Exam prep

This week closes out the official lectures.  Of course, we have three lectures next week, but we’ll ignore that.  This is when lecturers prepare students for exams, hopefully by giving us “areas of concentration” for our study.  Thus far, only one lecturer has been so inclined.  We’ll work on the other three next week.

Canon Musiime, when we asked for areas of concentration, asked if he should leak the exam questions to us.  We say yes; his exams are tough.  I pointed out that Professor Byaruhanga gave us the questions, and then he STILL slaughtered us.  Canon Musiime laughed, but hasn’t leaked anything yet.  But he’s one of the three, so perhaps we’ll be able to wear him down a bit.  John and Romans both are quite a bit of material, yes?  Goodness.  Or “banange,” which is mostly untranslatable, but is a way of sighing (ba-NAHN-gee, hard g).

Canon Kasamba, on the other hand, has never lectured us before.  The other lecturers have the (mis)fortune of having had us in their classrooms previously, and are used to us.  God bless them.  Canon Kasamba has been lecturing us in Christianity in Uganda, a paper (exam) that were I not so fried from my dissertation, I would have asked to have written another paper rather than sit for the paper.  Especially since his is the fourth in our five-day marathon.

Canon Kasamba did not give us areas of concentration, though he did talk to us about making thoughtful and supported arguments.  Fine and good.  Then he said that no one should leave the room before 2.5 hours into the three hour exam.  Someone said “Jessica,” and we all had a good laugh.  My average is 1.5 hours, and since I’ve not been learning the history of Christianity in Uganda since secondary school like all my classmates, I’m not certain that I’ll have a whole heck of a lot to write.  I tried to negotiate him down to two hours, but he didn’t seem willing to bite.  I tried to explain that I think in English, and that contributes to my speed.  I’m not certain he heard me; it was pretty loud in the room at that point.  Clearly, I’m going to need to talk to him before the exam.

Party like you're graduating

This is Africa, where we celebrate everything.  And that’s a good thing.  Since it’s the end of the semester, there are finalist parties everywhere.  And they all seem to be this weekend.  Friday evening is the party for MDiv 2 (my class).  Saturday afternoon is the BD 3 party, which was originally envisioned to be for BD 3 and MDiv 2, but that didn’t quite pan out.  Sunday afternoon is a party for all the ladies.  I’m a bit fuzzy on that one, as I thought it was for the ladies in theology, but it’s on the football pitch, which implies a lot more than just our group of 15 or so.  Nope – the ladies in theology is Monday evening.  Sunday is just a party for all the finalist ladies.  Apparently there will be all sorts of speakers coming.  Hmmm…  Next Friday night is the party for finalists at the Honours College, where I live.  Next Sunday is the handover for the international theologians.  And then exams start.  Lord, have mercy.  Please!

In other news, I’m still looking for someone to tell me when afternoon stops and evening starts, then when evening stops and night starts.  I’ve got the break between night and morning down, and fortunately, don’t greet anyone in that time frame.  I’ve heard many different answers, and it’s vexing, because people greet you by the time of day.  Good afternoon, good evening, good night… all depends on what time of day it is.  I’ve given up trying to explain that for Americans, good night is a farewell.  I fear greeting someone with a time reference anytime between 3-7 pm because I have no idea what to call that time of day.  Silly and neurotic, I know, but in two years, if I’ve not gotten this straight, will I ever?

Things of beauty

It's 11:00pm, my ability to hold thoughts together on my analysis of Christianity and Islam is waining, yet I'm not quite ready for bed.  This must be the Protestant version of purgatory.


Here are some random thoughts of things that have struck me/made me smile this week:

This is the place where I buy airtime for my phone, and the yellow is probably in honor of MTN, the largest cell carrier.  But Harriet has everything.  Note how tiny the little shack is; Amos is standing nearby for perspective.  There are about three of these right next to each other, but Harriet gets the most business.

Sure, she sells sweets too (in the containers; you can see more of them above), but I bet it's because she's a gem.  How she can be so upbeat while sitting in that little shack for at least nine hours a day is beyond me.  When I first started going to her, after I had been there about twice she started telling me I had been lost (she'd not seen me in a while).  When I was sick, I fell into a coughing fit in front of her, and she promptly gave me a set of cough drops, and didn't charge me.

A few weeks ago, several of these little guys were planted around the Honours College, and this one has started blooming already.  Lovely!

