Name: Skye Schell
Title: Showdown in the Valley of Death
Location: San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Program: Chile: Economic Development and Globalization Program, School for Intl. Training, Fall 2003
Description: I rented bikes and sand boards with a friend in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. After a day in the dunes of the worldís driest desert, we got back on out bikes, strapped the boards like wings on our backs, and hit the road. Most people were in dune buggies or cars, but all of a sudden we heard hooves, and turning around saw a group of riders approaching on horseback. The setting was perfect, and for a moment we were sure we were in a famous American western, being pursued to the bitter endÖ a showdown in the Valley of Death.

Name: Michael Smith
Title: Grazing High
Location: Nepal
Program: College Year in Nepal, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Fall 2003
Description: Yaks are an invaluable resource for most high Himalayan people. They are not only used as pack animals and for ploughing fields, but also for food after the animals have become too old to work. Their dung is also hoarded to use as fuel for cooking and heating in the treeless mountain expanse. Most importantly, yaks are absolutely crucial to the Tibetan traders who bring tsampa (roasted barley-flour), dried goat meat, and cheap Chinese products across the boarder to the Nepalese Sherpas to sell and exchange for rice. I stumbled upon these beasts as I was hiking high up above the Tibetan Buddhist nunnery that I was staying in at the time. They are often left to graze by themselves up in the mountain sides, as these yaks are doing. This picture was taken facing roughly east, and Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) was visible twenty miles to the northeast.

Name: Mor Regev
Title: Vincent's Road
Location: Aix-en-Provence, France
Program: American University Center Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France, Spring 2004
Description: I took this photo near the mental hospital where Van Gogh spent his last months. I thought the colors, trees, and flowers were especially reminiscent of those that Van Gogh would have painted at the end of his life. What you cannot see from the photo is that there are thousands of bees swarming above the flowers, adding a constant buzz to the stately whisper of the trees swaying in the wind.

Name: Mary Hodges
Title: View From Montmartre
Location: Paris, France
Program: IES Barcelona, Spain, Institute for the Intl. Education of Students, Academic Year 2003-04
Description: I had always heard of Paris being the city of love and romance. Before leaving for my trip to Paris my Spanish host mom told me that I would fall in love in Paris. Though I did not fall in love, I did notice the romantic elements of Paris and saw many couples holding hands as they walked though Notre Dame and kissing on the Eiffel Tower. However, the most romantic scene for me was this older couple sitting together on a Sunday afternoon appreciating the stunning view from Montmartre. My friend and I saw and watched this couple for a while. There was nothing showy or clichÈ about their Parisian romance, they just seemed to truly enjoy being together at such a beautiful time and place.

Name: Melissa Arong
Title: A Lazy Sunday Morning
Location: Asilah, Morocco
Program: Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, Academic Programs International, Spring 2004
Description: In the fishing town of Asilah on the northern coast of Morocco, boats sit still on the placid water- except for a few fishermen who wish to get ahead for the week.

Name: Marvin Kawano
Title: Kiwi Climber
Location: South Island of New Zealand
Program: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, Arcadia U. Center for Education Abroad, Fall 2004
Description: I took this shot of our guide as he cut steps in the walls of a crevice on Frans Josef Glacier. Every swing he made made me a bit nervous because earlier he told us a story of when he missed the ice and the axe stuck into his shin. It came out after a few tugs and he managed to walk down the glacier. After two weeks, his leg still hurt. He finally got it x-rayed and found out that it was broken.

Name: Melissa Arong
Title: On the Look-Out
Location: Meknes, Morocco
Program: Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, Academic Programs International, Spring 2004
Description: Moroccoís markets are a frenzied whirl of bodies, donkeys, and vendors pushing fruits and nuts into your hands; accordingly one usually does not have time to take a breath while navigating through the organized chaos. On a quiet Sunday, though, I had a moment during the last day of my weekend excursion to the country to notice this young vendor taking a more passive approach in an open-air market in Meknes, Morocco.