Causeway Bay, Last Day – Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution

This image, taken by Pasu Au Yeung in December 2014, captures a striking, unexpected visual from the aftermath of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution.   From Igor Volsky for Think Progress in September 2014:

“Riot police in Hong Kong are deploying tear gas and rubber bullets against at least 13,000 protesters demanding greater democratic reforms. The movement — dubbed the “Umbrella Revolution” for the demonstrators’ use of umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas — is capturing the world’s attention and leading some analysts to wonder if the event could escalate into a broader push for greater democracy in the region.”

Image downloaded from Wikimedia Commons, September 29, 2015. Accessible for public use under the Creative Commons License.

Fall 2015, Issue V: Tastes

This issue of Global Impressions focuses on taste. Taste can mean many things: it can be the flavor of something, the literal experience of it on your tongue; it can be a sense of style, a way of being. In the following essays, it encompasses everything from the pleasure of discovering new foods to sharing a culture with a friend. We wanted to highlight the developing, changing, and expanding tastes of Smith students as they engage with other cultures here or abroad, and our submissions did not disappoint. We hope you enjoy reading the issue as much as we enjoying compiling it.

We invite you to submit a photo and accompanying short essay for our next issue, the third iteration of our annual International Photo Contest, Global Encounters. We want to hear the stories behind the photos – what inspired you to take this image? Did it help you see something new? We are accepting submissions through January 8th. See our submission page for details.

– The Editors

CUPCAKES AND COLONIALISM

Gabbi Zutrau

He was looking for an intern. I was looking for a reason to stay.  I had just finished a semester of studying Mandarin in Beijing. I made friends with locals. I had pictures taken of me by strangers. I drank qsingtao by the half-liter. I produced a three-thousand-character report on the conflict between environmental protection and China’s market economy.

OJJA

Yvie Yao

When I was first served Ojja, a deep red, Tunisian-style spicy tomato-based stew, at a small street food restaurant in downtown Tunis, I was immediately caught off guard. How would  I eat this dish without a knife and  fork, a spoon, or chopsticks?  I innocently posed the question to my roommate, Fidaa, who was with me. “Yadik!” she replied.

TALKING TO STRANGERS

Deborah Slavitt

Many years ago a friend was visiting me in Paris, and she said something that described me in way I’d never really seen. We were walking down Boulevard Saint Germain past the Cluny Museum. I wanted her to see the quotidian side of the area, not just the chic cafes and shops. I took her to one of my favorite places, the street market, Maubert, said to be one of Paris’ oldest.

BAGUETTE, MON AMOUR

Madeleine Osorovitz

“Baguette!”    It’s the only word my Dutch friend knows in French, and she likes to drop it into the conversation from time to time. She doesn’t know that it makes my heart skip a beat — if one of the stereotypes about French people is true, it is the one about our veneration of bread.

MY HOME, MY TEA

Thatcher Mweu

I stand in my room and gaze outside the window as large snow flakes gracefully find their way to the ground. “Can we just have some warmth?” I think to myself, irritated by the temperature fluctuations. At this point, my heater has been failing, and the dropping temperatures have not been doing my situation any good.

ON MAGLEBJERG

Maggie Hoot

For a very long time, I have been an indoor person. Like one of those indoor cats, that has been so tamed and domesticated. When every other cat will rush an open door to become the feral being that it was always meant to be, I sit at the window, preferring to look longingly outside than actually venture into nature.

THE PISTOIESE PEDAGOGY OF “BUEN GUSTO”

Michaela Chinn

While studying abroad in Florence, Italy, I interned as a teaching assistant for an early childhood education center in Pistoia. I cared for children from 4 to 18 months. I supported first language acquisition and modeled positive social behaviors.  As I reflect on my experiences in Italy, I am still moved by the principles I learned, particularly the notion of la pedagogia di buon gusto, “the pedagogy of good taste.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTENTIONAL SMELL

Haley Crockett

Last summer, through the Sustainable Food Concentration and funding from an International Experience Grant, I interned at the Spannocchia Foundation in Tuscany, Italy.  I was a tuttofare (literally, “do everything”) intern on the farm and primarily tended to the vineyard.  One of many incredible privileges my fellow interns and I experienced was a weekly education program— covering everything from pasta to my personal favorite: wine.

HOPS AND HEART: A LOVE LETTER TO ENGLAND’S DRINK OF CHOICE

Emma Mooney

Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t like beer. No, not even six months at Queen Mary University of London, where I spent the spring of 2015, could turn me into an ale-appreciator. But over my time in the United Kingdom, I came to value beer for far more than its taste.

