SM: Each time it's completely different. Sometimes I literally read something and I just get this feeling that I should be there. On the other hand, sometimes it's letting myself be carried into something that's foreign-foreign in the sense that there's some mystery. Sometimes it's tied to someone wanting me to be there and a lot of times it's tied to my feeling that someone needs to be there, to be a witness.

ZZ: When you're actually setting foot on the plane, are you afraid or are you excited?

SM: I wouldn't say I'm afraid. I think everything is in suspense. I'm fascinated by what I have been able to know in spite of not being there, to what I'm going to discover from being there, and that not having any clue as to how much it's going to change my life afterward. I do have a very strong memory of the first time I packed my bags to go to Nicaragua, and floating in as the plane was circling above Managua. While getting ready to land, I suddenly had a panic: I knew no one. I had no idea where I was going to go that night. Suddenly the reality of going off to this place became real in such a way that I did panic. Sometimes you just don't know if you're going to do anything particularly interesting. Or if you're going to feel anything. You might make pictures, but will you feel anything? That's in question. You can't be sure of that.

ZZ: Do you ever travel without a camera?