Monkey business

I have become accustomed to the 6:30am monkey cavorting; they run across the roof, on the water tower outside my bedroom window, and hang about the iron sheets that keep rain from the windows.  They seem to love playing first thing in the morning, and make a terrible racket doing it.  

This morning there were between four and six monkeys playing; they kept coming and going, so I was never very sure how many there were.  

So, they climb, run, and apparently nosh on grub from the ground (ants?).  I'm just grateful that my garden (such as it is) doesn't contain anything they're interested in, or I'd never eat any of it.

See the tail?  That means that the monkey is sitting on the iron sheet above my window, and let me assure you that it makes quite a racket.

See the pawprints above?  I see this picture with the face that went with the paws that made the prints; I must have scared him off the windowsill when I moved the curtain to take the picture.

But not for long, because they kept coming, noshing, climbing, and playing.

Then they went to the garden that's up the hill and behind my place.  This shot makes me think that he's saying grace. :)

Then he ate.  

Then friends came to share in the feast.

And the galavanting began afresh.

Fun at faculty board

Funny comment before this morning's faculty board: Fred asked me to plug in his laptop to the power strip. I noticed that the prongs were American, and did not have an adapter. I held it up and said, "This is an American plug; you know nothing that's American works here."  Fred quickly replied, "Except Jessica."  

And no, I didn't get it right away.  

Dinner companion

As I was making dinner tonight, I heard a rustling in the garden up the hill (because it's been SO dry; please pray for rain!).

I assumed it was a dog.  Nope; this guy was looking for his dinner too.

Cold and an ordination

I have the wretched cold (or flu, as we say here) that is going around. Ugh. When I get online for real I'll post pictures from Sunday's ordination in Jinja.

Of course, the trip back required a stop at a certain fruit stand, and when you pull up, all the merchants descend in your car with their wares, vying for your attention. You have to buy the entire basket, so while I wanted one pineapple, I had to buy two. Whereas I wanted one avocado, I bought five. 

Good enough, I had Canon Moses and Ruth Isabirye with me, so we did some sorting once we got home. I have them avocados and a pineapple, and they gave me a bunch of bananas. Oh, and I gave them some passion fruit; there's no way I could have consumed that entire bag. I just hope the juice helps with this wretched cold. 

Launching a coup

Today we began our curriculum review in earnest, and I began to launch my coup.  My earnest desire is to expand our programs by a semester, if not a year, which is going to cause great consternation, angst, and gnashing of teeth.  I've been talking to the dean about this, and several key lecturers.  Today I was literally whispering in Professor's ear, and he brought it up rather well.

The challenge is that the bishops probably won't go for this at all.  Like other leaders, they want to send us their students, and we pour what we need to into their hearts and minds in the fastest amount of time possible.  So, we will do our best to make the best proposal and presentation that we can, and pray our little hearts out.

Apparently, since I have the fastest fingers in Uganda, I have inherited the secretary duties for this review, despite my inability to take minutes. I am inferring that I am in charge of gathering, corralling, and making sense of all our information. 

If we can get our act together and actually agree on things, we have the potential to do some really great work here.  I think I scored some points, at least temporarily, with the need to emphasize critical thinking and analysis, particularly with the master's degree.

Lord, please help us! 

How a fire in Kenya affects Uganda

It made the Washington Post 'trending topics' at the top of their page, so it must be true. Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi suffered quite a bit of damage in a fire. While I've not read of any loss of life, this is a huge tragedy for both  Kenya and East Africa, as this airport is a major hub. 

Why does this matter to me?  The Global Anglican Futures Conference II will be held in Nairobi at the end of October.  

Even though Kenya is next door, it is much easier to fly to Nairobi in an hour than it is to spend 12 hours on a bus, and customs is much easier as well. A number of us from UCU are going, and I believe we are electing to fly. 

Please join me in praying that operations resume and find normalcy as quickly as possible. 

Requesting logistical brainpower.

Ok, people. I need your help. Next semester, I am likely to be responsible for taking attendance for 150 students in chapel, six times a week. Yay me. 

What is the easiest, yet most efficient, way to do this? Do not assume that the honor code is in effect. 

Thanks!