TASTE OF GRIEF

Laura Crimaldi

There’s usually no shortage of food in a house of mourners, and sometimes, the most unusal dishes can be a distraction from grief.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: DINNER TABLE DIPLOMACY

Kathy Higgins

In the summer of 1946, 43 eager college juniors set sail for Geneva on the S.S. Washington to partake in Smith College’s study abroad program.They acquired a unique education through dinner gatherings amidst the post-War landscape.

Fall 2016, Issue VIII: Notes from the Field

In this issue of Global Impressions we turn to experiences you have had “in the field,” whether on study away, living in and adapting to another culture, working in a culturally different environment, or traveling through new lands.  The reflections below vary widely, from confronting different ways of thinking and talking about race and racism, to discovering the stereotypes other cultures hold of Americans, recognizing the complexity of one’s multiple identities, and negotiating how to remain true to feminist values in a culture steeped in patriarchal traditions.

In the wake of the US elections this November, we are soliciting short essays from our students who are currently abroad and our  alumnae  who work or live abroad for a special issue of Global Impressions, “Reactions from Abroad to the US Election.” Rather than the personal reflections we normally publish, for this special issue we seek 300- to 700- word essays of your observations and descriptions of the reactions to the elections. How have the citizens and people in the country or the part of the world you live in reacted? What questions are they asking? What are the perceptions of the US and has the election modified them? Submit your essays to the Submission form, Special Issue of Global Impressions by January 23, 2017.

In our regular series, Issue IX  will celebrate photography as a tool for storytelling.   When traveling away from home to places that are new to us, the call to record our journey is compelling. Whether we travel as student, anthropologist, journalist, scientist, or tourist,  we take our camera  to record what we see, observe, and experience. Sometimes it’s a mundane scene; at other times, something startlingly strange, new or incomprehensible. Little by little, our photos begin to tell a story we may not have known or understood at the time we took the pictures.  We invite you to submit a photo or two with an  accompanying short essay that tells a story of a moment or a time away from your familiar surroundings and how that moment led  you to make  a discovery of some sort about yourself, the moment, the culture or the place you traveled in.   Submit your essay to the Submission form,  Issue IX , by January 30, 2017. 

– The Editors

KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING

Nashwa Alsharki

When I spend a long time in one environment, my ego starts inflating until it reaches an unsustainable level and suddenly bursts. It then inflates again and bursts again, each time taking longer to complete a cycle. I’ve come to believe that this is my comfort-challenge cycle.

MY TRIP TO TURKEY: AN ILLUMINATING EXPERIENCE 

Najiye Honca

We live in a time when the first thing that follows “I’m going to Turkey this summer!” is, “But is it even safe?” A time where news of traveling to the Middle East is followed by fading smiles and worry lines. Despite the common sentiment that the Middle East is unsafe and especially hostile to foreigners, my family and I traveled there anyway.

WELCOME. TO. MY. SPACE.

Regina Wu

Studying abroad in Taiwan through a summer language intensive program for Mandarin was hands-down the best decision I made while at Smith. From the moment I stepped off the airplane onto Taiwan, I felt at home. The pleasant rays of sunlight, cotton-shaped clouds, and the perfect blue sky of Taiwan welcomed me like a warm embrace from a close friend you haven’t seen in years. Little did I know that Taiwan was soon to become the place in which I found myself.

MUTUALLY INTELLIGIBLE

Julia Bouzaher

“Are you incapable of complexity?” –Mountains beyond Mountains

When twenty-four American teenagers and I stepped off a bus and into our new homes in cities nestled in the heart of China’s Sichuan province to start a six-week study of Chinese, we had been told that we were the brightest crayons in that year’s box of applicants, ready to study the official national language of China, Mandarin Chinese, known within China as “the common language.”

ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE

Sawnie Smith

Imagine Spanish and Portuguese were identical twins. You have been best friends with Spanish for many years, without ever having met their twin. You can anticipate Spanish’s every word; you recognize the rhythm of their voice, the lines of their palms, and the shape of their teeth. One day you are introduced to Portuguese.

NOTES FROM A WARM SPANISH NIGHT

Caroline Davis

Going to bed was not an option. The noise from the streets was too alluring, too exciting, and much too loud to even consider staying inside and sleeping. While that was oftentimes the case here in Córdoba, it was especially true on this particular weekend. Finally, Las Cruces De Mayo had begun.

