Today we began our renewable energy technology week beginning with solar power. The lecturer is a professor from the University of Maine, but he teaches some graduate courses in renewable energy in Iceland. The lesson was interesting, but I was pretty tired from last night and was having trouble taking everything in.
We had Icelandic class again today. We reviewed for our oral exam tomorrow and then our teacher Sigga showed us some educational websites to help aid us in learning Icelandic.
When class ended I headed over to our favorite cafe (with the hot chocolate) with a couple of friends Brenda and Julia and we just hung out and talked for a while (as well as studied). I had to leave at around 6:30 pm to be home for dinner.
Walking in the door, the house smelled like a bakery! Apparently Thorhallur's chickens had produced their first eggs over the weekend, so she decided to bake, and had cooked the best chocolate chip muffins. We ate a couple for desert after eating dinner (sandwiches).
Earlier in the blog I discussed the book Jar City which I had started to read when I arrived in Iceland. It was made into a movie a few years back, so my host mom Perla borrowed it from a friend and we watched it in the evening. The film is called Myrin and was very enjoyable. The plot was bent a little bit (to my disappointment), but the movie was filmed beautifully, capturing Iceland's unusual landscape and providing a mystical backdrop for the murder case.
Gotta study for the oral exam some more tomorrow! Bless bless!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Day 20: Last day of weekend class!
So Sunday we had class too. Up until lunchtime we finished learning about environmental policy implementation and indicators and then our groups presented our powerpoints on several different states. Each group discussed current energy development and consumption, as well as the possibility of renewable energy as a viable option in the future. Sophie and I didn't have that much to begin with this morning, but by the time we presented we had a respectable slide show and talked for about 15 minutes about energy in Texas. I learned so much doing this project! Did you know that Texas is the nation's leading producer and consumer of energy? Also, if Texas was its own country, it would rank 8th for countries with the most greenhouse gas emissions. On the bright side, Texas has developed the greatest amount of windpower in the U.S. and is home to the world's largest wind farm in Roscoe, Texas.
After class most of us headed over to Akureyri's city pool. It costs 450 to get in, but it's really nice. There's a leisure pool (moderate temperature), a lap pool, a couple of hot tubs, a steamroom, and a pretty cool water slide among other things. I stayed for about an hour and then had to go home for dinner. My host mom made really good homemade pizza, and after dinner our group met up for bowling (keila).
The bowling alley was rather small, and the panneling over the lanes depicted American flags. The whole time they were playing American pop music too. I bowled decently, and it was fun to go bowling with everybody as well as Caitlin, her husband, and Thordur. Below you can see a picture of my lane buddies, and the beautiful view from the pool table room upstairs
We finished bowling around 11:00 pm and I walked home with a few people. Here's a picture of a building with a cool little waterfall, as well as the first funny English sign I've seen. (For the most part Icelanders know their English)
Time for bed! Tomorrow we began learning more in depth about solar energy!
After class most of us headed over to Akureyri's city pool. It costs 450 to get in, but it's really nice. There's a leisure pool (moderate temperature), a lap pool, a couple of hot tubs, a steamroom, and a pretty cool water slide among other things. I stayed for about an hour and then had to go home for dinner. My host mom made really good homemade pizza, and after dinner our group met up for bowling (keila).
The bowling alley was rather small, and the panneling over the lanes depicted American flags. The whole time they were playing American pop music too. I bowled decently, and it was fun to go bowling with everybody as well as Caitlin, her husband, and Thordur. Below you can see a picture of my lane buddies, and the beautiful view from the pool table room upstairs
We finished bowling around 11:00 pm and I walked home with a few people. Here's a picture of a building with a cool little waterfall, as well as the first funny English sign I've seen. (For the most part Icelanders know their English)
Time for bed! Tomorrow we began learning more in depth about solar energy!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Day 19: Second day of policy and economics
Another late night reading...
Today's class was just as informative. It's so nice to actually be learning something that applies to the real world. After having spent two years in engineering solving isolated schematics and working intricate math problems I feel like I haven't learned much about practical application or discussed current events as they pertain to my work.
Towards the end of our class we were assigned a project (with a partner) to research a state's current energy situation and report on its energy consumption, production, policy and environmental impact. Then, with our partner we are to evaluate the data and devise a renewable energy portfolio. I'm doing Texas, of course, with my friend Sophie.
Even though we ended class at 3 (no Icelandic) Sophie and I worked at the local book store until they closed at 10:00 pm and continued to work at the coffee shop across the street until 11:30 pm.
At around 7:00 pm, Sophie went home for dinner, and since my host family was out for the evening, Nina, her partner Kate, and I went to a rooftop restaurant downtown called Strikið. The restaurant has a breathtaking view of the harbor and I got to use a blanket while eating outdoors. Most cafes and restaurants offer blankets for outdoor seating. (Nina - left, Kate - right)
For dinner I ordered a flavorful dish of salted cod in chili sauce. Apparently the salted cod is a traditional dish, as in the past, Icelanders salted the cod in order to preserve it longer. The chili sauce was amazing, and dining alfresco with two friends from the trip made for an enjoyable evening.
However, my little dinner break only lasted about an hour, since I had to go finish working on the project. While at the cafe though, I ordered another cup of the best hot chocolate ever. (Also, my family skyped me!)
Last day of environmental policy and resource economics tomorrow! Goða Nott!
Today's class was just as informative. It's so nice to actually be learning something that applies to the real world. After having spent two years in engineering solving isolated schematics and working intricate math problems I feel like I haven't learned much about practical application or discussed current events as they pertain to my work.
Towards the end of our class we were assigned a project (with a partner) to research a state's current energy situation and report on its energy consumption, production, policy and environmental impact. Then, with our partner we are to evaluate the data and devise a renewable energy portfolio. I'm doing Texas, of course, with my friend Sophie.
Even though we ended class at 3 (no Icelandic) Sophie and I worked at the local book store until they closed at 10:00 pm and continued to work at the coffee shop across the street until 11:30 pm.
At around 7:00 pm, Sophie went home for dinner, and since my host family was out for the evening, Nina, her partner Kate, and I went to a rooftop restaurant downtown called Strikið. The restaurant has a breathtaking view of the harbor and I got to use a blanket while eating outdoors. Most cafes and restaurants offer blankets for outdoor seating. (Nina - left, Kate - right)
For dinner I ordered a flavorful dish of salted cod in chili sauce. Apparently the salted cod is a traditional dish, as in the past, Icelanders salted the cod in order to preserve it longer. The chili sauce was amazing, and dining alfresco with two friends from the trip made for an enjoyable evening.
However, my little dinner break only lasted about an hour, since I had to go finish working on the project. While at the cafe though, I ordered another cup of the best hot chocolate ever. (Also, my family skyped me!)
Last day of environmental policy and resource economics tomorrow! Goða Nott!
Day 18: Environmental Policy and Resource Economics
So today was our first day learning about environmental policy and resource economics. Our lecturer is a professor from the university of Iceland and she's currently working on a governmental board to develop a national energy policy for Iceland.
I haven't taken an economics class in 3 years and all of my engineering classes are pretty technical so I'm learning some useful information about energy policy and its environmental, social and economic implications. Today was pretty fast paced and it's only going to get more involved.
After our renewable energy class we walked to Icelandic and we had a scavenger hunt to do (kinda). We were divided into groups of four and we had to walk around town and go to the post office and ask how much stamps cost, go to the bank to inquire about the exchange rate (I converted some dollars to krona while we were there), and get a signature at an art gallery among other things. It was fun, but I honestly didn't learn much today.
Some of the students and I met up at one of the cafes in town afterwards and talked for a while. My friend Rosie and I went to the bakery beforehand and I bought a pastry that is basically a giant chocolate covered cinammon roll. It was much bigger than it is in the picture below. I don't know if they're traditional, but I've seen them in several shops since I've been here. It was delicious!
