Viva Italia!!! 🇮🇹

This weekend i have had the opportunity to travel out of the country......hahahah or should I say out of the UK. Even though it is the title of this post i am still going to  announce that I am in Naples Italy!!!

 
It has been such an both a void and frustrating trip.  The city itself is very beautiful and there is so much history within it, from the many Viaducts to the buildings that are extremely old to the way the city is built on a hill. Once I got off the plane i was in love. Last night was my first time getting actual Italian food and I got lasagna, which was smaller than I tought but pact a very hard punch.
   Of course with the good of the city there is bound to be a bit of bad. Not only did I feel at home getting off the plane, but I also noticed I had no Signal, data, or Wi-Fi; even though the airport said it had Wi-Fi. This was a STRUGLE not only did I get a text from our Air b&b host saying he couldn't pick us up, but we had no idea of how to get to his place. And with no wifi, data (even though or phone suppliers said we had some) and for me nothing to eat since the night before, we were sitting ducks, in a new city, with American accents and 3 useless super computers (capable of everything but connecting to the internet.)

Standing around I thought to myself what are we to do? Then it hit me this is what we all have been preparing for our whole lives.  Math,  science, social studies, leadership classes and everything else. These classes were made to give us all basic knowledge of the world and our selves. This is when I thought about what Carmen said before we left "its in those moments that you find who you are as a person." It was in that moment that I realized that we could do anything with or without a phone.  So we converted our money grabbed a cab and made our way to our Air b&b, where we walled into this gorgeous view of the city. 

In those moments we got our stuff together and got what we needed done. I think we have concurred getting lost in an Italian city without phones.  Now let's see if we can find some cool clubs and bars and stuff. 珞 Challenge accepted.

Come on........Italy. 

Darius Lee: Smizing through London.

This week I got the opportunity to read another persons blog and I have to say that I did enjoy it. Darius  Lee also wrote a post about the slave museum and he talked about how the slaves staying  together and being each others support.
This made me think about the people of today and how people of color have stuck together through history. Unity is something I think that has been a key element in survival and perseverance in our history. It seems that as we are growing up there is less of this unity in our community. This is very dangerous when there are things that need to be done in the world, like reform of systems that have been put in place to gives privilege to certain groups. This unity is something many of us strive for within different communities but then we fail when it is for our own.

This unity is achievable for everyone but you have to start with yourself and then work a bit at a time. This, I think, is how we create a sense of unity within the world and our communities. Of course there is more work to this unity, but if we can start within then we would be able to work.

Leadership and London

         Its been an interesting few weeks here adjusting to everything that has been going on. During my stay here I have been reading for my Long Vanderburgh scholars  class, we are looking at the life of one of the most famous leaders; Nelson Mandela. Reading this autobiography has been very interesting, within it Mandela gives lessons about how leadership should be and traits that a leader should have when leading.

I have been forced to think about what leadership means to me as I read the book which has been changed by some of the things I have read. For example the most recent chapter we read was about  leading from behind and I thought to myself who in the world could you do that. Of course as I was reading the material I understood more about how Mandela would make others feel as if they made decisions themselves. Author Richard Stengel talks about how Mandela would rarely share what his views were on certain subjects but he would rather summarize what everyone else would mold the opinion and gear it towards action. 

Reading this I thought to myself that he was the most effective Resident Assistant that there was. All joking aside he really proved himself to be a great man and leader, which is something that many people strive but never achieve at that level. Does that make them less of a leader? No it doesn't. 

Everyone has their own way of leading and Mandela's might not work for everyone, but it is good to know about other ways of leading, to see see which is most effective for you. During my time here and being the RA I have noticed that it is easy want to tell people what to do and how to do it and being part of everything that people are doing, but it's more difficult letting people do them while you are doing something completely different.

Looking through my phone I was able to find a picture that I took with a statue of Mandela. I did not realize that I had this but I thought it would be fitting for this post. The statue I think captures who he was as a person in the since that he was always open and the power he radiates it very visible in the picture. I can say that when I saw the statue I was surprised to see it, but I thought why not he did meet the queen and the presence of his leadership was felt over all of the world. So far so good.

Come on London!!

Lights, Make-up, and Jazz squares.

      Being in London has really opened my eyes to the uses of theater and how I have interacted with it in my recent years. I have had many conversations with the other people here and them talking about how the shows that we are seeing are stimulating the creative juices in them. I am not sure if that is true for me.