LIVING WITH THE PATRIARCHY IN MADAGASCAR

Claudia Deeg

As I prepared for my semester abroad in Madagascar, I heard many warnings and pieces of advice from my family and friends: “Don’t drink the water!” “Hide your money.” “Did you know every person eats 2lbs of rice per day?”

BRIDGING THE GAP: DISCUSSING RACE IN CHINESE

Kayla Gaskin

How do you explain race and the weight it carries in a language that lacks racial terminology? How do you communicate your racial experience when your level of fluency isn’t high enough?

TRASH TALK

Akansha Gupta

Trash isn’t sexy. No one wants to hear about it, look at it, smell it, and certainly not touch it. Well, this summer I did all of those things, and it changed the way I look at the world.

A NEW WORLD IN THE ORDINARY 

Catherine Bradley

I had dreamed of traveling abroad since I was in the sixth grade. That year, I began to learn Spanish. As I went to class every Tuesday and Thursday, it became much more than a new language.

SMØRREBRØD IN COPENHAGEN

Ratnasari Lusiaga

When I arrived in Copenhagen for my spring semester abroad, I did not even notice that I walked right past Amman’s airport restaurant, an outlet of downtown’s most famous place for Denmark’s most famous food – smørrebrød.

A TASTE OF CULTURAL CHANGE

Isabelle Eyman

I wanted coffee that day. Not the espresso finished in a matter of seconds that had become habit in the four months since arriving in Paris, and not the immense, watered-down interpretations of coffee reflective of what could be found back home. I wanted filter coffee, a mug of something strong, standing as coffee without pretense, without cream and sugar.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: ON BEING A TRAVEL WRITER 

Laura Itzkowitz ’09

I’m a travel and lifestyle writer and editor, though sometimes people seem to see me as a unicorn or some other mystical creature. When I introduce myself, my interlocutors often express incredulity that I’m able to make this lifestyle work—sometimes I’m incredulous myself.

Summer 2015, Issue IV: Activism

Since its founding in 1871, Smith College has been defined by its commitment to social activism. No matter the time or place, Smithies have always been deeply engaged in the social issues of the world around them. In this issue, we aim to highlight this distinguished tradition in its increasingly global context. As our diverse submissions show, activism does not have to be limited to traditional protests or educational initiatives – it can be re-writing classic plays to highlight modern day problems, creating a website to try and define a controversial yet incredibly important concept, increasing public awareness through art and photography, or applying unique scientific research to the struggles of indigenous communities. There are no limits to imagining efforts that can help to make our world a better place.

We invite you to submit a short essay for our next issue, Tastes. We want to hear about how your tastes have developed, changed, or expanded due to an experience abroad. Submissions are being accepted until Friday, October 2, 2015.  For more details, see our submission page.

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Jennifer Pekol

In 2006, I traveled throughout the Middle East and finally started to define my passion more deeply. All of my naive beliefs were shattered in Palestinian refugee camps, slums in Cairo, and a clinic for asylum seekers in Istanbul. These experiences inspired me to educate myself by enrolling in community college, transferring to Smith, and applying to graduate school.

GLASS HOUSES AND BARBED WIRE

Sarah Muffly

I wouldn’t feel defensive if I didn’t agree with, at least partially, the question’s implication: what right do you have to go to other countries and purport to advise on anything? How can you think you can improve education in foreign lands when education in your homeland faces so many obstacles? People in glass houses ought not to throw stones.

RECYCLING: A PHOTO ESSAY

Deborah Slavitt

My mother was a passionate and creative recycler, and that’s how I grew up. I couldn’t imagine it any other way besides hand-made and often repurposed. In the many years since I graduated from Smith, I’ve worked and lived around the world, beginning in 1973 in Chile where my first house gifts were a couple of empty milk and wine bottles without which I would not have been able to buy any milk or wine!

ZAIT ZAYTOUN W ZATAAR (OIL, OLIVE AND THYME)

Andrea Tanco

This was my first time at the refugee camp. I had come along with a group of four other students from the University of Jordan. Thus far, everything I had learned about the Syrian crisis and its effects had come from media outlets or reports from various international organizations. However, what I witnessed in Zaatari was beyond what any article or report could describe.

CELEBRATING AJIMA

Haisley Wert

I only know one word, with absolute certainty, in Quechua, the language of an estimated 8 million indigenous people in South America. “Ajima,” I can imagine Royner, my guide-turned-friend, saying in his low, resonant voice. It is a catch-all for everything that is good, bright, and beautiful in this world.