I left the downtown area around 6 to be home in time for dinner. Upon finishing dinner I just spent the rest of the night reading more assigned articles. Tomorrow is Saturday but we still have class!
I haven't taken an economics class in 3 years and all of my engineering classes are pretty technical so I'm learning some useful information about energy policy and its environmental, social and economic implications. Today was pretty fast paced and it's only going to get more involved.
After our renewable energy class we walked to Icelandic and we had a scavenger hunt to do (kinda). We were divided into groups of four and we had to walk around town and go to the post office and ask how much stamps cost, go to the bank to inquire about the exchange rate (I converted some dollars to krona while we were there), and get a signature at an art gallery among other things. It was fun, but I honestly didn't learn much today.
Some of the students and I met up at one of the cafes in town afterwards and talked for a while. My friend Rosie and I went to the bakery beforehand and I bought a pastry that is basically a giant chocolate covered cinammon roll. It was much bigger than it is in the picture below. I don't know if they're traditional, but I've seen them in several shops since I've been here. It was delicious!
I left the downtown area around 6 to be home in time for dinner. Upon finishing dinner I just spent the rest of the night reading more assigned articles. Tomorrow is Saturday but we still have class!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Day 17: Off day
Due to the fact that we will be having class on the weekends for the next two weeks, Caitlin scheduled for us to have Thursday off. Although, it's not really an off day since we had about 200 pages of environmental policy articles and scientific journals.
Since the lingering effects of my cold flu (sinus infection) kept me up last night, I slept in this morning and spent my first couple of hours today watching the epic tennis match at Wimbledon. American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut played a five set match that lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. There is no tiebreaker in the fifth set at Wimbledon and you must win by two games. The two men played about an 8 hour fifth set that ended 70-68 to Isner. And that was only in the first round!
The rest of the day I just read the required readings online, nothing too exciting. I'm hoping tomorrow to go to the town pool. We leave Akureyri in a little over a week and there are still so many things I want to do here. I need to go to the bowling alley, go to the gym (which one student's host family owns), go to the thrift store, and try to set up another hike since I missed the first one when I was sick.
Since the lingering effects of my cold flu (sinus infection) kept me up last night, I slept in this morning and spent my first couple of hours today watching the epic tennis match at Wimbledon. American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut played a five set match that lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. There is no tiebreaker in the fifth set at Wimbledon and you must win by two games. The two men played about an 8 hour fifth set that ended 70-68 to Isner. And that was only in the first round!
The rest of the day I just read the required readings online, nothing too exciting. I'm hoping tomorrow to go to the town pool. We leave Akureyri in a little over a week and there are still so many things I want to do here. I need to go to the bowling alley, go to the gym (which one student's host family owns), go to the thrift store, and try to set up another hike since I missed the first one when I was sick.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Day 16: Last day of geothermal class
So this morning I slept through my alarms and had to quickly shower and then power walk to class. I was only 5 minutes late and class hadn't started. Today we finished discussing geothermal energy and talked about geothermal heat pumps and how the Icelandic government subsidizes heat pumps since they reduce energy consumption. We also did several calculations determing how many kilowatt hours and money (in krona) that a consumer (and the government) can save by installing certain geothermal heat pumps. Tomorrow we have the day off, but most of us plan on studying as we have over 100 pages of environmental policy and resource economics articles to read by Friday for class. Also, we have our oral exam in Icelandic on Monday.
After our Icelandic class most of us headed to a nearby bar (which a fellow student's host dad had opened up only a week earlier). It was quite swanky, but she told us pretty much everything was furnished from IKEA (which Icelanders pronounce eh-kay-uh). For the next hour or so we continued our discussion from last week on Landsvirkjun's dam project for the Aloca aluminum smelter and discussed Icelandic politics. Not more than a couple of weeks ago did Iceland's government legally redefine marriage as a union between two individuals instead of a man and a woman. Iceland's current prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is Iceland's first female prime minister, and the world's first openly gay head of state. Also, the mayor of Reykjavik is Jon Gnarr who ran under a party he created called The Best Party. He's an actor and a comedian who ran for mayor with several ludicrous policies but was still elected.
It was nice to just sit around and have stimulating conversation about national issues with our group leader Caitlin (and her husband), our guide Thordur and the rest of the SIT students. However, I had to leave early because I didn't want to miss dinner.
Arriving back in the neighborhood I got Nina and we went upstairs to discover we were having sheep's head for dinner! It's a traditional meal in Iceland, and Icelanders make use of almost every part of the sheep. We literally ate a cooked head, you could see its teeth, eye sockets and nostrils. To eat it you start by cutting at the jaw line and separating the top half of the skull from the bottom half. Surprisingly, the meat wasn't that bad. I avoided eating the fatty stuff next to where the brain would have been, but the meat around the jaw and the bottom part of the skull tasted similar to dark chicken meat. I ate the tongue too, which was really chewy and flavorless.
The head really isn't that meaty, so you'd have to eat a couple to have a full meal. Our host mom just wanted us to try it, so after picking the meat off our sheep's heads we had eggs, toast and sausage. Next I want to try puffin!
After our Icelandic class most of us headed to a nearby bar (which a fellow student's host dad had opened up only a week earlier). It was quite swanky, but she told us pretty much everything was furnished from IKEA (which Icelanders pronounce eh-kay-uh). For the next hour or so we continued our discussion from last week on Landsvirkjun's dam project for the Aloca aluminum smelter and discussed Icelandic politics. Not more than a couple of weeks ago did Iceland's government legally redefine marriage as a union between two individuals instead of a man and a woman. Iceland's current prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is Iceland's first female prime minister, and the world's first openly gay head of state. Also, the mayor of Reykjavik is Jon Gnarr who ran under a party he created called The Best Party. He's an actor and a comedian who ran for mayor with several ludicrous policies but was still elected.
It was nice to just sit around and have stimulating conversation about national issues with our group leader Caitlin (and her husband), our guide Thordur and the rest of the SIT students. However, I had to leave early because I didn't want to miss dinner.
Arriving back in the neighborhood I got Nina and we went upstairs to discover we were having sheep's head for dinner! It's a traditional meal in Iceland, and Icelanders make use of almost every part of the sheep. We literally ate a cooked head, you could see its teeth, eye sockets and nostrils. To eat it you start by cutting at the jaw line and separating the top half of the skull from the bottom half. Surprisingly, the meat wasn't that bad. I avoided eating the fatty stuff next to where the brain would have been, but the meat around the jaw and the bottom part of the skull tasted similar to dark chicken meat. I ate the tongue too, which was really chewy and flavorless.
The head really isn't that meaty, so you'd have to eat a couple to have a full meal. Our host mom just wanted us to try it, so after picking the meat off our sheep's heads we had eggs, toast and sausage. Next I want to try puffin!
Day 15: I'm better! Kinda...
So I woke up feeling much better today (normal temperature) so I decided to go to class. Yesterday a new lecturer began the week, and he'll be teaching us until Wednesday. In class we covered geothermal energy and a brief history of Iceland's economy. I'm learning a lot, but it's hard to stay awake before lunch, especially when you're taking cough syrup that makes you drowsy.
After our renewable energy course we walked to our Icelandic class and played several word matching games. After our "kaffi pása" our teacher, Sigga, taught us a bunch of dirty Icelandic words. Some of them are quite creative and hilarious.
When class ended, a couple of the other students and I went to Akureyri's mall. It's pretty small but they have a Toys 'R Us and a Levi Strauss store (pretty American). There's also a 66 degrees North store, which is like Iceland's version of North Face. They have some great outdoor and camping gear, but like most things in Iceland, it's all ridiculously expensive.
Upon returning home I walked across the street to Nina's house, as we had made plans to go out to dinner before our group met up in the evening to see Toy Story 3. We decided to go to Bautinn, a local restaurant that is housed in one of Akureyri's oldest buildings. We thought about trying one of Iceland's traditional dishes, but having had most of them at my host family's house we each ordered the Curried Seafood Pasta. Iceland has a large fishing industry, so as expected the shrimp, scallops and lobster in our pasta were delicious.
