Dublin, Ireland
Air LIngus inaugurated their direct flight from BWI to Dublin in late 2003, offering $99 flights. My camp friend, Fran, and I jumped at the opportunity and spent four days in Dublin at this lovely B&B.
 The bronze statue of a fictional fishmonger named Molly Malone, the star of a well-known Irish song. "In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone, as she wheeled her wheel-barrow, through streets broad and narrow, crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!" |  The infamous Kilmainham Gaol housed men, women, and children. It opened in 1796 as the new county gaol for Dublin and finally shut its doors as such in 1924. During that period it witnessed some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland’s emergence as a modern nation. |
 We took an excursion to Glenalough, "the glen of two lakes," carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age. The monastic settlement, founded by St. Kevin, is a pilgrimage site. |  Colorful doors that adorn many of the Dublin homes |
New Mexico
International Baccalaureate Organization Training
Randi enjoying her drink at the Cowgirl Restaurant in Santa Fe
Montezuma
 Randi enjoying the hot springs |  The Castle at United World College, site of International Baccalaureate training. |
Mora
 We visited the Victory Alpaca Ranch where we had the chance to feed the alpacas. The baby to the right is only four hours old. It is trying to get its legs. |  |
Taos
 Taos Plaza |  Mural on a Taos building |
Villanueva
 Our Lade of Guadalupe Church |  The Villanueva Tapestries: colcha is a traditional folk art of wool thread on wool (sabanilla) cloth. |
Santa Fe
 The Cathedral of St. Francis |  Day of the Dead skeleton in a market square |
California
International Baccalaureate Americas Conference
 My colleague, Wendy, and her husband, Nhan, were my travel buddies for the first half of our trip. |  After the conference I met up with my good friends, Randy and Suki. |
Monterey
 A delicious breakfast on the beach |  A bust of John Steinbeck |
Monterey Aquarium
Carmel
 Ghost Tree along the 17-mile drive |  Bird Rock on the 17-mile drive |
Sonoma
 Old Sonoma Mission |  Set up for our wine tasting at Coppolla Winery |
Japan
Fulbright Memorial Scholarship Program
The "Matto" group
San Francisco
 We started our FMF program in San Francisco and then flew together to Tokyo. |  The requisite photo of our plane with all 200 of us aboard |
Tokyo
 The Tsukiji Fish Market which has since closed |  Senso-ji Temple, a shrine to the Buddhist goddess of Mercy: our guide is demonstrating a blessing with water. |
 The Diet, the Japanese Parliament |  A ride on the subway |
Fulbright Memorial Fellowship Program
 A lesson in Kyogen, a type of traditional Japanese theater |  A demonstration of makeup and costuming in Kabuki Theater |
 Learning to play the Taiko drums |  Calligraphy lesson |
Kamakura
 The Giant Buddha |  This is one of my favorite photos from the trip. |
A memorial garden for dead and aborted babies
Matto
We were divided into groups of 25 for the second week of the program. Each group studied the educational system in one of eight cities. We were in Matto, which since has been incorporated into the city of Hakusen.
 The town logo: "Matto: The City of Flower and Poetry" |  Our group dinner of sukiyaki: I liked the meat cooked in oil pots until we dipped it in raw eggs. |
 A visit to the Kirin Beer Factory |  A local shrine |
 Elementary school students cleaning their school |  Middle school students posing |
Kanazawa
From 1583 to the end of the Edo Period, Kanazawa Castle was the seat of the powerful Maeda Clan, lords of Kaga, a feudal domain ranking second only to the Tokugawa possessions in terms of size and wealth.
 The blessing over the new cars |  A walk through a local garden |
A traditional Japanese tea ceremony
Komatsu
We stayed in the Hoshi Ryokan which is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest hotel in the world. It dates back to 718.
Our room in the ryokan
 My roommates: Standing from left are Esther, Christy, and Francine. Sitting are me and Amanda |  A traditional Japanese breakfast at the Ryokan |
China
with Macau and Hong Kong
 |  Me in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and Rachel to the left at Lou Lim Ioc Gardens in Macau |
Me, Rachel, and Leslie eating HotPot, a legacy from the Mongols in Xi'an
Beijing
The Summer Palace
 The Marble Boat, also known as the Boat of Purity and Ease, is a lakeside pavilion on the grounds of the Summer Palace. It was first erected in 1755 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. |  One of the wealthier homes in the Hutong |
 The Temple of Heaven |  The Wild Goose Pagoda |
Xi'an
The Terra Cotta Warriors
The Wild Goose Pagoda
Shanghai
Old Shanghai
A fishing boat in the Shanghai Museum
Hangzhou
 West Lake: We took a boat ride on the lake with the air thick from heat and smog. |  A local garden based on Feng Shui |
Suzhou
A ride along the canals of Suzhou
 Houses along the canal |  The Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets |
Hong Kong
We visited the city for dinner atop the Peak Tram.
Macau
The Guia Fortress is a 17th-century colonial military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex.
Everything in Macau is written in three languages -- English, Chinese, and Portuguese.