THE KOYAL’S CAGE

Afreen Gandhi

The following are the final scenes of Afreen Seher Gandhi’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, set in modern-day Islamic India, which she presented as her honors thesis in the Theatre Department.  Eight years ago, Maha borrowed money from and signed a promissory note with Khizir, a friend and rival of her husband’s, forging her dying father’s signature, to pay for an operation to save her husband’s eyesight. Maha’s overprotective and conservative husband, Ali, believes that the money was a gift from Maha’s father.

WHERE ARE WE? REMEMBERING COLONIALISM

Lili Mundle

I’ve just been told by my professor that from 1927 to 1944, a collection of human remains encompassing some 5,000 items were housed in the attic of this very building. So when I ask, “Where am I?” it is not simply a matter of physical location, but one of history and more importantly, the interconnectedness of one building’s life with colonialism and with it the first genocide of the 20th century, perpetrated thousands of miles away in what today is known as Namibia, and another, perpetrated in Germany and across Europe thirty years later.

“WHAT’S UP WITH FEMINISM?” PROJECT

Pauline Pelsy-Johann

It all began on March 8th, 2013: International Women’s Day. The French Ministry of Women’s Rights organized an initiative, Every Day is the 8th of March, that invited stakeholders, ranging from established organizations to newly-formed collectives, to organize an event every day of the year that highlights issues of gender and women’s rights.

THE HOUSE-SHAPED BOX

Anya Gruber

In the small, wooden, house-shaped box on my bedside table, I would keep change that I collected from returning soda cans and plastic bottles at the grocery store. After I’d saved up a few dollars, my mother would take my sister and me to Staples, and we’d pick out a few notebooks and boxes of crayons. They weren’t for us, however – they were for the kids in El Salvador who we had heard so much about.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: WORKING IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Kaitlin Burns & Chelsea Orefice

One early Smith activist student, Esther Follansbee Greene, class of 1901, volunteered with Smith College’s effort to the war service during the aftermath of World War I, many years after her college graduation. Working as a missionary and as a caregiver in orphanages in Armenia, Esther was able to provide direct aid to those devastated by the war.

Issue IX of Global Impressions  celebrates photography as a tool for storytelling.   When traveling away from home to places that are new to us, the call to record our journey is compelling. Whether we travel as student, anthropologist, journalist, scientist, or tourist,  we take our camera  to record what we see, observe, and experience. Sometimes it’s a mundane scene; at other times, something startlingly strange, new or incomprehensible. Little by little, our photos begin to tell a story we may not have known or understood at the time we took the pictures.   In a departure from our usual format, our issue opens with a  panel discussion with Smith faculty from the Smith College Art Department and the  Museum  on the ethical issues that face all those who take photos today, be they with a professional camera or spontaneously with their smart phone.  Be sure to scroll down to the last essay, which features a 20 minute video  by Smith alumnae, Amie Song ’16, on evolving cultural identities of   international students from China  as they spend four years of college at Smith.

The theme of our next issue of Global Impressions will focus on Immigration.  Many of us, if not all,  emigrated from elsewhere to the United States, whether our ancestors came with the Mayflower, or our families came later to escape famines, wars, pogroms, or to seek their fortune or a more promising life in the new country of “America.”  Some of us have stayed, some may be passing through and returning to their country of origin, but most of us share a history of coming from other countries and making a new life among the many others that constitute this country historically and today.  What is your story of immigration?  Where do you come from? And how have you and your family forged a new, “American” life and identity?   Submit your story by Friday, September 29, 2017.  For more details, see our submission page.

— The Editors

A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE ETHICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

In anticipation of holding our annual Global Encounters photography contest and exhibit this year, we invited faculty from the Art Department and the Smith College Museum to address some of the ethical issues that come up when taking photographs.

GREEN LIGHT, LET’S GO

Echo Zhang ’19

I was walking with two huge suitcases around Shinjuku station. Google Maps told me that my hotel was only a four minute walk away, yet I had been wandering around for half an hour and was still incredibly lost. “I probably came out from the wrong exit,” I thought to myself, “but why on Earth did they have to design this place to be a maze?”

HYGGE OF MY SEMESTER

Baily Smith-Dewey ’17

In my experience, the Danish word hygge is one of the main things brought up when discussing Denmark. This word means some sort of cozy mood or feeling brought about by everyday actions or events. Spending a semester in Copenhagen living with a host family allowed me to understand and feel on a daily basis the true meaning and value of hygge.

FINDING SELJAVALLALAUG

Renu Linberg ’18J

A friend and I traveled to Iceland last summer.  We road-tripped around the island with a long list of destinations, traveling east and north, getting lost often, and finding new sights around every bend.

