Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Journey Begins...


The first couple of days in the Kemet, City of Black People (to each his own interpretation) have been breathtaking…I embarked upon this experience not really knowing what to expect, however, I know the best is yet to come and this will be a lifetime memory. In an earlier essay I wrote that:

I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this cultural and educational experience. I choose to use the word experience specifically, as I am approaching these two weeks in Egypt as just that—an experience. I plan to engage myself in all aspects and be open to the learning opportunities that are to come. Ultimately, I want to be able to walk away from this ‘experience’ a changed person; a person that is more appreciative of one’s culture, a person that is more educated in the visceral sense of the world we live in, and a person who is able to share and pass on the knowledge found in the motherland.

As a rising junior Theatre Arts Major with a concentration in Acting, this interdisciplinary fellowship will continue the development of defining the relationship between the arts and the culture of African people. After reading the pre-trip material provided, I have specific interest in the history of the use of Narratives, beginning in the era of the Old Kingdom and connecting their use to the performing arts and administration of today.

In essence, I look forward to the trip at hand and connecting this experience with my current undergraduate work, as this will be a true interdisciplinary experience that will last a life time.

We had the opportunity to visit the Great pyramid of Khufu and the Giza Pyramid. The operational construction of these infrastructures incorporated the disciplines of the sciences, mathematics, business management, administration, etc. The Great Pyramid alone contains 2,300,000 blocks of stones specifically and mathematically constructed to be precise. We had the opportunity to go inside of the great pyramid and visit a room dedicated to King Khufu. The genius behind the creation of these two great pyramids place a multitude of things into perspective:

-management of workers
-organization of operations
-scheduling
-time management
-project timeline
-Chain-of-command creation

All of which are incorporated within projects and businesses that we as a people create today. We raise the question, what happened to the prospering works and creations of our people? We tend to see a decline in the prospering black owned business, and in particular, black owned theatres. Mis-management may be a cause; however, I believe we as a people have drifted away from the ideal of one community, all working for the greater good.

Egyptians had a goal and mindset to achieve when constructing these pyramids. They represented a greater goal that could be accomplished. Not to say there were not problems and complications, but I believe they knew importance of needing to move forward in order to create positive progress…

Until Next time…

Nijeul Porter

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