After dinner we met up with our group at the theater and bought tickets. Tonight Toy Story 3 was showing in English (rather than dubbed Icelandic, like most of the animated movies). The theater is rather small and only has three screens. Usually only one movie shows at a time. Another thing I found interesting was that the movies have an intermission. Halfway through the movie the screen just shut off and there was a ten minute intermission. The concert I went to on Saturday had an intermission too(our classes also have hourly breaks). Icelanders love their breaks.
Toy Story 3 was amazing. It was nice watching the first two Toy Stories as an elementary school kid and then watching the third one where Andy goes off to college as a college student. I highly recommend going to see it. Here's a great review I stumbled upon the other day.
http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/66799/
Also, below is a picture of a picturesque little courtyard about a block away from my house, A view of the front of my house, and the "verslun" or store across the street, which mainly sells small grocery items.
After our renewable energy course we walked to our Icelandic class and played several word matching games. After our "kaffi pása" our teacher, Sigga, taught us a bunch of dirty Icelandic words. Some of them are quite creative and hilarious.
When class ended, a couple of the other students and I went to Akureyri's mall. It's pretty small but they have a Toys 'R Us and a Levi Strauss store (pretty American). There's also a 66 degrees North store, which is like Iceland's version of North Face. They have some great outdoor and camping gear, but like most things in Iceland, it's all ridiculously expensive.
Upon returning home I walked across the street to Nina's house, as we had made plans to go out to dinner before our group met up in the evening to see Toy Story 3. We decided to go to Bautinn, a local restaurant that is housed in one of Akureyri's oldest buildings. We thought about trying one of Iceland's traditional dishes, but having had most of them at my host family's house we each ordered the Curried Seafood Pasta. Iceland has a large fishing industry, so as expected the shrimp, scallops and lobster in our pasta were delicious.
After dinner we met up with our group at the theater and bought tickets. Tonight Toy Story 3 was showing in English (rather than dubbed Icelandic, like most of the animated movies). The theater is rather small and only has three screens. Usually only one movie shows at a time. Another thing I found interesting was that the movies have an intermission. Halfway through the movie the screen just shut off and there was a ten minute intermission. The concert I went to on Saturday had an intermission too(our classes also have hourly breaks). Icelanders love their breaks.
Toy Story 3 was amazing. It was nice watching the first two Toy Stories as an elementary school kid and then watching the third one where Andy goes off to college as a college student. I highly recommend going to see it. Here's a great review I stumbled upon the other day.
http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/66799/
Also, below is a picture of a picturesque little courtyard about a block away from my house, A view of the front of my house, and the "verslun" or store across the street, which mainly sells small grocery items.
Monday, June 21, 2010
My host dad is famous!
So the other day I was talking to my host parents after dinner and apparently my host dad is kind of famous. I mentioned that he does stand up comedy, and since I've been here he's done two shows in town for people's birthdays.
Well apparently in 2002 he won Iceland's Funniest Man competition and has performed in Canada, China and throughout Europe. He's been interviewed on national news and has acted in two commercials. The first one is just a phone commercial (he's the guy with the coffee cup in his office), and the second one is for a fitness spa. They're both in Icelandic. The second one will make more sense if you read the description on the page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dO7t0Dw7s0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8AmNYW9Prg
Well apparently in 2002 he won Iceland's Funniest Man competition and has performed in Canada, China and throughout Europe. He's been interviewed on national news and has acted in two commercials. The first one is just a phone commercial (he's the guy with the coffee cup in his office), and the second one is for a fitness spa. They're both in Icelandic. The second one will make more sense if you read the description on the page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dO7t0Dw7s0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8AmNYW9Prg
Day 14: Has it really been two weeks?
So today was rather uneventful. I stayed home from class since I'm still recovering. I'm preparing to go to bed now, and fortunately I feel much better than yesterday. I don't have a temperature anymore so as of now I'm planning to go to class tomorrow.
I did meet Freyja and Kari though, my host mom's two other kids who were staying with their dad in Reykjavik when I arrived. Freyja is 7 and Kari is 10, but neither of them speak English. They were both kind of shy around me but they seem friendly.
I spent most of the day sleeping and watching Wimbledon online. Today is Iceland's longest day of the year, so my class is going on a midnight hike this evening. I'm bummed that I'm missing out. They plan to began hiking up a mountain around 8:30 pm so that they can reach the peak around 12:00 am to see the midnight sun.
If I'm feeling up to it tomorrow I might go out to dinner with a few people and then see Toy Story 3.
I did meet Freyja and Kari though, my host mom's two other kids who were staying with their dad in Reykjavik when I arrived. Freyja is 7 and Kari is 10, but neither of them speak English. They were both kind of shy around me but they seem friendly.
I spent most of the day sleeping and watching Wimbledon online. Today is Iceland's longest day of the year, so my class is going on a midnight hike this evening. I'm bummed that I'm missing out. They plan to began hiking up a mountain around 8:30 pm so that they can reach the peak around 12:00 am to see the midnight sun.
If I'm feeling up to it tomorrow I might go out to dinner with a few people and then see Toy Story 3.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Day 13
So today when I woke up my whole body ached and I was running a temperature. I have the flu and it sucks. Last night at the concert my throat began to hurt, but I assumed it was just because all of the smoke in the room. I felt fine last night, but today my whole body hurts.
Nothing eventful has happened, I just slept a lot and watched World Cup. I don't remember the flu being this painful though. I'm going to have to miss class tomorrow, as well as a mountain hike we had planned :(
Happy Father's Day Dad!
Nothing eventful has happened, I just slept a lot and watched World Cup. I don't remember the flu being this painful though. I'm going to have to miss class tomorrow, as well as a mountain hike we had planned :(
Happy Father's Day Dad!
Day 12: Air Show & Hjalmar
So today I slept in, and after breakfast my host family and I went to Akureyri's flight museum because there was an air show going on. We got there around 1 pm, and there were some small planes doing acrobatics. We watched them for a while and then got hot dogs and toured the museum. Today it was recognizing two Icelandic pilots, and after a short speech, one of the employees unveiled two posters chronicling both men's contribution to Icelandic aviation. Afterwards, the air show continued, and a Ford Mustang raced a small airplane, and three skydivers jumped out of a chopper.
We got home around 5 pm, and I went for a walk around town. I happened upon Akureyri's drag racing which I remember my host mom telling me about. Also, when I was walking past the salvation army I found 2000 krona ($16).
When I got back, my host parents were getting ready to go out to dinner (to celebrate their birthdays which were right before I arrived). They had bought tickets for the Hjalmar concert too.
So, I had pizza and salad for dinner, and then headed to the concert. Hjalmar was playing at a venue called the Green Hat. It was situated in the basement of one of the main street's cafes and had a very authentic feel to it. Apparently in Iceland most of the concert venues have tables and chairs, and are not standing room only. I sat around a table with a few of the other students from my SIT group and we enjoyed the concert until it ended at 1 am. Hjalmar is a very distinctive band. It's considered a Reggae band, and their sound is quite eclectic. Even though all of their songs are in Icelandic, it was very enjoyable.
We got home around 5 pm, and I went for a walk around town. I happened upon Akureyri's drag racing which I remember my host mom telling me about. Also, when I was walking past the salvation army I found 2000 krona ($16).
When I got back, my host parents were getting ready to go out to dinner (to celebrate their birthdays which were right before I arrived). They had bought tickets for the Hjalmar concert too.
