8 posts tagged “christmas”
Christmas is where I left off I believe. Well it was great. On the 24th Amma Ásta and Afi Júli came over for dinner. We ate some great lobster soup and washed it down with malt og applesín (two types of beverages mixed together, imagine a blend of beer without alcohol and orange soda). After dessert and coffee we opened gifts. I received quite a few presents including: a hand knitted wool sweater from amma, the stóramynd orðabók (see previous post) from mamma og pabbi (it´s amazing), some nice clothes, dvds, books, cds, a coffee mug, and lots of other marvelous things. It took us a couple of hours to get through the whole pile. On the 25th we went to Amma Dísa and Afi Óli's house for dinner. We had hangikjöt, which is a traditional Icelandic dish. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't, it depends on my stomach. On the 26th we went to Amma Ásta and Afi Júli's for dinner. I kind of got a belated Thanksgiving. It was a dinner of turkey, potatoes, and stuffing! Then on the 28th AFS had a Christmas party. It was fun to see everyone (well, really it was just the kids who lived in the south) again. I ended up having to perform in a skit. I wasn't supposed to originally but my friends Kok and Mod needed some help. So everyone in the audience received a lovely rendition of Can You Feel The Love Tonight in Icelandic. I was so embarrassed. I held the microphone as far away from my face as possible. I looked like a fool, but sometimes that happens. Overall Christmas was great. I didn't even get homesick. But, that was probably because I received a shipment of homemade Christmas cookies on Christmas morning form the mailman dressed up as Old Kris Kringle himself.
On the 30th of December we left the house early and headed to the airport. Our flight was scheduled for 8 and we wanted to be able to grab some breakfast before take-off. Well we certainly got plenty of time that day. I don't think we ended up leaving Iceland until around 1 or 2 o'clock. It was pitch black by the time we landed in Copenhagen and from there we had a 3 hour drive to mamma's sister's house in the small, but very cute, town of Vamdrup. On the 31st we woke early (a.k.a 10 am) to go out and buy fireworks for the New Years Celebration that evening. After we returned home I took a nap before dinner. That evening we set off more fireworks than I thought was possible and we were certainly not the only ones. It was what I would imagine being in a war zone would be like on the night of a raid. The fireworks from the large town nearby were ceaseless (is that a word?) and since Denmark is so flat you could see every firework being set off within a 100 mile radius. It certainly rang in the New Year. On the 2nd Mamma, Bergey (her sister) and I went into Kolding (the large town nearby) to do some shopping. We left pretty early and stayed until its closing. They had an H and M (don´t exist in Iceland) so I was glad. On Thursday we drove down to Germany for the day. The border was only about an hour and a half drive. We spent most of the day at this large store called Scandinavian Park where I bought some cheap Haribo and even found Fluff! Friday was the day we had Mamma's birthday party. We went into Kolding for dinner at this restaurant called Bone´s. It was an American style chain restaurant similar to Ruby Tuesdays (or Shenanigans if you've seen the movie Waiting), but just European. On Saturday morning Mamma, Pabbi, and I went into Vamdrup. We shopped for a bit and went to a Danish bakery. It was really cheap and good. On Sunday we drove to Federicia to catch a train to the airport. I really would like to go back to that town. It was very charming. It had this tree-lined path right by the water that really made me want to jump out of the car and go wander along it. The train ride was nice; I even remember stopping at one town called Middelfart. Our plane ride home went smoothly with no delays. On the whole I really enjoyed our trip to Denmark. It was relaxing but enjoyable. It really reminded me of my home in the states. The landscape, given a tad more hills, would have been an exact match. When we landed it was around 1 in the morning and snowing; on the drive home we got a brilliant display of the northern lights. It was like a big "Welcome Back!" I remember driving around the familiar roundabout on the way to Sandgerði and just looking out the window and whispering to myself 'I'm home.'
More updates tomorrow. I´m sleepy.
Ketkrókur, sá tólfti,
kunni á ýmsu lag.
Hann þrammaði í sveitina
á Þorláksmessudag.
Hann krækti sér í tutlu,
þegar kostur var á.
En stundum reyndist stuttur
stauturinn hans þá.
Meat hook, the twelfth,
knew an interesting tune.
He plodded through the country
on St. Þorláks day.
He snuck a bite of meat,
whenever he could.
But sometimes when he tried
his hook was too short.
Þorláks day was yesterday. We went into Reykjavik for a bit and I ran into some friends of mine, Kok and Mod (both from Thailand). Júlíus sang some Christmas songs at this store. Then we went to Pabbi´s brother´s house to eat skata. Skata is sting ray that´s been peed on, left to rot, and then cooked. It smells quite rank (imagine a toilet in a very sunny and warm spot that has not been cleaned for over a year) but doesn´t taste too terrible, although I didn´t finish my piece. We got home around midnight and then we got some visitors so I didn´t really get to sleep until around 2. Then I had to wake up so early this morning to go to the post office in Keflavik. I am so tired that I think I´ll post about the final jólasveinn later today. Gleðileg Jól!
Sá fjórði, Þvörusleikir,
var fjarskalega mjór.