WE SHALL MEET AGAIN IN ST. PETERSBURG

Enas Jahangir ’18

This J-Term I traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia — a trip that, in large part, left me with more questions than answers. These questions concerned my ideas about the world, myself, and home. Many of the seemingly insignificant moments from this trip are the ones that resonated with me most deeply, and it is the image of this city that I shall return to.

JOURNEY TO ENTOTO MARIAM CHURCH

Ruth Mekbib ’19

I took this photo when I went to Ethiopia over the summer for a vacation in 2016. Churches like this one have a special place in my heart not only because I grew up going to church almost every Sunday but also because they remind me of the strong tradition and culture in Ethiopia.

THE BEAUTY OF TUNISIA IN A TIME OF TRANSITION

Laura Carroll ’06

The city of Tunis is full of unexpected juxtapositions. On our first night in the city, my group walked quickly through the narrow streets with guides who held lanterns and doubled as bodyguards to accompany us through the medina after dark. Though the walk was stressful, it ended with our arrival at a beautiful traditional Tunisian home.

A BARRIER AND A BRIDGE

Claire Horne ’17

Our world today is saturated with images, especially photographs, to the point where it is easy to find a place familiar without ever traveling there. There is an image of Sydney that most tourists will picture before even arriving: the bustling boatyard of the  Harbor, the distinctive white peaks of the Sydney Opera House, and the great arch of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

THE SHANGHAI BUBBLE

Sable Liggera ’17

When I woke up the next day, I wasn’t surprised by the sky’s lack of clouds or blue, but rather the sun itself– its normal color transformed to a hot, neon red through the lens of heavy pollution.

THE CITY OF SEVERAL LANGUAGES

Sarah Reibman ’17

During my semester in Cameroon I realized how easy it would be to change my flight home. After all, my flight from Yaoundé had a layover in Casablanca from which I could easily push the connecting flight back one week. Easier said than done.

WORD ON THE STREET

Jessica Ryan ’17J

I had come to Rome worried that my shy and introverted ways would make me a lonely sight far away from my children and home. And in Rome I was truly alone for the first time in perhaps over twenty years. I did not expect, however, the clarity and perspective that comes from the experience of being alone abroad.

IN-BETWEEN: THE STORY OF CHINESE STUDENTS’ LIFE AT SMITH

Amie Song ’16

More than 120 Chinese students are currently studying at Smith College, which makes them the largest international student group on campus. In-Between offers an intimate look into the experience of three Chinese students studying in the U.S. It questions their identities between US and China – a problematic assimilation or a reverse cultural shock?

The theme of Issue X will focus on Immigration.  Many of us, if not all,  emigrated from elsewhere to the United States, whether our ancestors came with the first settlers, or our families came later to escape famines, wars, pogroms, or to seek their fortune or a more promising life in the new country of “America.”  Some of us have stayed, some may be passing through and returning to their country of origin, but most of us share a history of coming from other countries and making a new life among the many others that constitute the cultural wealth of this  country historically and today.  What is your story of immigration?  Where do you come from? And how have you and/or your family forged a new, “American” life and identity?

Take Off and Fly by Alexandra Eleazar - Steel wings carrying you, taking you from the warm weather that made your skin glisten, Away from the mangoes drenched in lemon… ... Continue Reading

Tongues by Patience Kayira - When I think of language, I think of foreignness. I think of who gets to decide what is foreign and what is… ... Continue Reading

Shifting the Perspective: From Host to Guest by Lucy Hilgers - “But what do you want over there? Why do you think you have to be there in order to ‘find yourself’ ?” … ... Continue Reading

Full Circle: My Return to Romania by Madeleine Greaves - I am an immigrant but not in the way most people expect. I originally came from Orphanage Number One in Bucharest Romania… ... Continue Reading

Je suis comme je suis…in which we discover, and find solace in, poetry by Una Pett - Each morning when I bring le petit garçon to school, I stretch our 10-minute drop-off window for as long as I’m able.… ... Continue Reading

Waiting for my Number by Erin Giffin - About a week ago, I stood in a crowd of over a hundred people outside the Kreisverwaltungsreferat, or KVR, the German registry… ... Continue Reading

Changing Small Habits in Another Culture by Tianhua Zhu - When my language course at Goethe Institute in Germany first started, I felt bewildered by the fact that I could no longer… ... Continue Reading

Chameleon by Kela Harrington - I was born in Chicago. When I was three years old, my family moved to Okinawa. Two years later, we would move… ... Continue Reading

