6/13/09
I really did absolutely nothing on Saturday. Woke up around 1 and dashed over to the library to read some books. The night earlier I had a moment like…holy shit I need to do some more research! Only had the chance to read for about 30 minutes before the uni library closed.
I did some laundry, which took a ridiculous amount of time. I had to figure out a way to get the washing powder out of the wrong compartment in the machine, so I literally spent at least an hour pouring hot, smelly sulfur water into it, trying to get it to dissolve. I used this dirty rag I found, and soon it was completely white. I used another washer again because I couldn't figure out how to use it.
I think I started laundry around 7 but didn't finish until 11 (and this was with the quick cycle on the machine), and even then my clothes still weren't dry even after two rounds in the dryer.
Texted Flo and decided to meet up somewhere quiet. We waited outside Kaffibarinn for Joao and his couchsurfing friend he had met-Helga, who I didn't realize till later that I had messaged before on CouchSurfing. They showed up, but she ended up leaving with her friends, and her boyfriend Baldur somehow ended up with us. We went over to Hemmi and Valdi, which was nice and quiet and played a good selection of music. Joao had made his way all around Reykjavik-to the National Museum, Perlan, and a swimming pool. It was disgusting and drizzly all day though. This random dude waved and approached me, thinking my name was Tomoko (?), and I was like...uhhh..no. Apparently someone hade mistaken Joao for some Chilean dude two days earlier. ahaha.
I ended up talking to Baldur a lot because he's studying Chinese at the university and is going to Ningbo next year (for a whole year) to study. He is friends with a guy who works at the Chinese embassy and said he could invite me to some dinner parties or let me know about some of their road trips, which was super nice of them. We look over, and Flo's friend Dan was there AGAIN. Quite funny. I kept on seeing the SAME PEOPLE from Friday night....especially that dude with that hat and the trench coat. Apparently Flo saw the girl that she had said hi to in Bjorn's flat earlier that morning...ahaha. Must be awkward bumping into one-night stands.
Later Guy, Bjossi, and Ari also show up. At this point, they really cranked up the music, and these annoying tourist people in suits and stuff were dancing and being loud and obnoxious. Seriously...go to a club that is actually for dancing, not a little quiet coffee shop turned bar. Joao was leaving at 4 AM to go to the bus station, so he decided to leave the bar around 3. Flo left, and Joao, Baldur, and I went towards Vegamot, but it's super crowded. We stand outside and talk for quite a bit. Joao decided to head down to the 10.11 to buy some food. As we are heading in that direciton, it starts to rain, and since I was on my street, I decide to just run back to the flat. I contemplated getting an umbrella and going back to Hemmi and Valdi because I told Guy I'd be back, but it was too freaking cold. I sit inside for a bit and realized it's stopped raining. Around 4, I go and wander around the city as the sun comes up, and it's really gorgeous. On Laugavegur on the way to the harbor, I saw Bjossi and some random girl. Had to sidestep them making out in the street. On my way to the city pond, some random car of guys stopped when they saw me turn the corner around Kina Husid for...I don't even want to know. Got some nice photos though. The clouds were amazing. Got back at about a quarter to 5AM.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
6/11/09
Went to Icelandic class. Ate lunch with Aki and (gosh...it's bad that I don't know her name...the Vietnamese girl) at Sandholt Bakery. Apparently the Vietnamese girl actually lives in Akranes and takes and hour bus ride every day to get to the Icelandic lessons. I had a sandwich with bacon, turkey, lettuce, tomato, sauce, and hard-boiled eggs, a mini passionfruit macaroon, and a danish-like pastry for later. I got a text from Flo saying she might have a driver and to meet her at Karamba, a coffee shop. Joao had returned a day early because the Germans didn't like the scenery or something, which I really can't understand.
Guy, a dude (guy sounds redundant if I say it..again) from Australia was also CouchSurfing with the same host as Flo and drives. Apparently has also been called "Gooey" once. He had just spent about 3 months in the states, traveling and staying in New York for a while with a guy he met in Vietnam, who pretty much drove him all around. During this trip, he stayed in Durham for a few days with a CouchSurfer who lives by the Dog House. ahahah. He had just arrived in Reykjavik at 6 AM that day. He said it was nearby this super tall prison in the middle of town. I'm not too surprised. Apparently, he was trying out this weird sleeping thing in which he would sleep for half an hour every 4 hours.
Joao and Flo wanted to go to the hot springs in Hvergerdi, so we decided to take the bus there. We were supposed to meet at Hlemmur, the bus station, at 2, but I was 10 minutes late, as usual. Guy decided to stay back, rent the car for Friday and nap. We had to take the bus to Mjodd, another bus station, then to Hveragerdi. The station ran out of change for 1000, so I had to buy a 10 kr caramel at this little shop in the station to get change back. The guy was nice about it..ahaha. It's annoying having to have exact change for bus tickets.
The bus rides were fairly uneventful. We talked briefly about...counterfeit goods (because Flo's counterfeit Lesportsac that she bought in Tel Aviv was really falling apart), and greed of American corporations and whatnot. ahaha. When we got to Hveragerdi, the stop was at a Shell station. We realized we would have to walk about 4.5 km to the start of the hiking trail in addition to the 3.3 km to the springs, not including the trip back. We tried hitchhiking on the way up, but nobody stopped. We asked a group of French campers how much further it was. They were mildy helpful, but they didn't say anything about...following them, which would have been nice. I could not for the life of me remember if we went on the gravel road or the paved road and felt wracked with guilt. In the end, it turned out to be the right one, though I kept saying that I didn't see the cliff I peed behind in my distress. ahaha. The hike was PRETTY brutal, and I remembered how much I struggled on the way up, but at least this time I sort of knew where we were going, though it was really tiring. It was a super nice day though, and the sun was up and everything...perfection. Flo mentioned that I walked funny...ahaha. I told her I was very much aware of this fact.
We got to the springs, ate some food, and got in. There was a part where the waves came over the rocks, and sitting in there was like sitting in a jacuzzi. ahaha. The sun came out, and it was pretty freaking sweet. Joao called it the perfect afternoon. Not so sure about perfect...maybe without the hike it'd be perfect. We soaked in there for a while. Taking self-timer shots was a bit of a struggle. ahaha. Three couples (at least) hiked up to the stream and saw us there. ahaha. The last couple decided to get in too. They really weren't shy about stripping off their clothes. ahaha. I struggled some, but it was alright. Joao seemed really concerned about getting mud on his shoes, I think. And I was like uh...they're hiking shoes. But I didn't say that.
The hike back wasn't bad at all. The flat walk back to Hvergerdi was the worst, and we were starving. We stopped by this Icelandic version of Subway shop. The guy was really nice and told us to get pizza at a place down the street, but we thought we didn't have time. Got a hot dog at the Shell gas station because I was starving even though I really wanted a burger. We waited over half an hour for the bus to come (came at 10:10). Then at Mjodd, we boarded a bus that went to Hlemmur. Unfortunately, as this nice kid on the bus told us, the bus would loop around one neighborhood twice before going to Hlemmur. So we saw a lot of the Reykjavik suburbs...ahaha. We got back around...11:30? Then we went to DeVito's pizza right outside Flo's host's place. I went with her into the flat to see if Guy was there, and it had the cutest decor ever. It's green on the outside and the walls and stairs inside are also green and yellow. The floor is splattered with paint, and there are Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe prints on the walls. The flat was pretty freaking nice too. A lot bigger and nicer and probably more expensive than the one I'm in.
I decided to run out to the harbor because the sunset was AMAZING. Then I ran back to DeVito's pizza. Ate a slice of Joao's pizza with...onions, pepperoni, and mushrooms, and it was delicious. He was eating with a knife and a fork, and I was like...yeah no. Apparently Brazil was also playing Paraguay in soccer, which was being shown on the TVs in there. Then we made the trek back down Laugavegur. There were a ton of people out partying already, though it was probably only midnight at the latest.
Talked to Linda for about an hour or so on Skype and went to bed around 2:30AM.
6/12/09
Got up around 8:15AM and took a shower. Got a text from Flo saying to meet at the hostel at 10:15AM. We were supposed to meet up in front of Hlemmur again, but Guy took a while to wake up, so we waited outside their flat. Guy walks in this kind of stumbling manner, so we were like...oh great...he is in no shape to drive. He was dressed quite stylishly though in his chambray blazer, teal skinny jeans, tweed scarf, vintage sunglasses, and tennis shoes from Vietnam. Walked the 30 minutes to the hostel.
There was some confusion about whether or not Guy actually had reserved a car the day before (hostel receptionist took his name but nothing else), but we ended up getting a car. Stopped at a gas station to buy some provisions. I got a carton of juice and pancakes. The cashier could tell I was American but didn't know where NC was. ahaha. Guy apparently subsists on apples, water, peanuts, Snickers, and cheese and crackers. We got to Mosfellsbaer, and we saw a Kronan there, so we stopped again. I got tomatoes and a lot of Berry Company juice-purple superberry and goji berry. Yum!
Guy is a good driver in the sense that...he is very sure of himself, though a VERY scary driver. I think he was probably going...140 km/hr around these steep curves and passing pretty much every car. And up to 160 km/hr or 100 mph. ahaha. I think we all feared for our lives. He is a very interesting person and was hilarious and entertaining once we got him talking.
Apparently he went out to Bjorn's friends' place but took a long nap there. Then he walked around at about 4, showered, went to the 10.11, where he was prodded by a drunk person, came back around 5:30 and slept until Flo woke him up.
We first drove around Hvalfjordur, which was quite pretty, but the roads were super windy and scary. Stopped in Borgarnes, at the VERY tip of Borgarnes, where there was a kind of parking lot. Ate some tomatoes and hummus. Guy took the opportunity to do donuts (or wheelies, as he called them), the empty lot. It was amazingly fun, though I continued to fear for my life. I didn't realize what he meant by wheelies, so I did not have my seat belt on at the time, which made me collide with Joao on the other side of the back seat..ahaha. Centripetal force goes inwards? bahaha.
The car wouldn't start for a while after that when we stopped at a cafe, which was a bit scary. Borgarnes would be a really shitty place to get stuck. Guy said we could settle down and stay there forever, pointed to two guys walking by, and said Flo and I could marry them. ahahaha. The car finally started again, and we ate at a Filipino restaurant. Ironically, Flo, Joao, and I all ordered plokkfiskur, a traditional Icelandic fish hash with potatoes served with rye bread. Guy slept in the car. The Filipino lady who owned the place was super nice and knew about Egil's saga which took place in Borgarnes.
We all tried to talk to Guy to keep him from falling asleep. He talked about going to Vietnam and constantly being pestered by Vietnamese people about buying things. I asked Guy what kind of pretentious music he listened to, but all he could think of was Nick Cave and Dinosaur Jr. This turned into a conversation about Australian bands, which I apparently know very little about. I wondered if I could somehow blend in. Our first stop was Snaefellsjokull, a glacier. There was a little singing cave where dwarves were supposed to live. The glacier was quite nice, but I liked the ones along the South Coast more. I think this is when he ate the cheese and crackers...said he would do anything for me to have the cheese that I brought. I later sat on it on accident. Guy liked swerving onto the gravel roads because of the traction and doing little zigszaggy things. He would also stare out the windows at the scenery while driving, which made me really anxious. Often We also saw some sheep up close, and Joao threw crackers at them. Drove for a bit more and stopped at the pebble beach, which was pretty freaking amazing. I also got my shoes wet, thinking the waves would not hit me. ahaha. We stayed there for a pretty long time, until about 6:30-7. Guy talked about one of his friends who gave up a perfect architecture job to be with a girl who dumped him a week ago and remembered he should probably give his friend a call. We didn't really stop on the way back except for a gas refilling at Borgarnes, where Guy got some more Snickers.
Finally got back to Reykjavik around 9:40-ish and sorted out payment and everything. On the walk from the hostel back to our respective places, Guy asked us if we felt relieved that we were still alive, like we had just been on a plane with bad turbulence and thought we were going to die. Then I told him Joao was a plane engineer, so they talked about...planes for a while. I was carrying my huge backpack with my towel along with 3 containers of juice. It was really heavy, so I wore it in front of me for a bit., which was really awkward. Guy said if I were fat, I would feel that way all the time. We passed by Hofdi House, and I told them that's where the Cold War was ended. Guy randomly told me (though I can't remember how we got on this topic) that proportionally, swans have the longest penises of any animal and that the Ugly Ducking was some allegory for sexual dominance. We got to the small square next to Hlemmur, sorted out the money, only I ran out of smaller denominations of kronurs, so Guy just gave me 100 kronur.
Stopped by 11.11, so Joao could buy a sandwich for dinner. We said to meet about 40 minutes later to go to the Singapore Sling concert that Flo and her host had been talking about. I walked back to the flat, showered, put in contacts, and was barely ready in time. Joao also waited for me on the wrong street (one street over), so I stood there like an idiot on my street corner, eating my pancakes because I was starving.
