Collective Drift: Celebrating International Women, Culture, and Travel

(ep 07) What did you learn from the women in your life?

What did you learn from the women in your life? What did you learn from your mom? What did you learn from your grandmother? Did these women teach you to cook? Did these women teach you how to love? Did you learn how to be strong from your mother? Was grace something that your grandmother taught you? Does your mom remind you to sleep and eat when you are stressed? Does your aunt remind you that you are strong? Did your sister teach you to forgive? Did your daughter teach you to relax? What did you learn from them to maintain your mental health? What did you learn from your girlfriends? What about the women you met when traveling? What have you learned from the women in your life? In this interview with Jen Katernick you learn that her grandmother, mom, and sister influenced her life greatly, teaching her independence, strength, balance, Jewish traditions, and forgiveness.

Jen Karetnick is a talented published food and travel writer, a poet, she’s a wife, and mom to her daughter and son. We had a really great conversation where we touched a broad number of topics starting with who Jen is and the women in her life influenced her. We discussed a genealogy test that she took that showed that she was 98% Ashkenazi Jewish. Jen touched on how she feels when white people respond to discovering that she’s Jewish. And of course we talked about her Jewish culture and her favorite Jewish meal. This interview also goes into how Jen became a food critic and her favorite travel writing experience. Overall it’s a pretty fun and open interview. I hope you enjoy it.

Her question for other women: Why didn’t you tell me how hard it was going to be? 

What does it mean to be a woman: If you have 1% of feeling like a woman then you have a moment of being a woman.

Read more...

Jen’s recommendations:

Kruger Park in South Africa: http://www.krugerpark.co.za/

Women owned vineyards in Paso Robles, CA

Epoch https://epochwines.com/
Harmony Cellars https://www.harmonycellars.com/

Listen to poetry in Miami
The Betsy Hotel https://www.thebetsyhotel.com/

How to find Jen

https://jkaretnick.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenkaretnick/

Twitter: https://Twitter.com/Kavetchnik

Supporting Women Writers in Miami https://www.swwim.org/

Jen’s recently published book of poetry https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Over-Jen-Karetnick/dp/1794439277

How to find Erica and Collective Drift

https://www.collectivedrift.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenkaretnick/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollectiveDrift

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/CollectiveDrift

Music by Catherine Knowles

(Ep 05) How can I practice self care? An interview with Hopi Noel Morton

In my interview with Hopi Noel Morton I learned that self care is the way she lives her life. In order to be successful and to help others you must help yourself first. You must put your air mask on first before you can help someone else. Self care is something that Hopi’s mother taught her. Through her mother she’s learnt that even beauty is a part of taking care of yourself. If you at a minimum wake up and get dressed and make yourself look good it can start the projector of feeling good. You must create time for yourself. 

This episode is sponsored by Knight Foundation in support of PAMM- Perez Art Museum Miami’s fund for African American Art. Their annual ART + Soul Celebration is this Saturday, February 15th. It’s my favorite party of the year in Miami. Purchase your tickets at pamm.org/artsoul2020 choose celebration for the party and feel free to use my discount code DRIFT2020.

In our interview with Hopi we learn about her company Hopi Works where she helps people who helps people. She gets to work with artists and filmmakers, but more importantly she gets to work with people and projects that she likes. This exemplifies how Hopi has mastered the art of self care. She’s worked on projects with Will and Jada Smith, on Caribbean film festivals, and is now traveling the globe supporting a documentary on tattoo artistry around the world. 

Hopi has traveled all over the world. And has had the opportunity to see some amazing places, have authentic memorable experiences, and connect with the people when she travels. Hopi talks about her trip to the Island of Lamu, Kenya. Through her experience in Lamu she was able to learn more about Muslim culture as well as gain a deeper understanding and respect for the modest aspects of being a Muslim woman. Prior to visiting Lamu she looked at their modesty as oppression rather than a choice. After getting to know the women of Lamu she learned that this was a choice, that they were flourishing leaders, and they were empowered. That the women felt there was a time and a place for modesty and a time for being sexy. She tells us about a magical experience she had while attending a women’s celebration, where only women attended.

Hopi has traveled extensively around the world and has provided us with a few authentic travel tips. Hopi’s preference is traveling to places where she can stay close to nature.  Hopi recommends renting a house and possibly having a local chef so that you can have authentic food. 

