May 12, 2016
I have never been one to sleep on airplanes, so it's no surprise that I have not slept since the night of the tenth. The only thing standing between me and my inevitable collapse is caffeine--oh--and Jessie's spontaneous singing.
It was quite lovely to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic as we neared Keflavik. Our travel agent, Thorleifer Fredrikson picked us up from the airport in a gold bus nicknamed the "Golden Gopher." 🚌 It still hasn't sunk in that I am actually in Iceland right now. You only see this kind of scenery in movies, not right outside your bus window! I have been trying my best to pronounce the names on all of the road signs as we pass them.
Our first stop was Thorleifer's home. He and his son Axel prepared a lovely breakfast of rye bread, cheese, meats, lingönberry, coffee, and tea. It was the perfect start to our time in Iceland.☕️
After our meal, we headed over to a nearby geothermally heated pool. Icelanders of all ages frequent their local pools. They are a huge part of Icelandic culture. It was interesting to watch different groups as they came in. At one point a large group of children skated in on wheelies. They were quite entertaining. One of my favorite parts of traveling abroad is hearing the native language. I've noticed a lot of similarities between Swedish and Icelandic (I have a very basic understanding of the Swedish language, so I am not fluent by any means). For one, "tak" means "thank you" in both languages.
After the pool we returned to Thorleifer's home and had more tea and coffee. Our next move was to check into our hostel in Reykjavík. This is my first time ever staying in a hostel, so I didn't know what to expect. Jessie, Camille, Serena, Lettie, and I are roommates. Our room is set up a lot like a dorm with three bunk beds and a small table. There are two bathrooms down the hall for men and women, but the shower room is used by everyone. There are eating and sitting areas downstairs, and we have wifi.
Once we all settled in, most of us headed over to a nearby Italian restaurant. The others chose to get some much needed sleep. Jessie and I split a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. I was surprised to see how expensive the food was in comparison to American food. It was really delicious though!🍕
Later in the afternoon we got to experience some of Iceland's public transportation. A Furman alum, Inga, had us over for a smorgasbord at her scenic home in Reykjavík. We rode three different buses to get there. Inga prepared a variety of traditional Icelandic dishes including Icelandic crepes, melon salad, lamb hot dogs, Icelandic bread and cheese, Icelandic doughnuts, and much more! She also served a variety of yummy veggie and fruit juices. We asked her a lot of questions about sustainability initiatives in Iceland, as well as Icelandic politics. I found it interesting that it is illegal to name an Icelandic baby anything that isn't in the official name book of Iceland. In order for a name to be added, it must be proven to be in one of the many Icelandic sagas. This practice is mainly due to fact that Icelandic names are able to be properly conjugated in standard Icelandic. Also, last names come from the father's (sometimes the mother's) first name and the gender of the baby. For example, Sven could have a son named Björn Svenson, and a daughter named Segrid Svendöttir.
Today has definitely been a great introduction to the country and culture of Iceland!
-HET
-HET