Walked over to Sodoma, went in, and nobody was there. Asked some people inside, and they said to go to London around the corner. We were worried the show had ended as it was supposed to start at 10. Didn't start until 11:30. It was pretty awkward. We just sat there for a bit, at a table near the side and the speakers. Joao got a beer, but I didn't get anything..obviously. The first band had a female "singer," but basically she just yelped. She also wore a pair of Balenciaga knockoff heels. We went outside and walked around for a bit because Joao thought it was too loud. It was freaking cold outside though. Stopped by the 10.11, and he got a chocolate muffin. Went back in to see the next band, which was crappy poppy-punk-ish, but bad, with English lyrics. It took me a few minutes to even realize they were singing in English. Waited over thirty minutes after the end of their set for Singapore Sling to start. We saw this girl drop an full glass of beer on the ground and just walk away. Seemed like everyone in the bar knew everyone. Flo and Guy finally showed up around 1-ish. Guy had some trouble getting to the bar. Stood up a bit closer to the stage to watch Singapore Sling, but they pretty much sucked too. Before they started, while we were standing around, Guy took out what he called his rape whistle and blew on it, but it was really quiet. Guy would sometimes turn around and make this pained face that he seems to make quite often and the rock on symbol with his hand. It was probably because I looked freaking bored and was standing right in front of the singer the whole time. And two of them were wearing sunglasses, which is obnoxious. I got really tired, and just watched the people around me dance and get really into it. The people there were really awkward dancers. This one guy next to me just kind of rotated about his torso and shook his shoulders really weirdly. Another girl air drummed very poorly. I stood there trying to avoid stepping on this glass on the ground. They were also probably quite drunk, which likely helped. Icelanders seem to be pretty abysmal dancers though, or maybe they were just drunk. Joao and I left before the set was over because it was so crappy and loud (for him. I had earplugs, being the prepared person I am.) It was only 2, but some people were already seriously drunk. We saw one guy carrying his girlfriend. ahaha. On the way crossing Laekjargata, these two guys approached us, trying to get us to take a bite of their waffles. One guy got all up in my face was like, "Do you want a bite of my waffle?" I declined, then he said "You're very pretty." Great. The only people who tell me I'm pretty are my mom and super wasted guys. ahaha. Went to Vegamot, which a guy recommended to him. It was ridiculously crowded and humid, with a lot of dancing. We went up to the second floor, but the line for drinks was really long, and we left. Dillon seemed pretty packed too, so we didn't even try to go in. The door to Joao's hostel was locked, and he rang the buzzer, and a guy came out. Joao called it a night and went back to his hostel.
I decided to wander around a bit more and felt totally safe about it too. I bought a burger from the burger truck at the plaza and ate it while wandering around the plazas. There was some crazy screaming dude though in the other plaza, and I tried to stay away from him. I ended up bumping into Guy and two Icelandic guys he had befriended, Bjossi and Ari (Arni??), who were smoking outside. Talked to Arni mostly. I told him about the waffle guy and said, "I didn't want any of the guy's waffle," which he found quite amusing. ahaha. He was shocked when I said I didn't drink and was entertained when I told him I was studying folklore. He said 70% of Icelanders believe in elves, and that they build roads around elf rocks and such. He said super large rocks and cliffs were considered elf palaces. ahaha. Then he put his arm around me and talked to me about the Icelandic language. ahaha. Said something about a superstition-if you give a knife to someone, they have to pay you back for it? It doesn't even sound like a realy superstition. I love talking to drunk people...very friendly. He and Bjossi kept bumping into friends and talking to them. I think Guy called them fake, peroxide blondes. ahah. Talked to him a bit about my folklore proposals and research and stuff, but I think he was pretty drunk at this point, so it kind of went over his head. Went into Hemmi and Valdi so they could use the bathroom. When we went outside, Flo was there! With a Dan, a friend she had met in Tel Aviv and bumped into again on the smoking patio at Sodoma. So weird. Dan is from New York, and Guy asked him where he was from. But then Dan was all like "I asked you first," and Guy blew his rape whistle and pointed at him. We went to the Celtic Cellar where these two guys were doing Eurovision covers. These girls were singing along to every word. ahah. Guy made his face and complained about the shitty music. We all sat around, and I pretty much just listened to Guy because he is hilariously entertaining. He made a friend named Elvar (sp?), and apparently his ex (didn't date officially but lived together) was named Elva...as he typed out on his phone showing us the two spellings. He said she was a beautiful, beautiful girl. Dan corrected him, saying that she was, but now she's just a bitch. But Guy admitted that he had screwed her over, so she was still...beautiful and not a bitch in his book. ahaha.
As Elvar was sitting down, this random girl came by and kind of made out with him and left? ahaha. But only Dan and I noticed this exchange.
Somehow they got on the topic of hip-hop and put his watch on the button of his shirt, pretending to be Flava Flav? I talked to Dan about my not drinking. He thinks all the folklore just comes from really drunk people. Guy and Elvar were getting tired of the pub. Guy was irritated with the people in the pub, and he and Elvar devised a plan of beating up all the people and leaving-they contemplated whether or not to enlist Dan in the process. Guy and Dan were really confused by the brightness outside. Guy asked Elvar what he usually did on weekends. He said if he didn't bring a girl back, he would drink until 6AM, go back, go to work, and start drinking again around 3PM unless he had something else to do. Guy asked him what this "something" was-he said personally he liked to play putt-putt. ahahah.
Elvar said he had two cats and that they were easy to take care of because he didn't have to walk them. Guy said he hated cats because they were mean and all independent and stuff. Admittedly, my own experiences with cats here haven't been good. I can hear them hissing and snarling outside m window...
Guy decided he was tired of the Irish pub and wanted to leave. We stood around outside for a while trying to decide what to do. This one girl nearly walked straight into Guy because she was so drunk. At this point (or maybe it was outside Hemmi and Valdi?), he was randomly blowing his whistle and pointing at people. I looked at it more closely, and it had Smokey the Bear on it and "PREVENT WILDFIRES." I questioned how useful it would be in actually preventing wildfires, and he said that after blowing on it, they would automatically hear it somewhere and send reinforcement. Guy and Elvar decided to go to Bar 11 or something. I think the rest of us eventually decided to just go back to the flat because it was so chilly out. I got back at 4:30/5-ish. And now it is 6, and I seriously need to go to sleep.
Went to Icelandic class. Ate lunch with Aki and (gosh...it's bad that I don't know her name...the Vietnamese girl) at Sandholt Bakery. Apparently the Vietnamese girl actually lives in Akranes and takes and hour bus ride every day to get to the Icelandic lessons. I had a sandwich with bacon, turkey, lettuce, tomato, sauce, and hard-boiled eggs, a mini passionfruit macaroon, and a danish-like pastry for later. I got a text from Flo saying she might have a driver and to meet her at Karamba, a coffee shop. Joao had returned a day early because the Germans didn't like the scenery or something, which I really can't understand.
Guy, a dude (guy sounds redundant if I say it..again) from Australia was also CouchSurfing with the same host as Flo and drives. Apparently has also been called "Gooey" once. He had just spent about 3 months in the states, traveling and staying in New York for a while with a guy he met in Vietnam, who pretty much drove him all around. During this trip, he stayed in Durham for a few days with a CouchSurfer who lives by the Dog House. ahahah. He had just arrived in Reykjavik at 6 AM that day. He said it was nearby this super tall prison in the middle of town. I'm not too surprised. Apparently, he was trying out this weird sleeping thing in which he would sleep for half an hour every 4 hours.
Joao and Flo wanted to go to the hot springs in Hvergerdi, so we decided to take the bus there. We were supposed to meet at Hlemmur, the bus station, at 2, but I was 10 minutes late, as usual. Guy decided to stay back, rent the car for Friday and nap. We had to take the bus to Mjodd, another bus station, then to Hveragerdi. The station ran out of change for 1000, so I had to buy a 10 kr caramel at this little shop in the station to get change back. The guy was nice about it..ahaha. It's annoying having to have exact change for bus tickets.
The bus rides were fairly uneventful. We talked briefly about...counterfeit goods (because Flo's counterfeit Lesportsac that she bought in Tel Aviv was really falling apart), and greed of American corporations and whatnot. ahaha. When we got to Hveragerdi, the stop was at a Shell station. We realized we would have to walk about 4.5 km to the start of the hiking trail in addition to the 3.3 km to the springs, not including the trip back. We tried hitchhiking on the way up, but nobody stopped. We asked a group of French campers how much further it was. They were mildy helpful, but they didn't say anything about...following them, which would have been nice. I could not for the life of me remember if we went on the gravel road or the paved road and felt wracked with guilt. In the end, it turned out to be the right one, though I kept saying that I didn't see the cliff I peed behind in my distress. ahaha. The hike was PRETTY brutal, and I remembered how much I struggled on the way up, but at least this time I sort of knew where we were going, though it was really tiring. It was a super nice day though, and the sun was up and everything...perfection. Flo mentioned that I walked funny...ahaha. I told her I was very much aware of this fact.
We got to the springs, ate some food, and got in. There was a part where the waves came over the rocks, and sitting in there was like sitting in a jacuzzi. ahaha. The sun came out, and it was pretty freaking sweet. Joao called it the perfect afternoon. Not so sure about perfect...maybe without the hike it'd be perfect. We soaked in there for a while. Taking self-timer shots was a bit of a struggle. ahaha. Three couples (at least) hiked up to the stream and saw us there. ahaha. The last couple decided to get in too. They really weren't shy about stripping off their clothes. ahaha. I struggled some, but it was alright. Joao seemed really concerned about getting mud on his shoes, I think. And I was like uh...they're hiking shoes. But I didn't say that.
The hike back wasn't bad at all. The flat walk back to Hvergerdi was the worst, and we were starving. We stopped by this Icelandic version of Subway shop. The guy was really nice and told us to get pizza at a place down the street, but we thought we didn't have time. Got a hot dog at the Shell gas station because I was starving even though I really wanted a burger. We waited over half an hour for the bus to come (came at 10:10). Then at Mjodd, we boarded a bus that went to Hlemmur. Unfortunately, as this nice kid on the bus told us, the bus would loop around one neighborhood twice before going to Hlemmur. So we saw a lot of the Reykjavik suburbs...ahaha. We got back around...11:30? Then we went to DeVito's pizza right outside Flo's host's place. I went with her into the flat to see if Guy was there, and it had the cutest decor ever. It's green on the outside and the walls and stairs inside are also green and yellow. The floor is splattered with paint, and there are Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe prints on the walls. The flat was pretty freaking nice too. A lot bigger and nicer and probably more expensive than the one I'm in.
I decided to run out to the harbor because the sunset was AMAZING. Then I ran back to DeVito's pizza. Ate a slice of Joao's pizza with...onions, pepperoni, and mushrooms, and it was delicious. He was eating with a knife and a fork, and I was like...yeah no. Apparently Brazil was also playing Paraguay in soccer, which was being shown on the TVs in there. Then we made the trek back down Laugavegur. There were a ton of people out partying already, though it was probably only midnight at the latest.
Talked to Linda for about an hour or so on Skype and went to bed around 2:30AM.
6/12/09
Got up around 8:15AM and took a shower. Got a text from Flo saying to meet at the hostel at 10:15AM. We were supposed to meet up in front of Hlemmur again, but Guy took a while to wake up, so we waited outside their flat. Guy walks in this kind of stumbling manner, so we were like...oh great...he is in no shape to drive. He was dressed quite stylishly though in his chambray blazer, teal skinny jeans, tweed scarf, vintage sunglasses, and tennis shoes from Vietnam. Walked the 30 minutes to the hostel.
There was some confusion about whether or not Guy actually had reserved a car the day before (hostel receptionist took his name but nothing else), but we ended up getting a car. Stopped at a gas station to buy some provisions. I got a carton of juice and pancakes. The cashier could tell I was American but didn't know where NC was. ahaha. Guy apparently subsists on apples, water, peanuts, Snickers, and cheese and crackers. We got to Mosfellsbaer, and we saw a Kronan there, so we stopped again. I got tomatoes and a lot of Berry Company juice-purple superberry and goji berry. Yum!
Guy is a good driver in the sense that...he is very sure of himself, though a VERY scary driver. I think he was probably going...140 km/hr around these steep curves and passing pretty much every car. And up to 160 km/hr or 100 mph. ahaha. I think we all feared for our lives. He is a very interesting person and was hilarious and entertaining once we got him talking.
Apparently he went out to Bjorn's friends' place but took a long nap there. Then he walked around at about 4, showered, went to the 10.11, where he was prodded by a drunk person, came back around 5:30 and slept until Flo woke him up.
We first drove around Hvalfjordur, which was quite pretty, but the roads were super windy and scary. Stopped in Borgarnes, at the VERY tip of Borgarnes, where there was a kind of parking lot. Ate some tomatoes and hummus. Guy took the opportunity to do donuts (or wheelies, as he called them), the empty lot. It was amazingly fun, though I continued to fear for my life. I didn't realize what he meant by wheelies, so I did not have my seat belt on at the time, which made me collide with Joao on the other side of the back seat..ahaha. Centripetal force goes inwards? bahaha.
The car wouldn't start for a while after that when we stopped at a cafe, which was a bit scary. Borgarnes would be a really shitty place to get stuck. Guy said we could settle down and stay there forever, pointed to two guys walking by, and said Flo and I could marry them. ahahaha. The car finally started again, and we ate at a Filipino restaurant. Ironically, Flo, Joao, and I all ordered plokkfiskur, a traditional Icelandic fish hash with potatoes served with rye bread. Guy slept in the car. The Filipino lady who owned the place was super nice and knew about Egil's saga which took place in Borgarnes.
We all tried to talk to Guy to keep him from falling asleep. He talked about going to Vietnam and constantly being pestered by Vietnamese people about buying things. I asked Guy what kind of pretentious music he listened to, but all he could think of was Nick Cave and Dinosaur Jr. This turned into a conversation about Australian bands, which I apparently know very little about. I wondered if I could somehow blend in. Our first stop was Snaefellsjokull, a glacier. There was a little singing cave where dwarves were supposed to live. The glacier was quite nice, but I liked the ones along the South Coast more. I think this is when he ate the cheese and crackers...said he would do anything for me to have the cheese that I brought. I later sat on it on accident. Guy liked swerving onto the gravel roads because of the traction and doing little zigszaggy things. He would also stare out the windows at the scenery while driving, which made me really anxious. Often We also saw some sheep up close, and Joao threw crackers at them. Drove for a bit more and stopped at the pebble beach, which was pretty freaking amazing. I also got my shoes wet, thinking the waves would not hit me. ahaha. We stayed there for a pretty long time, until about 6:30-7. Guy talked about one of his friends who gave up a perfect architecture job to be with a girl who dumped him a week ago and remembered he should probably give his friend a call. We didn't really stop on the way back except for a gas refilling at Borgarnes, where Guy got some more Snickers.