So, I had pizza and salad for dinner, and then headed to the concert. Hjalmar was playing at a venue called the Green Hat. It was situated in the basement of one of the main street's cafes and had a very authentic feel to it. Apparently in Iceland most of the concert venues have tables and chairs, and are not standing room only. I sat around a table with a few of the other students from my SIT group and we enjoyed the concert until it ended at 1 am. Hjalmar is a very distinctive band. It's considered a Reggae band, and their sound is quite eclectic. Even though all of their songs are in Icelandic, it was very enjoyable.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Day 11: Another class day in Akureyri
After staying up late the night before for Independence Day celebrations, it was hard to get up for class. However, Nina and I did manage to get to class on time. Today was interesting because the project leader for the controversial Karahnjukar Hydroelectric Project came and spoke with us about the construction and function of the dam, which will play a part in a large hydropower plant that in turn provides electricity for Alcoa, a large American aluminum plant. The aluminum plants like to operate in Iceland because smelters are really energy intensive, and Iceland provides an abundance of (renewable) energy at a relatively cheap price. However, Icelanders are concerned that the land is being exploited by big industry and that if these practices are allowed than Iceland's environment could be in jeopardy.
When the lecture was finished, we ate lunch and then regrouped to prepare for our debate. The students were divided into two groups of eight, one group arguing pro large hydropower projects, and the other group arguing against it. We had about 45 minutes to prepare an opening statement, rebuttal, defense, and finally closing statement. We then sat on opposite sides of the room and began our formal debate. Having only participated in open discussions, and never a formal debate, I found the process quite stimulating. Our study abroad leader Caitlin, and our speaker took notes on our debate and concluded that my group (pro) was the winner.
In Icelandic class we went on a walk with our teacher out of town. Along the way she would teach us words and we could ask how to say certain things we encountered along the walk. Afterwards, I went to the local used books store to see if I could find a new book, but there were mainly in Icelandic or American romance novels.
So, I went home for dinner and we had a very good soup that was kind of like tortilla soup. Nina's host family is on vacation and they told her to use the house to invite friends over while they're away. So, at around 10:00 pm we all met at Nina's and played games before going downtown. We went to Cafe Amour again and danced for a while, and I ended up going home around 2:30 am since I was rather tired. For such a small town, it's crazy how many people come out to party. All of the boys and girls dress the same, it's kind of funny, and everybody gets really rowdy, throwing beer bottles on the ground and we saw two guys almost start fighting. Overall it's safe though, the Icelanders just enjoy letting loose
Tomorrow my host family is renting a car so we can go to the Aviation Museum nearby and in the evening I'm going to the Hjalmar concert (the reggae band).
When the lecture was finished, we ate lunch and then regrouped to prepare for our debate. The students were divided into two groups of eight, one group arguing pro large hydropower projects, and the other group arguing against it. We had about 45 minutes to prepare an opening statement, rebuttal, defense, and finally closing statement. We then sat on opposite sides of the room and began our formal debate. Having only participated in open discussions, and never a formal debate, I found the process quite stimulating. Our study abroad leader Caitlin, and our speaker took notes on our debate and concluded that my group (pro) was the winner.
In Icelandic class we went on a walk with our teacher out of town. Along the way she would teach us words and we could ask how to say certain things we encountered along the walk. Afterwards, I went to the local used books store to see if I could find a new book, but there were mainly in Icelandic or American romance novels.
So, I went home for dinner and we had a very good soup that was kind of like tortilla soup. Nina's host family is on vacation and they told her to use the house to invite friends over while they're away. So, at around 10:00 pm we all met at Nina's and played games before going downtown. We went to Cafe Amour again and danced for a while, and I ended up going home around 2:30 am since I was rather tired. For such a small town, it's crazy how many people come out to party. All of the boys and girls dress the same, it's kind of funny, and everybody gets really rowdy, throwing beer bottles on the ground and we saw two guys almost start fighting. Overall it's safe though, the Icelanders just enjoy letting loose
Tomorrow my host family is renting a car so we can go to the Aviation Museum nearby and in the evening I'm going to the Hjalmar concert (the reggae band).
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Days 9 & 10: More class and Iceland's Independence Day
Wednesday was another class day. Nina and I walked to class in the morning as usual. We spent the first half of our renewable energy class wrapping up hydropower and touching on what sustainable energy means with our professor Jonas. Today was his last day teaching us, Friday we are meeting with the project leader of a controversial hydroelectric plant that was created by damming off a large river. Almost all of the electricity from the plant will go towards powering an aluminum smelting factory.
After lunch, a professor from Iceland's school of renewable energy spoke with us about the school's classes and how the university approaches teaching sustainability. It was pretty interesting, but it kinda felt like one big sales pitch. RES is a private school, but our group leader, Caitlin, told us that to attend public university in Iceland only costs $300 per semester. That's crazy! I can't buy three school textbooks for that much money. The government pays for almost all of Icelanders college education.
Upon finishing our Icelandic class most of us went to the liquor store as some of the students wanted to stock up on alcohol since drinks at bars cost at least $8 a glass. Later that evening we met up downtown to go to a nearby bar. We have Thursday off since it's a national holiday(Iceland's Independence Day), so we all wanted to spend the evening downtown. We headed to a place called Cafe Amour at 11:00 pm and didn't head home until 3:30 am. It was still quite sunny when we all left and things were in full swing when we walked home.
The bar was fun, I just sat around and conversed while the rest of the group ordered beers, and later in the evening we all danced upstairs. At the beginning of the evening Icelandic dance and techno music was playing, but around 2:00 they began playing American pop. Iceland is very involved in American culture as all the people knew the songs (and at the cinema all but one movie showing was American). About twelve people from our group went to the bar, and two Danish guys who are staying at the same house as one of our friends came. I also met a guy named Johannas, a Swede who was traveling around Iceland with a friend from the area. Some Polish graduate students from RES also stopped and talked with us for a bit. Tomorrow is Iceland's independence day, as well as the high schoolers' graduation. At midnight tomorrow, all of the graduates don white hats. At the bar, several young looking Icelanders were wearing similar black hats (they looked like pilot's hats). Apparently the fresh graduates will wear white hats on their graduation night, and past graduates wear black hats and come to town for a reunion and to celebrate Independence Day. The other day the past graduates were running around town doing a scavenger hunt. They were all wearing mustaches, which threw us off until we figured out what was going on.
The evening at the bar was very entertaining, and it was nice to mingle with some of the locals. I'm sure we'll be going out again soon.
Thursday I slept in and woke up around 10:30. My host mom had made cake to celebrate Independence Day, so I had cake for breakfast. It was a homemade gluten-free chocolate cake. Her littlest son, Ari has an allergy to gluten so most of the stuff she makes is gluten-free.
Nina's host family who lives across the street from us left for their vacation today and will be gone for 10 days. Apparently Nina's original host family backed out of hosting the day before we arrived, and my neighbors were kind enough to let her stay at their house. She'll just be living there alone with their dog Tira and eating dinner with us.
After lunch my family, Nina, Tira (a border collie mix), and I headed down to the town center. Walking into town there were some booths with carnival games for the kids to play and some moon bounces. In the town center a stage had been erected, and there were many different bands throughout the day as well as Hans Klaufi, or Hans the clown. He had an acting troupe that put on a play. I believe it was "The Princess and the Pea," but I had no clue since none of it was in English.
Nina and I walked around town and run into some other students from our SIT group and ended up just watching some of the bands until Tira got too restless and we went home.
At home, I finished my homework for tomorrow and around 7:00 pm, Nina came over for dinner. We had a delicious feast with lamb, potatoes, cole slaw, and salad. We had the cake for dessert and some really tasty ice cream that had toffee in it I believe. When Nina went home I finished reading my book, Jar City. It's a "Reykjavik Thriller" that centers on Erlendur, and Icelandic detective who has to solve an unusual murder. I recommend it because not only is the story suspenseful and intriguing, but you learn a lot about Iceland.
Some of the people in our group decided to meet downtown again at 9 pm so enjoy more holiday festivities, so we met in the town center and enjoyed more live music. There was one rapping duo which was pretty entertaining. At one point we went to 1011, a little mini mart to get snacks and I tried a Yankie, an Icelandic candy bar that is similar to a Milky Way.
