All posts tagged: africa

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Dana El Masri

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“You need chaos to get to the depths of creativity but you need stillness to create. A perfect example for me, would be Cairo. Cairo is chaos incarnate! Upon arriving to this city, I always get a rush of energy, much like New York City. One memorable moment for me, was traveling to Fayoum last year, a small city two hours outside of Cairo. It’s practically an oasis lined with palm trees. There’s a small village called Tunis, where a potter named Evelyne settled over 40 years ago. Here, she taught the locals how to create their own pottery and live off their art. Upon my arrival to this village, I instantly felt at home. The stillness of the desert, the calmness of its people and the beauty that surrounded them inspired me deeply. Everyday they live and breathe their art. It was a reminder to stay humble and focus on what makes me happy. The scents that I came across – African violets, the scent of raw clay and Egyptian mimosas, were too beautiful to forget.” …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Martin Brusewitz

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I was walking down a dusty road in the town of Harar in eastern Ethiopia. It was one of the main roads and full of people and traffic. I’m really tall and most Ethiopians aren’t so I was drawing some attention. At this point I was used to it though. I had travelled for months through Ethiopia and everywhere my height drew attention. Understandably so. Even in my home country of Sweden, I sometimes feel like I’m from another planet. In Ethiopia people were staring, laughing and yelling jokes at me all the time. Anyway… All of a sudden further down the street, I see something. A head is floating way above the crowds, just like mine. Could it be? A few moments pass by and I realize it’s not my lonely mind playing a trick on me. It’s a brother. A tall Ethiopian. Our eyes meet. Everything goes quiet. We start smiling. We walk straight towards each other. Our smiles growing. Around us, the daily life of Harar goes on like it was just …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Tyler Riewer

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I traveled to Mali with charity: water last year to meet people in rural communities where we work and capture stories about the impact of clean water. One early morning while we were running around and taking photos, I came upon a man sitting on the ground outside his home. He motioned for me to come over. Normally, I don’t go anywhere without my translator. My local language skills are limited to “good morning,” “how are you,” and “thank you.” But I was merely on the hunt for beautiful photos of people preparing for their day and incorporating clean water into their morning routines — I hadn’t been anticipating conversation! But here we were. “Ouh sogoma!” I began, issuing one of the only three phrases I knew to greet him. “Ouh sogoma,” he replied with a smile. As I approached and took my seat, I noticed the ground before him. He had dug a series of small little holes in the dirt, and it almost looked like he was cleaning them out… quickly picking up little …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Thom Estifanos

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I first fell in love with skateboarding as a young kid. Me and my brother started to skate around our neighborhood in Skövde, Sweden. Skateboarding became a big part of my everyday life. My friends and I started a skate crew and all the days we spent together were amazing. Skateboarding gives you the opportunity to be creative on so many different levels… I got involved with Ethiopia Skate by chance. As many things in life happen at random, the more you travel, the more people you meet. I have always loved that about traveling around the world. Getting to know new places. I originally traveled to Ethiopia to work as a photojournalist interning at an English newspaper. On one of my first days in Addis, after doing a story on the National Museum, I saw one of the skate kids with a board and asked if I could try it. He ended up giving me the number to Sean. Sean Stromsoe (from LA) founded Ethiopia Skate with Abenezer Temesgen, who lives in Germany but is originally …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Guillaume Viau

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“My time spent in Kenya, Africa as a volunteer changed the way I perceive the world in all aspects of life. A small group of us traveled to the Maasai Mara with Free The Children, an international charity and educational partner that believes in a world where all children are free to achieve their fullest potential, to lend a hand and hopefully create more opportunities for the youth by building a classroom at a local school. During our time there, we also had the pleasure of connecting with the students through activities and sports, as well as some mothers by joining them on their water walks. This was an incredibly inspiring trip and destination for me…it opened my eyes to what is truly important in life – family and friends…” – Guillaume Viau // @guillaumeviau     051/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project    

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Tobias Hutzler

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“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 …

Katya Arsenieva-Jetsetterproblems.com

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Katya Arsenieva

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“I was packing to go to Prague but ended up in Egypt. You would think that the most memorable part of my trip was seeing the Pyramids or acquiring a scar from sunburn that left me basically paralyzed for two days or stepping on a sea urchin but nope, that’s not the case! Don’t get me wrong, all of these memories are dear to my heart and I would not change them…and they were just a small portion of the beauty, frustration and hilarity that ensued throughout this trip! But when someone asks me about my trip, the first thing that comes to my mind is the night we drove 4x4s into the Sahara Desert, shut them down and just laid on their rooftops. I will never forget how amazing and insignificant I felt being surrounded by the sky, stars and the dessert with nothing else for miles and miles…When you are faced with such infinite space, you realize that you’re just one of the little dots that lives within the whole universe…” – Katya Arsenieva …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Teff

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“I suppose I always seek out nuances of Orange. Or anything in the citrus family…greens, yellows, soft pink, etcetera. The burnt Orange dirt roads, my family home is the softest peach colour and white. The vibrant, vivid hues of yellow, Orange ridden all through the Sunrises and Sunsets. I haven’t seen the Sun rise nor set quite like it does in Africa. Nigeria in this case… This particular photo was taken in the Wuse II neighbourhood of Abuja, Nigeria. My dad, older brother, and myself had been out for most of the day, in the heat, running errands. We didn’t have much breakfast, so we stopped to get some bananas and roasted groundnuts. This woman was out there with her daughter and young son. In all her hustle, her daughter – not any older than 12 – had assumed the role of caretaker. The image reminded me of how some roles may be imposed on us. But the true measure of character and strength is riddled in the management of said roles. Her daughter reflected …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Mengly Hernandez

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“As a rule of thumb, I travel with various scarves wherever I go. Partly aesthetics and partly practicality. I find that a scarf is one of those accessories that can be functional to cover the face from dust, help you along on a bad hair day, and even serve as a blanket or pillow. On the aesthetic side, it’s one of my favorite accessories because it can add an adorning element to any outfit when worn either on the neck, head, or hip/waist as a sash. Visiting Morocco was a real treat because it fueled my love of textiles and scarves. As a designer of scarves, I felt extremely insured to see so many traditional patterns, specifically geometric shapes that are all around the predominately Islamic country. Their aesthetic harmoniously connected with my love of lines and color combinations. It’s definitely a country I would like to revisit and further explore…”  – Mengly Hernandez AKA @missmengly   025/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Guzman

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“Cobra a Sans (known as first people)…man we met in Botswana’s Kalahari. He is a tracker, and medicine man, Cobra speaks to and understands the sentient beings in his environment…birds, scorpions, snakes, lions, meerkats, etcetera… He can read the markings and tracks of a myriad of animals, he is one with his environment. Meeting Cobra was absolutely life altering. Trackers reading prints, the landscape, intuit where when how … To quote Marcel Proust …the real journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but on having new eyes…” – Guzman AKA @lesguzman   017/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project