Finally got back to Reykjavik around 9:40-ish and sorted out payment and everything. On the walk from the hostel back to our respective places, Guy asked us if we felt relieved that we were still alive, like we had just been on a plane with bad turbulence and thought we were going to die. Then I told him Joao was a plane engineer, so they talked about...planes for a while. I was carrying my huge backpack with my towel along with 3 containers of juice. It was really heavy, so I wore it in front of me for a bit., which was really awkward. Guy said if I were fat, I would feel that way all the time. We passed by Hofdi House, and I told them that's where the Cold War was ended. Guy randomly told me (though I can't remember how we got on this topic) that proportionally, swans have the longest penises of any animal and that the Ugly Ducking was some allegory for sexual dominance. We got to the small square next to Hlemmur, sorted out the money, only I ran out of smaller denominations of kronurs, so Guy just gave me 100 kronur.
Stopped by 11.11, so Joao could buy a sandwich for dinner. We said to meet about 40 minutes later to go to the Singapore Sling concert that Flo and her host had been talking about. I walked back to the flat, showered, put in contacts, and was barely ready in time. Joao also waited for me on the wrong street (one street over), so I stood there like an idiot on my street corner, eating my pancakes because I was starving.
Walked over to Sodoma, went in, and nobody was there. Asked some people inside, and they said to go to London around the corner. We were worried the show had ended as it was supposed to start at 10. Didn't start until 11:30. It was pretty awkward. We just sat there for a bit, at a table near the side and the speakers. Joao got a beer, but I didn't get anything..obviously. The first band had a female "singer," but basically she just yelped. She also wore a pair of Balenciaga knockoff heels. We went outside and walked around for a bit because Joao thought it was too loud. It was freaking cold outside though. Stopped by the 10.11, and he got a chocolate muffin. Went back in to see the next band, which was crappy poppy-punk-ish, but bad, with English lyrics. It took me a few minutes to even realize they were singing in English. Waited over thirty minutes after the end of their set for Singapore Sling to start. We saw this girl drop an full glass of beer on the ground and just walk away. Seemed like everyone in the bar knew everyone. Flo and Guy finally showed up around 1-ish. Guy had some trouble getting to the bar. Stood up a bit closer to the stage to watch Singapore Sling, but they pretty much sucked too. Before they started, while we were standing around, Guy took out what he called his rape whistle and blew on it, but it was really quiet. Guy would sometimes turn around and make this pained face that he seems to make quite often and the rock on symbol with his hand. It was probably because I looked freaking bored and was standing right in front of the singer the whole time. And two of them were wearing sunglasses, which is obnoxious. I got really tired, and just watched the people around me dance and get really into it. The people there were really awkward dancers. This one guy next to me just kind of rotated about his torso and shook his shoulders really weirdly. Another girl air drummed very poorly. I stood there trying to avoid stepping on this glass on the ground. They were also probably quite drunk, which likely helped. Icelanders seem to be pretty abysmal dancers though, or maybe they were just drunk. Joao and I left before the set was over because it was so crappy and loud (for him. I had earplugs, being the prepared person I am.) It was only 2, but some people were already seriously drunk. We saw one guy carrying his girlfriend. ahaha. On the way crossing Laekjargata, these two guys approached us, trying to get us to take a bite of their waffles. One guy got all up in my face was like, "Do you want a bite of my waffle?" I declined, then he said "You're very pretty." Great. The only people who tell me I'm pretty are my mom and super wasted guys. ahaha. Went to Vegamot, which a guy recommended to him. It was ridiculously crowded and humid, with a lot of dancing. We went up to the second floor, but the line for drinks was really long, and we left. Dillon seemed pretty packed too, so we didn't even try to go in. The door to Joao's hostel was locked, and he rang the buzzer, and a guy came out. Joao called it a night and went back to his hostel.
I decided to wander around a bit more and felt totally safe about it too. I bought a burger from the burger truck at the plaza and ate it while wandering around the plazas. There was some crazy screaming dude though in the other plaza, and I tried to stay away from him. I ended up bumping into Guy and two Icelandic guys he had befriended, Bjossi and Ari (Arni??), who were smoking outside. Talked to Arni mostly. I told him about the waffle guy and said, "I didn't want any of the guy's waffle," which he found quite amusing. ahaha. He was shocked when I said I didn't drink and was entertained when I told him I was studying folklore. He said 70% of Icelanders believe in elves, and that they build roads around elf rocks and such. He said super large rocks and cliffs were considered elf palaces. ahaha. Then he put his arm around me and talked to me about the Icelandic language. ahaha. Said something about a superstition-if you give a knife to someone, they have to pay you back for it? It doesn't even sound like a realy superstition. I love talking to drunk people...very friendly. He and Bjossi kept bumping into friends and talking to them. I think Guy called them fake, peroxide blondes. ahah. Talked to him a bit about my folklore proposals and research and stuff, but I think he was pretty drunk at this point, so it kind of went over his head. Went into Hemmi and Valdi so they could use the bathroom. When we went outside, Flo was there! With a Dan, a friend she had met in Tel Aviv and bumped into again on the smoking patio at Sodoma. So weird. Dan is from New York, and Guy asked him where he was from. But then Dan was all like "I asked you first," and Guy blew his rape whistle and pointed at him. We went to the Celtic Cellar where these two guys were doing Eurovision covers. These girls were singing along to every word. ahah. Guy made his face and complained about the shitty music. We all sat around, and I pretty much just listened to Guy because he is hilariously entertaining. He made a friend named Elvar (sp?), and apparently his ex (didn't date officially but lived together) was named Elva...as he typed out on his phone showing us the two spellings. He said she was a beautiful, beautiful girl. Dan corrected him, saying that she was, but now she's just a bitch. But Guy admitted that he had screwed her over, so she was still...beautiful and not a bitch in his book. ahaha.
As Elvar was sitting down, this random girl came by and kind of made out with him and left? ahaha. But only Dan and I noticed this exchange.
Somehow they got on the topic of hip-hop and put his watch on the button of his shirt, pretending to be Flava Flav? I talked to Dan about my not drinking. He thinks all the folklore just comes from really drunk people. Guy and Elvar were getting tired of the pub. Guy was irritated with the people in the pub, and he and Elvar devised a plan of beating up all the people and leaving-they contemplated whether or not to enlist Dan in the process. Guy and Dan were really confused by the brightness outside. Guy asked Elvar what he usually did on weekends. He said if he didn't bring a girl back, he would drink until 6AM, go back, go to work, and start drinking again around 3PM unless he had something else to do. Guy asked him what this "something" was-he said personally he liked to play putt-putt. ahahah.
Elvar said he had two cats and that they were easy to take care of because he didn't have to walk them. Guy said he hated cats because they were mean and all independent and stuff. Admittedly, my own experiences with cats here haven't been good. I can hear them hissing and snarling outside m window...
Guy decided he was tired of the Irish pub and wanted to leave. We stood around outside for a while trying to decide what to do. This one girl nearly walked straight into Guy because she was so drunk. At this point (or maybe it was outside Hemmi and Valdi?), he was randomly blowing his whistle and pointing at people. I looked at it more closely, and it had Smokey the Bear on it and "PREVENT WILDFIRES." I questioned how useful it would be in actually preventing wildfires, and he said that after blowing on it, they would automatically hear it somewhere and send reinforcement. Guy and Elvar decided to go to Bar 11 or something. I think the rest of us eventually decided to just go back to the flat because it was so chilly out. I got back at 4:30/5-ish. And now it is 6, and I seriously need to go to sleep.
Monday, June 8, 2009
6/7/09
Ozan had the car because he was staying with a host in Hafnarfjörður and came to pick me up around 8:50AM. It was a struggle getting up because I went to bed around 1:30 or 2-ish the night before because the day had been so..exhilarating. Apparently Ozan went to the club where his Couchsurfing host bartends, Barbara. I had always thought that place was where a prostitute worked, but apparently it's a gay club. Oops.
Ozan and Flo both smoked. Flo rolled her own cigarettes. Alex smoked on occasion. Sadly, Ozan still hiked faster than I did. That's how out of shape I am. Great.
Got to the hostel and went to the kitchen with Alex to scope out the free food selection. Flo texted Ozan saying she would be ready at 9:40, even though we had planned to leave around 9. Janez had been camping outside at the same hostel, so he just walked over to the kitchen. Apparently he BIKED all the way around the Golden Circle...the whole distance we drove. That's intense. ahaha. Went to pick up Flo, who lives in the colorful yellow house on Laugavegur. We set off around 10-ish, I suppose.
Stopped at a Kronan in Selfoss to buy some groceries. I found that Goji berry juice that Elfa brought to Borgarnes, so I was all over that. We also got red berry and blueberry juices. By this time it was 11-ish, so we ate some in the parking lot and on the way there. Janez said that when they got really drunk at his dorm, they would make a huge pot of pasta, dump it on the table, and eat it with their hands. I found this hilarious.
It was probably about a 5 hour drive from Reykjavik to Jökulsárlón, the glacial lake off of Vatnajökull. Alex, Flo, and I alternated between sitting in the middle seat. Alex showed me some her photos from her hikes around Canada and other places. The landscape was really bizarre. We stopped at Vik and a glacier or two on the way there. There were huge stretches of just very lumpy mossy/licheny rocks. Then lots of lupine. Then just black sand.
Jökulsárlón was different from what I had expected but still beautiful. If it had been sunnier though, I bet we could've seen the reflection of the glaciers in the water, which would have been amazing. We saw a couple of seals, which were adorable, just swimming along. The peacefulness was disturbed by a TON of loud, squawking birds. We just stood there for a while and looked at it. There were amphibious boat rides, but we opted not to do it because it was 4, and we still had many more stops to go. Ozan drove all the way there, and Janez drove back. He was used to stick shift, so he kept wanting to change gears and stuff. ahaha. I think everyone was a bit tired on the way Skaftafell and nodded off a bit, especially Alex though. Drove up a super windy road to get to the parking lot for the trail. (There was a guesthouse or something..Bodin, but we parked there anyway). But then we had to go back down so Janez could make his pasta. It was actually quite good..spaghetti bolognese? He had these cute little plastic utensils that were a knife, fork, and spoon all in one. We sat around by this nice camping site for a bit while he made the pasta. He had a bunch of Slovenia travel brochures that we looked through. Alex was planning on traveling through Europe for the next month or so and was interested in going through Slovenia.
Drove back up the windy road to go on the hiking trail to Svartifoss. It was only 0.7 km there, and the walk was much, much easier than the hike at Hveragerdi. There were a bunch of steps though, and I accidentally tripped on one. It was pretty embarrasing, and I still have a VERY nasty bruise as a result. Svartifoss was pretty cool, and there was this little bridge right in front of it, so we sat there for a bit. It started drizzling, and a bunch more people started showing up.
I got to ride shotgun for the first time because Ozan wanted to sit in the back for some reason. So I asked Janez a bajillion questions about Slovenia. Apparently his friend was at a Killers concert? It was kind of hard to understand him sometimes, but it was pretty cool...learned more about Slovenia than I even thought I'd know. And he played some Slovenian music on his phone too. Ozan and Alex looked at all the pictures I had taken on my camera. Looking back on the hot spring photos, Ozan's face is BRIGHT red, and the rest of him is super pale, which I found HILARIOUS. Gosh.
We got to Skogafoss, got out and snapped a few pictures. There were stairs by the side where you could actually walk up to the top, but we didn't have time. Then we went to Seljalandsfoss, which was pretty amazing. The sun was sort of setting, and you could walk behind the falls. It was kind of hard getting back there because there weren't really steps, just a bunch of rocks. I got soaked getting back there, and my camera got quite wet too. Ozan had to help me get down from the other side because there wasn't really anything to hold onto. I was the only one who got completely soaked somehow..ahaha.
The radio station we listened to (well, two of them) played such a random assortment of songs. One played European and American pop songs and the other played 90s music. They played a bunch of songs from Eurovision. As crappy as they, I'm kind of addicted to them. Ozan and Janez both seemed really enamored with the Icelandic contestant, Yohanna. She's pretty, but not "SO BEAUTIFUL" in my opinion. ahaha. Ozan made fun of the Norwegian winner's song because it didn't make sense. I thought his singing and lyrics were crappy, but the violin part is catchy as hell. We heard it on the radio many times, and deemed it the song of the trip.
The way back was pretty sleepy. On the way back, I was starving the whole time. I ate pretty much a whole loaf of marble cake that I had brought. ahaha. We got back to Reykjavik around 1. It was still pretty bright out. We saw these clouds there were so low, they looked like they were actually touching this lake.
We had to stop by a gas station to figure out payment. Somehow it all worked out in the end. Then we went to Hafnarfjordur to drop off Ozan. Dropped off Flo. While we were stopped at a red light to drop me off, Janez put the car in park. I was like..you don't have to do that with automatic cars..ahaha. It was sad saying bye. Although I didn't like the whole long car ride part, I didn't want the day to end. :( Didn't get back until almost 2 AM.
6/8/09
I did literally nothing. I went to class. Chilled and somehow talked to John on Skype for two hours. Got chicken Pad Thai from Nudluhusid for dinner.
6/9/09
Talked to Ed on facebook in the morning. Went to the library, but didn't get all that much reading done. I was texting Flo and Joao about the trip. I ended up deciding not to go last minute because apparently I would be the only girl on the trip and felt kind of uncomfortable about it.
Went to Bonus. Bought more than I had wanted..again. Saw the hottest guy...had an AMAZING jawline and some scruff and was wearing a long black coat. Guh.
Flo texted me and said she was meeting Joao at Cafe Paris, so I went to meet them. It was awkward because I couldn't find them at first, so I just stood there looking around...ahaha. Apparently Flo went whale-watching with Ozan on Monday and went to the Blue Lagoon with Joao today. I wish I could've gone. I got these Icelandic pancakes, which were pretty crappy. They were filled with sugar and didn't have any whipped cream in them. Around 10:40, we left Cafe Paris, and I took them to the harbor to show them the Viking boat statue since Joao said he had wanted to see it. The sun was setting, and it was really pretty.
6/10/09
Went to class. Ate potato chips during the coffee break for breakfast. I told Akiko that I had always wanted to eat at Sandholt bakery, and she suggested that we get lunch there tomorrow.
