The Dartmouth Mirror 1/18/17

MIR ROR 1.18.2017

ADVENTURE TIME

ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER | 3

SPACE TRAVEL (FEAT. ELON MUSK) | 4-5

FINDING A HOME AT DARTMOUTH | 7 ERIC WANG/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

2 //MIRR OR

Editors’ Note

Calligraphy. Half-empty teacups. Moral character.

COLUMN

Last night we took a break from our editing work to share some stories.

Our discussion topic: What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve done?

Mikey: In Prague on the geography foreign study program, a couple of my friends and I did this “marathon” the second-to-last week of the program. We wanted to see the sunrise at Charles Bridge, so we had to stay up all night. After dinner, we had a little party in the apartment and went to a karaoke bar.. At 2 a.m., we went dancing, then to a 24-hour KFC (of course!). At 4 a.m, we finally ended up at Charles Bridge for the sunrise and had a photo shoot. The sunrise was actually pretty anticlimactic, but the night was totally worth it.

Lucy: I went to Italy by myself over the summer. I stayed with a friend in Milan and also traveled to some other cities alone. I didn’t have much of an itinerary, and I don’t speak Italian, so I was usually somewhat lost. I met some university students in Milan and went to their end-of-year party, and it was interesting to see how the social life there was different than that of Dartmouth. I also spent a lot of time in strange modern art museums, including one with a haunted house. It had a lot of empty rooms and I couldn’t tell if they were symbolic or just empty. Either way, I’d recommend it.

Ali: Last year, my sister and I drove down the coast of South Africa.

One night, this random Swedish guy we met at our hostel told us about this mythical lagoon in the area. He said at certain times of year, there were rumored to be bioluminescent organisms in the water. So around 1 a.m., we drove through this winding dirt road to a secluded area. We thought we had found the lagoon but we weren’t sure, so we figured the only way to know for sure would be to get into the water. So we stripped down and dove in.

And the entire lagoon lit up with bright neon sparks of blue and green light.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and probably will ever see.

It’s moments like these that stay with you, moments that make you feel alive.

Sunrises that may feel blinding; winding streets that offer something new around every corner; pools of water containing magical light.

This issue explores the places that Dartmouth students come from and the places they have been. We hope you can use their stories as inspiration for your own adventures.

follow @thedmirror 1.18.17 VOL. CLXXIV NO. 10 MIRROR EDITORS MICHAELA LEDOUX ALEXANDRA PATTILLO LUCY TANTUM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RAY LU

PUBLISHER RACHEL DECHIARA

EXECUTIVE EDITORS KOURTNEY KAWANO ERIN LEE

By Clara Guo

I swallow three ibuprofen at once, hoping to quell the pain that has taken permanent residence in my lower back. Six more hours left on this flight home from Beijing, China, and I’ve already watched two movies, drank three large glasses of wine, failed to sleep twice and thrown away a half-eaten meal.

I lean my chair back, thankful that I am the only person in my row. I close my eyes and wrap the free blanket around my upper body, crossing one leg over the other. I had hoped that taking this trip alone, without my husband or kids, would spark a love for Beijing, a familiarity mixed with warmth and excitement.

But I no longer recognize this new Beijing of 2049. The skies once blemished by smog are now colored bright blue; skyscrapers once considered modern have been remodeled and refurbished; historical sites like Tiananmen Square are now the background to invasive technology.

Perhaps, however, I’m not being quite fair. I never truly knew the Beijing of old — I only knew what my grandma (LaoLao) and grandpa (LaoYe) showed me.

My LaoLao and LaoYe married early — an arranged marriage that, I suppose, could be categorized as successful. For 17 years, they traveled back and forth from Beijing to Washington, D.C. to help raise my sister and me. Before my 17th birthday, they left for China permanently, their bodies unable to continue enduring the 14-hour flights, their minds yearning for their friends and a Chinese community.

Thirty-three years ago, during senior winter interim, my parents, sister and I flew to Beijing to visit my grandparents. We stayed in their threebedroom apartment, located a few hundred meters from the main door of a gated military compound.