Engaging with Today’s Refugee Crisis by Temar France - The Smith College Refugee Consortium met in the spring of 2017 to discuss Smith's efforts to organize and implement effective initiatives in… ... Continue Reading

From the Archives: Smith Students Rally Behind Scholarships for Refugees by Amanda Carberry - Faced with ongoing, destructive conflicts in several Middle Eastern and African nations, the world today has witnessed the highest levels of forced… ... Continue Reading

Issue XI of Global Impressions, consisting of eleven essays and two videos, focuses on images and the stories they tell. Our contributors reflect on a wide range of travel experiences, from studying abroad, to being away from a home country, to embracing a new place as home, each connected to a photograph which embodies their encounters. In this digital age, the ease with which we can take snapshots of our lives allows us to reflect, later, on our travel experiences with new eyes. We encouraged our contributors to look back on their memories of a time, place, or a particular event as evoked by the photographs they took. Every picture displayed here truly tells a story, not always an obvious one— each author’s reflection is essential to extracting the true tale behind the image.

The Global Impressions editorial team is pleased to announce that the theme of our Spring 2018 Issue XII is “Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone.” Whether crossing oceans and traversing unfamiliar lands for the first time or returning to home soil, traveling forces us to be brave.  Tell us about a time during your global travels when you were forced to step out of your comfort zone: What cultural, linguistic, or personal challenges did you confront? What fears did you have to overcome? How did taking risks change your perspective or your overall experience?

Submit your essay of 500-750 words directly through the submission form for Issue XII.

The Submission Deadline is April 13, 2018.

Memorias de Una Rosa by salicea - I spent the majority of my childhood in rural Guatemala, with my grandmother, my abuela Reina Sical whom I called Rosa,  as… ... Continue Reading

Dr. Martens: like a Fênix by mrodrigues - We left Rio de Janeiro to travel to Belém, then to São Paulo, to Los Angeles, and to San Francisco. We thought… ... Continue Reading

My Bersih Story by dbulchand - “More shots.” I felt my eyes start to sting for the first time. It was about 1pm when the Malaysian Federal Reserve… ... Continue Reading

My Walk Home by hjthompson - The route home was a highlight of my summer job. I love the noise of cities, but Central London during rush hour… ... Continue Reading

463 Steps to Reflection by Kaity O'Neil - I first went to Italy five years ago with my high school Latin class. I don’t remember much of it anymore, but… ... Continue Reading

Flipping Tortillas by Maya - Blanca’s kitchen sat in the back of the house overlooking her garden. It was filled with greens and root vegetables that she… ... Continue Reading

Embracing Imperfection by Tianhua Zhu - When I first arrived in Germany, I immediately noticed the overwhelming number of flower shops. Around the corner, on a quiet sideway,… ... Continue Reading

Explaining the Joke by Xiaoxiao Meng - I have a weird love-hate relationship with translation jokes. On one hand, that little rift between languages makes me chuckle. I think… ... Continue Reading

Afternoon by mcarrera - The photograph Afternoon was taken on a quintessential Parisian Sunday afternoon, where it is common to see people outdoors apparently ‘doing nothing’,… ... Continue Reading

The Eiffel Tower: A Change in Perspective by rewing - Having grown up in the suburban crossroads between farmland and strip malls that is Northern Virginia, the move to Paris was dizzying,… ... Continue Reading

The Story Begins When He Left by nrondon - One summer day, I roamed the streets of Paris and stumbled upon an art museum showcasing the art exhibit “Émigrer.” The differentiation… ... Continue Reading

Dora Bruder’s Secret by rvanhuizen - The film, Le secret de Dora Bruder (Dora Bruder’s Secret), was imagined and realised after the biographical novel, Dora Bruder, written by… ... Continue Reading

From the Archives: Mai 68 Beyond the Gates of Reid Hall by Amanda Carberry - Within the walls of the idyllic Reid Hall, which once served as the academic center for a number of graduate and undergraduate… ... Continue Reading

Our sixth issue features photos that aspire to capture the complexity, beauty, and vivacity of the international travels of Smith students and alumnae.  As the photographers’ essays highlight, a photo can be emblematic of a memory, a culture, or experience.  Reflecting on their photos, they both revive the past moment and discover something new. We hope you enjoy reading the issue as much as we enjoyed compiling it.