While Hopi has lived in multiple cities around the world she calls Miami home. She feels like Miami is a place where she feels most comfortable being her. Hopi’s background is mixed, her mother has Dutch and Finish heritage and her father is African American.  Miami’s diverse culture allows her to fit in. She also loves that Miami gives her easy access to cities around the world. She’s able to fly to places nationally and internationally with ease right out of Miami International Airport. She also loves the arts and feels that institutions such as the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and Art Basel making Miami an art hub of the world. 

What is being a woman? Embracing all that our higher power has empowered us with and graced us with.

Where to find Erica and Collective Drift:
Instagram: @CollectiveDrift
Facebook.com/CollectiveDrift
collectivedrift.com
Travel Chat Dine - Feb 27 travelchatdineethiopia.eventbrite.com

Where to find Hopi
Instagram: @hopinoel

(ep 3) How Can I Transform My Life by Experiencing Other Cultures? With Asanyah Davidson- Part 2

In this episode of Collective Drift we sat down with Asanyah Davidson, child of the world, Fashion Designer, and educator. Asanyah is Jamaican born, American raised, and has lived in West Africa. She is the founding director at the Miami Fashion Institute at Miami Dade College, she has her own fashion line Circa24. We had a really fun conversation on a wide range of topics from being Jamaican, being vegan, living in West Africa, the influence of her European fashion teacher, mentoring and more.

During part two of our interview with Asanyah Davidson the conversation goes a little deeper.  Asanyah talks about how having a diverse group of mentors helped her development. Then she discusses the people; cultures; schools such as Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH) in Miami , the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in NYC, and studying at Polimoda in Florence, Italy; and living in different countries influenced her as a fashion designer.  

Asanyah goes in depth about her time in Nigeria and Ghana. Her time there gave her a greater appreciation and understanding of textiles and the work behind them. This period in her life greatly influenced her career as a fashion designer. She will teach us about shibori, Adire, Ashoke, and Kente textiles. Asanyah learned about the significance of these fabrics and in this conversation you will learn the difference between what is and what isn’t real African fabric. Through this we delve into her viewpoint on cultural appropriation. How people think Ankara fabric is African fabric but it actually Dutch. Asanyah wants you to know what you are actually wearing so that you can truly appreciate it rather than appropriate it.  All of these topics reflect how the importance of leaving your home country to understand the world better. If you disagree with Asanyah she says you can feel free to contact her. 

Asanyah talks about the similarities she noticed of African women and Jamaican women. She reminisces about the forever young spirit of African people, about partying with people of all ages and drinking champagne on the dance floor. We talk about her travels to South Africa and the importance of living in the moment. This was an important lesson from her travel. 

We then of course talk about Asanyah’s two favorite city’s Accra, Ghana and Siem Riep, Cambodia. She adores both of the cities because of how easy it is to get around. She tells us about a great Mexican restaurant in Siem Riep, yes, you heard me right - a Mexican restaurant. Getting a traditional bamboo tattoo while in Cambodia. And she talks about nightlife in Accra, which lead us to talking about how she went to the Guinness Beer factory in Ireland and beer culture around the world. 

Of course we circle back to Asanyah’s favorite places in Miami, Broward County AKA Greater Fort Lauderdale, and even West Florida. We finalize the conversation with Asanyah’s question for all women - “How are you dealing with life?” and her powerful definition of what a woman is.

Collective Drift: Instagram: @CollectiveDrift 

Facebook.com/CollectiveDrift 

Find this episode on the CollectiveDrift.com/podcast-blog to get the links to all of Asanyah's favorite places.

I'm Erica Vernet Knowles, a Miami native, an international traveler, and a culture enthusiast. I am the founder and producer of Collective Drift. I spent a lot of time in the corporate world, but I honed my leadership in media. Operating as the Editor-in-Chief, Publisher, and the Executive Director for multiple publications on business and entertainment.  

Culture and travel have always been my passion. Having the opportunity to spend 3 years abroad between Peru and Thailand, and traveling all around the world gave me experiences, friendships and memories tha

(Ep 1) What is Collective Drift?

The Collective Drift  platform was created to celebrate all women, the beauty of their cultures, and international travel experiences. I believe that women possess magic, that gives them strength and grace to change the world. We learn how to tap into our power in various ways based on our cultural backgrounds and our journeys. Join me, Erica Knowles and an amazing collective of multicultural and ethnic women that are artists, cultural leaders and travel enthusiast as they tell their stories about their culture, their tribe of women, their passions, their art, and their favorite international experiences.  Welcome to Collective Drift.