     I have definitely enjoyed seeing all the shows we have gone to, in a way I think it has done the opposite to me. I came here thinking to myself that there was all this theater that hasn't been created and how we needed to start creating so that more and more people are being seen on stage. After the shows I have seen I am not sure it that is true anymore. Being in the UK has made me aware of all the shows that are doable by different types of people round the world. Sitting listening to representatives come and talk about the work they do at the Globe Theater really impresses me. To see that it is very expansive to more than just one audience and type of person really makes theater a universal language in a way to me.

    They use theater to reach out to their communities and get them involved more and see the importance of it, which is amazing to me. This makes sense why people respect and appreciate the actor more here. They are also more flexible with casting here. Never in a million years would I have expected to see so much representation on the stage of a theater. Here I feel so removed from many  of the issues of the America and the American stage. This then makes me think is this all a distraction or is this a possible reality of what theater could and should be?

   I think that in America it is possible to have such a diverse theater and for it to mean something more than just for the entertainment of the people. I think that if American theater can take anything from British Theater it is that the ticket prices don't need to start at $300 in order for the theater to make a profit. They could also loosen up a bit when it comes to casting and take a chance with a person that is unknown or make a statement with cast a woman in a man's part or racially different casting. This way that stage would represent the world that we are living in.

 I have been entertained and pushed as an audience member and I think that the shows that we have seen are a great reflection of what London is in the present time.

After seeing the show that was Imogen which was another show well done, all I could say was

Come one London!!!

Mindset and Set Minds

     It has been interesting to be in London and learn about their history, specifically their history with slavery and what was to come after it. Through our classes we have read two books that have been our new introduction to a mechanical system used to build the wealth and prosperity of many countries.

     Slavery has already been taught to us as children in Grade, or as some may call it Grammar, school; but as we grow up we are taught many different things about why it really was created and why it took so long for it to be abolished. While reading the books Oroonoko and The History of Mary Prince, both the authors pain a very clear visual of what slavery was used for and how it effected both the white and the black community. 

    The use of slaves has been implemented countless civilizations, but the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was a different beast.  This was not only about free labor but in a way the eradication of a race of people.
  The enslavement of the, what we now know as the, African people has had a certain affect on the people of the time and generations to come.
   The dominance of one culture over another that took place and set the course for many of the issues that we are dealing with today. In the minds of whites during slavery there was this power that came with their position in the newly created world. While reading the book The History of Mary Prince it was easy to see this in the many different masters that Mary had. The wife of one of her masters named Capetian I, was very cruel to her. This had me think about why this would be useful to anyone; as a slaver owner there has always been this feeling of the slaves would try to over throw you. So then the whites had to go out of their way to make sure that blacks knew their place. This meant that they had to show their dominance over the slaves. Mary recalled a time when her masters wife whipped her because she told her one of the jars had broken and the wife whipped her for relaying the information. One of her first masters beat her almost every day to make sure she knew who was in charge. Once he even made his son watch, after reading this I thought to myself that this is how the idea of slavery kept on through the generations. Acts like this are what teach children that they are more than the slaves and give them privilege.
     Slavery was the creation of white privilege and the starting steps for all it will be used for in the creation of new countries. This is what is being passed down to each generation of children and teaching how to keep their control over slaves.

   The slaves on the other hand are being taught the opposite. In the book Oroonoko, the main character tells a story of the African slave that was A prince of a nation. This prince was tricked into slavery and in the book you see his transformation from nobleman to slave. He and Mary Prince both in a way loose their humanity towards themselves. In Mary Prince when she refers to either herself or other slaves she compares them to animals or property that is meant to be bought and sold at the drop of a dime. When Oroonoko's rebellion was stopped and he was captured he was butchered like a cow. Shopping his arms and legs off, bleeding him out and decapitating him. Mary Prince tells us the story of her family being split apart and separated at the auction block. This forces the people to start to form extended families to care and nurture for each other. They were mentally and physically abused and bound. They were shackled and treated harshly, many a times the slaves were even humiliated in public while being sold. They were stripped of clothes and showcased for all the men at auctions to see. This treatment has taken such a tole that remnants of it all are felt today. You have people that are bound by the government and who think that where they are is the only place they will go. The minds of blacks was broken, it had to be that was the only way to keep slavery on going. 

The Warrior Within: a trip to the International slavery Mueseum

Going to the International Slaver Museum was an Eye opening experience. There was so much history in those rooms that there were many times when I had to sit and think everything that was in the museum and how it all has led to me being where I was. I have nothing but gratefulness after visiting, In this assignment I will be reflecting on the trip in a story. for the class. 