Came back. Ate lunch (fried chicken patty, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, feta cheese). Was exhausted so took a nap from 1-2. Walked over to go to the Hidden World tour, but the guide never showed up. I talked to this German couple (?), who were very nice and had been all over Iceland. While I was talking to them, I saw Flo walk by and talked to her for a bit. Funny how I keep bumping into the few people I know here in Reykjavik...Apparently she's heard of Chapel Hill because there's some French exchange thing with them, and she knew Maya Angelou taught at Wake! Although she didn't know the name and thought it was in Durham. I was pretty impressed. After we were told the tour guide wasn't coming (30 minutes after the tour was due to start), I decided to go to the library. Saw Flo again. Went to the tourist information center to grab a few more maps. Chilled at the library. Came back and ate dinner. (seasoned chicken..thigh?, broccoli, hot dog, mashed potatoes and gravy). And now I'm being pretty useless...ahaha.
So far, I have met people from Iceland (duh), North Carolina (not a country but thought it was worth mentioning), Spain, Canada, Turkey, Sweden, Slovenia, France, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia (soon), England, Wales, Colombia, Cuba, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Israel. For such a homogenous country, I somehow managed to scope out all the international people...ahaha.
Ozan had the car because he was staying with a host in Hafnarfjörður and came to pick me up around 8:50AM. It was a struggle getting up because I went to bed around 1:30 or 2-ish the night before because the day had been so..exhilarating. Apparently Ozan went to the club where his Couchsurfing host bartends, Barbara. I had always thought that place was where a prostitute worked, but apparently it's a gay club. Oops.
Ozan and Flo both smoked. Flo rolled her own cigarettes. Alex smoked on occasion. Sadly, Ozan still hiked faster than I did. That's how out of shape I am. Great.
Got to the hostel and went to the kitchen with Alex to scope out the free food selection. Flo texted Ozan saying she would be ready at 9:40, even though we had planned to leave around 9. Janez had been camping outside at the same hostel, so he just walked over to the kitchen. Apparently he BIKED all the way around the Golden Circle...the whole distance we drove. That's intense. ahaha. Went to pick up Flo, who lives in the colorful yellow house on Laugavegur. We set off around 10-ish, I suppose.
Stopped at a Kronan in Selfoss to buy some groceries. I found that Goji berry juice that Elfa brought to Borgarnes, so I was all over that. We also got red berry and blueberry juices. By this time it was 11-ish, so we ate some in the parking lot and on the way there. Janez said that when they got really drunk at his dorm, they would make a huge pot of pasta, dump it on the table, and eat it with their hands. I found this hilarious.
It was probably about a 5 hour drive from Reykjavik to Jökulsárlón, the glacial lake off of Vatnajökull. Alex, Flo, and I alternated between sitting in the middle seat. Alex showed me some her photos from her hikes around Canada and other places. The landscape was really bizarre. We stopped at Vik and a glacier or two on the way there. There were huge stretches of just very lumpy mossy/licheny rocks. Then lots of lupine. Then just black sand.
Jökulsárlón was different from what I had expected but still beautiful. If it had been sunnier though, I bet we could've seen the reflection of the glaciers in the water, which would have been amazing. We saw a couple of seals, which were adorable, just swimming along. The peacefulness was disturbed by a TON of loud, squawking birds. We just stood there for a while and looked at it. There were amphibious boat rides, but we opted not to do it because it was 4, and we still had many more stops to go. Ozan drove all the way there, and Janez drove back. He was used to stick shift, so he kept wanting to change gears and stuff. ahaha. I think everyone was a bit tired on the way Skaftafell and nodded off a bit, especially Alex though. Drove up a super windy road to get to the parking lot for the trail. (There was a guesthouse or something..Bodin, but we parked there anyway). But then we had to go back down so Janez could make his pasta. It was actually quite good..spaghetti bolognese? He had these cute little plastic utensils that were a knife, fork, and spoon all in one. We sat around by this nice camping site for a bit while he made the pasta. He had a bunch of Slovenia travel brochures that we looked through. Alex was planning on traveling through Europe for the next month or so and was interested in going through Slovenia.
Drove back up the windy road to go on the hiking trail to Svartifoss. It was only 0.7 km there, and the walk was much, much easier than the hike at Hveragerdi. There were a bunch of steps though, and I accidentally tripped on one. It was pretty embarrasing, and I still have a VERY nasty bruise as a result. Svartifoss was pretty cool, and there was this little bridge right in front of it, so we sat there for a bit. It started drizzling, and a bunch more people started showing up.
I got to ride shotgun for the first time because Ozan wanted to sit in the back for some reason. So I asked Janez a bajillion questions about Slovenia. Apparently his friend was at a Killers concert? It was kind of hard to understand him sometimes, but it was pretty cool...learned more about Slovenia than I even thought I'd know. And he played some Slovenian music on his phone too. Ozan and Alex looked at all the pictures I had taken on my camera. Looking back on the hot spring photos, Ozan's face is BRIGHT red, and the rest of him is super pale, which I found HILARIOUS. Gosh.
We got to Skogafoss, got out and snapped a few pictures. There were stairs by the side where you could actually walk up to the top, but we didn't have time. Then we went to Seljalandsfoss, which was pretty amazing. The sun was sort of setting, and you could walk behind the falls. It was kind of hard getting back there because there weren't really steps, just a bunch of rocks. I got soaked getting back there, and my camera got quite wet too. Ozan had to help me get down from the other side because there wasn't really anything to hold onto. I was the only one who got completely soaked somehow..ahaha.
The radio station we listened to (well, two of them) played such a random assortment of songs. One played European and American pop songs and the other played 90s music. They played a bunch of songs from Eurovision. As crappy as they, I'm kind of addicted to them. Ozan and Janez both seemed really enamored with the Icelandic contestant, Yohanna. She's pretty, but not "SO BEAUTIFUL" in my opinion. ahaha. Ozan made fun of the Norwegian winner's song because it didn't make sense. I thought his singing and lyrics were crappy, but the violin part is catchy as hell. We heard it on the radio many times, and deemed it the song of the trip.
The way back was pretty sleepy. On the way back, I was starving the whole time. I ate pretty much a whole loaf of marble cake that I had brought. ahaha. We got back to Reykjavik around 1. It was still pretty bright out. We saw these clouds there were so low, they looked like they were actually touching this lake.
We had to stop by a gas station to figure out payment. Somehow it all worked out in the end. Then we went to Hafnarfjordur to drop off Ozan. Dropped off Flo. While we were stopped at a red light to drop me off, Janez put the car in park. I was like..you don't have to do that with automatic cars..ahaha. It was sad saying bye. Although I didn't like the whole long car ride part, I didn't want the day to end. :( Didn't get back until almost 2 AM.
6/8/09
I did literally nothing. I went to class. Chilled and somehow talked to John on Skype for two hours. Got chicken Pad Thai from Nudluhusid for dinner.
6/9/09
Talked to Ed on facebook in the morning. Went to the library, but didn't get all that much reading done. I was texting Flo and Joao about the trip. I ended up deciding not to go last minute because apparently I would be the only girl on the trip and felt kind of uncomfortable about it.
Went to Bonus. Bought more than I had wanted..again. Saw the hottest guy...had an AMAZING jawline and some scruff and was wearing a long black coat. Guh.
Flo texted me and said she was meeting Joao at Cafe Paris, so I went to meet them. It was awkward because I couldn't find them at first, so I just stood there looking around...ahaha. Apparently Flo went whale-watching with Ozan on Monday and went to the Blue Lagoon with Joao today. I wish I could've gone. I got these Icelandic pancakes, which were pretty crappy. They were filled with sugar and didn't have any whipped cream in them. Around 10:40, we left Cafe Paris, and I took them to the harbor to show them the Viking boat statue since Joao said he had wanted to see it. The sun was setting, and it was really pretty.
6/10/09
Went to class. Ate potato chips during the coffee break for breakfast. I told Akiko that I had always wanted to eat at Sandholt bakery, and she suggested that we get lunch there tomorrow.
Came back. Ate lunch (fried chicken patty, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, feta cheese). Was exhausted so took a nap from 1-2. Walked over to go to the Hidden World tour, but the guide never showed up. I talked to this German couple (?), who were very nice and had been all over Iceland. While I was talking to them, I saw Flo walk by and talked to her for a bit. Funny how I keep bumping into the few people I know here in Reykjavik...Apparently she's heard of Chapel Hill because there's some French exchange thing with them, and she knew Maya Angelou taught at Wake! Although she didn't know the name and thought it was in Durham. I was pretty impressed. After we were told the tour guide wasn't coming (30 minutes after the tour was due to start), I decided to go to the library. Saw Flo again. Went to the tourist information center to grab a few more maps. Chilled at the library. Came back and ate dinner. (seasoned chicken..thigh?, broccoli, hot dog, mashed potatoes and gravy). And now I'm being pretty useless...ahaha.
So far, I have met people from Iceland (duh), North Carolina (not a country but thought it was worth mentioning), Spain, Canada, Turkey, Sweden, Slovenia, France, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia (soon), England, Wales, Colombia, Cuba, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Israel. For such a homogenous country, I somehow managed to scope out all the international people...ahaha.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Oh goodness. Today was an amazing day.
Woke up around 9, ate some pancakes that I had bought earlier. Left at around 9:40 for Reykjavik City Hostel. I thought it would only take me about thirty minutes to walk there, but I got there at 10:30, and I was supposed to meet Ozan and Alex at 10. It was a ridiculously nice day, probably the best weather I've seen since I've been here, around 14 degrees. I sweated bucketloads walking to the hostel, especially since I was carrying a backpack. As I walked in to the hostel, I heard "All is Full of Love" by Bjork playing. I heard it again later at Geysir. ahaha.
Took me a while to find Alex and Ozan by the computers. Ozan is Turkish but is getting his masters in Sweden and speaks French. Alex is from Canada, and says "eh" a lot. ahaha. And says "about" the Canadian way. Both of them were super super nice, and we all got along really well. Sat around a bit outside and talked to this West Viriginian about where he went. Talked to the guys at the front desk about places to go, basically by picking up postcards and asking about the places they depicted. Went to Bonus to buy some groceries (they were playing that song that Gob always plays in Arrested Development) and left for Thingvellir. Stopped many times on the way to take photos. Ozan liked to drive in the middle of the road, but there weren't that many cars coming the other way, so it was alright. Couldn't really complain because Alex and I don't drive. Thingvellir was cool because the rift between two tectonic plates was there and the site of the Icelandic parliament until a century or two ago. Then we drove on mostly gravel road to get to Geysir. It was very touristy with lots of buses and people. It did not smell good...very sulfury. It was just a ton of people (50-70?) standing around this smelly pool of water with cameras at the ready, waiting for it to erupt, which struck me as hilarious. We ate lunch there (sandwiches, tomatoes, carrots, hummus, dried fish). By this time, it was already 4. We drove over to Gullfoss, which is a gorgeous waterfall. Since it was so sunny, you could see a bunch of rainbows in the mist. It was stunning. I wanted to stay there forever. ahaha. My dried fish sat in the car, uneaten for quite a while, and every time we got back into the car, it smelled like fish. ahahah.
On the road we saw tons of sheep (and lambs!) and horses. We stopped to look at some horses on the way to Hveragerdi, where the hot springs (Reykjadalur) were supposed to be. There are a bunch of greenhouses in Hveragerdi. Alex and I had both heard about these hot springs from different people, although it's not a huge touristy place at all. We struggled to change into our swimsuits in the car. It was supposedly a 3 kilometer (less than 2 miles) walk to these hot springs, but it took us an hour to get there. Ozan kept saying his swimsuit felt like a diaper..ahaha. We came upon this stream and couldn't figure out how to get across. Ozan tried to walk on the rocks but promptly slipped and fell backwards, catching himself so his pants didn't get wet. It was very amusing. We found these three hikers who came our way and asked them. They said to take our shoes off and cross, which made a lot of sense since the water was actually warm. We walked for what seemed like forever when we saw some (nearly naked) people lying in a stream with some tents nearby. This man with a cute baby said the water was really nice there. We almost kept going but were exhausted and ended up just getting in the water there. It was the perfect temperature, and there was steam from the other hot springs blowing upstream. It was so amazing. I'm definitely going to try to go back while I'm here. Ozan said the water was cold (it was actually perfect, for me anyway), and then he said he was sweating? He kept worrying that his swim trunks were falling down because he had borrowed them from someone? We looked at the pictures a day later, and Ozan's face is bright red, and the rest of him is super super pale. It was hilarious. We just sat there, and Alex told us her horror story of getting stuck and lost in the dark on a hike in the Australian bush. Getting out of that hot stream and into the cold, windy, Icelandic weather (at this point, it was probably only 6-8 degrees, not including the wind chill). Changing into normal clothes again was also a struggle. I developed a method in which I would dip my feet in to the water, stand on one leg and dry that foot with a towel, place foot in shoe, and repeat. It was pretty precarious at times, but I got to use my yoga skills. ahaha. There was a little cabin further up from the stream, and we found out later that it was open and people could just stay there. Amazing. It took us about an hour to walk back too, but it felt so much shorter. It was also raining a bit, and I was terrified it'd get a lot bigger, but it didn't. The drive back took about an hour too, longer than expected.
Mmm. Gullfoss and the hot springs were so amazing and my favorite parts of the trip. My legs are so freaking sore, but it was definitely worth it. ahhhhh. I got back around 11:30, and there was a random girl staying in Georg's room? Have to ask about that later...Traveling across the south of Iceland tomorrow. Excited!
Woke up around 9, ate some pancakes that I had bought earlier. Left at around 9:40 for Reykjavik City Hostel. I thought it would only take me about thirty minutes to walk there, but I got there at 10:30, and I was supposed to meet Ozan and Alex at 10. It was a ridiculously nice day, probably the best weather I've seen since I've been here, around 14 degrees. I sweated bucketloads walking to the hostel, especially since I was carrying a backpack. As I walked in to the hostel, I heard "All is Full of Love" by Bjork playing. I heard it again later at Geysir. ahaha.