Do you see the different colored dirt?  That nasty slope was filled in this week!  Hallelujah!  It's still at an interesting angle, but it's MUCH better to climb and slope now.  

Here's a close-up - rather than nearly a two-foot drop, now the dirt practically comes up to the step.

This not-so-little guy (four inches across!) hung out on this corner in our common area for a couple days this week.  Unfortunately, it was a corner next to the toilet, and he was just above eye level.  At four inches across, he gave me a bit of a start every time I walked by.  Last I saw, he had shifted to another wall, higher up.

I've never seen this bird before, and I saw him land, and before I could grab my camera, he moved a bit.  It doesn't show very well here, but his beak is incredibly yellow.  It was just beautiful.

Agony as foreign students adapt to Ugandan culture

This is a piece written by one of the Honours College students, also an international student (from Kenya, in case you wonder about the Kenyan slant).  Intrepid Joan is one of the main characters!  I just wish they'd posted the picture of her that appeared in the print edition:

Press On

From the "oldies but goodies" file, this was the first song that played in iTunes when I sat down to (try to) knock out the last three assignments.  God really does have a sense of humor.  And encouragement.


Though the days seem like years...
There may be giants in our fears...
Ah, but they who sow in tears
They shall reap in joy
They shall run and leap for joy!


Press On, Billy Sprague (Amy - I immediately thought of you)


I was down in the valley
Of the shadow of death
Where the passion for life
Drained like blood from my chest
And it took more than my will just to
Take a step
When the compass of hope
Was gone

In a silence so black
That I wished for the blues
Every desperate prayer
Seemed like Heaven refused
And some days I found faith meant just
Tyin' my shoes
And it was
All I could do
To press on

Press on me amigo
Press on mon ami
Walk on in the face
Of the mystery
Though the night hides the light
Through the darkness still dawn...
Tie your shoes, my dear friend
And press on

On the ocean so lonesome I was not left alone
Had some heavyweight friends
When my heart was a stone
And they carried my heartache and
Made it their own
When the current of sorrow
Was strong
(and one said)
'I pray your memories will not drag you down
Not be anchors but treasures
Of the love that you've found'
And His kind words turned hurt into comfort somehow
And the wind in my sails
To press on

So press on me amigo
Press on mon ami
Walk on in the face
Of the mystery
Though the night hides the light
And the journey is long...
Lean on me, my dear friend
And press on

Though the days seem like years...
There may be giants in our fears...
Ah, but they who sow in tears
They shall reap in joy
They shall run and leap for joy!

So press on me amigo
Press on mon ami
Walk on in the face
Of the mystery...

Though the night hides the light
And the journey is long...
Lean on me, my dear friend
And press on me amigo
Press on mon ami
Walk on in the face
Of the mystery
Though the night hides the light
And the journey is long...
Tie your shoes, my dear friend
And press on! 

Cappuccino muffins

Could someone please make and enjoy these in honor of my dissertation, exams, etc.?  Lori - I'm especially thinking of you.


Don't forget to tell me how they are.

"Prepare for slaughter."

That’s what Rev. Omona, my supervisor, told me when he cleared me to give the first presentation of my dissertation.  I was prepared for slaughter.  It wasn’t that bad; I have one very, very small change to make.  Praise God for that.

The slaughter comes in the next week in a half, when I have to have my dissertation finished.  So much for the grand plan to finish it at a nice pace after exams.  Rev. Omona ambushed us with that after our presentations.  Turns out that the Senate might be meeting early, and they don’t want anyone to miss graduation because their dissertation isn’t finished.

I appreciate that bit of altruism.  I really do.  But I was hoping to use reading week for, you know, reading for my exams.  Not finishing (Rev. Omona: "You need to find more words.  The minimum is 50 pages."  Me:  "..."), printing, binding, and defending my dissertation.  Next week is the last week of classes, and I’m wondering whether one or two classes may spill into reading week anyhow.  And there are a couple pesky assignments to finish, though I’ve found of late that if I leave an assignment for a couple days, when I return to it I suddenly like it a lot more than I did previously, and it’s miraculously ready for submission.  Odd.

Yes, I’m incredibly whiny right now, and after a good night’s sleep (I’m not setting my alarm in the morning), I’m hoping to remember that God has carried me thus far rather well, and that He won’t leave me or forsake me, and that this is just another opportunity for Him to remind me who’s really in charge here.  Right now, it’s 5:45 and I’m trying to discern whether I have the social energy for that event called supper.  The big mug of Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate (hot chocolate – YUM) should help a bit.