My LaoYe served in the military before China became the “People’s Republic of China.” I wish I could tell you exactly what he did when he fought in the Korean War, but all I know is that he was a junior army officer.

One morning, I asked my grandpa to give me a tour of the compound. We walked around the center — a cement version of the Green. In one corner sat an assortment of colorful outdoor exercise machines. In another were basketball courts and ping-pong tables. A collection of calligraphy manuscripts enclosed in glass was located on the farthest side from my grandparents’ apartment.

“This one is mine,” said my LaoYe, pointing to a long piece of paper decorated with four or five words, written in Chinese that I could not understand.

I have long forgotten the meaning of the phrase.

What I do remember is him smiling, watching me staring at his art, delighted he created something that made his granddaughter proud.

A few days later, we ate at the compound cafeteria, locally famous for its Shuan Yang Rou— hot pot with thinly sliced raw lamb meat from Inner Mongolia. We gathered there for a family dinner: my immediate family, LaoLao and LaoYe, uncle and aunt and some distant relatives whom I had never met before. We reserved a private room, situating ourselves around the circular table. The walls were decorated with two pieces of Chinese art and calligraphy. A modern sofa in the corner

held our jackets. Next to our private room was a smaller one with hot water for our tea and extra plates and glasses.

We ordered five or six individually-sized hot pots and four large plates of raw lamb, two plates of raw beef, raw cabbage, raw fish balls (which are much tastier than their name suggests), lamb chops, spicy lamb stew, vegetables, fish, pork and three plates of dumplings. Leftovers were eaten for days.

From my grandparents’ home, we brought oolong tea. Not a single teacup emptied during dinner; every ten minutes or so, someone (usually my uncle) walked around the table refilling half-empty cups until they were three-quarters full. Too full, and the heat would emanate and prevent the drinker from picking up his cup by the top. Not full enough, and the tea would cool down too quickly.

My parents, sister and I were technically the guests of honor that dinner, bringing our family together for the occasion. Repeatedly, my grandparents asked my sister and I to take the first bite of a dish that had just been placed onto the Lazy Susan. Equally as many times, my sister and I refused and rotated the dish until it rested right in front of our LaoLao and LaoYe. They were the eldest and therefore, the most respected. The first bite, which they would never demand, should be theirs.

Two or three days before I left for D.C., my LaoLao sat me down and asked if I had a boyfriend.

I said no.

“You’re getting older,” she responded. “Maybe.”

She pauses. “Maybe it’s time to start thinking about finding one.”

I smiled and nodded, unwilling to argue. I was only 22. I had plenty of time.

“Do you know what ‘dao de pin zhi’ means?” my LaoLao asked.

I shake my head.

“Someone who treats you well, someone who is good through and through, someone you trust not to purposely hurt you,” she said.

I nodded. “I understand.”

“Find someone like that.”

Two weeks later, I learned that “dao de pin zhi” means “moral character.”

It’s not my place to relay to the public the history of my grandparents’ relationship, so please trust me when I say this: the most effective advice is often the advice stemming from heartache.

I’ve never forgotten what my LaoLao told me that night. I am thankful that I have found someone who inquires into the meaning of calligraphy phrases, pours tea for his dinner guests, foregoes the first bite and, most importantly, possesses that elusive “moral character.” I wish my LaoLao and LaoYe could have met my husband. I wish I could have told them how that one trip to China altered my mindset by reshaping my values; I like to believe that they knew.

My reminiscing is interrupted by an overhead announcement. Dinner is about to be served. I wonder if I will ever return to Beijing, now that my kids have grown and my grandparents are gone.

Without my LaoLao and LaoYe, Beijing is just a city with some distant relatives scattered here and there. It is not my home.

MIRROR //3

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

’20: Oh yeah, the Dartmouth Decade! Where you’re on campus for a whole decade!

