Retreating and winding down

At the end of the January semester (now renamed Easter semester; next is Trinity semester, and September is now Advent semester), we have a week of two retreats:  two days with all the students, then a day of leaving and the new guests arriving:  the spouses for the finalists arrive, with children in tow.  Then we have two more days of retreat with just the married finalists and their families.  

In previous years I tried to not attend since I’m not married, but I was quickly reprimanded.  I told this story to one of my students, and his reply blessed me tremendously:  “It’s good that you’re here.  You need to meet our wives because the relationship doesn’t end here; it will continue.”  Amen!  

Though this introvert gets quite exhausted and doesn’t feel that she gets sufficient rest to prepare for the students to arrive on the first Wednesday of May (with lectures beginning the following Monday), the retreats really are a lot of fun.  The students are relaxed because they’ve finished their exams, and they actually smile again.  The lecturers may be stressed because of the deadlines for marking exams; I was working with my three students to get their dissertations complete so they could print, bind, and submit them before the deadline.

What I enjoy most about the marrieds’ retreat is meeting the spouses and the kids.  The majority of families remain at home while the student comes here; it’s quite rare for the entire family to uproot and stay in Mukono or Kampala, though it does happen.

A special joy for me was meeting my little friend Luke, whom I had the honor and joy of naming last year.  I’ll get to see him again in December when I go to Kumi for his dad’s ordination, though I doubt he’ll remember me.

My student George, his wife Grace, Luke, and I didn’t get the girl’s name, though she’s a helper.

Then there’s little Jeremiah, who’s a pretty happy kid, except when he’s looking at a camera phone:

Poor Jeremiah… his dad’s lecturer subjected him to selfies!

And now the campus is fairly quiet while we wait for the students to return next week.  It’s a tiny bit eerie, though it is a nice change.