Took me a while to find Alex and Ozan by the computers. Ozan is Turkish but is getting his masters in Sweden and speaks French. Alex is from Canada, and says "eh" a lot. ahaha. And says "about" the Canadian way. Both of them were super super nice, and we all got along really well. Sat around a bit outside and talked to this West Viriginian about where he went. Talked to the guys at the front desk about places to go, basically by picking up postcards and asking about the places they depicted. Went to Bonus to buy some groceries (they were playing that song that Gob always plays in Arrested Development) and left for Thingvellir. Stopped many times on the way to take photos. Ozan liked to drive in the middle of the road, but there weren't that many cars coming the other way, so it was alright. Couldn't really complain because Alex and I don't drive. Thingvellir was cool because the rift between two tectonic plates was there and the site of the Icelandic parliament until a century or two ago. Then we drove on mostly gravel road to get to Geysir. It was very touristy with lots of buses and people. It did not smell good...very sulfury. It was just a ton of people (50-70?) standing around this smelly pool of water with cameras at the ready, waiting for it to erupt, which struck me as hilarious. We ate lunch there (sandwiches, tomatoes, carrots, hummus, dried fish). By this time, it was already 4. We drove over to Gullfoss, which is a gorgeous waterfall. Since it was so sunny, you could see a bunch of rainbows in the mist. It was stunning. I wanted to stay there forever. ahaha. My dried fish sat in the car, uneaten for quite a while, and every time we got back into the car, it smelled like fish. ahahah.
On the road we saw tons of sheep (and lambs!) and horses. We stopped to look at some horses on the way to Hveragerdi, where the hot springs (Reykjadalur) were supposed to be. There are a bunch of greenhouses in Hveragerdi. Alex and I had both heard about these hot springs from different people, although it's not a huge touristy place at all. We struggled to change into our swimsuits in the car. It was supposedly a 3 kilometer (less than 2 miles) walk to these hot springs, but it took us an hour to get there. Ozan kept saying his swimsuit felt like a diaper..ahaha. We came upon this stream and couldn't figure out how to get across. Ozan tried to walk on the rocks but promptly slipped and fell backwards, catching himself so his pants didn't get wet. It was very amusing. We found these three hikers who came our way and asked them. They said to take our shoes off and cross, which made a lot of sense since the water was actually warm. We walked for what seemed like forever when we saw some (nearly naked) people lying in a stream with some tents nearby. This man with a cute baby said the water was really nice there. We almost kept going but were exhausted and ended up just getting in the water there. It was the perfect temperature, and there was steam from the other hot springs blowing upstream. It was so amazing. I'm definitely going to try to go back while I'm here. Ozan said the water was cold (it was actually perfect, for me anyway), and then he said he was sweating? He kept worrying that his swim trunks were falling down because he had borrowed them from someone? We looked at the pictures a day later, and Ozan's face is bright red, and the rest of him is super super pale. It was hilarious. We just sat there, and Alex told us her horror story of getting stuck and lost in the dark on a hike in the Australian bush. Getting out of that hot stream and into the cold, windy, Icelandic weather (at this point, it was probably only 6-8 degrees, not including the wind chill). Changing into normal clothes again was also a struggle. I developed a method in which I would dip my feet in to the water, stand on one leg and dry that foot with a towel, place foot in shoe, and repeat. It was pretty precarious at times, but I got to use my yoga skills. ahaha. There was a little cabin further up from the stream, and we found out later that it was open and people could just stay there. Amazing. It took us about an hour to walk back too, but it felt so much shorter. It was also raining a bit, and I was terrified it'd get a lot bigger, but it didn't. The drive back took about an hour too, longer than expected.
Mmm. Gullfoss and the hot springs were so amazing and my favorite parts of the trip. My legs are so freaking sore, but it was definitely worth it. ahhhhh. I got back around 11:30, and there was a random girl staying in Georg's room? Have to ask about that later...Traveling across the south of Iceland tomorrow. Excited!
Friday, June 5, 2009
6/4/09
Struggled to wake up and to go to class at 9. During our coffee break, I talked to Jovita from Spain, and she was really excited talking about Spain, which made me excited about studying abroad. After class, I was walking back to the flat, and this kid says "ching chong" to me and giggled with his friends. I was SO FREAKING INFURIATED. I wanted to yell at him, but I decided it wasn't worth it staying angry at people like that. So I went grocery shopping at Bonus. I only meant to grab some orange juice and ramen but ended up buying a crapload. I had a spinach salad and chicken nuggets and chicken cordon bleu for lunch. There's this REALLY good Icelandic feta (?) cheese. So freaking goooood. Can't remember what I did in the afternoon...probably wandered around because it was a really nice day.
I walked over to the Reykjavik City Library. Ate dinner really fast. Then I went on a Haunted Walk Tour. It was pretty cool because the guide talked about people who were supposedly haunting certain places, told their stories, then went to the Old Cemetary, where we looked at their gravestones.
6/5/09
Slept in and woke up around 1. Ate lunch-chicken nuggets, hot dog, broccoli and cheese. Rushed over to the bank to pay for the Icelandic course and cash in some of my traveler's checks. The exchange rate was pretty bad though. Got the cute banker dude this time..thought it was hella awkward. ahaha. Then I went over to the National and University Library and finally found the folklore section. There were sooo many books, I was kind of overwhelmed. Volumes of Icelandic folklore, but mostly in Icelandic. BAH. Then I went to the City Library and read some. Went to the 10.11 because I had a HUGE sugar craving. Meant to get just a small cake or something, but ended up buying like $15 of sugar and carbs. Crap.
Now I'm watching the Sex and City movie. ahaha.
But I'm hopefully travelling some tomorrow and Sunday. So yea!
Struggled to wake up and to go to class at 9. During our coffee break, I talked to Jovita from Spain, and she was really excited talking about Spain, which made me excited about studying abroad. After class, I was walking back to the flat, and this kid says "ching chong" to me and giggled with his friends. I was SO FREAKING INFURIATED. I wanted to yell at him, but I decided it wasn't worth it staying angry at people like that. So I went grocery shopping at Bonus. I only meant to grab some orange juice and ramen but ended up buying a crapload. I had a spinach salad and chicken nuggets and chicken cordon bleu for lunch. There's this REALLY good Icelandic feta (?) cheese. So freaking goooood. Can't remember what I did in the afternoon...probably wandered around because it was a really nice day.
I walked over to the Reykjavik City Library. Ate dinner really fast. Then I went on a Haunted Walk Tour. It was pretty cool because the guide talked about people who were supposedly haunting certain places, told their stories, then went to the Old Cemetary, where we looked at their gravestones.
6/5/09
Slept in and woke up around 1. Ate lunch-chicken nuggets, hot dog, broccoli and cheese. Rushed over to the bank to pay for the Icelandic course and cash in some of my traveler's checks. The exchange rate was pretty bad though. Got the cute banker dude this time..thought it was hella awkward. ahaha. Then I went over to the National and University Library and finally found the folklore section. There were sooo many books, I was kind of overwhelmed. Volumes of Icelandic folklore, but mostly in Icelandic. BAH. Then I went to the City Library and read some. Went to the 10.11 because I had a HUGE sugar craving. Meant to get just a small cake or something, but ended up buying like $15 of sugar and carbs. Crap.
Now I'm watching the Sex and City movie. ahaha.
But I'm hopefully travelling some tomorrow and Sunday. So yea!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
5/30/09
Woke up around noon. Solvi and Oliver’s friend Camilla was there, and she said they were going to Food Not Bombs later. Bought a hot dog. It was around 1, and I saw that free Reykjavik tour was being held that I had always meant to go to. I stopped there for a bit, but it was rather boring, so I left. I was going to go to Kolaportið, but managed to get lost. I found the Salvation Army thrift store. Looked through their entire stock of coats but didn’t find anything in my size. I found a tiny little caterpillar on my cardigan though. I passed by Alfholl Guesthouse. I was going to go in to ask if I could interview them, but I chickened out. I went to the library for a bit. There was the National Photography Museum on the top floor. It was also tiny. I found a few folklore texts and the entire back collection of Wired. Read a little bit of both. I found my way back to Kolaportid. It was really hot inside, and all I could think of was if someone infected with swine flu was there. Saw Solvi briefly in the seafood section. I looked through a bunch of clothes. I found this pumpkin corduroy blazer from Zara for 900 kronur and a double breasted khaki H&M jacket (I think it was originally little girl’s size) for 700 kronur. I was really excited. I also found a leather Ann Demeeulemeester jacket, but it was huge on me and most likely quite out of my price range. Blast. I walked back to the flat, I think. I got really hungry and walked to Nudluhusid. Got deep-fried fish with curry sauce and rice. On the way back, I heard some band warming up and some Americans sitting at a table and talking. I meant to go back and watch the band but was too lazy to. Watched a ton of Jon and Kate Plus 8. Solvi and Oliver had a small dinner party with their friends and invited me. They didn’t start eating until 11 though. Little itty bitty tequila orange shrimp, rice, pineapple salsa, and baked apples for dessert. Camilla (who is..Danish?), a Hungarian guy who worked at the National Museum (didn’t catch his name. He wanted to start a school where they taught yoga to children from the start, which I thought was a cool idea), and Einar and Johanna (whom I had met before-they went to art school in LA?) were also there. Mostly I just sat there listening. I washed all the dishes though because I felt rather obligated to. During dessert I talked to Camilla about my folklore research (or lack thereof), and she told me about her studies in environmental storytelling-she would be working with Terry Gunnell too. I found out there had been a bunch of small earthquakes and a few bigger ones in Iceland the past two days or so. I totally didn’t feel any of them whatsoever. Also they keep predicting that Hekla will erupt because of all the volcanic activity. I did the dishes because they were so nice to always invite me to eat with them and such. Went to bed around 3 despite my efforts to go to sleep early.
Woke up around 1. Checked couchsurfing and saw that Elfa was going to Borgarnes, and I was all over that since I didn’t really have any plans. Originally I wanted to walk to Kringlan, the shopping mall, but it was already raining. This was pretty innocent rain unlike that I had experienced on the way to Dr. Hafstein’s office, but I wasn’t about to brave an hour or two of walking in that weather. I made ramen for lunch. Washed my hair. Elfa picked me up around 4 and drove us to Borgarnes. The view of the mountains on the way there was just incredible. There was actually a Roche on the way, which was kind of funny. She talked about sheep eating herbs while grazing, and I thought of it as..self-marinating. ahaha. Apparently most of the lifestock here is raised pretty much organically, or at least free range, so it's relatively healthy compared to US meat even if it's not technically labeled organic. Stopped at the small grocery store, where a lot of food was completely gone. There were a lot of tourists there. Also a lot of cute guy workers. Anyway. There was a long drive up a gravel road to get to her country house. Lots of cute tiny little lambs and stocky little Icelandic horses. The country house is tiny and adorable. We had some dried fish before dinner, which was really good, surprisingly. She grilled pepper steak on this instant grill thing, which we had some problem starting up. Had some mushroom gravy, salad, and mashed potatoes with that. One of her neighbors out here came by and talked with her, but she only spoke Icelandic. I think she was pretty shocked that Wake costs $50,000 per year. Ahaha. The TV was on this whole time. We watched America’s Next Top Model, the Biggest Loser, and Psych. Then we went over to the same lady’s country house. Her husband was a super nice old man who spoke English. They spoke in Icelandic most of the time, and he drank the white wine that he made himself (that Elfa said didn’t taste good). There was some movie on about…a Turkish girl who moves to Germany as a refugee? They had this really good milk chocolate (Freyja brand?) that had little cats imprinted on them and little cereal bits (Kix-like) in them. Very good. Ahaha. Was there from about 9-11:30? I kept meaning to ask him about elves and such but couldn’t bring myself to. Damn. Ahaha. The old man went to Cornell and and UC-Davis for horticulture and agricultural economics. He gave me a nice hug as we left. Stayed up listening to an audiobook of Angels and Demons and typing up these blogs. Ate some leftover potatoes and salad because I was hungry.
6/3/09
Woke up at 8 (urgh so early) to go to my first language class. Mostly we went over basic stuff like "What's your name?" and pronunciation of letters. It was kind of awkward because it seemed like everyone else was married or dating an Icelander, and I'm just...me. Very diverse group though, but I guess that's expected at an Intercultural Center. People from Spain, Colombia, Wales, Thailand, Japan, Cuba, Czech Republic. I was definitely the youngest there though. I got a brochure and noticed that there were classes for teenagers for much, much cheaper. Went back and made myself some chicken nuggets and a grilled ham and cheese for lunch (plus baby carrots and cherry tomatos and this weird juice thing). Left at around 2 to go to the Culture House. Museums in Iceland are so freaking small. There was a manuscripts exhibition, something about Icelandic films, and a natural sciences section that was literally 3 rooms. I finished in 30 minutes and left. Went back to Alþjóðahús to inquire about the classes, but they told me to go back at 5. So I had two hours to kill. I went to this art museum, which was also tiny. They had some crazy weird films. One was two men in bunny suits hanging with one arm from the ceiling and wiedling knives for cutting food with another. This other one was a bunch of men standing in a square on a glacier, cruncing the ice beneath their feet in the same spot over and over. Then they would zoom in super close on their orange suits. It was really bizarre. There was some exhibit about an artist who won this Carnegie Prize for sound-absorbing art. I saw these steel plates on the floor, and thought we were supposed to step on them. So I did. Then I realized we probably weren't supposed to when nothing happened. Then I noticed the camera pointing at me and shimmied out of there in a hurry. The "cafe" was actually just one of those automatic coffee machines. to the University Library to look for folklore books and got terribly terribly lost and somehow ended up in a Staff only section. There were very few books. Then I went over to the Arni Magnusson Institute, which is supposed to have a folklore collection. But I didn't see no folklore collection while I was there...just people who looked at me funny. Grahhhh. So I may be stuck with translating Jon Arnason's 6 volumes of folklore. ahaha.
Then I went back to the flat for a bit because my legs were getting tired. I meant to go to Bonus to buy some orange juice, and it's only two blocks away, but for some reason I COULD not find it. It was kind of side. I had never tried to go there coming from that direction before but still...then I hurried on over at 5 to the intercultural house. Talked to a Norwegian guy named Mats who was working at a nursing home. Yeahhh...apparently the rest of the students were already intermediate students who had already taken classes before except us. And Norwegian is similar to Icelandic so...ahaha. There was also a cute Vietnamese guy who didn't speak any English or Icelandic, I do believe. ahaha. I felt kind of awkward, but it was nice being around people my age. I was starving by 7 though, so I rushed back and ate some..chicken nuggets? Something. ahaha.