Students reflect on studying abroad STORY

By Marie-Capucine Pineau-Valencienne

I forget sometimes. Like many Dartmouth At the same time, Klein explained how students, I forget that the sun does not orbit Santander, Spain, a beach town, was not a diligently around the College on the Hill bad place to spend his freshman summer. and that, yes in fact, there is a world beyond “Where we were was a pretty fantastic this campus. There are mountains to be place,” Klein said. “Santander, especially climbed, salsas to be danced and baguettes during the summer, is absolutely beautiful. to be eaten, and if there is any student [There are] pristine beaches, great body ready to accept such challenges, restaurants, and also during the summer, Dartmouth is surely it. This is not to say it comes alive from people from all over that studying abroad is simply a 10-week Europe visiting.” term of dancing and eating, however fun For the senior, going abroad was the that might be. Studying abroad enables perfect opportunity to speak Spanish and Dartmouth students to look at the world have a study abroad experience early on without our green-colored lenses. in his college career, leaving him in an Anna Rowthorn-Apel ’18 went on the optimal position for internships in later earth sciences foreign study program, years. His study abroad experience not known as the “Stretch,” which is similar only had a positive impact on his academic to a 10-week Dartmouth Outing Club career, allowing him to start his sophomore trip through the Western fall with 15 credits, but also U.S. than a typical study on other aspects of his abroad program. On the trip, life back at Dartmouth.

Rowthron-Apel realized just The senior explained to how important solidifying m e t h at s t u dy i n g at a strong friendships was to her. different university in a She explained that the culture different country, made shock she experienced did him recognize how much not come from the countless ANY TIME he valued his college nights she camped under YOU SPEND experience at Dartmouth. the stars or the time spent M a t t h e w Fe r g u s o n pondering the formidable AWAY FROM ’18 also had an impactful size of the Grand Canyon DARTMOUTH... language immersion but rather was prompted by MAKES YOU e x p e r i e n c e . Fe r g u s o n her return to her Dartmouth studied abroad in Germany, APPRECIATE home. She had just finished which helped him “learn a h e r s o p h o m o re s u m m e r DARTMOUTH thousand times faster.” when she left for the Stretch MORE. YOU “It was incredible,” and recounted how she grew Ferguson said. “You make REALIZE HOW accustomed to the close knit a pledge not to speak any environment on the Stretch. SPECIAL THIS other languages, and I “ We we re w i t h t h e s e PLACE IS. stayed with a Ger man 2 1 p e o p l e e ve r y s i n g l e family who didn’t speak day,” Rowthorn-Apel said. a word of English. When “Breakfast, lunch, dinner, the I came back I was totally entire day out in the field and conversational.” at night we’re staying in tents Like Klein, Ferguson close by or hotel rooms near enjoyed experiencing a each other.” really dynamic city.

Coming back to campus at the end of “Berlin is a very, very ‘hip’ city,” fall term for a quick hello before winter Ferguson said. break was what she described as “quite a Although Dartmouth may be nestled shock” because of how full the campus felt far away in the White Mountains of to her. She said she “felt like [she] didn’t New Hampshire, and although we may know anyone on campus,” partly due to the have a relatively small student body, new freshman class she had yet to meet, the experience of getting a Dartmouth but also because as a junior, many of her education may trump attempts at worldly fellow ’18s had also taken off terms post- independence. sophomore summer.

“I feel like any time you spend away Terren Klein ’17 echoed Rowthorn- from Dartmouth, even if you love it [to Apel’s sense of needing a kind of Dartmouth begin with], it makes you appreciate rehabilitation after studying abroad his Dartmouth more,” Ferguson said. “You freshman summer. Klein chose not to study realize how special this place is.” abroad again because he thought that going Many students view the prospect of abroad for a second time would amount to studying abroad as an opportunity to too much time away from campus during broaden their horizons, but in turn realize his Dartmouth career. that the world they had truly expanded “ I g o t i n t o D a r t m o u t h t o g o t o was the one they had left at home in Dartmouth,” Klein said.

Hanover.

“

MATTHEW FERGUSON ’18

’18: I’m going to auction off my old driver’s license. I think someone might want that.

’19: That guy in the green shirt flitzed me. He’s my resident.

