2 posts tagged “farm”
I figure it's time for an update. So my week on the farm went by very well. I stayed with a very nice icelandic couple out in the east fjords. I helped feed the sheep, mark the new born lambs, and even helped a few enter this world. It was actually kind of enjoyable. Slow paced, simple, a tad smelly...but nice. They didn't speak any english which was actually kind of great. I came back by car with a friend of the family, Þráinn. It took us around 12 hours to drive from Egilsstaðir to Sandgerði, but it was nice to see more of the country. We stopped at quite a few places on the way home. One of the coolest stops was at Jökulsárlón, the glacier lagoon. It is literally this lagoon that is full of icebergs that break off of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Iceland and all of Europe. It is a really neat place.
Last week my mom came to Iceland for a quick 4 day visit. I showed her around sandgerði and keflavík. Of course we went to reykjavík and the blue lagoon, a place I would love to go to again. It's a good thing she wasn't an exchange student here this year, I don't think she would have ever been able to pronounce anything in Icelandic right (just joking mom :Þ). We drove up to akureyri for a one night stay. We even found the christmas house! It's this shop that looks like a big gingerbread house and sells christmas stuff all year round. It's fun and full of candy. We spent sunday night in reykjavík and went out to eat with some other exchangers: Ann-Sophie, Ollie, Rebecca, Bilge, and Taylor. It was nice to see them one more time before our departure camp. Then monday we shoved as much of my crap into her suitcase as possible before she flew home. It was a weird feeling saying goodbye. I don't really have an accurate way to describe it. It was confusing. I almost cried. I don't really cry much, not in these types of situations.
And so, on thursday my family and I went on a little trip. We spent a night in Þjórsádalur at my grandparents summer place. And then we went to Þykkvabær, a little town where my uncle owns a summer house that he let us borrow. We drove quite a bit and visited a couple interesting places. A ghost center among many other things. It was nice to spend some time with my host family before I leave, you know all of them without appointments and engagements getting in the way. We got home today.
I have already sent a box (weighing in at 14 kilos) home by ship. And am going home with two suitcases (both may be up to 23 kilos); for some reason icelandair flights to america allow economy class to have two bags where passengers to europe may only have one, doesn't make sense but doesn't stop me from taking advantage of it (shipping is expensive!!!).
The next days are already planned. Monday, technically today, I'll probably sleep in a bit and try to pack some things. Decide what clothes I'm throwing out or giving away and figure out what all fits in my big black suitcase. Tuesday is the 17th, or sautjándi júní, which is Iceland's Independence day. Much celebrating to be had! Wednesday is obviously more packing and possibly saying goodbye to some people. I am also hoping to possibly meet up with alessandra and manu for dinner. Thursday my host family is throwing me a goodbye dinner. We're going out to eat at a well known Indian restaurant in reykjavík. Víst ætla ég að gráta. Friday is the longest day of the year and the sun never sets. I think we'll be staying up and watching the sun not set nor rise. Saturday is the beginning of the end (one of my favorite oxymorons). All exchangers meet at the AFS forest in Heiðmörk at 10. We plant a tree, families are welcome to stay for that, but then we leave and they are forbidden to see us again (could prove difficult for me, alessandra, and manu, considering the camp is in keflavík). Sunday is the last day. Most of my friends have morning flights and have to arrive at the airport around 5 (except for Bilge, who has a flight out at midnight the day before). I don't depart until 17:00, or around there. The waiting will be frustrating.
I am, honestly, ready to go home. Ready to have my friends, non-bland food, my room, my dog, real trees, thunderstorms, my family, and everything again. But it doesn't stop me from hating having to talk about going home, or trying to deny it as much as possible, or being quite sad about it. I am going to miss this place soooo much, miss speaking the language, miss my host family, and a ton of other things. I know when I say goodbye to them on saturday morning I will cry, or try so hard not to. I won't be sleeping much friday night (longest day of the year and all) nor saturday night (what sleep? and miss all of my friends going to the airport for their early morning flights to europe? no effing way!!) and probably not much sunday night (get home 3 am iceland time, 11 eastern, for a 3 hour drive home) and monday i have to go out and buy some essentials (a phone and some new clothes to make up for the bunch that I'm not taking home). I am going to be tired, emotional, happy, sad, confused, and will probably accidentally speak icelandic to people. I look forward to it.