It was a really nice day though, weather-wise. A tad chilly, but warm under the sun and not too windy. I've definitely had to amend my definition of what a "nice day" is for the Icelandic climate. Elfa told me it was a lot warmer this time last year though, around 15 degrees Celsius. She also said she never saw rain falling straight down until she was 14 years old. ahaha.
Woke up around noon. Solvi and Oliver’s friend Camilla was there, and she said they were going to Food Not Bombs later. Bought a hot dog. It was around 1, and I saw that free Reykjavik tour was being held that I had always meant to go to. I stopped there for a bit, but it was rather boring, so I left. I was going to go to Kolaportið, but managed to get lost. I found the Salvation Army thrift store. Looked through their entire stock of coats but didn’t find anything in my size. I found a tiny little caterpillar on my cardigan though. I passed by Alfholl Guesthouse. I was going to go in to ask if I could interview them, but I chickened out. I went to the library for a bit. There was the National Photography Museum on the top floor. It was also tiny. I found a few folklore texts and the entire back collection of Wired. Read a little bit of both. I found my way back to Kolaportid. It was really hot inside, and all I could think of was if someone infected with swine flu was there. Saw Solvi briefly in the seafood section. I looked through a bunch of clothes. I found this pumpkin corduroy blazer from Zara for 900 kronur and a double breasted khaki H&M jacket (I think it was originally little girl’s size) for 700 kronur. I was really excited. I also found a leather Ann Demeeulemeester jacket, but it was huge on me and most likely quite out of my price range. Blast. I walked back to the flat, I think. I got really hungry and walked to Nudluhusid. Got deep-fried fish with curry sauce and rice. On the way back, I heard some band warming up and some Americans sitting at a table and talking. I meant to go back and watch the band but was too lazy to. Watched a ton of Jon and Kate Plus 8. Solvi and Oliver had a small dinner party with their friends and invited me. They didn’t start eating until 11 though. Little itty bitty tequila orange shrimp, rice, pineapple salsa, and baked apples for dessert. Camilla (who is..Danish?), a Hungarian guy who worked at the National Museum (didn’t catch his name. He wanted to start a school where they taught yoga to children from the start, which I thought was a cool idea), and Einar and Johanna (whom I had met before-they went to art school in LA?) were also there. Mostly I just sat there listening. I washed all the dishes though because I felt rather obligated to. During dessert I talked to Camilla about my folklore research (or lack thereof), and she told me about her studies in environmental storytelling-she would be working with Terry Gunnell too. I found out there had been a bunch of small earthquakes and a few bigger ones in Iceland the past two days or so. I totally didn’t feel any of them whatsoever. Also they keep predicting that Hekla will erupt because of all the volcanic activity. I did the dishes because they were so nice to always invite me to eat with them and such. Went to bed around 3 despite my efforts to go to sleep early.
Woke up around 1. Checked couchsurfing and saw that Elfa was going to Borgarnes, and I was all over that since I didn’t really have any plans. Originally I wanted to walk to Kringlan, the shopping mall, but it was already raining. This was pretty innocent rain unlike that I had experienced on the way to Dr. Hafstein’s office, but I wasn’t about to brave an hour or two of walking in that weather. I made ramen for lunch. Washed my hair. Elfa picked me up around 4 and drove us to Borgarnes. The view of the mountains on the way there was just incredible. There was actually a Roche on the way, which was kind of funny. She talked about sheep eating herbs while grazing, and I thought of it as..self-marinating. ahaha. Apparently most of the lifestock here is raised pretty much organically, or at least free range, so it's relatively healthy compared to US meat even if it's not technically labeled organic. Stopped at the small grocery store, where a lot of food was completely gone. There were a lot of tourists there. Also a lot of cute guy workers. Anyway. There was a long drive up a gravel road to get to her country house. Lots of cute tiny little lambs and stocky little Icelandic horses. The country house is tiny and adorable. We had some dried fish before dinner, which was really good, surprisingly. She grilled pepper steak on this instant grill thing, which we had some problem starting up. Had some mushroom gravy, salad, and mashed potatoes with that. One of her neighbors out here came by and talked with her, but she only spoke Icelandic. I think she was pretty shocked that Wake costs $50,000 per year. Ahaha. The TV was on this whole time. We watched America’s Next Top Model, the Biggest Loser, and Psych. Then we went over to the same lady’s country house. Her husband was a super nice old man who spoke English. They spoke in Icelandic most of the time, and he drank the white wine that he made himself (that Elfa said didn’t taste good). There was some movie on about…a Turkish girl who moves to Germany as a refugee? They had this really good milk chocolate (Freyja brand?) that had little cats imprinted on them and little cereal bits (Kix-like) in them. Very good. Ahaha. Was there from about 9-11:30? I kept meaning to ask him about elves and such but couldn’t bring myself to. Damn. Ahaha. The old man went to Cornell and and UC-Davis for horticulture and agricultural economics. He gave me a nice hug as we left. Stayed up listening to an audiobook of Angels and Demons and typing up these blogs. Ate some leftover potatoes and salad because I was hungry.
6/1/09
Woke up the next day around 11:15. We ate leftovers from the day before. Watched some music videos that were showing on TV (James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado, Ciara ft. Justin Timberlake, Razorlight, Ne-Yo, Lady Gaga...weird combination of stuff). Then Erla went to cut some tree branches, and I went on a walk along the road to see this elf rock she had been talking about. It wasn't really that exciting, just a big boulder-ish rock formation thing. There were some really cute Icelandic horses.I walked along the stream that bordered the elf rock, and the sun was shining on the valley, and it was just gorgeous. I tried to capture it all on the camera, but I'm sure it didn't do it justice. It kept showing the mountains as all blue-ish because it was cloudy. Blargh. It was reallly cold though. Brr. Then I went back to the house, ate paprika potato chips and watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. We left for Reykjavik around 4:30 or so. The view of the mountains and the fjords were gorgeous, as they were before. It was nice talking to her though. There was a weird scraping noise coming from the bottom of the car as we neared the flat. Something on her car broke, and I felt really bad.
I went to Krua Thai for dinner. Got chicken in brown sauce with rice. Kind of got lost on the way. It seems like whenever I'm looking for a restaurant, I can never find it, but whenever I get lost, I always find my way to these restaurants accidentally. It was ok, but not amazing. I still really like Nudluhusid, but maybe I just ordered the wrong thing at Krua Thai.
6/2/09
6/3/09
Woke up at 8 (urgh so early) to go to my first language class. Mostly we went over basic stuff like "What's your name?" and pronunciation of letters. It was kind of awkward because it seemed like everyone else was married or dating an Icelander, and I'm just...me. Very diverse group though, but I guess that's expected at an Intercultural Center. People from Spain, Colombia, Wales, Thailand, Japan, Cuba, Czech Republic. I was definitely the youngest there though. I got a brochure and noticed that there were classes for teenagers for much, much cheaper. Went back and made myself some chicken nuggets and a grilled ham and cheese for lunch (plus baby carrots and cherry tomatos and this weird juice thing). Left at around 2 to go to the Culture House. Museums in Iceland are so freaking small. There was a manuscripts exhibition, something about Icelandic films, and a natural sciences section that was literally 3 rooms. I finished in 30 minutes and left. Went back to Alþjóðahús to inquire about the classes, but they told me to go back at 5. So I had two hours to kill. I went to this art museum, which was also tiny. They had some crazy weird films. One was two men in bunny suits hanging with one arm from the ceiling and wiedling knives for cutting food with another. This other one was a bunch of men standing in a square on a glacier, cruncing the ice beneath their feet in the same spot over and over. Then they would zoom in super close on their orange suits. It was really bizarre. There was some exhibit about an artist who won this Carnegie Prize for sound-absorbing art. I saw these steel plates on the floor, and thought we were supposed to step on them. So I did. Then I realized we probably weren't supposed to when nothing happened. Then I noticed the camera pointing at me and shimmied out of there in a hurry. The "cafe" was actually just one of those automatic coffee machines. to the University Library to look for folklore books and got terribly terribly lost and somehow ended up in a Staff only section. There were very few books. Then I went over to the Arni Magnusson Institute, which is supposed to have a folklore collection. But I didn't see no folklore collection while I was there...just people who looked at me funny. Grahhhh. So I may be stuck with translating Jon Arnason's 6 volumes of folklore. ahaha.
Then I went back to the flat for a bit because my legs were getting tired. I meant to go to Bonus to buy some orange juice, and it's only two blocks away, but for some reason I COULD not find it. It was kind of side. I had never tried to go there coming from that direction before but still...then I hurried on over at 5 to the intercultural house. Talked to a Norwegian guy named Mats who was working at a nursing home. Yeahhh...apparently the rest of the students were already intermediate students who had already taken classes before except us. And Norwegian is similar to Icelandic so...ahaha. There was also a cute Vietnamese guy who didn't speak any English or Icelandic, I do believe. ahaha. I felt kind of awkward, but it was nice being around people my age. I was starving by 7 though, so I rushed back and ate some..chicken nuggets? Something. ahaha.
It was a really nice day though, weather-wise. A tad chilly, but warm under the sun and not too windy. I've definitely had to amend my definition of what a "nice day" is for the Icelandic climate. Elfa told me it was a lot warmer this time last year though, around 15 degrees Celsius. She also said she never saw rain falling straight down until she was 14 years old. ahaha.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Woke up around 11 or so. Left at around 12:30 to go to this Indian buffet, Shalimar. I ate so freaking much because I haven't eaten a lot here lately. It was only 1290, which was pretty cheap. There was chicken and lamb masala, some vegetarian stuff, fried dough things, and fried...chip bread things. Yum. I ate so much that it hurt to walk afterward. I waddled back to the flat and just stood with my stomach to the radiator and digested for about 15 minutes.
Then I dashed over to the University to meet with Dr. Hafstein. I left at 2, and still made it there by 2:15. It's been extremely windy these past few days, and it's rained very sporadically. On the way there, it starts raining like crazy. It's so freaking windy, probaby hurricane-force winds, that it's hard for me to walk into the wind. I realized why Icelanders never bring umbrellas-the rain blows sideways in the wind, so it's very hard to avoid getting soaked. The rain was pelting towards my face so hard that it stung. Literally 5 minutes after the rain started, it stopped suddenly, and the sun came out. I think I'm finally starting to understand what they were talking about when they said Icelandic weather was unpredictable. Dr. Hafstein brought his little one-month old baby boy with him! He was completely bundled up in this little wool thing and a little zip up sleeping bag-like thing. So adorable. He was a bit late though, and I was scared that I had walked in that awful rain for nothing. ahaha. Dr. Hafstein was really nice and very tall. Talked more about general folklore stuff...UFOs and aliens as part of American folklore. ahaha.
After that, I dashed back to the flat to change my pants, which had gotten soaked in the rain. Then I hurried to City Hall to meet with Alex at 3:30, who is from Asheville and was studying geology at the University. Went to Cafe Rot, where I got a slice of cheesecake. This random tall guy comes up and asks me if I'm Chinese. I said yes, and said so is he, gesturing towards a Chinese guy sitting on a sofa. I was like..oh...cool...and later he comes up, shakes my hand, and says welcome to Iceland. ahaha. Then Alex's Spanish friend Alberto (?) came (he was in Iceland on the Erasmus scholarship?). I'm so not used to the Spanish kiss on the cheeks thing at all. ahaha. Collectively, they've been to like...everywhere in Iceland and made a list of places where I ought to go. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to go to places...hitchhiking? He showed us a bunch of pictures that he took while traveling around, and the landscapes were gorgeous. He spoke to me in Spanish a bit, but I was too embarassed to respond in Spanish...ahaha...but yeah. They were really nice.
And now I'm here, wondering if I should leave and brave the windy weather again. It looks all sunny now, but I don't know if it will be later. Not sure if I should be eating too much for dinner after that huge lunch.
Then I dashed over to the University to meet with Dr. Hafstein. I left at 2, and still made it there by 2:15. It's been extremely windy these past few days, and it's rained very sporadically. On the way there, it starts raining like crazy. It's so freaking windy, probaby hurricane-force winds, that it's hard for me to walk into the wind. I realized why Icelanders never bring umbrellas-the rain blows sideways in the wind, so it's very hard to avoid getting soaked. The rain was pelting towards my face so hard that it stung. Literally 5 minutes after the rain started, it stopped suddenly, and the sun came out. I think I'm finally starting to understand what they were talking about when they said Icelandic weather was unpredictable. Dr. Hafstein brought his little one-month old baby boy with him! He was completely bundled up in this little wool thing and a little zip up sleeping bag-like thing. So adorable. He was a bit late though, and I was scared that I had walked in that awful rain for nothing. ahaha. Dr. Hafstein was really nice and very tall. Talked more about general folklore stuff...UFOs and aliens as part of American folklore. ahaha.
After that, I dashed back to the flat to change my pants, which had gotten soaked in the rain. Then I hurried to City Hall to meet with Alex at 3:30, who is from Asheville and was studying geology at the University. Went to Cafe Rot, where I got a slice of cheesecake. This random tall guy comes up and asks me if I'm Chinese. I said yes, and said so is he, gesturing towards a Chinese guy sitting on a sofa. I was like..oh...cool...and later he comes up, shakes my hand, and says welcome to Iceland. ahaha. Then Alex's Spanish friend Alberto (?) came (he was in Iceland on the Erasmus scholarship?). I'm so not used to the Spanish kiss on the cheeks thing at all. ahaha. Collectively, they've been to like...everywhere in Iceland and made a list of places where I ought to go. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to go to places...hitchhiking? He showed us a bunch of pictures that he took while traveling around, and the landscapes were gorgeous. He spoke to me in Spanish a bit, but I was too embarassed to respond in Spanish...ahaha...but yeah. They were really nice.
