After learning about MBDP over a year ago, I am finally preparing to join the team on the ground! A week and a half ago I left my home in Utah and drove across the country to my state of origin – New Jersey – for a few days of seeing family and friends, and to dive into my laborious style of packing. And then yesterday I came to Connecticut where I am receiving driving and vehicle maintenance training to stay safe and effective in Mongolia.

        It feels like the journey is already in full swing. Spending the last two days getting a crash course in a subject I previously knew basically nothing about (overland driving and vehicle repair), I am already deep into what I love most about traveling. Being in learning-mode overrides everything else. Fear, doubt, uncertainty; these are eclipsed by curiosity, necessity, action. The vast availability of knowledge that is being offered to me, the opportunity for observing and absorbing an abundance of new things, leaves little room for apprehension.

-Zoë Lieb

November 8th 2016