’18: Just had a custodian explain to me how I can inject Everclear into my veins with a saline bag and not be hungover the next day. Think I found my weekend plans.

’17: It’s our one-year anniversary and I want to get dinner with him, but I have meetings from 4-5, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8 and 8-9. ’19: How much bigger does the Rock have to get before we declare him a national monument?

’20: I’m pissed about the napkins so last night I stole a dispenser from Collis when I was drunk.

’17 #1: Yo, let’s hang out this weekend. ’17 #2: Totally, do you play squash? ’17 #1: Duh.

4// MIRRROR

Space Trav COLUMN

By Elise Wien

Maybe you just caught me on an off day, maybe it’s the s or the dread of the impending inauguration, but it’s time to and the dull ache in my chest has returned.

It would be easier to imagine that the women of North M tapped for space travel. It started last Tuesday, when we unco cylinder from underneath an unholy pile of laundry. It b projected a hologram.

“Hello. I am Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and longtime ‘Two Indians and a Jew.’ Many know about my Mars Oasi the colonization of Mars to give the financial elite somew they’ve reached the year 2120 and the floodwaters have rise Earth habitable—” Me: “What?”

Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla: “What?”

Me: “What?”

Elon Musk, conceiver of Hyperloop high-speed tube travel in testing our space travel vehicles with early trips to the m individuals.”

Corinne: “But that’s not—“ Elon Musk, South African-born billionaire: “No, it’s no page.”

Kayuri: “Why us?”

Elon Musk, creator of the computer simulation in which “Along with a cadre of space professionals, we need a lingui of an ‘Arrival’-type scenario in which we make contact w We will also need a geopolitically-aware economist, Kay the U.N.’s Outer Space Treaty, which holds that the moon nation, so that we can sell plots of the moon to decitizeniz Elise, we don’t really need you, but you live with them so for this message.”

Me: “Cool.”

Kayuri and I will go to the moon. When I text Corinn The moon sucks / It’s not even made of cheese / And it’ like living on the Earth / Gotta stay grounded / Indigeno would go for a weekend getaway from Travelocity / But on was going.”

Me: “As in everyone else on Earth?”

Corinne: “Basically.”

MIRRROR //5

vel (feat. Elon Musk)

stagnancy of winter o write about travel

Mass 310 have been overed an aluminum beeped twice, then

e fan of your sitcom is plans to privatize where to live when en too high to make

l: “We are interested oon for a select few

ot on my Wikipedia

h we currently live: ist, Corinne, in case ith foreign entities. yuri, to get around n belongs to no one zed financial elites.

I guess you’re here

ne, she says, “No / ’s probably fake / I ous to the Earth / I nly if everyone else

Me: “k” Corinne: “But really just my friends and family” Me: “k” Corinne: “I would hold down the fort here on Earth / [link to a YouTube clip of ‘A Grand Day Out — Landing on the Moon — Wallace and Gromit,’ in which Wallace eats a piece of the moon and tries to identify what type of cheese it is. He slices off a piece of rock like it’s butter. Can he eat the whole moon? What happens then? What happens to the oceans when he eats the whole moon?] / I would have too many errands to run to go to the moon.”

There is, of course, the possibility that we go and nothing gets better. Looking at the Earth from the moon does not make it a different planet.

I don’t think I mean that space travel is wasted. Gaining new knowledge is exciting and important, because when “we don’t know what we don’t know” (paraphrasing, most famously, former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, though he was by no means the first person to talk about unknown unknowns), we don’t know what we’ll learn; we cannot yet evaluate the knowledge we will gain. “And if you don’t know, now you know” (quoting, most famously, The Notorious B.I.G., to balance things out). NASA has a lengthy downloadable spreadsheet entitled “Lunar Exploration Objectives.”

It seems they, too, are defensive of their mission.

Running away from your problems is a cliché that worsens when you can’t pinpoint exactly what the origins of your problems are. A dull ache in the chest is not a specific symptom. There are also those held down by a sense of duty: to a family, a community, a project. Those who don’t have the means to travel — those for whom running away is the problem itself. When gravity works extra hard on you, hold fast to these friends. There is a great form of travel in staying put.

