Last semester, 376 Cornell students fanned out all over the world to pursue studies in more than 30 different countries. And 90 of the students submitted some 500 images from their Cornell Abroad experiences. Of these images, first prize went to Julia Lang, HumEc '08, who spent the semester working with street children and studying Spanish and Spanish culturein Guayaquil, Ecuador, through the International Partnership for Service Learning. She won $100 for her photo of a man born deaf who has been making hats for more than 50 years in the picturesque city of Cuenca, Ecuador, in the Andes Mountains.

"He was one of the most gentle, humble men I have ever met, which makes it even more remarkable that he has been unable to speak since birth. As a result, his life is his hats and the people that visit his small, beautiful shop," wrote Lang in submitting the photograph.

Second prize and an award of $75 went to Ariane Chang, A&S '08, an Asian studies major who studied in Beijing through Syracuse University, for her photograph of a father and baby in Beijing; and third prize and an award of $50 went to Brian Connolly, CALS '08, a biology major who studied in London, also through Syracuse University, for his photograph of Parliament on a foggy night.

The photographs will be displayed in an exhibit in April.

The majority of the Cornell Abroad students -- 246 -- studied throughout Europe, including the Czech Republic. The remainder found themselves scattered across the globe: 46 in Australia and New Zealand; 33 in Asia, including China, Nepal, Japan, Hong Kong, India and Singapore; 20 in the Caribbean and Latin America, including Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos islands. Then there were 11 Cornell students who chose to go to Africa, including South Africa Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Senegal and Tanzania, and six students headed to Israel, and one spent the semester in Egypt. Many lived with host families; others stayed in dorms, living with students from other countries. In addition to taking courses in English and their host country's language, some worked in the community for credit.