Today’s prompt: Write about a photograph you remember, even if you don’t have it anymore.
While I was an exchange student in Finland, I took a photography course, figuring it was something I could do to communicate with people without having to speak Finnish, a difficult language to learn, especially when you don’t want to. I bought an SLR and started walking around taking pictures instead of going to class.
Listing off the schools that I’ve attended probably won’t be all that interesting to read. Well, I guess, it might be more interesting than what you’re about to read if what I write next is not of interest to you.
The most interesting schooling experience that I’ve had was when I was attending a photography class in Finland. I don’t speak Finnish. The instructor didn’t speak English. We were developing film in a dark room. I didn’t fully appreciate just how interesting my life was at the time.
I stole a book on photography from a classmate. Accidentally, of course, but I did take it. She lent it to me because it was in English. I lost it the following year, somewhere in my dorm. There were negatives tucked into the back of that book that’ll never get processed. I remember there being pictures of boats being stored in a wooded area behind the house of my host family.
Photography was important to me during my experience as an exchange student. Given the language barrier, it was the most effective way I found to express myself. People were able to read into my photographs. They saw something that I didn’t, perhaps because they were looking at a piece of me.
I don’t have one. Instead, I use the timer on the stove. It works well because it’s digital. Although, the smallest available unit is minutes, which is sometimes too long.