New Hampshire is a good place to be sad because at least it makes sense.

Elon Musk, playboy who once crashed a million-dollar McLaren, checks his watch.

He says: “I understand that Kayuri and Elise took Astronomy 2 over sophomore summer, and Corinne took Astronomy 3 — the lab. You are all more than qualified.”

Corinne: “Do you need a passport to go to the moon?”

Elon Musk, inventor of PayPal and father of children with names like “Nevada,” “Saxon” and “Kai”: “No, you do not. Not yet.”

6// MIRROR

Courses take Dartmouth students around the world STORY

By Cristian Cano

The six-week period of time between fall term and winter term is a time when most students can take a break from their difficult classes and maybe catch up on some Netflix.

However, a few classes didn’t end with fall term exams: Several upper-level classes in a variety of departments incorporated an international travel component during winter break.

Traveling to countries including India, Poland and Ukraine, certain Dartmouth students challenged themselves across the globe while their peers relaxed at home.

Kristen Chalmers ’17 traveled to Madurai, India through the class Biology 70, “Biologic Lessons of the Eye.” Over the course of the term, she and her classmates had been preparing research proposals to present at a conference in Madurai.

“I presented on a novel treatment for onchocerciasis, which is a neglected tropical disease that’s mainly found in Africa and sometimes found in South America,” she said.

While in India, Chalmers also had the opportunity to learn about the Indian eye care system through tours of labs and eye hospitals with which her professor had a partnership. Chalmers described the experience as educational, giving her a new perspective about healthcare.

“The way they do eye surgery in India, at least at the hospital we were at, is totally different than how you do it in the U.S.,” she said. “You have multiple patients in the same room, and it’s incredibly efficient. I think it challenged a lot of our notions of what high-quality health care means.”

While her days were busy with the conference, Chalmers and her classmates were able to explore when they had free time. In fact, one of the other students on the trip had family in the area, so the entire class was able to visit their house for dinner one night.

Chalmers is not a biology major, although

she is on the pre-health track. She admitted that the trip was a major factor for why she chose to take the class, but even without the trip, she believed that the class would have been a fantastic learning experience.

Nathan Busam ’17 traveled to Kraków and Warsaw, Poland with the class Economics 70, “The Transition of Poland to a Market Economy.” In just over two weeks, Busam found that his perception of Eastern Europe changed.

“I hadn’t really heard of [Eastern Europe] beforehand as a popular destination,” he said.

“I was very pleasantly surprised that it was a very happening place, with lots going on.”

Busam and his classmates had to attend lectures, interview locals and work on group projects while in Poland, but they also had the chance to take organized trips to destinations like a salt mine and the Auschwitz concentration camp. At night, students were usually free to do whatever they desired.

A particularly memorable moment for Busam was visiting the salt mine, which he likened to a village. He said he had not expected to find establishments such as churches and cafeterias at the mine.

Polish cuisine, in Busam’s opinion, is perfect for people who enjoy “rich, meaty things.”

Dishes such as beet root soup and duck hamburger were quite different than those Busam was used to, but he had the opportunity to embrace a part of Polish culture by learning how to make pierogies. “[The] food was interesting,” he said. “We actually had a pierogi-making session, which was cool. We had a chef come and teach us how to make pierogies at the hostel.”

While he greatly enjoyed the trip, Busam wishes that he had bonded with his classmates more while still at Dartmouth. He hadn’t gotten close to some of his classmates before the trip began, and he thinks that if he had, the trip would have been even better.

COURTESY OF NATHAN BUSAM

Students on the Poland trip studied economics and took trips to destinations such as a salt mine.

their opinion about what you’re ordering,” Rodriguez said.

She elaborated that gender played a surprisingly significant role at the restaurants she visited. One restaurant even had separate menus for women and for men.

“A lot of times when we were in a restaurant, we would go back to a certain cafe a lot, and the waiters and waitresses wouldn’t appear to recognize us,” Han said. “Once we started to talk to people and get to know them, there was definitely warmth, but initially there was not an exuberance about welcoming foreigners.”

