When I look back on a trip that took place halfway across the world and made me visit more Rusyns in 10 days than I had in the previous 22 years, what I often think about are the moments that helped me better understand our situation. It was a journey that began in the inner highlands of the Tokaj wine-making region of Hungary, progressed to the great peaks of central Transcarpathia, and ended in the rolling mountains of Prešov Rus. Not everything made me optimistic, but not a single day of it was unenlightening.