Returning to the center, we stayed there until midnight so we could see the high schoolers' graduation celebration. They had graduated at noon that day, but right after midnight, they all filed into the town center wearing their distinctive white hats. All of the guys were in suits, and the girls were wearing nice dresses. A guy and a girl (maybe the class president and vice president?) walked to the middle and gave a speech. Then, another pair walked to the middle and started talking. Then the girl mentioned the hokey pokey. So...all of the graduates did the hokey pokey together. It was very strange, but so fun to watch. I'm glad I got to experience their celebration, and kind of wish I did the hokey pokey at my graduation. After dancing, all of the students filed out and the band continued. It was about 12:30 am by this time so our group departed since we have class early tomorrow.
Today was really special and I enjoyed celebrating Iceland's independence from Denmark. Tomorrow after school I plan on going to the town's used book store, and on Saturday some of the other students and I are going to a Hjalmar concert to see Iceland's one and only Reggae band.
I must go to bed now, since tomorrow in class we have a debate about the implications of the dam and aluminum smelting plant I mentioned earlier. Goda Nott!
P.S. ---> some fun things I learned.
- The high schoolers graduate at age 20, and are only called students after graduation.
- Icelander's love their licorice. Half of the candies at the mini marts have some kind of licorice in it.
- Icelander's who speak English often mix up their v's and w's. Maybe it's because there is no letter w in Icelandic?
Also, I found a 10k that I'm going to participate in next Saturday, wohoo!
After lunch, a professor from Iceland's school of renewable energy spoke with us about the school's classes and how the university approaches teaching sustainability. It was pretty interesting, but it kinda felt like one big sales pitch. RES is a private school, but our group leader, Caitlin, told us that to attend public university in Iceland only costs $300 per semester. That's crazy! I can't buy three school textbooks for that much money. The government pays for almost all of Icelanders college education.
Upon finishing our Icelandic class most of us went to the liquor store as some of the students wanted to stock up on alcohol since drinks at bars cost at least $8 a glass. Later that evening we met up downtown to go to a nearby bar. We have Thursday off since it's a national holiday(Iceland's Independence Day), so we all wanted to spend the evening downtown. We headed to a place called Cafe Amour at 11:00 pm and didn't head home until 3:30 am. It was still quite sunny when we all left and things were in full swing when we walked home.
The bar was fun, I just sat around and conversed while the rest of the group ordered beers, and later in the evening we all danced upstairs. At the beginning of the evening Icelandic dance and techno music was playing, but around 2:00 they began playing American pop. Iceland is very involved in American culture as all the people knew the songs (and at the cinema all but one movie showing was American). About twelve people from our group went to the bar, and two Danish guys who are staying at the same house as one of our friends came. I also met a guy named Johannas, a Swede who was traveling around Iceland with a friend from the area. Some Polish graduate students from RES also stopped and talked with us for a bit. Tomorrow is Iceland's independence day, as well as the high schoolers' graduation. At midnight tomorrow, all of the graduates don white hats. At the bar, several young looking Icelanders were wearing similar black hats (they looked like pilot's hats). Apparently the fresh graduates will wear white hats on their graduation night, and past graduates wear black hats and come to town for a reunion and to celebrate Independence Day. The other day the past graduates were running around town doing a scavenger hunt. They were all wearing mustaches, which threw us off until we figured out what was going on.
The evening at the bar was very entertaining, and it was nice to mingle with some of the locals. I'm sure we'll be going out again soon.
Thursday I slept in and woke up around 10:30. My host mom had made cake to celebrate Independence Day, so I had cake for breakfast. It was a homemade gluten-free chocolate cake. Her littlest son, Ari has an allergy to gluten so most of the stuff she makes is gluten-free.
Nina's host family who lives across the street from us left for their vacation today and will be gone for 10 days. Apparently Nina's original host family backed out of hosting the day before we arrived, and my neighbors were kind enough to let her stay at their house. She'll just be living there alone with their dog Tira and eating dinner with us.
After lunch my family, Nina, Tira (a border collie mix), and I headed down to the town center. Walking into town there were some booths with carnival games for the kids to play and some moon bounces. In the town center a stage had been erected, and there were many different bands throughout the day as well as Hans Klaufi, or Hans the clown. He had an acting troupe that put on a play. I believe it was "The Princess and the Pea," but I had no clue since none of it was in English.
Nina and I walked around town and run into some other students from our SIT group and ended up just watching some of the bands until Tira got too restless and we went home.
At home, I finished my homework for tomorrow and around 7:00 pm, Nina came over for dinner. We had a delicious feast with lamb, potatoes, cole slaw, and salad. We had the cake for dessert and some really tasty ice cream that had toffee in it I believe. When Nina went home I finished reading my book, Jar City. It's a "Reykjavik Thriller" that centers on Erlendur, and Icelandic detective who has to solve an unusual murder. I recommend it because not only is the story suspenseful and intriguing, but you learn a lot about Iceland.
Some of the people in our group decided to meet downtown again at 9 pm so enjoy more holiday festivities, so we met in the town center and enjoyed more live music. There was one rapping duo which was pretty entertaining. At one point we went to 1011, a little mini mart to get snacks and I tried a Yankie, an Icelandic candy bar that is similar to a Milky Way.
Returning to the center, we stayed there until midnight so we could see the high schoolers' graduation celebration. They had graduated at noon that day, but right after midnight, they all filed into the town center wearing their distinctive white hats. All of the guys were in suits, and the girls were wearing nice dresses. A guy and a girl (maybe the class president and vice president?) walked to the middle and gave a speech. Then, another pair walked to the middle and started talking. Then the girl mentioned the hokey pokey. So...all of the graduates did the hokey pokey together. It was very strange, but so fun to watch. I'm glad I got to experience their celebration, and kind of wish I did the hokey pokey at my graduation. After dancing, all of the students filed out and the band continued. It was about 12:30 am by this time so our group departed since we have class early tomorrow.
Today was really special and I enjoyed celebrating Iceland's independence from Denmark. Tomorrow after school I plan on going to the town's used book store, and on Saturday some of the other students and I are going to a Hjalmar concert to see Iceland's one and only Reggae band.
I must go to bed now, since tomorrow in class we have a debate about the implications of the dam and aluminum smelting plant I mentioned earlier. Goda Nott!
P.S. ---> some fun things I learned.
- The high schoolers graduate at age 20, and are only called students after graduation.
- Icelander's love their licorice. Half of the candies at the mini marts have some kind of licorice in it.
- Icelander's who speak English often mix up their v's and w's. Maybe it's because there is no letter w in Icelandic?
Also, I found a 10k that I'm going to participate in next Saturday, wohoo!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Day 8: Second Day of Classes & Cookout
So I'm really tired tonight so probably won't write much.
I woke up early again today and Nina and I walked to class at 8:00. The walk only took about 20 minutes today. Below you can see the university's sign, and one of the campus buildings in the background.
We covered more information about hydropower today and ended early since we didn't have Icelandic class at 3:30. Our teacher was singing in the choir at a funeral. Since we ended class early today we walked down to the river that goes through town (Glerar I believe). There is a small dam that catches the water and harnesses some of it to run a small hydropower electricity plant (Glerarvirjun). The guy who checks that the plant is running regularly showed us the machinery that cleans debris out of the inlet pipe.
After learning about the turbine that powers the Glerarvirjun turbine our group was done for the day and went to downtown Akureyri for ice cream. I opted for sorbet which was way too sweet. I had to let my friend finish it for me. When we were at the ice cream shop our group leader Caitlin's husband and son met up with us. They're staying in town with her while we're in Akureyri. Even though she's our superior, Caitlin is so fun and she feels like another student in the group. It was really great to meet her husband and kid around with her son.
While the rest of our group was sitting around in downtown Akureyri I went to the bank and the post office with a couple girls from the group. We exchanged some of our cash for krona (the Icelandic currency) and bought some stamps. We then headed back to the town's bookstore and perused some Icelandic novels. We only stayed for about half an hour though because we had to get back home to head to the cookout our homestay families were having tonight.
