Take two

*exhale*

Alright. It’s about time I confront this blog after days of shying away from even thinking about the trip to Kemet. Sadly, earlier this summer, I had to decide between two of my biggest priorities: Kemet and Law School. Neither of them is mutually exclusive, but our trip coincided with my mandatory week-long law school orientation. After a few persuasive attempts at having both, I realized I’d have to do what I have to do. I cancelled my trip and now I am sitting here typing as opposed to lugging my green suitcase around –which, by the way, still has a Consolidated Tours tag stuck to it.

The good thing is, I went to Kemet last year (along with repeat offenders Brittani Moncrease, and of course our instructor, Dr. Carr), so I have those experiences to draw from. And to those going on the trip this time, I think you will be finding out soon enough that the fever will set in, and you’ll be planning your next trip while you are there J So, this explains why I was planning on going two years in a row in the first place, and why I was so disappointed that it didn’t work out the way I had planned.

But enough about my little temporary setback! I’m blogging yet again for a few reasons: 1) I can’t stop writing about this stuff, what can I say! It’s too interesting. 2) Blogging will help me connect with my buddies going on the trip, not to mention my partner in crime, Brittani Moncrease (shoutout!) and 3) I want to teach Egyptology one day, and I think somehow, someway, this is good practice.

So, if those going on the trip will have me, I hope that I can be a guest blogger on this site and contribute to the unique conversation that this group will be having. The experience of going to modern-day Egypt and reflecting on Ancient Kemet is special by itself. However, when members our intellectual community to do this – along with their family and friends – a severely rare occurrence takes place. By nature, it is an experience that is intensely unselfish and fraught with duty to share and educate others.

With no phones ringing, no text-message alerts, not enough interesting (or English-language) things on TV, and no time to sit around interacting with your devices anyway, you will rediscover a side of yourself that our generation hasn’t regularly seen since early childhood. You will be able to think, theorize, reflect, imagine, and connect with everything around you. You’ll be on the same wavelength as those scholars of yesterday we revere. Seriously.

To end, I’ll say that Brittani (also my senior-year roommate) and I longed to return to Egypt this year because, for one, we would be able to think again. Think about our purpose, think about our history, think about our pride, and think about the people we’d bring back with us next time. As soon as we started learning, we could only think, ‘Man, we have so much work to do.’

So, yall, have a safe and enjoyable flight, and get even more excited about the clarity and peace that you’ll have on the other side of the water.

Catch you when you get there J

-Ang