Month: October 2015

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Sita Chay

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“Silk Road was such a metaphysical term until I traveled through Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It sounded far and magical, hard to grasp. Where people from Asia and Europe traveled and exchanged their cultures, I witnessed genuine interaction and creation of their encounters many, many centuries before me. As a western instrumentalist, little did I know the violin and Asian cellos like the Erhu and Haegeum, had the same ancestor until I saw another violinist playing the instrument between legs like a cello. Among many familiar sounding yet exotic instruments, the most memorable was a Mongolian cello called Morin Khuur. It had a magical balance between the folk-like sounds that we hear in Asian cellos and the sensitivity we recognize in the violin or viola. A horse head scroll was attached to its trapezoid box…a captivating, odd beauty which fit perfectly with one of my favorite legends it’s inspired: After a mother camel gave birth to her newborn, she was stressed and exhausted. She rejected the newborn and refused to feed the calf. To restore the harmony between …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Caroline Dignes

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I started rock climbing about two years ago at the rock gym with my partner. Climbing in the gym feels very comfortable – the ceilings aren’t incredibly high, the gym associates do a belay check on you and your partner, the climbing path is clearly marked by following a set of matching colored plastic rocks to the top, and there’s an ocean of pleasant blue foam padding covering the floor. I am slightly afraid of heights, and that blue ocean is like a smiling friend. I didn’t join the rock gym with expert climber ambitions, I joined because climbing is a fusion of a social hour and fitness. At the end of a session, I had the added benefit of a completed workout.  The first time I climbed outdoors was unpleasant. I went climbing at Smith Rock State Park in Central Oregon. The rock there is volcanic tuff, a porous rock formed by the consolidation of volcanic ash. It looks like a black solidified sea sponge, but the tips of the air bubbles are prickly spines instead …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Sarah Brodsky

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I was traveling to motorcycle rallies with a high wire motorcycle trapeze act. We went to Sturgis, South Dakota for the big two-week long rally and met all sorts of characters. Being from New York City, I wasn’t used to cowboys, country living and motorcycle culture. There was a guy my troupe and I had met in West Virginia who was also on his way to Sturgis. We helped him transport his bike because we had extra room in our trailer. His name was Bubba and he was from Alabama. Bubba was such a great guy! He offered to help us with anything we needed. He was hilarious and just really kind. Although my mother is from Alabama, I had never been there and wasn’t accustomed to such Southern Hospitality.  Bubba told us all sorts of stories about his business- he sold lights to put on motorcycles and set up his booth at the rallies. He then went on to describe a person who was trying to cheat his coworker out of money and used …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ James Tillman

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“If I could sum up my travel style and sense of adventure in one iconic album, it would have to be A Tribe Called Quest’s debut, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Classic, funky, fresh and intelligent! Out of all the traveling I have been fortunate and blessed to do, I have been most at peace and happy when I have the pleasurable company of like-minded family and friends. This album makes the listener feel like they’ve been picked up by a rowdy group of friends to tag along as they traverse the globe, cracking jokes on each other and getting into some trouble here and there, but also sharing in profound moments of personal and collective growth from the journey.  A type of mellow, feel-good wandering comes to mind every time I listen to this, which is exactly how I’d ideally like to travel. Traveling alone is a nice reprise as well, but I’ve realized that there’s something especially spiritual about a collective traveling together with a unified purpose in mind. I have had some great …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ TTK

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I’m blessed to have a lot of ‘Juicy’ moments. I’m a pupil of Hip Hop and every time I come across individuals who’ve helped shape the culture and influence me, it’s a ‘Juicy’ moment. If I had to pick one (there are so many), I’d have to go with the time I was backstage at BB Kings on 42nd Street, and Raekwon signed a portrait I painted of him. He said to me, ‘You have a God-given talent. Don’t ever stop.’ That meant a lot to me.” – TTK // @gottkgo   082/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Naomi Jackson