The theme of our next issue of Global Impressions focuses on transitions, specifically global transitions: attending Smith College as an international student, studying abroad, travelling the world, or immersing yourself in a new language or country through your studies. What can you tell us about your experiences transitioning into new cuisines, climates, and languages?  We invite you to write about a cultural or linguistic transition you underwent and how it has shaped and deepened your identity. Submissions are being accepted until Monday, April 4th, 2016.  For more details, see our submission page.

— The Editors

SELECTIONS FROM GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS:  SMITH COLLEGE’S ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PHOTO EXHIBIT

Isabelle Fitzpatrick

Have you ever wanted a peek into someone else’s study abroad experience? It’s hard to predict which aspects of a foreign country will be most memorable.

THE ALHAMBRA THROUGH ASRIE’S EYES

Asrie Karma interviewed by Khulood Fahim

Architecture senior Asrie Karma spent her junior year in Córdoba, Spain. During her stay, she visited Granada to see one of the region’s architectural wonders. It was there that she stopped to take a photo of the Comares Palace at the Alhambra, a fortress built during the Nasrid dynasty, Spain’s last Muslim dynasty.

FOCUS

Khulood Fahim

It took getting lost in some of Cairo’s oldest neighborhoods, driving up a hill, watchingin shock as gas tanks fell off a cart in front of us, and annoying a cafe owner by parking right in front of his shop (the only spot we could find) to get to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun last summer. Yet, as soon as we entered, the chaos outside the mosque’s walls seemed to fade away.

A DAY AT THE BEACH IN DAKAR

Koumba Dem interviewed by Isabelle Fitzpatrick

Senegal is not an island, but beaches and oceans are a big part of the country. We have beaches everywhere. Le Terrou-bi, which means “this earth,” is one of the best hotels in the country and my family goes there often for celebrations.

SNAPSHOT OF GUILIN

Isabelle Fitzpatrick

Guilin, China, December 27th, 2015. What you see in this photo is a bamboo raft afloat on a lake in South China, surrounded by low, jagged mountains. In the distance, a local is propelling a boat forward with a long wooden paddle. The paddle appears distorted, as though the man paddling it was still moving it from air to water when the photo was taken. What you don’t see, however, is any detail about our rower…

SHAPES, COLORS, AND CENTURIES… CHRISTMAS IN NÎMES

Arcadia Kratkiewicz

Before spending my junior year abroad in Paris, I had never been outside of North America, and I was excited for the opportunity to travel around France and around Europe. One of my favorite memories is of spending Christmas Day in Nimes with my family.

REMOVED FROM THE CROWD

Emelie Chace-Donahue

I’ve always made it a point to be a traveler, not a tourist or worse, a visitor. To me being a traveler means immersing oneself in an experience and not merely observing it. It means being spontaneous and willing to let go of any previous notions of what one came to see. It means departing from the familiar and it often means putting down the camera to actually be grounded in a moment.

THE SPIRIT OF “CHARLIE”

Ke (Coco) Zhang

On the morning of January 7, 2015, two terrorists attacked the headquarters of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and killed over 10 cartoonists, staff, and police.  It was a terrible moment and people were left in shock and anger. A week later, over 3.7 million people participated in  a demonstration to show their support for freedom of speech. I was one of the 3.7 million.

TO PHOTOGRAPH OR NOT

Claudia Vess

One afternoon in August 1973, I jumped off a train with two friends to see the mosaics of Byzantine Ravenna. I first saw the resplendent images  formed with glass cubes … projected on a large screen in ART 100.  At that time, there were few books on Byzantine mosaics with color pictures. I wanted to see them in person and take photographs.

Our sixth issue features photos that aspire to capture the complexity, beauty, and vivacity of the international travels of Smith students and alumnae.  As the photographers’ essays highlight, a photo can be emblematic of a memory, a culture, or experience.  Reflecting on their photos, they both revive the past moment and discover something new. We hope you enjoy reading the issue as much as we enjoyed compiling it.

The theme of our next issue of Global Impressions focuses on transitions, specifically global transitions: attending Smith College as an international student, studying abroad, travelling the world, or immersing yourself in a new language or country through your studies. What can you tell us about your experiences transitioning into new cuisines, climates, and languages?  We invite you to write about a cultural or linguistic transition you underwent and how it has shaped and deepened your identity. Submissions are being accepted until Monday, April 4th, 2016.  For more details, see our submission page.

— The Editors

SELECTIONS FROM GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS:  SMITH COLLEGE’S ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PHOTO EXHIBIT

Isabelle Fitzpatrick

Have you ever wanted a peek into someone else’s study abroad experience? It’s hard to predict which aspects of a foreign country will be most memorable.