In this episode I’ve taken some time to introduce myself and Collective Drift to you. I will tell you a little bit about my professional background, my experience with culture, as well as my journey abroad and how this inspired Collective Drift. I go into further detail to explain what this podcast is about. And finally I answer a few questions from the Collective Drift Facebook Group including:  Where do you plan your next travel adventure?  Will you be planning collective trips? What are your plans for collaborating with other women? Will your discussions be multilevel? What types of women are you inspired to interview?

I asked the group where they would like to travel to. They mentioned quite a few places some were places I’ve been to. And I took this opportunity to tell a quick story about my trip to Ethiopia. To wrap up the discussion with the Collective Drift Facebook Group I asked them a question and I’ll ask you the same. What would they like to ask the interviewees?  I’ll leave this as question on the Collective Drift facebook page, youtube channel and instagram account. Are you following us? Make sure you are and answer the question what would you like me to ask our interviewees. 

Where to find Erica and Collective Drift:

Instagram: @CollectiveDrift

Facebook.com/CollectiveDrift

facebook.com/groups/CollectiveDrift/

collectivedrift.com

Erica Vernet Knowles, is a Miami native, an international traveler, and a culture enthusiast. Erica is the creator and producer of Collective Drift. 

With over 20 years of climbing America’s corporate ladder, Erica found her niche in the media industry serving as an executive director, publisher, and editor-in-chief for five publications. However, she grew up watching her grandmother travel the world, experiencing the arts, and taking international trips with her family.  So, Erica has always had a calling for the arts, culture and travel.

In the summer of 2011 Erica began her journey abroad spending a vast amount of time in Lima and Bangkok. She has had the amazing opportunity to visit 30+ countries. Erica's journey has widened her viewpoint of self in relation to others around the world. Furthermore, she gained true friends that are like family around the world and an enhanced appreciation of their culture. 

It is the bonds with the women she has met while traveling that has inspired Collective Drift.

(Ep 2) How Can I Transform My Life by Experiencing Other Cultures? With Asanyah Davidson- Part 1

The Collective Drift  platform was created to celebrate all women, the beauty of their cultures, and international travel experiences. I believe that women possess magic, that gives them strength and grace to change the world. We learn how to tap into our power in various ways based on our cultural backgrounds and our journeys. Join me and an amazing collective of multi-cultural and ethnic women that are artists, cultural leaders and travel enthusiast as they tell their stories about their culture, their tribe of women, their passions, their art, and their favorite international experiences.  Welcome to Collective Drift.

In this episode of Collective Drift we sat down with Asanyah Davidson, child of the world, Fashion Designer, and educator. Asanyah is Jamaican born, American raised, and has lived in West Africa. She is the founding director at the Miami Fashion Institute at Miami Dade College, she has her own fashion line Circa24. We had a really fun conversation on a wide range of topics from being Jamaican, being vegan, living in West Africa, the influence of her Scottish fashion teacher, mentoring and more.

During part one of our conversation with Asanyah she speaks about what it means to her to be Jamaican including a look at cultural norms and stereotypes. She discusses growing up in Jamaica while being raised by her very strong and caring grandmother who was her primary role model when it comes to being a woman. We discuss how it’s possible to be Jamaican and vegan.  Asanyah talks about moving to California with a mom she was really just getting to know. She later relocated to Miami, North Miami specifically where she met the majority of her friends that are Haitian Americans. She learned about and participated in many aspects of Haitian culture that even encouraged her to learn to cook Jamaican food.  Asanyah compares and contrasts cultural norms when it comes to women and men relationship dynamics in Haitian and Jamaican communities. She developed such close friends with within the Haitian community that she is now considered an “honorary Haitian”.  Then we wrap it up with Asanyah’s journey into becoming a vegan and the importance of having sister friends support you in transitions. 

In part two of How to Transform Your Life by Experiencing Other Cultures with Asanyah Davidson the conversation gets even more interesting.  Asanyah talks about the importance of having a diverse group of mentors, living in West Africa and how that influenced her as a designer, her viewpoint on cultural appropriation and more!

Fact check: 

So is marijuana legal in Jamaica? According to WikiLeaf.com recreational marijuana has been decriminalized in Jamaica and medical marijuana is legal. https://www.wikileaf.com/thestash/marijuana-legal-jamaica/

Where to find Erica and Collective Drift:

Instagram: @CollectiveDrift

Facebook.com/CollectiveDrift

facebook.com/groups/CollectiveDrift/

collectivedrift.com

Get in touch with Asanyah:

Circa 24 http://www.circa24forever.com/

Miami Fashion Institute at Miami Dade College https://www.mdc.edu/fashion/

Instagram: @Circa24Forever

Restaurants with vegan options mentioned:

Screaming Carrots https://screamingcarrot