All of our families met at a local park in a forest and grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner. It was interesting to meet everyone's host families and talk with more of the locals. After eating we threw around a frisbee and played on the playground before heading home (I had to leave a little early to catch a ride, my host family currently doesn't have a car).
At home I just hung around the house and watched the World Cup. Sorry if this post was rather bland. It's more of a basic recap of the day. I'm really drained for some reason. Hopefully I'll have more energy tomorrow. Thursday is Iceland's independence say so we have the day off. Our group is planning a night out tomorrow evening. Goda Nott!
I woke up early again today and Nina and I walked to class at 8:00. The walk only took about 20 minutes today. Below you can see the university's sign, and one of the campus buildings in the background.
We covered more information about hydropower today and ended early since we didn't have Icelandic class at 3:30. Our teacher was singing in the choir at a funeral. Since we ended class early today we walked down to the river that goes through town (Glerar I believe). There is a small dam that catches the water and harnesses some of it to run a small hydropower electricity plant (Glerarvirjun). The guy who checks that the plant is running regularly showed us the machinery that cleans debris out of the inlet pipe.
After learning about the turbine that powers the Glerarvirjun turbine our group was done for the day and went to downtown Akureyri for ice cream. I opted for sorbet which was way too sweet. I had to let my friend finish it for me. When we were at the ice cream shop our group leader Caitlin's husband and son met up with us. They're staying in town with her while we're in Akureyri. Even though she's our superior, Caitlin is so fun and she feels like another student in the group. It was really great to meet her husband and kid around with her son.
While the rest of our group was sitting around in downtown Akureyri I went to the bank and the post office with a couple girls from the group. We exchanged some of our cash for krona (the Icelandic currency) and bought some stamps. We then headed back to the town's bookstore and perused some Icelandic novels. We only stayed for about half an hour though because we had to get back home to head to the cookout our homestay families were having tonight.
All of our families met at a local park in a forest and grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner. It was interesting to meet everyone's host families and talk with more of the locals. After eating we threw around a frisbee and played on the playground before heading home (I had to leave a little early to catch a ride, my host family currently doesn't have a car).
At home I just hung around the house and watched the World Cup. Sorry if this post was rather bland. It's more of a basic recap of the day. I'm really drained for some reason. Hopefully I'll have more energy tomorrow. Thursday is Iceland's independence say so we have the day off. Our group is planning a night out tomorrow evening. Goda Nott!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Day 7: First day of classes
I can't believe it's already been a week. The first seven days have gone by so quickly and I'm afraid that this experience will all be over too soon. It's amazing how fond I've grown of Iceland in such a short amount of time.
This morning I woke up at 7:15 am and quickly showered and had cereal had breakfast. I met Nina outside across the street at 7:45 and we headed to the university. At first we tried to find the right bus stop so we could figure out the bus system, but since it was so pleasant out and we didn't have to be to school until 9, we decided to walk. The weather here is beautiful, it's been about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and later this week a "heat wave" is supposed to pass through that will bring temperatures up to around 70. The walk to school only took around 20 minutes, so we had about half an hour until class started when we got there. We just sat on the steps and talked as the other students began to arrive.
Class is taught by a University of Iceland professor until Wednesday, and then we switch professors. Each day from 9-3 we will learn about renewable energy, and from 3:30-5 we learn Icelandic at a small school across town. Today our professor, Jonas, lectured about hydropower, and while it was interesting, it was hard to grasp all of the information in a lecture that lasted several hours. Luckily, in Iceland (as I'm sure is the custom in other European countries) there is a coffee/tea break every hour. So, the lecture was taught in hour long segments with ten minute breaks in between. At noon we had lunch in the university cafeteria, and was quite delicious. We had Swedish meatballs, steamed cauliflower, roasted potatoes, and a suprisingly good brussel sprout soup.
At 3, when the lecture was over, we all walked together to the school. I think it's more of a community center actually. There, our instructor, Sigga began to teach us the rudiments of Icelandic, the letters and their pronunciations. We then moved onto introducing ourselves and stating where we're from. After the basics we walked down to Styrigardur, Akureyri's botanical garden, to enjoy the outdoors and learn the days of the week, numbers and some other useful information. We went through the material very quickly today, so I'm definitely going to have to review. I'm getting a hang of it though.
After class the group headed up to the one host family's gym, but I headed home, as yesterday my host family had decided to have dinner at 6 pm so we could watch the Paraguay/Italy World Cup match. Tonight we had Minke, a type of whale. Whaling is a part of Iceland's culture and eating whale is not seen as controversial. Also, from talking with Caitlin, our group leader, and Thordur, our bus driver for the first several days, there are not many vegetarians in Iceland.
The whale steak was cooked on the grill and looked a lot like beef steak. I was excited to try it and found it to be quite delicious. It's a little stringy and hard to cut, and it was cooked rather rare so it was kind of bloody. However, the taste was normal (think a beef steak with a hint of a fishy aftertaste). Another traditional Icelandic meal is sheep's head, which my family will be cooking a different day. Other traditional dishes which I might get to eat during the course of this trip is harkarl (rotten shark), and goat's testicles. So far my favorite Icelandic food has been skyr. I love skyr.
After dinner (and the World Cup), I met up with two students from our SIT group and we went for a run around town. The run was very relaxing, and the town is beautiful, as it sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. The ocean borders one side and a river passes through the east part of town. The three of us pretty much circled the whole city in an hour, and we were running at quite a leisurely pace. Some Icelandic kids shouted stuff at us when we ran by but I had no clue what they were saying. I'll have to study up.
Tomorrow we have class again, and in the evening all of the host families are meeting up to have a cookout at a city park that is known for its forest. It's almost midnight here, and I should probably look over some school work before I go to bed. I thought I'd end the post with some interesting things I've noticed so far on the trip.
- Diet coke is called Coca Cola Light. Coca Cola is very popular here and the two year-old in my host family is practically addicted to it.
- Due to the geothermal heating, all of the hot water smells like sulfur
- Almost everyone has blonde or strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.
- The letters c, q, w, and z do not exist in the Icelandic alphabet.
- Arm is "handleggur" or literally, hand leg. I found that amusing.
- Safety is not really an issue here. When my family had a cookout with the neighbors yesterday, their son (3) and the neighbor's daughers (2 and 7) wondered down the street and around the corner by themselves and didn't come back for about half an hour. It was no big deal.
- The mascot of the chain of grocery stores here, Bonus, is a piggy bank with a lazy eye.
- Almost all stores close at 6 pm on weekdays and 4 pm on weekends.
- In the mini marts they sell a snack that is basically half a cake, packaged.
- The Cool Ranch Doritos are called Cool American Doritos here.
I'm sure I'll learn some more fun things as the trip progesses. Goda Nott!
This morning I woke up at 7:15 am and quickly showered and had cereal had breakfast. I met Nina outside across the street at 7:45 and we headed to the university. At first we tried to find the right bus stop so we could figure out the bus system, but since it was so pleasant out and we didn't have to be to school until 9, we decided to walk. The weather here is beautiful, it's been about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and later this week a "heat wave" is supposed to pass through that will bring temperatures up to around 70. The walk to school only took around 20 minutes, so we had about half an hour until class started when we got there. We just sat on the steps and talked as the other students began to arrive.
Class is taught by a University of Iceland professor until Wednesday, and then we switch professors. Each day from 9-3 we will learn about renewable energy, and from 3:30-5 we learn Icelandic at a small school across town. Today our professor, Jonas, lectured about hydropower, and while it was interesting, it was hard to grasp all of the information in a lecture that lasted several hours. Luckily, in Iceland (as I'm sure is the custom in other European countries) there is a coffee/tea break every hour. So, the lecture was taught in hour long segments with ten minute breaks in between. At noon we had lunch in the university cafeteria, and was quite delicious. We had Swedish meatballs, steamed cauliflower, roasted potatoes, and a suprisingly good brussel sprout soup.
