Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

I arrived in this Mongolian village as a complete stranger intending to live with and study the members of this minority Islamic community for a few weeks. I entered this yurt, the home of one of the village elders, to propose my project and to ask for a place to live because there are no hotels in the village. The elder loved the project, but was not sure about allowing a stranger to stay in his home. ?We?ll see where to put you,? he said, and then proceeded to grill me about my life, family, beliefs, and understanding of Mongolia. After three hours of some of the best conversation I have ever had, he asked me to stay the night. This photo was taken the morning after. The first snow of the season fell that night and when I walked outside it seemed like walking into a completely different world.