a new Alma Mater: Uganda Christian University

main entrance to campus

I just finished my second week of classes here at UCU. The class schedule has FINALLY been made official after changing around five times in the last two weeks. The organization of the schedule is VERY different from back home at Bluffton. My classes aren’t scheduled in what I would think of as “rational” with certain classes on MWF and others on T/TH. Everyday I have a different combination of classes, at different times during the day,

I am taking a total of five classes here that amount to 16 credit hours. Four of my classes are USP students only which doesn’t result in much interaction with Ugandan students. Two of these four classes are taught by Ugandan profs which has been somewhat of a challenge for me because they can be hard to understand at times which makes it easy for me to get distracted. I do however find my prof for African Lit. who sounds like Yoda (which I think increases the difficulty in understanding him) very entertaining so class isn’t too terrible. :) My other two classes with the USP students are my “core” classes: Faith and Action in the Ugandan Context and IMME Practicum. Both of theses classes are set up in a seminar/discussion format. Basically we do a lot of reading and then come to class to discuss what we found insightful or challenging and how it applies to our life. I am learning a lot from both these classes but I am not impressed with the emphasis on participation. A lot of times I would rather just observe and absorb the deep intellectual thoughts that my classmates are bringing up rather than risking the chance of saying something that sounds dumb. The class that I DO have with Ugandan students is Understanding Worldviews. I was really nervous for this class because I didn’t know any other USP student that was going to be in the same lecture time as me. My professor ended up being American so I wasn’t the ONLY muzungu in the building. This class has given me a good opportunity to interact with Ugandan students and make some new friends. I am really enjoying the class and learning about worldviews from this different perspective (bc the class is designed for African students).

One of the perks of the Ugandan Education system is the grading scale. Are you ready for this?

85-100= A       75-79= B+     65-69= B-       55-59= C     0-49= F

80-84 = A-      70-74 = B      60-64= C+      50-54= C-

So… yeah luckily they will be sending my grade letters back home and not the percentages. I think this is pretty awesome. I guess they could be tougher when it comes to grading so that could changed things. Only time will tell.

main classroom building

 

the parade of students from Chapel to the dinning hall (much like Bluffton)

Jill using a tray at lunch!! How dare she??? Bluffton friends would NOT approve!

 

 

USP class room and some friends

 

 

I am leaving shortly for a weekend trip to Jinja! We are going to visit with some missionaries and we will get to see the source of the Nile! Keep us in your prayers as we travel! Hope you all have a great weekend! LOVE