THE ALHAMBRA THROUGH ASRIE’S EYES

Asrie Karma interviewed by Khulood Fahim

Architecture senior Asrie Karma spent her junior year in Córdoba, Spain. During her stay, she visited Granada to see one of the region’s architectural wonders. It was there that she stopped to take a photo of the Comares Palace at the Alhambra, a fortress built during the Nasrid dynasty, Spain’s last Muslim dynasty.

FOCUS

Khulood Fahim

It took getting lost in some of Cairo’s oldest neighborhoods, driving up a hill, watchingin shock as gas tanks fell off a cart in front of us, and annoying a cafe owner by parking right in front of his shop (the only spot we could find) to get to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun last summer. Yet, as soon as we entered, the chaos outside the mosque’s walls seemed to fade away.

A DAY AT THE BEACH IN DAKAR

Koumba Dem interviewed by Isabelle Fitzpatrick

Senegal is not an island, but beaches and oceans are a big part of the country. We have beaches everywhere. Le Terrou-bi, which means “this earth,” is one of the best hotels in the country and my family goes there often for celebrations.

SNAPSHOT OF GUILIN

Isabelle Fitzpatrick

Guilin, China, December 27th, 2015. What you see in this photo is a bamboo raft afloat on a lake in South China, surrounded by low, jagged mountains. In the distance, a local is propelling a boat forward with a long wooden paddle. The paddle appears distorted, as though the man paddling it was still moving it from air to water when the photo was taken. What you don’t see, however, is any detail about our rower…

SHAPES, COLORS, AND CENTURIES… CHRISTMAS IN NÎMES

Arcadia Kratkiewicz

Before spending my junior year abroad in Paris, I had never been outside of North America, and I was excited for the opportunity to travel around France and around Europe. One of my favorite memories is of spending Christmas Day in Nimes with my family.

REMOVED FROM THE CROWD

Emelie Chace-Donahue

I’ve always made it a point to be a traveler, not a tourist or worse, a visitor. To me being a traveler means immersing oneself in an experience and not merely observing it. It means being spontaneous and willing to let go of any previous notions of what one came to see. It means departing from the familiar and it often means putting down the camera to actually be grounded in a moment.

THE SPIRIT OF “CHARLIE”

Ke (Coco) Zhang

On the morning of January 7, 2015, two terrorists attacked the headquarters of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and killed over 10 cartoonists, staff, and police.  It was a terrible moment and people were left in shock and anger. A week later, over 3.7 million people participated in  a demonstration to show their support for freedom of speech. I was one of the 3.7 million.

TO PHOTOGRAPH OR NOT

Claudia Vess

One afternoon in August 1973, I jumped off a train with two friends to see the mosaics of Byzantine Ravenna. I first saw the resplendent images  formed with glass cubes … projected on a large screen in ART 100.  At that time, there were few books on Byzantine mosaics with color pictures. I wanted to see them in person and take photographs.

Global Impressions publishes short reflective essays (500-750 words) by members of the Smith College community that address what it means to be a global citizen today.

We invite you to submit a photo and accompanying short essay for our next issue, the third iteration of our annual International Photo Contest, Global Encounters. We want to hear the stories behind the photos – what inspired you to take this image? Did it help you see something new? We are accepting submissions through February 15.

Global Impressions publishes short reflective essays (500-750 words) by members of the Smith College community that address what it means to be a global citizen today.

The theme of Issue X will focus on Immigration.  Many of us, if not all,  emigrated from elsewhere to the United States, whether our ancestors came with the first settlers, or our families came later to escape famines, wars, pogroms, or to seek their fortune or a more promising life in the new country of “America.”  Some of us have stayed, some may be passing through and returning to their country of origin, but most of us share a history of coming from other countries and making a new life among the many others that constitute the cultural wealth of this  country historically and today.  What is your story of immigration?  Where do you come from? And how have you and/or your family forged a new, “American” life and identity?

We are accepting submissions through September 29, 2017.

Global Impressions publishes short reflective essays (500-750 words) by members of the Smith College community that address what it means to be a global citizen today.

The Global Impressions editorial team is pleased to announce that the theme of our Spring 2018 Issue XII is “Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone.” Whether crossing oceans and traversing unfamiliar lands for the first time or returning to home soil, traveling forces us to be brave.  Tell us about a time during your global travels when you were forced to step out of your comfort zone: What cultural, linguistic, or personal challenges did you confront? What fears did you have to overcome? How did taking risks change your perspective or your overall experience?

The deadline for submissions is April 13, 2018.