Of course, some cultural differences are expected when one visits a different country.

However, nothing could have prepared Han for what she said was the worst experience of her life: having her wallet, including her passport, stolen.

As Han was on a busy train back to Kiev, a pickpocket managed to take her wallet without her knowledge. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize it was missing until the train had left the station. Noting another cultural difference between Americans and Ukrainians, she found that those around her were reluctant to stand up and help her search for it.

Thankfully, she visited the U.S. Embassy at Kiev and, after some minor difficulties with getting her passport picture taken, managed to receive a new passport. Aside from an alarmed airport officer who wondered why she didn’t have an entry stamp, everything proceeded smoothly from there.

All four students said they would encourage others to look into such classes in the future. For them, experiencing a new culture, stretching their comfort zone and bonding with their classmates LUCY TANTUM/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF made the uncomfortable Students from several Dartmouth classes traveled to countries around the world over winter break. moments worthwhile.

Sarah Han ’17 and Becca Rodriguez ’17 traveled to Kiev and Lviv, Ukraine over the winter break with their Public Policy 85 class, “Global Policy Leadership.” Unlike students of some other trips, they actually met up with their classmates in Washington, D.C. before flying to Ukraine. In D.C., they met with many important figures, including Ohio Sen. Rob Portman ’78, in preparation for their travels.

Much of Han and Rodriguez’s experience involved conducting interviews with Ukrainians on topics such as the state of civil society and the role of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Both Han and Rodriguez expressed their struggles with the language barrier — thankfully, one of the other students on the trip spoke Russian fluently and could assist when no translator was present.

Language wasn’t the only cultural difference that Han and Rodriguez encountered. Both referred to their encounters with waiters as examples.

“The waiters are very inclined to give you

MIRR OR //7

Finding a home at Dartmouth International students share their diverse experiences at the College STORY

By Julia O’Sullivan

For many incoming freshmen, the trials and tribulations of transitioning into the college lifestyle are similar. Students miss their hometowns, parents, pets, friends and even pesky little siblings. After arriving on campus, new students will individually learn their preferred methods of adjustment with time: how often to call home, what days to do laundry, what to order at Lou’s. Many of these issues stem from the unfamiliarity of a new place and a new life. International students, who comprise eight percent of the undergraduate student body, deal with similar challenges. Though international students may have to learn how to navigate the sugar-rich American foods in the dining hall or may have to adopt new lingo, there is no one international student experience.

“Our international students are from so many different places and have so many different experiences that it isn’t always possible to distill that into a similar comment or a question,” said Danielle Hussey, assistant dean and advisor to international students at the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, said.

“International” is a broad term that comprises many different experiences. For example, some international students attended an American school in their country or even a high school in the United States. Some have spent a great deal of time in the U.S., while others have never stepped foot on American soil before arriving for Orientation. However, one challenge shared by almost all of the international students is

navigating the complicated, ever-changing visa system. Hussey described the importance of the resources set up for this very purpose, highlighting the Office of Visa and Immigration Services.

“Marcia Calloway works there with the undergraduate students, and I would say she’s probably the person they know best at least in their first year ... they don’t have to know me, but they have to know Marcia,” Hussey said.

Obtaining a visa adds an additional source of stress to the already-involved preparations of attending college. Though many noninternational students would not think of it as a primary challenge, for many it is. Julianna Thomson ’20, who hails from Canada and is a member of the women’s basketball, team can attest to this struggle and the importance of a resource like OVIS. “As soon as I committed, I started looking into acquiring my student visa because I knew it was a lengthy and in depth process,” Thomson said. “OVIS does a great job of enabling future students with the resources they need to study in the United States.”

Though visa challenges are some of the most common, and OVIS works to assuage them, there are also many other resources and programs available for other adjustment challenges. An example of these programs is the International Student Orientation that occurs between the time of Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips and the beginning of classes.

