Round-Up of Student Blogs Chronicling 15W Adventures

Spring has sprung! With a snowstorm at the end of last week and the temperatures in the 60s this week, it’s safe to say that Hanover is officially indecisive with regard to the weather. Finally, our poor souls can catch a break from the chilly hill winds in our veins. And what about those who took off-terms or went abroad for 15W? What were they doing while we battled the Hanover Snowpocalypse? Dartbeat explored some of these students’ amazing blogs that they wrote while they were away.

The Jewlia by Julia Lau ’17: Lau traveled to Hyderabad, India this winter on the Asian and Middle Eastern studies and women’s and gender studies FSP. She was apprehensive of the coming 10 weeks at first, but quickly came to love it, as she chronicles in her blog. The program kept her group busy with frequent activities, such as touring historical tombs, forts, villages, schools and temples. Julia’s blog tracks her weekly “highlights,” “lowlights” and “thought jots.”

Loco in Los Angeles by Penelope Williams ’16: Williams hopes to become an actress, and over 15W she traveled to L.A. in search of an opportunity to see her name in lights. Her blog humorously details her experiences in Southern California, which included auditions, acting classes, running, touring the sites and even serving coffee to Emma Roberts. She also met Jonah Hill and Josh Hutcherson and saw Ozzy Osborne in the flesh. The celeb spottings are reason enough to check out her blog!

FSPura Vida by Becca Burten ’16: Burten traveled through the “15Wilderness” on the biology FSP to Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands. She detailed her trip with breathtaking photos of everything from their experiments, animals and insects to the people she encountered. Burten took riverboat and hiking trips and swam beneath waterfalls in Costa Rica. She also went snorkeling and scuba diving while on Little Cayman Island where she viewed fantastic marine life.

You Will Someday by Grace Miller ’17: Dartbeat’s own Miller journeyed to San Francisco last term, where she worked as a marketing and development intern at Joyride Coffee. She shares both the positives and negatives (living in an apartment that had mice and smelled like cat pee) of her experience there. In typical Miller fashion, she also provides humorous haikus and insight on topics ranging from showers to her nightmares.

Not Hanover by Dani Moragne ’17: Moragne traveled to Barcelona on an LSA, but before arriving in Spain, she and her group stopped in Paris for some quick touring of classic Parisian sites. In Barcelona, she enjoyed spending time with her host family, sampling foods (many crêpes) and visiting historical sites. Although Barcelona’s clubbing nightlife wasn’t her favorite, she loved attending Carnival and a parade in Sitges (imagine Dartmouth flair, but better). She also spent time in Toledo, Madrid, Girona, and Lisbon, Portugal.

Do Not Hug Harbor by Alisa White ’17: During her trip to Archidona, Ecuador, White interned for the Runa Foundation, which works with local tea farmers to better the environment and community around them. She blogged about her work in the fields, digging holes and treating plants, plus the occasional skinning and gutting of fish. While in Ecuador, White stayed with a host family in Santa Rita and interacted with the indigenous Kichwa people, all of which are featured on her blog.

Eight Weeks in Ecuador by Doug Phipps ’17: Phipps also spent the winter in Ecuador as a health education intern in a rural coastal town called Muisne for eight weeks. He visited Quito’s “streets that come alive” and found surprising similarities between his experiences in Ecuador and on freshman trips (music, dancing, mosquitos…). Phipps worked with a class of five-year-old children, a difficult but rewarding experience.

Crapshooters in Majuro by Jimmy Ragan ’16: Throughout his blog, Ragan details his rehearsals and discoveries in the Marshall Islands, where he teamed up with education professor Andrew Garrod to put on a Broadway performance. Ragan had just eight weeks to prepare for his role as musical director of the production — “Guys and Dolls.” Although he experienced bumps in the road (like injuring his thumb and getting robbed), the final show was a success.

Aucklandia by Kelsey Sipple ’16: Over the winter, Sipple traveled to Auckland, New Zealand for the the linguistics FSP. She went zorbing, rode gondolas, slid down mountains, learned the Maori language and, unfortunately, got attacked by fire ants. She spent her birthday weekend touring Wellington – exactly what she “didn’t know she wanted.”

Phipps and Miller are members of The Dartmouth staff.