At 3, when the lecture was over, we all walked together to the school. I think it's more of a community center actually. There, our instructor, Sigga began to teach us the rudiments of Icelandic, the letters and their pronunciations. We then moved onto introducing ourselves and stating where we're from. After the basics we walked down to Styrigardur, Akureyri's botanical garden, to enjoy the outdoors and learn the days of the week, numbers and some other useful information. We went through the material very quickly today, so I'm definitely going to have to review. I'm getting a hang of it though.
After class the group headed up to the one host family's gym, but I headed home, as yesterday my host family had decided to have dinner at 6 pm so we could watch the Paraguay/Italy World Cup match. Tonight we had Minke, a type of whale. Whaling is a part of Iceland's culture and eating whale is not seen as controversial. Also, from talking with Caitlin, our group leader, and Thordur, our bus driver for the first several days, there are not many vegetarians in Iceland.
The whale steak was cooked on the grill and looked a lot like beef steak. I was excited to try it and found it to be quite delicious. It's a little stringy and hard to cut, and it was cooked rather rare so it was kind of bloody. However, the taste was normal (think a beef steak with a hint of a fishy aftertaste). Another traditional Icelandic meal is sheep's head, which my family will be cooking a different day. Other traditional dishes which I might get to eat during the course of this trip is harkarl (rotten shark), and goat's testicles. So far my favorite Icelandic food has been skyr. I love skyr.
After dinner (and the World Cup), I met up with two students from our SIT group and we went for a run around town. The run was very relaxing, and the town is beautiful, as it sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. The ocean borders one side and a river passes through the east part of town. The three of us pretty much circled the whole city in an hour, and we were running at quite a leisurely pace. Some Icelandic kids shouted stuff at us when we ran by but I had no clue what they were saying. I'll have to study up.
Tomorrow we have class again, and in the evening all of the host families are meeting up to have a cookout at a city park that is known for its forest. It's almost midnight here, and I should probably look over some school work before I go to bed. I thought I'd end the post with some interesting things I've noticed so far on the trip.
- Diet coke is called Coca Cola Light. Coca Cola is very popular here and the two year-old in my host family is practically addicted to it.
- Due to the geothermal heating, all of the hot water smells like sulfur
- Almost everyone has blonde or strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.
- The letters c, q, w, and z do not exist in the Icelandic alphabet.
- Arm is "handleggur" or literally, hand leg. I found that amusing.
- Safety is not really an issue here. When my family had a cookout with the neighbors yesterday, their son (3) and the neighbor's daughers (2 and 7) wondered down the street and around the corner by themselves and didn't come back for about half an hour. It was no big deal.
- The mascot of the chain of grocery stores here, Bonus, is a piggy bank with a lazy eye.
- Almost all stores close at 6 pm on weekdays and 4 pm on weekends.
- In the mini marts they sell a snack that is basically half a cake, packaged.
- The Cool Ranch Doritos are called Cool American Doritos here.
I'm sure I'll learn some more fun things as the trip progesses. Goda Nott!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Day 6: Akureyri
Last night after dinner I watched the World Cup match between England and the U.S. My host father and I watched the whole game in the basement. It was pretty awkward, he's not much of a talker, and during halftime and after the game when all of the commentators were discussing the plays completely in Icelandic I had no idea what they were saying. At least we tied 1-1.
Today I slept in at my host family's house and after we ate breakfast we spent the morning outside in the yard talking with the neighbors (the same ones that host another SIT student, Nina). Around noon we had a hamburger cookout and a really good dessert. It was a layered dessert with crushed macaroons, chocolate covered raisins, cream and pomegranate seeds.
After lunch Nina and I went for a walk around town. We first went to go see the harbor, and along the way ran into another SIT student, Michael. The three of us then went into town and bumped into three other SIT students. So, the six of us ambled around, going in stores and talking about our host families. Akureyri only has a population of about 17,000 but it still very urban feeling in the town square. We stopped at one cafe, I can't remember the name, but they had the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted. I'm sure that some of us will be frequenting that cafe often. Some of the students went on drinking last night and it sounded like there was quite a lot to do. When they went around 10 pm the bars were pretty empty, and when they left at 2 am things just started getting busy. One of the host families owns the town's gym, so tomorrow we're going to the gym after class. They're providing us all with free gym passes for the three weeks we're here.
I'm back home now and dinner is going to be served soon. The house is loud and crazy most of the time with a two year-old and three year-old running around. One funny thing is that in Icelandic pee is pissa, so when the little boys have to use the bathroom they are shouting about how they have to pissa. Apparently, to poop is skitur or something like that.
I'll have to ask my host family to take a picture with me so I can post a picture soon. I'll take a picture of the house as well. Tomorrow we start classes. We're at the university from 9 to 5! I can't wait to learn more Icelandic though. Today someone rode their bike up to me when I was waiting on the street for Nina and asked me a question (I think directions). I guess I don't look American enough. Bless bless!
Today I slept in at my host family's house and after we ate breakfast we spent the morning outside in the yard talking with the neighbors (the same ones that host another SIT student, Nina). Around noon we had a hamburger cookout and a really good dessert. It was a layered dessert with crushed macaroons, chocolate covered raisins, cream and pomegranate seeds.
After lunch Nina and I went for a walk around town. We first went to go see the harbor, and along the way ran into another SIT student, Michael. The three of us then went into town and bumped into three other SIT students. So, the six of us ambled around, going in stores and talking about our host families. Akureyri only has a population of about 17,000 but it still very urban feeling in the town square. We stopped at one cafe, I can't remember the name, but they had the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted. I'm sure that some of us will be frequenting that cafe often. Some of the students went on drinking last night and it sounded like there was quite a lot to do. When they went around 10 pm the bars were pretty empty, and when they left at 2 am things just started getting busy. One of the host families owns the town's gym, so tomorrow we're going to the gym after class. They're providing us all with free gym passes for the three weeks we're here.
I'm back home now and dinner is going to be served soon. The house is loud and crazy most of the time with a two year-old and three year-old running around. One funny thing is that in Icelandic pee is pissa, so when the little boys have to use the bathroom they are shouting about how they have to pissa. Apparently, to poop is skitur or something like that.
I'll have to ask my host family to take a picture with me so I can post a picture soon. I'll take a picture of the house as well. Tomorrow we start classes. We're at the university from 9 to 5! I can't wait to learn more Icelandic though. Today someone rode their bike up to me when I was waiting on the street for Nina and asked me a question (I think directions). I guess I don't look American enough. Bless bless!
Days 4 & 5: Saeberg and arriving in Akureyri
I haven’t been able to post the last couple of days since I had no internet connection. But I’ll recap what we did.
(6/11) We woke up early, ate breakfast, and packed to leave Solheimar. Today was a “fun day” as our group leader Caitlin told us. We drove for a short while before stopping at Geysir, one of the world’s first geysers. The word geyser is actually taken from Geysir. We didn’t actually get to see Geysir erupt, as it does so somewhat infrequently, the last time being in 2000. However, there was a smaller geyser in the area that erupted about every 5 minutes, so we got to see it a few times.
After getting back on the bus we drove further north to see Gulfoss, Iceland’s largest waterfall. It’s strange that I’ve seen Gulfoss in Iceland before visiting Niagara Falls in the U.S. Apparently the land had been owned by a farmer many years back, and the government wanted to buy the land to make a hydropower plant that would provide energy and boost the economy. He resisted, and upon dying passed the land on to his daughter. She too would not allow the falls to be dammed off to make a hydropower plant and only sold it to the government under the condition that they be preserved as a national park.
Leaving Gulfoss, we continued our drive north to Thingvellir (I cannot type the Icelandic letters that are absent from the English alphabet, so I am just typing the equivalent pronunciation). Thingvellir was the birthplace of Iceland’s parliament and now is a historical site that is also naturally beautiful, bordering a large lake. We ate lunch there and went on a small hike before heading to our final destination, Saeberg.
