Lauren Learns Luganda

After my lackluster efforts last week, I wanted to make sure that this week was a success. And, thanks to Omuzannyo, I was able to make it so! This semester, my schedule is quite busy during the first part of the week, so it was hard for me to put much time into studying during the beginning of the week. I did manage to do a little bit of work every day, but I wasn't able to dedicate much time until Thursday. By the time the weekend started, however, I still was well short of my Omuzannyo goal of 70 points. Which is exactly when Omuzannyo came in to save the day. I knew I had  to reach the goal this week. So I put more time in on Saturday and Sunday than I normally would have, doing several more intense activities than I truly felt like doing, to reach the goal. And reach it I did - hitting 70 points on Sunday night! Here were my activities for the week: Tuesday : Listened to the radio, texted with friends Wednesday : Quizlet long-term-learning Thursday : Read grammar book ...

Well, guys. Last week was ... nuts. Even more nuts than I thought it was going to be. In that context, I really feel like I gave my Luganda all I could under tremendous constraints. At the same time, I know that it wasn't even close to enough. I'm debating how to categorize the week. A success in that I gave it my all when I could? Or a failure because of all of the constraints (some of them choices I made) that meant that I put much less time than normal into my studies? I knew that the last half of the week was going to be tough because of my international travel, so I did try and front-load some Luganda on Monday and Tuesday. However, I did NOT expect Wednesday and Thursday to be as crazy as they were. (It was one of those when it rains it pours weeks, where I had multiple additional assignments for classes and student-related obligations in the evenings.) I also expected to have slightly better internet access in Ireland. I'm always unhappily surprised to be reminded ...

I had a rough start to last week in terms of Luganda work. I did a little bit of Quizlet work on Monday, and then on Tuesday... Luganda just got lost. I don't really know what happened, and it hasn't happened in a long time, but I didn't really do anything on Tuesday other than exchange a couple of texts with a friend. (I barely remember Tuesday, so I assume the chaos of other classwork just took over? I don't have any other analysis to offer.) The lapse in work on Monday and Tuesday forced me into action the rest of the week - I felt guilty and behind, and wanted to make up for it. On Thursday, Simon and I were set to meet at 9, and I was looking forward to feeling like I was fully back on track. But then he called ... and there was no sound. We went back and forth over Skype for about a half hour trying to fix the problem, but nothing seemed to work. While I waited for technology to function properly, I did lesson work and listened to music, so that the time didn...

I am a photographer. My uncle, a photographer himself, started teaching me how to use a camera and a dark room when I was ten. I've been hooked ever since. My uncle remains my main teacher and troubleshooter for photography, and he still gives me a lot of advice. He has one piece of advice that is absolutely at the top of his list for me, and it is this: Read your camera's manual. Re-read it at least once a year. You see, as you gain experience as a photographer in general, and with your camera specifically, you become increasingly proficient in certain technical procedures and you start to fall into some habits with how you shoot. By re-reading your camera's manual, you are able to learn about features that you previously didn't have the skills to use, and you are able to re-imagine some of your tried and true techniques, hopefully pushing your skills along. It is an activity of both discovery (of something that's always been there), and a chance to reassess how...