And now I'm here, wondering if I should leave and brave the windy weather again. It looks all sunny now, but I don't know if it will be later. Not sure if I should be eating too much for dinner after that huge lunch.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
5/27/09
I only got 6 hours of sleep though I meant to go to sleep early. I woke up at 9, so I could get ready to meet with Dr. Gunnell. I managed not to get too lost, though the campus is pretty large, and the signs outside the buildings were oddly placed. Dr. Gunnell was really nice and helpful. I listened to the recording afterward, and I sound so stupid...then I went back to the flat for a bit, then I went to Núðluhúsið. I got spicy chicken noodles, the portion size was big, it was cheap (for Iceland) and it was actually spicy! That was really exciting. Then I headed back to the University of Iceland campus to visit the National Museum, which is free on Wednesdays. It was pretty cool, but it was a very small museum. There were some cute tourist guys though. One laughed at my trying on a Viking armor outfit. I bought some stuff in the gift shop. On the way back to the flat, I saw these trailers that were part of this art exhibition. There was a mermaid with big boobs at the top of each trailer. I think the first trailer was a person in a womb, and the last one was a dead person? And in between there was one trailer completely plastered with pictures of people living life, and one was full of couples at weddings. And there was one with tiles of things that Kindergarteners would bring them in case of a fire. It was interesting. For dinner, I got a "pork boat" from Hlolla something. It had pork, red cabbage, pickles, and fried onions. The pork was really thinly sliced and was crunchy like bacon. I washed some alfalfa and put some of that in there. I also ate some carrots. Talked to Oliver about...college in Europe. ahaha.
I was exhausted and didn't do too much after that.
5/28/09
It was EXTREMELY windy today. Ate ham (it was sour-ish, but wasn't due to expire until today, so I ate it anyway), carrots, and tomatoes for lunch. I went to speak with another professor and got pretty lost in the building. A bunch of the buildings are connected, which is convenient in the winter, I suppose. The office and academic buildings at the universities are really nice, and the doors all open automatically. It was drizzly when I left, so I went back to the flat. I drank a whole carton of blueberry yogurt, and Skyped with Eliz. So envious at how fresh and cheap their food is. ahaha. Then I meant to go to the library and Icelandic Fish and Chips. On the way, it started raining really hard. I had my umbrella with me, but it was then I realized the futility of an umbrella. The wind was so big that all the rain was coming at me sideways, so I got soaked. I stopped at City Hall for a bit to dry off, and of course the rain stopped pretty promptly after I went inside.
And now I'm slacking. ahaha.
I only got 6 hours of sleep though I meant to go to sleep early. I woke up at 9, so I could get ready to meet with Dr. Gunnell. I managed not to get too lost, though the campus is pretty large, and the signs outside the buildings were oddly placed. Dr. Gunnell was really nice and helpful. I listened to the recording afterward, and I sound so stupid...then I went back to the flat for a bit, then I went to Núðluhúsið. I got spicy chicken noodles, the portion size was big, it was cheap (for Iceland) and it was actually spicy! That was really exciting. Then I headed back to the University of Iceland campus to visit the National Museum, which is free on Wednesdays. It was pretty cool, but it was a very small museum. There were some cute tourist guys though. One laughed at my trying on a Viking armor outfit. I bought some stuff in the gift shop. On the way back to the flat, I saw these trailers that were part of this art exhibition. There was a mermaid with big boobs at the top of each trailer. I think the first trailer was a person in a womb, and the last one was a dead person? And in between there was one trailer completely plastered with pictures of people living life, and one was full of couples at weddings. And there was one with tiles of things that Kindergarteners would bring them in case of a fire. It was interesting. For dinner, I got a "pork boat" from Hlolla something. It had pork, red cabbage, pickles, and fried onions. The pork was really thinly sliced and was crunchy like bacon. I washed some alfalfa and put some of that in there. I also ate some carrots. Talked to Oliver about...college in Europe. ahaha.
I was exhausted and didn't do too much after that.
5/28/09
It was EXTREMELY windy today. Ate ham (it was sour-ish, but wasn't due to expire until today, so I ate it anyway), carrots, and tomatoes for lunch. I went to speak with another professor and got pretty lost in the building. A bunch of the buildings are connected, which is convenient in the winter, I suppose. The office and academic buildings at the universities are really nice, and the doors all open automatically. It was drizzly when I left, so I went back to the flat. I drank a whole carton of blueberry yogurt, and Skyped with Eliz. So envious at how fresh and cheap their food is. ahaha. Then I meant to go to the library and Icelandic Fish and Chips. On the way, it started raining really hard. I had my umbrella with me, but it was then I realized the futility of an umbrella. The wind was so big that all the rain was coming at me sideways, so I got soaked. I stopped at City Hall for a bit to dry off, and of course the rain stopped pretty promptly after I went inside.
And now I'm slacking. ahaha.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
5/25/09
Meant to wake up early, but that so didn't happen. Didn't really wake up until around 3 PM or so. Forced myself to leave and go to the bank. Totally didn't know how Icelandic banks worked, and the place was packed. There was free, fresh coffee for people waiting. I stood there awkwardly for a bit and approached the lady at the counter, who didn't speak English and pointed to some place behind me. I watched someone else get a number from a machine like at the Social Security offices, so I followed what they did. I cashed my traveler's cheques. Went to Bonus and bought a lot of vegetables, about $30 of groceries. I made myself a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocado, ham, pepperoni, and Caesar dressing. I Skyped with a couple of people. I called Dr. Gunnell after 9....so freaking nervewracking! Argh. I meant to go to sleep early, but didn't go to sleep until about 4AM. Sigh.
5/26/09
I woke up around 1:20-ish, but was completely useless as I was tired, so I didn't really do anything until I left around 4. I went to find the School of Icelandic, which was pretty far away. I kind of semi-lost on this way, and this really nice woman asked if I needed help as I was struggling with my huge map. She was heading in the same direction with her son (about 7?), so she walked with me for a bit. Random acts of kindness make me really happy. ahaha. I finally got to the building, and literally could not figure out where the School of Icelandic was because all the signs were in Icelandic. I headed back and took a bit of a detour out by the harbor, and the sea and the mountains were so gorgeous. Almost got ran over a couple of times. Finally found that burger restaurant I wanted to try out, which is right by the Sea Baron. It was pretty good, but I don't know if it was worth $9...the little place was pretty packed though. When I was ordering, I was like, "I don't speak Icelandic." As if that weren't painfully obvious. ahaha.
I really need to get onto Icelandic time because I can't continue to have this weird sleeping pattern. And I'm meeting with Dr. Gunnell tomorrow, and I have no idea what I'm saying. Ahh.
I really want a chai tea frappuccino right now...
Meant to wake up early, but that so didn't happen. Didn't really wake up until around 3 PM or so. Forced myself to leave and go to the bank. Totally didn't know how Icelandic banks worked, and the place was packed. There was free, fresh coffee for people waiting. I stood there awkwardly for a bit and approached the lady at the counter, who didn't speak English and pointed to some place behind me. I watched someone else get a number from a machine like at the Social Security offices, so I followed what they did. I cashed my traveler's cheques. Went to Bonus and bought a lot of vegetables, about $30 of groceries. I made myself a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocado, ham, pepperoni, and Caesar dressing. I Skyped with a couple of people. I called Dr. Gunnell after 9....so freaking nervewracking! Argh. I meant to go to sleep early, but didn't go to sleep until about 4AM. Sigh.
5/26/09
I woke up around 1:20-ish, but was completely useless as I was tired, so I didn't really do anything until I left around 4. I went to find the School of Icelandic, which was pretty far away. I kind of semi-lost on this way, and this really nice woman asked if I needed help as I was struggling with my huge map. She was heading in the same direction with her son (about 7?), so she walked with me for a bit. Random acts of kindness make me really happy. ahaha. I finally got to the building, and literally could not figure out where the School of Icelandic was because all the signs were in Icelandic. I headed back and took a bit of a detour out by the harbor, and the sea and the mountains were so gorgeous. Almost got ran over a couple of times. Finally found that burger restaurant I wanted to try out, which is right by the Sea Baron. It was pretty good, but I don't know if it was worth $9...the little place was pretty packed though. When I was ordering, I was like, "I don't speak Icelandic." As if that weren't painfully obvious. ahaha.
I really need to get onto Icelandic time because I can't continue to have this weird sleeping pattern. And I'm meeting with Dr. Gunnell tomorrow, and I have no idea what I'm saying. Ahh.
I really want a chai tea frappuccino right now...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
First few days
I feel terribly lazy and unmotivated about updating this blog, but I must! I've put it off till this long. I'm typing this while watching Jon and Kate Plus 8. I'm a bad multi-tasker...
5/19/09
After a lunch of spicy Chinese noodles (YUM!) my mom made, we headed off to the airport, arriving at about 2PM or so. A ton of army guys and girls (or maybe they were in the Marines?) happened to be there as well. I initially couldn't find my flight on those check-in kiosks because I searched for Keflavik rather than JFK. My mom finally parked and came back to find me. I figured out my error and finished everything. The screen told me to wait for assistance. I waited for a good 5 minutes, and nobody ever came to check my travel documents. It was irritating. But finally we got that sorted out, I got my ticket, and checked my luggage. After going through security, it was only 3, and my flight wasn't until 4:25. I got a Chai Tea Frappuccino at Starbucks because I knew I'd be there for a while. I sat at my gate (C24?) for a good while listening to my iPod. I was in an aisle of one because this couple took my actual seat. The flight was supposed to be 1:50 long, but we got to JFK early, around 5:55 rather than 6:15 as expected. I was in Terminal 8, and my gate was in Terminal 7. I walked around frantically trying to find out how to get there and finally found the AirTrain.
By the time I got into the Terminal, it was only 6:30PM, and my flight wasn't until 8:35 PM. The terminal was for flights to Europe, and everyone was so damn well-dressed. I forget that just because Americans tend to dress sloppily, others actually pay attention to what they're wearing. There were also stores with Prada, Chloe, Hermes bags. I ended up getting McDonald's for dinner-Chicken BLT Sandwich and a Chipotle Barbecue Snack Wrap. The sandwich was extremely slippery, and I made a huge mess. I tried to glean free Internet for about 30 minutes, but that didn't work so well, and I ended up deleting all the existing network connections saved on the computer. I people-watched for a really long time, just watching the people walk by and envying how stylish they were, even while traveling. These two Spanish guys sat next to me, and I eavesdropped...ahaha. I could understand most of what they were saying. I realized it was almost 7:55PM, when the plane was due to board. I rushed back, but the plane ended up arriving late, so we didn't board until 9PM. I ended up sitting next to this Icelandic couple that didn't speak any English. They had these little screens on the backs of the seats with movies and TV shows-Slumdog Millionaire, Garden State, Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother. They also had albums for streaming-Damien Rice, MGMT, etc. They also had little games in which you could learn languages. Being the lucky person I am, the screen froze within a few minutes before the plane was about to leave. There was no free meal offered, but there was a menu (matsedill?). I ate my McDonald's Snack Wrap. Slumdog was really good, but I don't know if it was worthy of 8 Oscars. The trip was a bit cramped.
5/20/09
Even though the plane left at 10PM, we still got to Keflavik on time, around 6AM. There was an overwhelming scent of sulfur, which I found out later Went through passport checking and stuff. Exchanged money and got my Flybus ticket. The scenery on the way there was quite bizarre. Lots of cute little houses. There were a bunch of random statues. Two were on opposite shores facing each other-a couple, I imagine. There was actually a Chinese family on the bus, but I couldn't figure out what to say to them. Saw a bunch of people riding bikes around. I got to the bus station at 7:45 AM as expected. Raquel, the subletter, came to pick me up a few minutes past 8. I was freaking out a bit because I couldn't figure out how to work the cell phone in Iceland. Lugged the suitcase to the flat 15-20 minutes away.
Met Georg, one of the flatmates. We talked for a bit, then I took a nap from 10AM-2PM because I was exhausted. I slept in Oliver's room because he was gone. The floor was really uncomfortable, so I moved into the bed. They were doing some sort of construction work, and they were hammering loudly. Raquel woke me up around 2 to see if I wanted to come along as she ran errands. I was still really disoriented at this point. Met Solvi, the Icelandic flatmate. It realized how little I knew I was doing. She asked me what I was planning to do the next day and whether or not I cooked. I didn't know the answer to either of those questions...stopped at Bonus, the cheapest grocery store. It was nice walking along Laugarvegur though. Stopped in some thrift stores and souvenir shops. I was starving and bought a hot dog. On the way back, I bought some groceries. Even though the store was tiny, it was a bit overwhelming as I never grocery shopped for necessities before. That is why I am now stuck with a 3-pound bag of digestive biscuits. They make you pay for plastic bags at Bonus, which is a really good idea actually. Saw many more Asians than I had anticipated.
I set up the Internet on my laptop and facebooked for a bit. For dinner, Raquel invited me to dinner with 5 her friends. We went to Kitchen, this Nepalese/Indian restaurant. The food was quite expensive, at mostly over 2,000 kronur. I got curry lamb kebab and salad. They gave us this crunchy bread with four sauces for an appetizer. It took them over an hour to serve our dishes, which was annoying. I was exhausted, but I just listened to their conversations, which were awkward for me yet very entertaining (i.e. sex lives and such...). We got there at 7 and didn't leave till 9. I headed back to the flat to shower and sleep. My first time showering here was really strange, as the hot water smelled like rotten eggs. It felt rather counterintuitive to shower in water that smelled so bad. ahaha. The tub also has drainage issues.
5/21/09
I didn't wake up the next day until around 1:30 PM or so. Had a bagel, hummus, and banana for brunch. Raquel took out all her uneaten food for us to scavenge through and left for the bus station. I think I watched some Jon and Kate Plus 8, Skyped, and then wandered around outside for a while. I went to look at Hallgrimskirkja, the big church, but it is under construction, unfortunately. Wandered around the residential neighborhoods a bit, and they were really cute. Went to Núðluhúsið, a Thai restaurant. I got soup noodles because it was pretty chilly outside. I chilled in my room some more. Georg was leaving and left me the leftover vegetable lasagna he made.