The Warrior Within

As I walked through the museum I couldn't hep but think what story would be told of, if it were the future and the it was stumbled upon this exhibit. It came to me that they would see the different objects that caught my eye and think to themselves that the people that were enslaved were a strong people. From the women to the men to the children the first thing they will see is their culture. The art work that was created in the time before they were treated like cattle. These Strangers will look at their craftsmanship and know that these were very skilled people. The doors were carved from trees and stone each of the designs that was a representation of the status of the family. The more intricate the better the status of the family. The culture is deeply rooted within in the ground that surrounded them and just like the door is deeply carved in the wood, the culture of the people is carved deep within them. Their true nature was not to be captive people, not to be treated as cargo, property, or animals. They were warriors, princes, mothers, daughters, queens and kings and this does not change even if you are put into captivity.  

The warrior spirit was so strong that there had to be a way in order to break that soul. We talked about how when enslaving a people it is common practice to hold power over them in every way possible and in order to break the warrior spirit they had to show that they held power over the African slaves. One way that they did that was through the art work. On the vase below there is a picture of a slave that is serving the master. Having pictures, scriptures and a society built upon white supremacy is one of the ways the masters kept the slaves in the slave mentality. This repetition of how the master is better than the slave is how they broke the warrior spirit within the slaves and they were able to have control over them. Of course there were other ways they broke the spirits of the slaves like beating them into submission and embarrassment in front of other slaves.  

Even within captivity their warrior spirit was not completely broken  or gone. They learned to preserve it and to keep it within themselves. Through the hard times they drew from the strength of the warrior to help them fight on when it seemed like they could not fight anymore. This replenished their being giving them hope and a fighting spirit that they used to get their freedom later in history. The guest will come across the video section and they will hear the stories of the slaves trying to escape. This will be a testament of their strength at the end of the video they will hear the lady say "We were Africa in the beginning, we will be Africa in the end."  This phrase means that no matter what they go through they will always be true to who they are. This is a key phrase to the whole exhibit, this shows the warrior spirit to the fullest. They will fight to preserve their identity.
  This is even seen in modern times through the people that are not inhabitants of America. They hold close to the traditions and the the history of their people to show honor to the ancestors that have come before. They keep the warrior spirit going and living within themselves and the history of their lives. This is key for moving forward, staying true to the culture that many have tried to strip away and change.
This is the story that any visitor will gain from visiting the museum a story of survival, strength, and courage. They will truly find the Warrior within.

Extroverts worst nightmare

   There are many differences between American and European culture, but the one I want to focus on is the difference in social life. This country is truly an introverts dream land. If you're the type of person who hates it when people talk to you on the street or a person who doesn't like talking to people on the train, then London is the place for you. Even when clubing people are not very loud or chaotic.
   Last night I got the opportunity to go to a Beyoncé party and while there I walked in to a club of people sitting around, including Kevin, just having simple conversation. To this I was very shocked, at American parties people come on ready to sweat and everything else (no drinks required). Here people were sitting and talking as if they were at a dinner for two.  After a drink they would stand where they are sitting and dance, then have a nother drink walk away from the table just a little bit and dance, then have one more drink and get on the floor and dance; the whole time I felt as if I were watching people testing the water they were trying to swim in.
   I also thought it was weird that the DJ was not playing any Beyoncé songs. Come to find out around 10:30pm that the Beyoncé party was actually downstairs.......after hearing this announcement everyone grabbed all their belongings and ran as quickly as (and as safely) possibly downstairs. As we stepped through the doors we were greated with a love mix of Regge and oldschool Beyoncé. As more and more people showed up the party got more and more lively, the people were dancing but only with each other. This I was not use to in America when ever you are in a crowded club people are dancing with their friends but also grinding and dancing with others around them. This is not the case in London. Even when the club is packed people are very careful with who they are dancing with. I speak from experience here, there was this very lively couple Kevin and I were dancing with and they were very interactive, but they were also very separate and in their on little bubble while interacting with us.

As out night came to an end and we began to leave the club the staff there were very polite and kind they all asked us if we were leaving, then they would tell us to get home safely. Both Kevin and I were amazed at the hospitality of the club security as we were there and left. The night was an overall good night and I am glad I got the opportunity to go, if I could do it again then I definitely would. As we headed back home all I could think to myself was..

Come on London!!