This particular program is in many ways similar to New Student Orientation, with segments on navigating the library or computing at Dartmouth. However, this program includes additional information such as using banks in the U.S. and navigating academics, matters that may differ from schools in other countries. “[Orientation] gave me a valuable head start in terms of getting to know campus, meeting fellow international students and learning about various aspects of life at Dartmouth,” Jonas Stakeliūnas ’20, who is from Lithuania, said.

International Student Orientation serves as a time for any extra acclimation that the students might find necessary. Additionally, as Stakeliūnas pointed out, one of the primary functions of the orientation is to introduce the students to each other to form a community. This becomes increasingly valuable as many overseas students do not return home over breaks and might come together to eat meals when Dartmouth Dining Services closes over the vacation periods.

There is also the International Friendship Family Program that matches international students with families in the Upper Valley with the hope that they will participate in activities and spend quality time together. This family can act as a home away from home as well as a window into American family life and culture. Additionally, there is the International Student Mentor Program, which matches groups of eight to 10 international students with a mentor who was selected through a highly competitive process.

There is even a Global Village Living Learning community for those who want to live in a more internationally-focused environment on campus. These groups can help students come together and share the difficulties of being an international student at Dartmouth.

Many international students will tell you it’s all in the little things.

“It’s really hard to get used to the different food here,” said Sonja Kowalzik, a German exchange student and a Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant. “The choices are kind of limited if you’re looking for something healthy.

They don’t do healthy food that well, but they do unhealthy food really well.”

Even basic necessities such as food become points of adjustment for international students.

“I wouldn’t say most of my friends, but some of my friends, are international students, and it helps a lot to exchange the experience you have,” Kowalzik said.

Though each international student faces different challenges, and no two experiences are exactly the same. Through discussion and community, adjustments can be made and Dartmouth can finally become home.

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INAUGURATION Time to say goodbye to Obama-Biden memes.

8// MIRROR

Leave terms take Dartmouth students on adventures STORY

By Andrew Sosanya

Max Farrens ’20

The D-Plan allows students to take three leave terms away from school, allowing for internships, research and volunteer work. But here are some students who have had extraordinary adventures on their leave terms.

T

R O SP

PAS

After graduating from high school, Farrens initially started his gap year at his parents’ house, recovering from neck surgery. However, he persuaded his doctor to let him rest up in Patagonia, Chile, where he traveled through South America until he met some German citizens in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. The strangest thing that Farrens recalls seeing in Chile were stargazing drug users.

Farrens then reinjured his neck and was forced to return home to spend two months doing “glorified” water aerobics with senior citizens, he said. To pass the time, Farrens started working on his photography and music skills, teaching himself digital audio and writing songs.

But Farrens wasn’t done yet. He and a friend remodeled the insides of a caravan and went on a three-week, 6,000-mile winter road trip through 10 national parks on the West Coast. He said his favorite memory was staying in a blizzard overnight in an isolated park in Montana and making banana-coconut pancakes the morning after. With some extra money in his pocket, Farrens headed to Iceland and made it into the Arctic Circle.

“There were some times we had to turn around on the road, because we could [have] actually died [if we went further],” Farrens said.

The next stop was Europe. Farrens used a couchsurfing app to find places to sleep in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was matched with an old, eccentric art collector who owned a self-portrait of himself committing suicide off a building.

“But he made me salmon and served wine,” Farrens said.

His last stop was England, where he spent some time with distant relatives who owned a forest called “Long’s Wood.”

While he has had an exciting year, Farrens could not wait to start at Dartmouth. While there were new adventures all around him, the moments were fleeting.

“You don’t get the chance to establish yourself or real relationships [when adventuring],” Farrens said.

“It’s nice to be where you can grow as a person and see others grow around you.”

