Our Fall 2006 Writing Contest asked participants to think back to a specific disagreement or debate they had with a local in their host country and describe it in vivid detail. How did it come up? What was said? How did they resolve it? How was this particular person's viewpoint reflective of broader cultural attitudes? And did they come to understand his/her point of view?

First Place:
The Controversial Teacher | by Josiah Johnston, Friends World Program of Long Island University
Josiah Johnston’s mission, if he chooses to accept it, is to stand up in front of a group of elite Chinese lawyers and challenge the principles they have held dear all their lives. Hey, no one said it would be easy.
Read: Challenging China's Party Line

Second Place:
Battle Line | by Jeremy Oldfield, Williams College
Jeremy Oldfield might be a banana-eating gringo, but he’s ready to fling himself full-force into the “radical Guatemalan struggle.” He just has to find it first.
Read: Politics in Guatemala

Runners Up:

You can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em: our Spring 2006 Photo Contest explores that venerable institution that we call "family." As far as cultural components go, family is as inescapable as food or shelter, though form and practice certainly vary.

View the winning photos in our 2007 Glimpse Calendar.

First Place
Amy Lee, Bowdoin College

Runners-up

Many who venture abroad are prepared for culture shock but quite surprised when it happens in reverse: that is, when they return home and find it difficult to settle back into their old habits and routines. Glimpse's Fall 2005 Writing Contest, "There's No Place Like Home," asked participants to reflect on the cultural aspects of their home country that were the hardest to reintegrate into their daily life.

First Place:
Seven Minutes | by Eden Robins, SIT Graduate
Fresh off the plane from Tanzania, Eden Robins asks a Pizza Hut employee exactly how long she will have to wait for the cheese pizza that will take a "really long time to make." She is told, "Seven minutes." In the United States, she realizes, "a really long time" has a meaning all its own.
Read: Lessons of Patience from Tanzania

Second Place:
The Other | by Philip Arthur Moore, Rice University
Born to a white mother and a black father, Philip Arthur Moore wonders why it takes traveling thousands of miles to Vietnam to fully appreciate his father's cultural heritage.
Read: On Being Black in Vietnam

Second Place:
Trash Bags | by Emma Clippinger, Brown University
Upon Emma Clippinger's return home from Senegal, an innocent box of trash bags sends her into an inexplicable rage.
Read: Contending with American Wealth

Runners Up:

As a follow-up to our Spring 2004 Contest, "A Day's Work," Glimpse asked participants to explore how people around the world spend their leisure time. How do they relax, socialize and enjoy themselves when not on the job?

View the winning photos in our 2006 Glimpse Calendar.

First Place
Cory Eldridge, University of Oregon

Runners-up

Do all Australians really surf? Do all Americans really want to rule the world? Our Fall 2004 Writing Contest asked participants to think about the cultural preconceptions that they carried with them into their host countries and/or the assumptions that locals in their host countries made about them.

First Place:
The Half-Court Line | by Christian Camerota, Saint Michael's College
When Christian Camerota inadvertently kicks a group of burly, inebriated soccer fans out of their train seats, he is certain that his demise is near.
Read: Rising Tempers in Perugia, Italy

Second Place:
Powerless | by Erin Connors
Erin Connors was prepared for Rio de Janeiro's poverty. What she didn't expect, however, was the severe disconnect between Rio's poor and the rest of the population.
Read: Class Divides in Brazil

Second Place:
Cinderella and the Seven Dwarves | by Catharine Fairbairn, Barnard College
After visiting countless museums, Catharine Fairbairn dejectedly wonders if art is all Italy has to offer. Her salvation comes in the form of a mafia hit man look-alike who insists that Cinderella was courted by a puppet.
Read: Culture Shock in Italy

Runners Up:

Our Spring 2004 Writing Contest asked how people around the world come together to have fun. What constitutes a "good time?"

First Place:
The Good Hurt | by Sheila Liming, The College of Wooster
Sheila Liming snatches first prize in a late-night Miserable Tune Contest.
Read: Singing in Scotland

Second Place:
The Orienteering King | by Liam Aiello, Middlebury College
Liam Aiello is crowned "The Orienteering King" after participating in a distinctly Danish competition.
Read: Outdoors Sports in Denmark

Second Place:
In Praise of Beer | by Sarah Thomas, Alfred University
Sarah Thomas thinks beer tastes like gym socks ... that is, until she tries her first real beer.
Read: Drinking in Wales

Spring 2004 Photo Contest:

"A Day's Work"

From the butcher to the baker to the candlestick maker ... our Spring 2004 Photo Contest called for compelling photographs of people in their work environments around the world.

View the winning photos in our 2005 Glimpse Calendar.

First Place
Marlon Hector

Runners-up
Amanda Fiedler, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Submissions for "Look Ma, No Hands," described culturally-specific skills, practices or outlooks that participants learned while living abroad, whether they were weaving textiles, navigating a transportation system or adopting a new political consciousness.

First Place:
Lessons in Luganda | by Sandra Fredricksen, SIT Study Abroad
As Sandra Fredricksen puts it, she is "not used to feeling unlearned next to a nine-year-old." While struggling with Luganda, the language spoken in Kiboga Town, Uganda, she learns how language can both close and open doors.
Read: Bridging the Language Gap in Kiboga Town, Uganda

Second Place:
Learning Americanian | by Yasir Shah, Allegheny College
Yasir Shah converses with a stranger at a bar counter as he waits to meet an acquaintance. Upon discovering that Shah grew up in Pakistan, the stranger becomes confused. “You speak really good English," she remarks. "Didn’t you grow up speaking Pakistanian?”
Read: Confronting U.S. Ignorance

Second Place:
The Room on La Bandera Street | by Jessica Bloomer, Brown University
After dodging traffic and clambering up steep cobblestoned streets, Jessica Bloomer arrives at her first Bolivian guitar lesson. "So," her instructor, Paulino, asks her. "What would you like to learn?"
Read: Guitar Lessons in Bolivia

Spring 2003 Writing Contest:

"Getting to Know You"

Our Spring 2003 Writing Contest asked participants to think about a specific relationship they have developed with a local from their host country that holds special meaning for them, be it with a host parent, a friend, a lover, a teacher or a street vendor.

First Place:
Travel with Ebs | by Dan Hirshon, Brandeis University
While in South Africa, Dan Hirshon finds a valuable cultural resource and, as the months pass, a close friend in a Cape Town taxi driver.
Read: Friendship in South Africa

Second Place:
Tipping the Scales | by Kim Singletary, Missouri School of Journalism
Kim Singletary struggles with her job as an assistant English teacher in Japan until her coworker describes to her the Scales of Behavior, which help to define relationships in the Japanese workplace and in Japanese society at large.
Read: Teaching in Japan

Second Place:
Uncle and Aunty | by Raleigh Ellisen, Peace Corps
Raleigh Ellisen describes the growth of his friendship with Shiu and Vijma Prasad, an Indo-Fijian couple with whom he and his wife live while doing volunteer work in Fiji.
Read: Friendship in Fiji

Fall 2002 Writing Contest:

"Fish Out of Water"

Culture shock: when traveling abroad, it's inescapable. Our Fall 2002 contest asked participants to describe their experiences adjusting to life in their host countries.

First Place:
The Road Taken | by Harris Bostin II, Peace Corps
When Harris Bostic II, travels to Guinea, West Africa for a two-year stay, is he leaving home or coming home? While cultural differences set Harris apart from the Guinean villagers, for the first time in his life, he finds himself a part of the racial majority.
Read: From Wall Street to the Dirt Roads of Guinea