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“I spent the summer of 2012 working on my first novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, in Barbados. While I was there, my days were simple – writing by longhand every morning, eating a mango every day after lunch, watching bad TV at night to give my brain a break. I spent many long afternoons hanging out, reading, and drinking overpriced, but great tasting coffee at Surfers Cafe in Oistins. The cafe is right on the beach and when I was there, I felt the sense of being exactly where I was meant to be. That summer of writing alone in Barbados was made possible by many years of practicing the fine art of enjoying my own company.  An appetite for solitude is an essential quality to cultivate for any writer, and traveling alone has taught me to confront myself when I have nowhere to turn besides more deeply inward. I certainly had plenty of time to wrestle with myself and my work during that summer in Barbados. That said, it’s hard to feel truly …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Ayesha Malik

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I was taking photographs at a photography convention in Saudi Arabia.  I was already excited by the simple fact that I was in an environment where photography was being celebrated, which meant I could roam freely with my camera.  In Saudi Arabia, it is technically illegal to photograph people in public without direct permission, so I tend to keep my camera hanging around my neck instead of attached to my face.  Set aside such technicalities, I never want to offend anyone and steal a photograph of them, especially in Saudi.  On this day, my camera spent less time hanging.  I met her through my viewfinder, through an iMac, in Photo Booth.  She was passing by and decided to fix her scarf in the webcam.  When she noticed me in the background, she smiled…I could tell from her eyes.  She said, “Do you like this…me fixing my scarf?” I said yes and we made this photo together.  It was such a contemporary interaction.  The world is huge, but globalization, and all the technology that comes with …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ George Abi-Hanna

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

Travel for inspiration, such a beautiful phenomenon, to escape the mundanity of routine and inject one’s self with positive experiences from around the world. A voluntary timeless blood transfusion that delivers on many intangible levels. For musicians, that’s the never ending pilgrimage for musical influence, leading some to claim a home away from home.  Growing up in Lebanon during turbulent times, travel was reactionary. Plucking families like dandelions seeking a safe haven away from political turmoil. That “somewhere” evolved into Brooklyn for me. A beautiful borough with raw character, sharing inspiration beyond its borders, which reminded me of Beirut. Walking down either’s streets you get a sense of immense creative energy seeking an outlet. Graffiti covered walls incubating bands tucked away in packed alley bars. A comparable music scene in Lebanon giving Arabic rock and hip hop a platform where Arab artists can express themselves. A sense of sonic unity that Brooklyn taught me to appreciate. This journey for clarity has bought things full circle for me.  Now I find inspiration in seeing the work …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Flo Cheiron

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I have been practicing capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art for the past 8 years with my instructor Professor Tiba from Capoeira Luanda in New York. When you join a capoeira group, you become part of a family, a community. You make new friends along the way.  You meet people from your own city and from all over the world through capoeira events and practice. Every time I travel for business or fun, I always bring my capoeira uniform and make sure to visit a local capoeira class. I have always been welcomed and invited outside of the class to discover the local culture. I’ve found that traveling as a capoeirista is far more superior than traveling as a tourist.  I’ve had the opportunity to experience various cities as a personal guest of a fellow capoeirista and have often even had the option to stay in someone’s home at no cost. ” – Flo Cheiron   078/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Sarah Granger

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“The power of Machu Picchu is difficult to express without being there. Photos don’t do it justice. You really do feel like you’re on top of the world, yet transported back in time. I suspect it’s similar to what you feel in the mountains of Nepal. The people are descendants who pass on ancient traditions and wisdom. The air has a special crispness to it, and the view is breathtaking. If you climb up to areas where most of the tourists don’t attempt to go, you can see for miles. I thought it would be like Stonehenge, where you stare at it for a few seconds, scratch your head, and get back on the bus. The difference is the setting. Where Stonehenge is in the middle of a field that could literally be any field anywhere, Machu Picchu is set in jagged yellow-green mountains, nestled among the clouds. It’s this bizarre geometric terracing experiment and raw evidence of human innovation. I did not expect the immenseness of it all. Those mountains are fierce and inviting …