Og ósköp varð hann glaður,
þegar eldabuskan fór.
Þá þaut hann eins og elding
og þvöruna greip,
og hélt með báðum höndum,
því hún var stundum sleip.
The fourth, Spoon Licker,
was immensely thin.
And he was so glad,
when the kitchen maid went.
Then he went like lightning
and grabbed the wooden spoon,
and he held it with both hands,
because it was slippery.
This morning I found some lovely hair accessories in my shoe. I also awoke to some crazy news. It turns out that the weather this morning (I woke around noon) was so terrible that there were reports of cats flying into windows and hot tubs rolling down streets. Yeah, Icelandic weather can be a little scary sometimes. But...I really hope it shapes up soon.
Only 10 more days until Christmas!
Stúfur hét sá þriðji,
stubburinn sá.
Hann krækti sér í pönnu,
þegar kostur var á.
Hann hljóp með hana í burtu
og hirti agnirnar,
sem brunnu stundum fastar
við barminn hér og þar.
The third was called Stúfur,
that short, stubby one.
He stole pans,
whenever he got the chance.
He ran away with it
and scraped off crumbs,
that burned and stuck fast
to the edges here and there.
This morning my shoe contained a little snowman figurine. Christmas is coming! I mentioned earlier that I wanted better weather, and now it's snowing!! Oh, I hope it lasts! To get into the Christmas spirit I've been watching the old Rankin and Bass stop motion Christmas movies. They are some of my favorites. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus, and Jack Frost. Oh, they're grand. You really get into the holiday spirit if you sit down with a cup of hot cocoa, a warm blanket, and some Christmas specials. Oh, Nú eru komin jól!
In October Yoko Ono came to Iceland. She came for the first lighting of the Imagine Peace Light Tower (the small white cylinder found on the left in the photo), which she dedicated to world peace and John Lennon. It was lit for the first time on his birthday and on Sunday, the day of his death, it was turned off. It will be lit next year during the same time and on some other days throughout the year. The turning-the-light-off ceremony was pretty special and all of the exchange students in the area were invited to it. So, on Sunday all of us exchangers in the area boarded the ferry and headed to Viðey, a tiny island next to Reykjavik. We all stuffed ourselves, along with the other guests, into the tiny church located on the island and held a service. Then we all received a tiki torch and went on a peace walk to the light tower. A choir had been invited to sing a few songs at the light and after that a man talked about the light and world peace. Then all of us exchangers joined hands around the light while it was lit for the last time. It was nice, but most of us were freezing our butts and toes off and just wanted to go get some hot cocoa. Not to mention the ceremony attracted some media attention and I was a little tired of getting my picture taken. Although I did get in the paper and we were on the news too. If you´d like to see the news segment about the Peace Light here´s the link. You can find a picture of the news article on my flickr account.
On Monday I had my first and last exam for this term. It was math and I don´t think I did too badly. I didn't answer one question because I completely forgot what to do. I knew what I had to do, but I couldn´t remember how to do it. It´s sad because I learned it last year and then again this year; you would've thought it would've stuck by now. On Friday there's a Christmas dance but I don't know if I'm going or not. I think I will because it'd be nice to see some friends.
Today is a semi-special day. Today the first jólasveinn comes. There are 13 jólasveinn in all and one comes every day on the 13 days before Christmas. Stekkjastaur, stiff legs when translated, comes today. He is said to have sucked milk from the sheep, but these days the jólasveinn just put something in your shoe (which you set in the window). If you behaved it's something nice and if you were naughty it's a potato.
Stekkjastaur (seen on the right) even has his own poem:
Stekkjastaur kom fyrstur,
stinnur eins og tré.
Hann laumaðist í fjárhúsin
og lék á bóndans fé.
Hann vildi sjúga ærnar,
-þá varð þeim ekki um sel,
því greyið hafði staurfætur,
-það gekk nú ekki vel.
Roughly translated:
Stiff-legs comes first,
rigid like a tree.
He sneaks into the farmhouse
and messes with the farmers sheep.
He wants to suck the sheep,
-but they don't care for that,
he has sticks for legs,
-so it doesn't go so well.
My nicest shoes are on my windowsill. I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what I get.
I am indeed counting down. Only 19 more days! It is quite exciting. It would be ten times nicer though, if it started to snow. Even a light flurrying would suffice. I have a feeling that this year will be what Icelanders call a "red Christmas." Meaning we'll have a Christmas without snow. Last Saturday I went into Reykjavik and finished up my Christmas shopping. It was a long day, I spent a bit more than expected, but it's finished and that accounts for something. On Sunday afternoon Mamma, Júlíus, and I went to this Christmas craft meeting thing. We painted ceramic Christmas decorations. It was kind of fun. My snowman came out rather cute, if I do say so. On Monday we all decorated gingerbread cookies. It was rather enjoyable. My gingerbread man had a tie. He was classy like that. I even managed to create a Jackson Pollock Christmas tree. Although, my first attempt turned into a 60´s psychedelic type tree.
