All posts tagged: explore

Candid Chats w/ KO

Published by Khadijat Oseni

Last year at BlogHer15’s Experts Among Us conference in New York City, I met fellow blogger, Liv of Unbelievably Human and we connected on travel and life experiences. I invited Liv to be a part of my #100DaysofConfessions project and she equally had a few questions of her own for me regarding thoughts on travel and self-love. View our candid conversation below! Has travel always been apart of your background? or Did something call you to Travel? Travel has always been in my genes and from birth I’ve been nomadic due to having parents from different cultural backgrounds creating a delicate tight rope between America and Africa. Tracing where I was born and raised always turns into a geography lesson of sorts with the most frequent stints in California, New York and Nigeria so roaming has always been a natural extension of who I am at my core. However, despite my frequent movement as a child, I truly didn’t appreciate the character growth that stems from travel until my junior year in college when I …

How To Have #Jetsetterproblems

Published by Khadijat Oseni

I often get asked the question, “How do you get to travel so much?” It’s inevitable but also one I have a hard time responding to. Why? Because I’ve made a conscious decision to see the world and committed to going. I do not come from a place of privilege where I hit a magic button and, “Voila!” I’m transported into the sky…a misperception many assume based on my experiences. I’m a middle class girl from Brooklyn who had a dream early on in life to see the world and wanted to make this dream a reality. I took this fiery passion and found ways to manifest this dream through various mediums. One way was working hard in school and getting a scholarship that would place me at a university (NYU – Go Violets!) that supported experiential learning and global exchange via study abroad options. Another way was making sure that I remained open to connecting with people from all different walks of life. In maintaining these relationships and being open, I have had the …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Kaori Anne Jolliffe

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I did a trip around Andalusia with my boyfriend at the beginning of this year. I have so many amazing memories from taking a nap on the beach in Málaga when we first arrived, to cracking up and crying from laughter at the blue pedestrian crossing signs because they looked like the Beyoncé “Single Ladies” dance, to biking around the Albaicín in Granada. On my to-do list for Andalusia was, of course, Gibraltar. It was so bizarre to see a little bubble of British culture so far away from the UK. After arriving, we decided to climb all the way up the Rock of Gibraltar to avoid the hefty taxi fee. One beer later at the pub by Michael’s Cave, we climbed up to the battery, which was being renovated. There was a ladder up the huge cannon so we snuck up there and shared the most delicious donut ever in the British enclave with Spain behind us whilst staring out at North Africa…I’ve never felt so small!” – Kaori Anne Jolliffe // @kaoriannej   069/100 of …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Jenné Claiborne

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I traveled to Thailand for 6 weeks a few years ago. I didn’t know anyone there, nor did I know the language. Still, I’m always down for an adventure, especially in a beautiful place…  A few days after arriving in Bangkok at the start of the trip, I was hooked up with a friend of a NYC friend who’s been living in the city for a decade. She invited me to stay with her in her beautiful home, and I couldn’t believe my luck. The place was spacious, cool (great AC), and in a quiet and slightly secluded part of the city. The son of one of her American friends was also in town, so he and I went out for some late-night bar hopping. He had been there for months already, and sort of spoke the language and knew his way around, so I felt comfortable letting him be my guide for a few hours on this solo-trip. The night was a lot of fun, but as we got into the wee hours of …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Diana Lee Santamaria

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I’m the children’s book author of DLee’s World preschool learning books, which are based on my childhood and experiences as an educator. Throughout my life, there have been a few things that inspired me to write my book series. Most importantly was the fact that I struggled with literacy until about the age of nine. My father noticed I had an issue with reading and comprehension and sat me down night after night with the determination for me not to follow in his footsteps of educational hardships. As early as I could remember, I showed a disinterest in books, always saying, “Books are boring!” However shortly after learning how to read, I found books to be an enjoyable learning tool and past time. With that in mind, once I became a teacher and noticed that I did not always have the books I needed or wanted to teach a particular objective, I decided to write my own… Every night I analyzed my classroom experiences and my own childhood for inspiration on how to make DLee …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Freya Dowson

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I would tell myself not to worry, adventure is coming and to just enjoy the moment and wait for it to arrive…When I was younger I used to wish for travel, to dream about it, and even though I did a lot of traveling as a child, I wanted to know that I would be able to continue to do it as an adult. But once travel is in your blood, it becomes part of who you are, and no amount of worrying about what the future will bring can change that. Now I travel the world, as a blogger and also as a photographer for not for profits and am loving every minute of it. I didn’t set out to have this career path, it feels more like it came to me – like it was always meant to happen…” – Freya Dowson // @nishaantishu   056/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Tobias Hutzler

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I was always very hungry to experience the world. As a teenager, I was backpacking through Europe with a friend and we somehow ended up in Africa. That imperishable moment when I stood at the edge of the Sahara was carved in my memory. I looked into the endless vastness, the giant space and the beauty of light and space. I wanted to cross the Sahara, and I did. One year later, I started from Timbuktu and went on this long journey alone across the desert in a caravan. This shaped my life. I started to take photographs on this journey. I experienced extreme opposites in a short span of time such as light & darkness, heat & cold, silence & noise, these are the basic components of our lives. We reached “the other side” but this moment didn’t really matter. Looking back now it becomes all very clear. My photography was born there, my use of light and space. The essence of my experiences made during my many trips gave me another perspective and …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Jules Julien

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“The first thing impacting me when I arrive in a new country are people…how they look, how they speak, how they are dressed, how they live together. I go generally to cities. The countryside bores me. I can still be moved by a landscape, but one day is enough for me. About a city and its livings, when I like it, I can stay watching it as long as possible… Tokyo is my favorite place. After my first visit I have returned 6 times the following years and I will go back again. I love its places, its people, its fashion and lifestyles. The first time in Tokyo, I was shooting everything. I wanted to bring back with me to Paris as many memories as possible…people in streets, subways, bars, parks… During my second trip in Tokyo, I was contacted by email by a Japanese guy, just a coincidence, he didn’t know I was in Tokyo. He was the director of the Diesel Art Gallery and he proposed I have a solo show at his space. The …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Sonja Talwar

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“Between two worlds. To live in two absolutely different cultures is like living in two different worlds. You know the famous places and the places you wouldn’t dare visit…the danger zones…But so often in my life, I had the feeling that I didn’t belong to anything. Neither to one world or the other. I was not a local…I was a sightseer…a stranger in my own life…I understood both worlds but I didn’t have a sense of belonging. Last year, I took a journey to the other side… My father is Indian and my mother is German. My parents got divorced when I was 4. But, I always asked myself why it was that I only existed in one of the worlds. So, I wanted to go back to discover my roots on my own…to see if I belong more to India or Germany. I wanted to know if I’m a German potato or if there is anything else in me, maybe a little Indian monk! It was a strange feeling standing in Delhi Airport. It …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Scott Dykzeul

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“In a week and a half, I’m doing my favorite trip of the year. It doesn’t involve a plane, car or a train, but my bicycle.  I’m riding 545 miles to smell the ocean, strawberries and hear people’s laughter between oak trees; riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the third time… It’s not a race, but a journey.  Along the way, I’ll get time to think, meet new people, and hear stories from those around me…Stories that will make me smile, laugh, and cry.  I signed up the first time after watching a close friend of mine ride. Every week he posted pictures of him riding across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin…As a new Bay Area resident, I wanted to explore and meet new friends… The thing that brings me back year after year is the sense of community…The folks on the ride are genuinely interested in being there and the authenticity they bring is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. For one week, 2,000+ strangers come together…It’s really magical. The ride …