Student Spotlight: Gabi Tew’s Trip to Mongolia with Rustic Pathways

Gabi and her elephant, Plai Thong, in Lampang, Thailand on her 2013 trip.

Program: Off the Map: Mongolia
Location: Mongolia. More specifically: Ulaanbaatar (Capital city), Terelj National Park, the village of Sogoog out west, Tavan Bogd National Park. 

How did you learn about Rustic Pathways?
I first heard of the organization when I was a freshman and Sara Witz, a senior [at Emery] at the time, told me about her Thailand trips that came up after a conversation about Thai food in Houston. Her experience automatically clicked with my need for travel, and I went home that night to beg my parents endlessly to allow me to go. Within the week I was signed up for the WFA-Wilderness First Aid Medical Certification program (1 week) and the Elephant Conservation Program (also 1 week). 
 
What made you choose Mongolia?
Mongolia is one of the more “rustic” programs that Rustic Pathways offers in the sense that it is a culture so untouched by modern society, and I wanted to continue pushing myself to endure rudimentary conditions and a technology-free lifestyle that I thoroughly enjoyed on my Tanzania trip. Therefore, Mongolia seemed to be the most mysterious and unknown place that the organization could take me to.

My dad also encouraged me to go with the mindset that perhaps it was a country that I would never be given the opportunity to experience again in such a structured manner. The idea that many people don’t know much about Mongolia pushed me to choose the program. 
 
What was the thing you were most looking forward to?
I did not have many expectations going into this trip, mostly because I knew so little about the country and did very little research on Mongolia prior to leaving. I was aware that the leader of my trip was the same leader I had two summers ago on my elephant program in Thailand. Gaia was such an incredible mentor and I was probably most excited to catch up and hear stories from her terribly interesting life. The Rustic staff is a collection of the most interesting and exciting people, and they have always been a highlight of my trips.
 
What were you most nervous about?
I have traveled with Rustic before and am well versed in the independent airport procedures, along with the adjustment to no cell phone service and no showers, but one thing I have not mastered is the ability to pack effectively. I was completely terrified that I had over packed, or even magically under packed, and that I would be the fool at the airport dragging her bag across the floor running after her group. I ended up being that fool, but the fear went away as I was swept up in the more interesting notion that I had made it to Mongolia. 
 
What was your favorite part of the trip?
The entire trip was bizarre in the best way possible, but one moment has stuck with me constantly in the week that I have been back. I was sitting next to this beautiful river at Tavan Bogd National Park, where we were camping for a few days. The river created by the melting ice lies in a valley with the snow covered mountains in the distance so the wind is intensely cold along with the milky white water. I sat next to that river, with the sound of rushing water so loud that it was impossible to hear anything else, for the longest time, and I think that that is the calmest I’ve ever felt. I was the furthest away from Houston you can get, and the furthest away from civilization.

The river drowned out all noises so that I could just absorb the view, and I think that was the moment that I was completely in awe with Mongolia. 
 
What kind of service did you do?
We worked with a local Kazakh NGO, Source of Steppe Nomads, which works in western Mongolia with herding and nomadic families. We spent a day working on Sogoog’s “Green Project” where we weeded the potato field in the NGO’s initiative to provide vegetables to local families, as the nomadic diet is centrally meat and dairy. We also provided some classes at two schools for kids who come to the academies to learn English, as Mongolia offers scholarships for University for only art and English skills. 
 
How does your trip to Mongolia compare to your trips to Thailand and Tanzania with Rustic Pathways?
I have loved all of my Rustic trips for the very different experiences they presented me with, but Mongolia was sort of a culmination to my previous trips. Thailand was exotic and beautiful because it exposed my passion for traveling, and the moments I had with elephants and medicine were mesmerizing, but they were comfortable trips. Tanzania pushed my modern lifestyle with its isolation and lack of commodities, but I loved the trip because of that. Tanzania engaged me in conversations that were tough and mature, and broke me of my ties to western luxuries, which prepared me for Mongolia.

I bonded so tightly with my group in Mongolia because it was the longest trip at 22 days, and I believe that that made all the difference. We all bonded over that spark that we share that drives us to travel, as well as our struggle to adjust to the new culture. Those three weeks in the most remote places created the perfect environment for me to escape everything and just be fully engaged in every moment, and because of that, Mongolia is perhaps my favorite trip where I created my strongest ties. 

What would you tell a high school student who was considering going on a trip with Rustic Pathways?
If you have doubts: Do not worry about the moments you think you’ll miss out on here at home. Home will still be here when you get back - do not let the fear of missing out here keep you from exploring these beautiful countries whose cultures have so much to teach you. Instead, fear missing out on the incredible experiences you could be having with Rustic Pathways. 

What are your plans for after your graduation from Emery in the spring? Do you want to take more trips?
My future - the battle between college and a gap year program - is very uncertain at the moment, so I am not sure that I will go on another Rustic trip next summer. I am considering gap year options with Rustic Pathways, and if I decided to take a year off to explore with Rustic, then I will not do a summer excursion. If college is what is next for me, then I’d like to go to India on one of the summer programs to learn from the exiled Tibetan community and immerse myself in their culture. I know that I have so much left to learn from other cultures, therefore the only thing that is certain about my future is that I must travel. 

Interested in learning more? See information about Rustic Pathways here.