Even coming from the diagonally opposite side of the country with drastically different physical geographic features, the presence of familiar language and cultural signifiers still constructed a cognitive landscape that made the cold and remote Altay feel closer to home. It thus struck me how one may always see bits of the world at home and bits of home around the globe, should one think across time and space and draw comparisons, oftentimes subconsciously. The Earth is a sphere: go in one direction, and you will close the circle from the other side. Mountain ranges can span across parallels and meridians, yet cultural similarities and differences emerge and evolve over centuries of biogeographic evolutions and human dwelling.

Binaries dissolve; cosmologies interweave. These mountains, plains, lakes, humans, and animals create complex webs of dynamic relationships and dependencies, never staying still. Stories about such fluid and profound interconnections are passed down through generations. Snow melts, seasons change. Everywhere, amid disruptions and chaos, the Wheel keeps rolling, and cycles of life continue.