Saeberg is not really a town I believe, but just a place where there is a hostel that rests in one of Iceland’s fjords. The place was out in the middle of nowhere, and the view was breathtaking. Upon claiming rooms, we ate dinner and then played another couple of games of castle (the traditional Icelandic game I mentioned earlier). Apparently I have a knack for it.
Despite being almost midnight, the sun was still up and we decided to fit a bunch of people into the hostel’s geothermal hot tub. We sat there for a couple of hours talking, and would occasionally run down to the ocean, jump in, and then run back to the hot tub to get warm again. It’s hard to believe that we’ve only been traveling for four days.
We went to bed around 2 am, but I still woke up to run in the morning. I wanted to try and get back into a schedule. I ran up from the water to the country road and came across several small farms, mainly with sheep and horses.
Even though I woke up early, we weren’t planning to leave until around noon, so most everybody slept in. After leaving Saeberg we drove east towards Akureyri. On the way we stopped at Blonduvirkjun, a hydropower plant that is the third biggest in the country. We got to drive underground and see the giant turbines that use the water to generate electricity. After our tour we drove a few miles from the plant and got to see the dam that works with the power plant.
Continuing to Akureyri, the drive was very scenic, but I slept most of the way as we were all very tired. We arrived in Akureyri (Iceland’s second largest town) a little before 6 pm, and our homestay families drove up to the university shortly after we arrived. I’m staying with a family with four kids. Two are stepchildren (Kari-boy and Freyja-girl, 10 and 7) that are currently staying in Reykjavik with their dad. The other two are Orn and Ari (both boys, 3 and 2). The parents are Thorhallur and Perla. The mother works at a bank, and the father works a day job (I can’t remember where) and does stand-up comedy in the evenings from time to time. They also have 4 chickens and a cat named Polyanna. The house is over 120 years old and very quaint. I’m staying in the guest room in their basement. One of the girls from the SIT program is staying with a family across the street so I’m sure we’ll hang out often. Tomorrow we have the day off, and we start classes Monday at 9 am at the local university. Time to sleep! Goda Nott!
(6/11) We woke up early, ate breakfast, and packed to leave Solheimar. Today was a “fun day” as our group leader Caitlin told us. We drove for a short while before stopping at Geysir, one of the world’s first geysers. The word geyser is actually taken from Geysir. We didn’t actually get to see Geysir erupt, as it does so somewhat infrequently, the last time being in 2000. However, there was a smaller geyser in the area that erupted about every 5 minutes, so we got to see it a few times.
After getting back on the bus we drove further north to see Gulfoss, Iceland’s largest waterfall. It’s strange that I’ve seen Gulfoss in Iceland before visiting Niagara Falls in the U.S. Apparently the land had been owned by a farmer many years back, and the government wanted to buy the land to make a hydropower plant that would provide energy and boost the economy. He resisted, and upon dying passed the land on to his daughter. She too would not allow the falls to be dammed off to make a hydropower plant and only sold it to the government under the condition that they be preserved as a national park.
Leaving Gulfoss, we continued our drive north to Thingvellir (I cannot type the Icelandic letters that are absent from the English alphabet, so I am just typing the equivalent pronunciation). Thingvellir was the birthplace of Iceland’s parliament and now is a historical site that is also naturally beautiful, bordering a large lake. We ate lunch there and went on a small hike before heading to our final destination, Saeberg.
Saeberg is not really a town I believe, but just a place where there is a hostel that rests in one of Iceland’s fjords. The place was out in the middle of nowhere, and the view was breathtaking. Upon claiming rooms, we ate dinner and then played another couple of games of castle (the traditional Icelandic game I mentioned earlier). Apparently I have a knack for it.
Despite being almost midnight, the sun was still up and we decided to fit a bunch of people into the hostel’s geothermal hot tub. We sat there for a couple of hours talking, and would occasionally run down to the ocean, jump in, and then run back to the hot tub to get warm again. It’s hard to believe that we’ve only been traveling for four days.
We went to bed around 2 am, but I still woke up to run in the morning. I wanted to try and get back into a schedule. I ran up from the water to the country road and came across several small farms, mainly with sheep and horses.
Even though I woke up early, we weren’t planning to leave until around noon, so most everybody slept in. After leaving Saeberg we drove east towards Akureyri. On the way we stopped at Blonduvirkjun, a hydropower plant that is the third biggest in the country. We got to drive underground and see the giant turbines that use the water to generate electricity. After our tour we drove a few miles from the plant and got to see the dam that works with the power plant.
Continuing to Akureyri, the drive was very scenic, but I slept most of the way as we were all very tired. We arrived in Akureyri (Iceland’s second largest town) a little before 6 pm, and our homestay families drove up to the university shortly after we arrived. I’m staying with a family with four kids. Two are stepchildren (Kari-boy and Freyja-girl, 10 and 7) that are currently staying in Reykjavik with their dad. The other two are Orn and Ari (both boys, 3 and 2). The parents are Thorhallur and Perla. The mother works at a bank, and the father works a day job (I can’t remember where) and does stand-up comedy in the evenings from time to time. They also have 4 chickens and a cat named Polyanna. The house is over 120 years old and very quaint. I’m staying in the guest room in their basement. One of the girls from the SIT program is staying with a family across the street so I’m sure we’ll hang out often. Tomorrow we have the day off, and we start classes Monday at 9 am at the local university. Time to sleep! Goda Nott!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Day 3: Solheimar
Today we spent most of the day introducing the idea of sustainability. We woke up early this morning to participate in the Morning Song, a tradition in Solheimar that starts each day. At 9 am everybody gathers in the center of the town and holds hands and sings.
"Praise the Lord, oh glory day
Fine rays of the sun enlivens
all life around the world
Give us, Lord, good things to practise
Give us peace to wake and pray.
Strengthen us and protect."
After the song everyone discusses what they want to accomplish for the day. Today it was raining at 9am so we met inside.
Most of our day was spent at the Sesseljuhus, one of the city's main buildings. A Swedish professor named Wolfgang lead our workshop which was to create a civilization in a spaceship that would travel for 6000 years, have a maximum population of 100 people, and be as sustainable as possible. We split into five different groups and spent the whole day (minus coffee/tea breaks) designing our spaceships. The evening culminated in our presentation to the group. My group was very pragmatic, probably too much for our own good, and created a sustainable spaceship with minimal technology. The funny thing was when we voted on which ship we wanted to live on, the group that practiced sacrifice at age 45 got more votes than ours. I guess people really like technology.
Before dinner a few students and I went on a hike around the town. There were some natural geothermal streams we encountered, and a leaky geothermal pipeline. At the top of a ridge looking over the city there was an Icelandic sculpture which we assumed was a representation of Viking ships.
Today was a long day, and tomorrow we're going to see Gulfoss, a large waterfall, and Geysir (a geyser).
"Praise the Lord, oh glory day
Fine rays of the sun enlivens
all life around the world
Give us, Lord, good things to practise
Give us peace to wake and pray.
Strengthen us and protect."
After the song everyone discusses what they want to accomplish for the day. Today it was raining at 9am so we met inside.
Most of our day was spent at the Sesseljuhus, one of the city's main buildings. A Swedish professor named Wolfgang lead our workshop which was to create a civilization in a spaceship that would travel for 6000 years, have a maximum population of 100 people, and be as sustainable as possible. We split into five different groups and spent the whole day (minus coffee/tea breaks) designing our spaceships. The evening culminated in our presentation to the group. My group was very pragmatic, probably too much for our own good, and created a sustainable spaceship with minimal technology. The funny thing was when we voted on which ship we wanted to live on, the group that practiced sacrifice at age 45 got more votes than ours. I guess people really like technology.
Before dinner a few students and I went on a hike around the town. There were some natural geothermal streams we encountered, and a leaky geothermal pipeline. At the top of a ridge looking over the city there was an Icelandic sculpture which we assumed was a representation of Viking ships.
Today was a long day, and tomorrow we're going to see Gulfoss, a large waterfall, and Geysir (a geyser).
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