PAS

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nd allory fou outh, M s because tm r a D er k to n e with oth e got bac When sh are her experienc owed by the Syria d sh a to rsh it difficult f Calais were ove o s p llory to m a 8 c 1 e th ry ’ osed Ma she is o p l x l . e a ll is is is fa r M la c r elds nio 4Ca refugee Eliana r her ju ublic ith Care olicy, which are fi hopes fo w n g la in p k r P al She Wo gee p ve a a Nation n that r options. nteering and refu idn’t ha d e r d n e a r o e y a ti r c h a o r e le o ll ig lu ssib Ma imm y until sh lais, an organizati nce. mmer vo ing as po m initiall consider m this su , Fra r is w e o -t la n a ff leave ter rt about Care4Ca o C in her last po said. d Iraqi e camp ece. to spend Radio re Mallory a refuge nese, Afghan an ent p in Gre ,” m to fe a c li id e a in e s a g s m at a refu are greater issue distribute rves mostly Sud e French govern se p se , th cau e r e m e a b c “There p th e s m h a a T the c e she w n il w h o d W g s. e refuge of shuttin ttlement.

Malcolm e process some se Salovaa was in th dered an illegal ions, and ng it d n o c le ra ’17 nsi ib pti it was co gees lived in horr e months attem er While o The refu r upwards of fiv search of a bett Simone somethin thers often use m in with eled fo le g new, S Schmid had trav e United Kingdo p as a “tent city,” ts, alovaara ave terms to pu a ’17 lw n a m th a r y a s h c u h a r e re su a st d th tu e e r s — r e t n to reac ed to th a farmer. akeshif describ acre farm y m S r e c n o h S jo ll m a w a b lo o id vaa he ’s leave te in life. M p their sponsore r s tending to Bernardsville, N ra grew up on a 6 setting u t stores. d by the D m in Rwanda last e the camp 0 w fa to Je r d refugees s and convenien m r te se u a y a n summer m v a th im is Projects t n m e a d a o t fe ls p c fu h T o r as d sin nds stude his time, was for Peace coffee sh traveled alone an would be on he d, nt grassro Salovaar ce he was a child been , S an initiati c si h d o m e y o e r a ts h . fo o id S p g f a in ro l. fa p in ve e it p je r Mallo id ia ro st m c v o ts ll ached th y planned a pro th h for villag a farmer ing. He says that e busine to design round the world. m a you izing and s wasn’t easy, e th r th s ss e a a to o t daily fro to 8 p.m. Organ we n most peo ee access w dry seaso also entre .

00 refug ple forge e aspect of being ater durin ll-water system ad so n. Howe preneurs t is that fa from 8 a.m d essentials to 7,0 refugees have h g the six v e to a r, r n d d im e the plan rmers are als with -mo salespeop an plement, ecause ortant fo b p th b t, e le a im clothing e so c . s ame imp nth th lo S a they desi alovaara cals and to supply various re , it w y said n r e o ossible k g ll st o se n a r r e ll b ik d M s w s e st produce s aurants. but mise same reg ater for a three-a an irrigation syste and mea they Salovaar their pro f f I o “ io c y m t . re n n to a id . a says tha c While sh sa m ll. helping b working e was the ooperative in the t one of e it her a ission,” Mallory them.” iv g u to a il th s r d re e a e , Schmid h the irrig farmer biggest the proble dependin as our m give it to realize m. She h ation system wo “That w thing, we could g on the is that most of th benefits of uld not so d a d e e c d a o la w y, m to u n o ld m so d rk m r e u m a ff c v fo k h e a a lv e ctively su ries nager,” h like a “pa asked stain them sure that the villa e e said. rk ranger year.

Salovaar g se e o rs lv r es throug a h the who more pati a says that farmin “My role le g has tau ent in life ght him to help them was to give people .

“The wa a job — to selve be y w e d help peop o labor,” Sa things re While S s,” Schmid said. le lovaara sa quires m c h m id didn’t ore time language id. “The that yield speak th , she co and lesson the more qu e nnected re is that th ickly are religion. S with the community’s relatively ings he loca hollow.” in their fa observed that the locals were ls through ith. She w very inve as able to host mo sted the be passages. r through sharin tter understand h After the g their fa er trip, Schm v Rwanda id says th orite Bible inspired her to pu at her wo an intern rsu rk ational n onprofit. e a career workin in g for

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