“Even now, if I were to close my eyes, I still could see the stars up in the sky, the large yellow moon, and feel the hot wind and the smell of the desert.”

Photo by Tim Ouillette

Travel Tales: Reza Jalali & Emily Matuzek

In this second podcast episode featuring stories all about transformative travel, we'll hear from Reza Jalali and Emily Matuzek.

Reza Jalali returns to an unfamiliar home that's been ravaged by war.

Emily Matuzek gets ready to leave the nest, but not before she gets a few test runs in first.

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Reza Jalali returns to an unfamiliar home that's been ravaged by war.

Listen Now Add to Playlist

Emily Matuzek gets ready to leave the nest, but not before she gets a few test runs in first.

Listen Now Add to Playlist

Qasre-Shirin before the Iran-Iraq War.

A Jalali family photo, with Reza as a baby and all of his siblings.

Reza with his father and sister in Qasre-Shirin in the 1960s.

Reza, as a baby, with his mother.

Reza at 8 year-old in pre-war Qasre-Shirin.

Reza with his niece, Shahla.

Emily and her parents at her high school graduation.

Emily and her freshman year roommate on move-in day.

All 3 of Emily's freshman-year suitemates, whose friendship contributed to her persistence in college.