So since I've last written life has been moving forward, per usual. The saturday after Söngkeppni Framhaldskólanna I went to see the Iceland Symphony Orchestra with the family. A friend of the family, Silla, plays the violin in the orchestra and she invited us to the performance. They performed a bunch of different musical scores from movies. It was enjoyable. Then on sunday, I went horseback riding for the first time. It was...awkward. We went to mamma's cousin's stables. He was nice and gave me some pointers, but I was still pretty iffy (as you can clearly see from my face in the picture above). I was on the horse for around 10 minutes and then decided that I had had enough. I am a chicken.
On the 24th was Sumardagurinn Fyrsti, the first day of summer. In Iceland it's treated like a holiday; everything is closed, there's no school, etc. On that day we had one of Júlíus' birthday parties. I made one of those dragon cakes for it. They're becoming another one of my specialties (if anyone wants the instructions just ask, it's on wikihow). It was a fun day. Then that friday at school was dimission, the last day for the graduating students. They all dress up funny and hold special ceremonies. That saturday was the horseback riding trip with AFS, so I got to go again! And I definitely know for sure now that horseback riding is not my thing.
We went to this horse place outside of Sellfoss. We were on the horses for about an hour. It was one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever done. I never really found the rhythm or whatever. I just held on for dear life. I'm sure I looked like an idiot, I most definitely felt like one. I just really wanted to get off. After that we went to Hveragerði, this tiny town about 5 minutes from the horse place. Most of the exchangers went swimming but a couple of us, Jelena, Bilge, Manu, and I, decided to just bum around. There was this tiny shopping center where we hung out and bought candy. It was fun. We just chatted and tried not to move around too much.
On the 30th of April school finished. I find out my final grades on the 20th I believe. I worked pretty hard this semester, although near the end I got a tad unmotivated. I think I did alright overall. Rebecca came south the day after and stayed with me for the weekend. We met up in downtown Reykjavík. Thursday was Labour Day, or May Day, here in Iceland which meant that downtown was full of protestors. There were some other exchangers downtown as well to join in the march down Laugavegur, Bilge, Kok, Karen, Taylor, Andrea, Juho, Mod, and Jelena. We all got pink flags since it was International Woman Day or something like that. Tons of people were handing out flyers and t-shirts and such. It was really fun. After the march Bilge, Rebecca, and I went to find a place to eat. The weather was really great so we ended up going to a bakery, getting some sandwiches, and eating outside. Then we just hung out for a bit. Friday we went shopping. We hit up Kringlan, Smáralind, and all the downtown shops. We were both extremely tired when we got home. Saturday we hung out at cafés and played cards. Rebecca was supposed to fly home on Saturday but the weather was bad so she stayed an extra night. Then Sunday we had a little trouble with the buses but Rebecca made it home. It was nice to see her again as well as the other exchangers.
Now I'm on summer break. I am trying to find ways to keep myself busy. Next thursday, the 15th, Mamma's sister, Bergey (she lives in Denmark), is visiting with her baby. Then on the 20th, the day Bergey leaves and the day I get my grades, I'm flying out to Egilsstaðir, a city on the east coast, for my farm visit. I get to spend one week on an Icelandic sheep farm. I think it'll be a neat experience but I honestly don't know how much help I'll be. And then a week after that my mom is coming to visit. And then 12 days after that I go home. It'll be here before I know it. These next two weeks are really the only down time I have left. The thought of going home is an odd one. I believe that in 46 days I'll be ready to go home but not quite sure if I'll be ready to leave. Iceland is an amazing place. I've grown to love this country. I honestly don't think that I could spend the rest of my life here, but I feel the same way about America. It's kind of a limbo feeling. A lost feeling.
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