5/22/09
I think I slept in this day too. Didn't leave the room until the afternoon. Met one of Solvi's friends who just got back from China. They were going to go "swimming in the ocean," which apparently was more like hot tubbing, running into the water, and running back into the hot tub. ahaha. They invited me out of niceness, but I decided not to go. Left and wandered around some more, not just on Laugurvegur. Bought a caramel bun at a bakery. I got lost and stumbled upon a Chinese restaurant (Kinahúsið). I wanted to go in but the door was locked?? I was looking for the Sea Baron, out by the harbor, but I went on a route that follows a pretty big street and got lost. I somehow ended up back at the Chinese restaurant, where I got shrimp and rice for dinner. The hostess/waitress there is really nice. I think I stumbled upon Tjonn (the pond) and this random plaza, where there were a bunch of Americanized restaurants.
Oliver, the other flatmate got back that evening.
5/23/09
I somehow managed to sleep from 2AM to 2PM that day...I woke up multiple times because I smelled delicious food wafting in, but I had a really bizarre dream, and I wanted it to continue, so I kept sleeping. I ate the rest of my caramel bun that got kind of stale. I left at around 3 to go to Kolaportið, the flea market. Looked for some ram's testicles and putrefied shark but didn't see any. There wasn't that much aside from books, vintage clothing, and maybe....sunglasses? It was close to the Sea Baron, so I finally found my way there. I got lobster soup, which came with crusty bread, and a lobster kebab. There was an Asian family from Malaysia that spoke to me in Chinese. It was nice talking to someone...ahaha. The soup was quite good, but a tad bit too salty, the bread and BUTTER was quite good too. The kebab was a bit overcooked. My mom's lobster is still THE BEST. ahaha. I walked back to Tjonn and watched people feed the ducks. I think I wanted around the pond a few times. That day was super windy and rather cold.
After I got back to the flat, I talked to Oliver for a bit. He was basically like, "so you have no friends here?" and then invited me to see a movie with him. ahaha. Quite sad but nice of him. There was also a huge array of gummy candy. We saw Angels and Demons, which was actually quite good. Apparently at Icelandic theatres, they have a really random intermission in the middle of the movie, no matter what is happening. The theatre was pretty comfy though, and the seats had a neck cushion and TWO arm rests in between people, reducing awkward elbow-bumping. After the movie was over, the people just dashed out of there in like...a minute.
5/25/09
I went to have brunch with a couchsurfer. Got a sandwich with cheese, ham, and a fried egg. She was really nice, and we talked about random stuff. I found out Icelanders like a lot of the same music as I do. Indie music seems pretty popular here. Talked about our dislike for bugs. Her trip to Nepal and India. We talked for about 3 hours, but didn't really touch upon folklore...ahaha. I was feeling really dizzy and light-headed for some reason.
I realized there was a much shorter way to get to Tjonn, which was nice. Chilled in the flat for a bit. I learned that swine flu had arrived in Iceland. Felt even more light-headed. I watched the Da Vinci Code. It was pretty crappy. Went back to that Chinese restaurant for dinner. Got beef and leek. And now I'm finally done updating this and watching more Jon and Kate Plus 8. I also opened my first can using a handheld canopener, not the ghetto Chinese one I've been using. Sadly, I had to ask Lara, using a webcam, to figure out how to use it, which is rather pathetic.
I have a huge craving for gummies, but they are HELLA expensive here. Sigh. I should've had the foresight to bring some with me..
There are a lot of babies here in Reykjavik. Icelandic babies are so freaking adorable. Especially when they're all bundled up and sitting on their parents' shoulders? It kills me!
The nice thing about Reykjavik is that when I get lost, I can always wander back to a familiar street. In getting lost, I find restaurants and cafes I've read about and make a mental note to go back there eventually.
I've been wearing the same thing pretty much my entire trip here-cranberry AA hoodie, a gray or black shirt, skinny jeans, tennis shoes, and an extra cardigan and jacket if it's extra cold.
I've scouted out some lunch buffets because they seem like a much better deal. I'm eating so little here compared to before it's kind of ridiculous.
Arriving in Iceland was so surreal. Something that I had anticipated and imagined in my head for so long. I don't think it's fair to say I'm disappointed, but it's definitely different from what I expected.
I need to do more research and stop being lazy and lying around. ahaha. I need to stop being dizzy and light-headed and watch less Jon and Kate Plus 8...
5/19/09
After a lunch of spicy Chinese noodles (YUM!) my mom made, we headed off to the airport, arriving at about 2PM or so. A ton of army guys and girls (or maybe they were in the Marines?) happened to be there as well. I initially couldn't find my flight on those check-in kiosks because I searched for Keflavik rather than JFK. My mom finally parked and came back to find me. I figured out my error and finished everything. The screen told me to wait for assistance. I waited for a good 5 minutes, and nobody ever came to check my travel documents. It was irritating. But finally we got that sorted out, I got my ticket, and checked my luggage. After going through security, it was only 3, and my flight wasn't until 4:25. I got a Chai Tea Frappuccino at Starbucks because I knew I'd be there for a while. I sat at my gate (C24?) for a good while listening to my iPod. I was in an aisle of one because this couple took my actual seat. The flight was supposed to be 1:50 long, but we got to JFK early, around 5:55 rather than 6:15 as expected. I was in Terminal 8, and my gate was in Terminal 7. I walked around frantically trying to find out how to get there and finally found the AirTrain.
By the time I got into the Terminal, it was only 6:30PM, and my flight wasn't until 8:35 PM. The terminal was for flights to Europe, and everyone was so damn well-dressed. I forget that just because Americans tend to dress sloppily, others actually pay attention to what they're wearing. There were also stores with Prada, Chloe, Hermes bags. I ended up getting McDonald's for dinner-Chicken BLT Sandwich and a Chipotle Barbecue Snack Wrap. The sandwich was extremely slippery, and I made a huge mess. I tried to glean free Internet for about 30 minutes, but that didn't work so well, and I ended up deleting all the existing network connections saved on the computer. I people-watched for a really long time, just watching the people walk by and envying how stylish they were, even while traveling. These two Spanish guys sat next to me, and I eavesdropped...ahaha. I could understand most of what they were saying. I realized it was almost 7:55PM, when the plane was due to board. I rushed back, but the plane ended up arriving late, so we didn't board until 9PM. I ended up sitting next to this Icelandic couple that didn't speak any English. They had these little screens on the backs of the seats with movies and TV shows-Slumdog Millionaire, Garden State, Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother. They also had albums for streaming-Damien Rice, MGMT, etc. They also had little games in which you could learn languages. Being the lucky person I am, the screen froze within a few minutes before the plane was about to leave. There was no free meal offered, but there was a menu (matsedill?). I ate my McDonald's Snack Wrap. Slumdog was really good, but I don't know if it was worthy of 8 Oscars. The trip was a bit cramped.
5/20/09
Even though the plane left at 10PM, we still got to Keflavik on time, around 6AM. There was an overwhelming scent of sulfur, which I found out later Went through passport checking and stuff. Exchanged money and got my Flybus ticket. The scenery on the way there was quite bizarre. Lots of cute little houses. There were a bunch of random statues. Two were on opposite shores facing each other-a couple, I imagine. There was actually a Chinese family on the bus, but I couldn't figure out what to say to them. Saw a bunch of people riding bikes around. I got to the bus station at 7:45 AM as expected. Raquel, the subletter, came to pick me up a few minutes past 8. I was freaking out a bit because I couldn't figure out how to work the cell phone in Iceland. Lugged the suitcase to the flat 15-20 minutes away.
Met Georg, one of the flatmates. We talked for a bit, then I took a nap from 10AM-2PM because I was exhausted. I slept in Oliver's room because he was gone. The floor was really uncomfortable, so I moved into the bed. They were doing some sort of construction work, and they were hammering loudly. Raquel woke me up around 2 to see if I wanted to come along as she ran errands. I was still really disoriented at this point. Met Solvi, the Icelandic flatmate. It realized how little I knew I was doing. She asked me what I was planning to do the next day and whether or not I cooked. I didn't know the answer to either of those questions...stopped at Bonus, the cheapest grocery store. It was nice walking along Laugarvegur though. Stopped in some thrift stores and souvenir shops. I was starving and bought a hot dog. On the way back, I bought some groceries. Even though the store was tiny, it was a bit overwhelming as I never grocery shopped for necessities before. That is why I am now stuck with a 3-pound bag of digestive biscuits. They make you pay for plastic bags at Bonus, which is a really good idea actually. Saw many more Asians than I had anticipated.
I set up the Internet on my laptop and facebooked for a bit. For dinner, Raquel invited me to dinner with 5 her friends. We went to Kitchen, this Nepalese/Indian restaurant. The food was quite expensive, at mostly over 2,000 kronur. I got curry lamb kebab and salad. They gave us this crunchy bread with four sauces for an appetizer. It took them over an hour to serve our dishes, which was annoying. I was exhausted, but I just listened to their conversations, which were awkward for me yet very entertaining (i.e. sex lives and such...). We got there at 7 and didn't leave till 9. I headed back to the flat to shower and sleep. My first time showering here was really strange, as the hot water smelled like rotten eggs. It felt rather counterintuitive to shower in water that smelled so bad. ahaha. The tub also has drainage issues.
5/21/09
I didn't wake up the next day until around 1:30 PM or so. Had a bagel, hummus, and banana for brunch. Raquel took out all her uneaten food for us to scavenge through and left for the bus station. I think I watched some Jon and Kate Plus 8, Skyped, and then wandered around outside for a while. I went to look at Hallgrimskirkja, the big church, but it is under construction, unfortunately. Wandered around the residential neighborhoods a bit, and they were really cute. Went to Núðluhúsið, a Thai restaurant. I got soup noodles because it was pretty chilly outside. I chilled in my room some more. Georg was leaving and left me the leftover vegetable lasagna he made.
5/22/09
I think I slept in this day too. Didn't leave the room until the afternoon. Met one of Solvi's friends who just got back from China. They were going to go "swimming in the ocean," which apparently was more like hot tubbing, running into the water, and running back into the hot tub. ahaha. They invited me out of niceness, but I decided not to go. Left and wandered around some more, not just on Laugurvegur. Bought a caramel bun at a bakery. I got lost and stumbled upon a Chinese restaurant (Kinahúsið). I wanted to go in but the door was locked?? I was looking for the Sea Baron, out by the harbor, but I went on a route that follows a pretty big street and got lost. I somehow ended up back at the Chinese restaurant, where I got shrimp and rice for dinner. The hostess/waitress there is really nice. I think I stumbled upon Tjonn (the pond) and this random plaza, where there were a bunch of Americanized restaurants.
Oliver, the other flatmate got back that evening.
5/23/09
I somehow managed to sleep from 2AM to 2PM that day...I woke up multiple times because I smelled delicious food wafting in, but I had a really bizarre dream, and I wanted it to continue, so I kept sleeping. I ate the rest of my caramel bun that got kind of stale. I left at around 3 to go to Kolaportið, the flea market. Looked for some ram's testicles and putrefied shark but didn't see any. There wasn't that much aside from books, vintage clothing, and maybe....sunglasses? It was close to the Sea Baron, so I finally found my way there. I got lobster soup, which came with crusty bread, and a lobster kebab. There was an Asian family from Malaysia that spoke to me in Chinese. It was nice talking to someone...ahaha. The soup was quite good, but a tad bit too salty, the bread and BUTTER was quite good too. The kebab was a bit overcooked. My mom's lobster is still THE BEST. ahaha. I walked back to Tjonn and watched people feed the ducks. I think I wanted around the pond a few times. That day was super windy and rather cold.
After I got back to the flat, I talked to Oliver for a bit. He was basically like, "so you have no friends here?" and then invited me to see a movie with him. ahaha. Quite sad but nice of him. There was also a huge array of gummy candy. We saw Angels and Demons, which was actually quite good. Apparently at Icelandic theatres, they have a really random intermission in the middle of the movie, no matter what is happening. The theatre was pretty comfy though, and the seats had a neck cushion and TWO arm rests in between people, reducing awkward elbow-bumping. After the movie was over, the people just dashed out of there in like...a minute.
5/25/09
I went to have brunch with a couchsurfer. Got a sandwich with cheese, ham, and a fried egg. She was really nice, and we talked about random stuff. I found out Icelanders like a lot of the same music as I do. Indie music seems pretty popular here. Talked about our dislike for bugs. Her trip to Nepal and India. We talked for about 3 hours, but didn't really touch upon folklore...ahaha. I was feeling really dizzy and light-headed for some reason.
I realized there was a much shorter way to get to Tjonn, which was nice. Chilled in the flat for a bit. I learned that swine flu had arrived in Iceland. Felt even more light-headed. I watched the Da Vinci Code. It was pretty crappy. Went back to that Chinese restaurant for dinner. Got beef and leek. And now I'm finally done updating this and watching more Jon and Kate Plus 8. I also opened my first can using a handheld canopener, not the ghetto Chinese one I've been using. Sadly, I had to ask Lara, using a webcam, to figure out how to use it, which is rather pathetic.
I have a huge craving for gummies, but they are HELLA expensive here. Sigh. I should've had the foresight to bring some with me..
There are a lot of babies here in Reykjavik. Icelandic babies are so freaking adorable. Especially when they're all bundled up and sitting on their parents' shoulders? It kills me!
The nice thing about Reykjavik is that when I get lost, I can always wander back to a familiar street. In getting lost, I find restaurants and cafes I've read about and make a mental note to go back there eventually.
I've been wearing the same thing pretty much my entire trip here-cranberry AA hoodie, a gray or black shirt, skinny jeans, tennis shoes, and an extra cardigan and jacket if it's extra cold.
I've scouted out some lunch buffets because they seem like a much better deal. I'm eating so little here compared to before it's kind of ridiculous.
Arriving in Iceland was so surreal. Something that I had anticipated and imagined in my head for so long. I don't think it's fair to say I'm disappointed, but it's definitely different from what I expected.
I need to do more research and stop being lazy and lying around. ahaha. I need to stop being dizzy and light-headed and watch less Jon and Kate Plus 8...
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