(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