Yesterday I mailed all of my Christmas packages. It was a tad hectic and extremely expensive, so hopefully all of you back home who get something from me appreciate it. Today I´m going into Reykjavik with Mamma and Gunnar to the AFS office. It´s the International Volunteer Day, or something of that sort, and AFS participates in it. So, we´re going down there to thank the volunteers and just chill.
On Saturday there´s another exchange student thing going on. In October Yoko Ono gave this Imagine Peace Tower to Iceland. It´s basically this really big light column in the sky. Well the 8th of December is the last day that it will be lit this year, because that was the day John died. So all of the exchange students were invited to join in the festivities on that day. It sounds pretty cool.
I also have some exciting news. On the 30th of December I'm going to Denmark! It's Pabbi's birthday gift to Mamma. We're going to visit her sister and celebrate her birthday there. We're coming back home on the 7th or maybe the 6th, I'm not exactly sure. We'll be staying in the town of Vamdrup which is actually a part of the city of Kolding. I think it will be quite an enjoyable time. We'll be there for the New Years celebrations and of course we'll have a birthday bash for Mamma. I'm not quite sure what we'll be doing in between these festivities, but I'm sure Pabbi has some ideas bouncing around inside his head. I just hope I get the chance to eat a Danish danish while in Denmark.
These past two weeks have flown by. Unfortunately not much of interest has happened. Last week was Thanksgiving, but besides calling my mom not much celebration occurred. Last Saturday I baked all day. I made Swedish Tea Rings and brownies. The tea rings turned out pretty well I think, considering that it was the first time I had ever made the dough. Normally my grandmother makes the dough and then I finish them. I don´t think the dough was warm enough during the rising process because they didn't get that big, but they were still quite tasty. On Sunday I went to an AFS volunteer´s house for a get together. Manu, Alessandra, their contact persons, and their host families were all there as well as my contact person and host family. It was fun and the food was good. I think Alessandra's host brother ate most of my brownies.
This week has really been rather uneventful. I've been slowly waiting for the end of school, which was today! It´s nice. I finally don't have to get up at 6 anymore! But, now all of my attention is on Christmas (eða "Jól" í íslensku). Sadly for my poor, unfortunate, American-citizen soul I have until Dec. 4th to get all of my Christmas gifts in the mail if I want a guarantee that they'll arrive before Christmas. This means: emergency shopping trip [this weekend] for my procrastinating self (it's not even real procrastination considering it's not even December yet). If only the majority of my relatives and friends called Europe home I'd have a good week more. Woe is me. But, not really. I rather enjoy shopping...and Christmas, so if you put the two together it's bound to be a jolly good time. Even I'll brave the 16 meter per second winds (totally don´t understand the way they measure wind speed here) to lavish in the Christmas spirit. So, tomorrow I'm heading into Reykjavik to, hopefully, complete my Christmas shopping. I'm supposed to meet up with Karoline and Jelena but at the moment I haven't been able to get in touch with them. I'm sure we'll work something out and even if we don't Reykjavik is not that big; I'm sure we'll run into each other somewhere.
Sorry that this update has been so short and is seriously lacking in pictures. I hope to snap some shots of "Reykjavik at Christmas time" tomorrow and maybe have something more interesting to write about next time.
Last weekend was a blast! On Friday I met Rebecca after school. We went grocery shopping with mamma and then headed home. We made pizza for dinner and talked while it was baking. I don't think we ever ran out of things to talk about the whole weekend! After dinner pabbi gave us a ride into Keflavik so that we could go to the movies. There was only around 6 other people in the theater with us watching Eastern Promises. It seemed pretty empty for a Friday night. After the movie ended we still had a while until the bus to Sandgerði came so we walked to a café and got some coffee. Afterwards we headed home and spent the rest of the night talking.
On Saturday around noon Becca and I took the bus into Reykjavik. We went shopping at Kringlan (one of the bigger shopping malls) for quite some time. Around 4 we caught the inner-city bus (the strætó) and headed into the center of town. On the bus we met a fellow exchanger, Karen (Belgium). She had an appointment so she couldn't hang out with us, but we were able to talk while we rode to our stop. After we got off the bus we headed to Cafe Paris, a fairly popular cafe downtown. We enjoyed a nice chat in the cozy atmosphere over some Swiss Mochas. We payed and then perused the shops for a bit. Around 5:30 we headed towards B.S.Í. to catch our bus back to Keflavik. We got off near Amma's and headed there for dinner. Later that night we watched some movies with mamma and pabbi and then we hit the sack. We were both quite exhausted.
Not much has happened this past week. I met with my contact person after school on Tuesday. Friday was Dagur Íslenskrar Tungu (Day of Icelandic Language) so we had some assembly at school. It was a tad boring, but I got to share in the boredom with some Icelandic friends so all was good. Yesterday the whole family visited mamma's friend Sonia. She just had a baby on the 7th so we went to share our congratulations.
Not much is planned for this week. Thursday is Thanksgiving but I don't really have any celebratory plans. I'm getting quite excited for Christmas! Only 36 days!!! Add one more day for all of you in the states; here in Iceland we open gifts on the 24th.
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