Becoming Icelandic

Hey all!! I have finally settled in after more then a few complications and can actually starting sharing some of my icelandic adventures!

My arrival was amazingly painless, I stepped off the plane and some nice icelandic guy came up to me and showed me where the booth was to buy bus tickets. I asked the man at the booth what was the closest stop to my hotel and he responds “Oh we can take you straight to it if you like.” Another man helped me carry my stuff to the bus and eventually into the hotel. And that was it, easy peasy. 

Harbour right by my apartment

I’m pretty sure iceland was just lulling me into a false sense of security though because from that point on nothing was particularly easy. I woke up the next morning with a fever and after a few hours of walking (I got a wee bit lost) when I finally found my apartment no one was there. So I had to go back and get a hotel room for another night.  Then over the next few days I had to go from one government building to the next filling out this form and getting pictures taking and hundreds upon hundreds of scans of my passport. Iceland is based on a ID number system called a kennitala, which is kind of like our social insurance number on steroids. Without this magical number I can’t register for school, sign my lease, I can’t even load money on my phone card. Which has been a pain because without registering for school I can’t see my timetable or change my classes. Unfortunately I am STILL waiting on my papers to go through so I can get my kennitala. Which is very frustrating. 

Also annoying was the fact that having finally gotten to my apartment I had to move out again to a hostel for 4 days because my landlord had rented it out for that time. Luckily there happened to be one around the corner so it wasn’t too inconvenient but still involved a lot of time spent sharing a room with 11 other people one of whom snored... 

However, once I got past all the little annoyances the transition has been pretty easy. Reykjavik is really beautiful, colorful and cute and full of little eccentricities. The people here speak english really well, overall the best english I’ve ever experienced in a non-anglophone country. I spent the first few days asking “do you speak english” to which most people respond with “ of course I do” and a look that said “stupid tourists”. The icelandic are very friendly in a nordic way. They are very brusque and do not waste time tip-toeing around. My very first night I went to a restaurant and two Italian tourists in front of me asked the waitress how long it will be, she responded with “I can’t tell you how long it will be! Either people will eat fast or they will eat slow!” So I walked up kind of freaked out thinking what a grump she was, but when I said I would wait she took me out to the backyard, gave me a blanket, brought me a beer and preceded to sit and chat with me for 10 minutes. People have some bark, but are willing to go far out of their way for you. 

I haven’t started classes yet because of the registration issues. Though I was fully intending on going to a class today only to spend the hour wandering around between the two campuses trying to ask people where a place called Stakkahlid was. Except that I can’t pronounce Stakkahlid so half to people probably had no idea what I was talking about. Haha, I really need to start that icelandic class! But the exchange student program at the school is really great. They have over 600 exchange students this year which is crazy. I guess the school makes up a lot of it’s student population with international students. So they have lots of programs and clubs available to us. Already there have been three parties with live music at them and a rafting trip. 

The rafting trip was very fun, though the water (being glacial water) was freakin’ FREEZING!! There was one part where we jumped off a cliff into it and all I could think of was “ I finally understand what the people on the titanic went through” :p I was sure my feet were never going to defrost. 

These are geothermal rivers in a hill we passed on the way to rafting. It was almost eery seeing what looked like smoke in the middle of nowhere. 

Speaking of cold, I know Iceland is known for being cold. But everyone was told me it wasn’t that cold, especially during the summer. So I had high expectations. Let me tell you, people lie. It IS cold in iceland. The winters may not be that bad but the summers are COLD. Though it’s only 12C the wind is either off the ocean or straight off the glaciers. I would like to thank my mother for having the thought that a winter coat is good and all, but not so great soaking wet. Because it has rained probably 7 of the 10 days I’ve been here. Were it not for your wise advise I would be trucking around in a very soggy down jacket. On the plus side, it drizzles not pours, so you can still get around. But it rains pretty constantly all day long, with no breaks. However, when the sun does come out it’s like a holiday. Everyone hits the streets, and they set up “tanning” beds in the square so you can soak it up. 

Anywho, tomorrow I am off on a trip to the center of iceland (aka no mans land) with a bunch of people I just met. The center of iceland is so sparsely populated that we have to tent (no hotels) and buy enough food beforehand for the whole trip (no grocery stores.) So all in all it should be an interesting trip. Wish me luck!! 

Average temp: 10C

Sunrise: 6:32

Sunset: 8:17

Hours of sunlight: 13h 45m