way from Colombo, Sri Lanka. My academic passions lie in Energy Engineering and Environmental Studies. I am a first-generation and low-income student, actively involved with the community. I love to paint and read during my free time. I'm excited that you're here, and I hope you enjoy this account of my life at Dartmouth!
The sequel to Drawing 1! Undoubtedly harder, but definitely a great class. I can now say, with confidence, that I am able to paint a mango successfully.
The Sacred Architecture of Asia is one of the most incredible courses I have taken at Dartmouth! The course is primarily discussion-based, with Professor Seher explaining and initiating conversation about the course material.
Learning about German history in Berlin was a great way to explore the city and culture! The class had weekly excursions where we visited important sites in Berlin, which was so informative and helpful. Overall, I learnt so many new aspects of Germany and the people who played a significant role in German history.
Green Key Weekend is the biggest weekend of the Spring Term. Artists perform and endless events are happening across campus. This year the main artist for the concert was none other than Shaggy! I was sad to learn that I would miss this concert, having grown up listening to his songs. From the videos, it looked amazing. The concert is always free for all students and guests can enter for a fee.
This weekend in Berlin, it was Karneval der Kulteren, a festival that celebrates all the cultures represented in the city. The area of Kreuzberg is turned into a festival from Friday to Monday. Founded in 1995, the festival has consistently attracted crowds of more than 500,000 people.
The main event of this carnival is the street parade on Sunday! Around 5,000 people participate in this parade of cultures. They wear cultural clothes and perform, accompanied by colourful floats. The roads are closed off and the parade lasts for hours. I was warned about the amount of people present, but I was shocked to see the crowd myself. It does not help to be a short person in a large crowd! However, I was able to find some space at the front to watch the parade.
The effort put into each section of the parade is truly astounding. It was wonderful to experience all the different cultures and people in Berlin at this time. There were also floats for activists trying to send a message such as "100% Tempelhofer Feld", an initiative to keep the large recreational park on the abandoned airport from having housing built on it.
After the parade was over, we explored the stalls set up and joined a random party happening on the street! There were speakers and parties set up all around the block. While it was very different from being at Dartmouth during Green Key Weekend, it was a great Spring experience in Berlin!
I lived on the same dorm floor as the GIS LLC (Living Learning Community) this year. I asked some of my floormates about their experience with it so that you can hopefully get a holistic sense of what GIS is like!
I moved to Berlin for three months to live with a host family. These are my thoughts about the process and why exploring study abroad programs with host families is worthwhile!
Dartmouth's most anticipated spring tradition is over, prompting an influx of Green Key posts from Dartmouth students online (including this one from myself)! Join me as I reflect on the most memorable parts of this weekend!
Eastern European Easter (loads of E's, I know), a mock wedding with the Dartmouth African Student Association, and of course, Green Key! What a busy week!
Green Key: A quintessential Dartmouth tradition along with Homecoming and Winter Carnival—and the one remaining tradition I had yet to experience as a freshman. Here are my impressions of my first Green Key weekend!
