Day 21

June 30, 2018

12:08 AM (just past midnight) Iceland Time

This morning I headed over to Gerðarsafn (the art museum I am working at) and set up for the art activity. We weren’t expecting many people to come so I just started making a collage. Then there were about 7-8 people who showed up! It was really casual, us just having fun making collages out of cut paper and newspapers. It was neat to talk to them, they were all excited and happy to have me there. Nobody was concerned about how amazing their art turned out to be, they were just having fun with the process of making art. Hrafnhildur said that they hadn’t done anything like that before; usually they do more formal art workshops. She really liked how it went, so they will probably start having these casual art events every week!

After a few hours everyone went home, and so I cleaned up and headed back home as well. Skarpi let me make dinner this time, so we went to the grocery store together and got stuff to make pasta and garlic bread. When we got back from the store we watched some football matches, and then Skarpi’s eldest son Jeremy came by again to join us for dinner. We talked, ate and enjoyed the football match. It’s been really nice to get to know them all! I had to say goodbye to Jeremy tonight, but I hope to see him again when I come back! After he left, Skarpi and I went to go see another Icelandic film, “Woman at war”. It was a really good film; much better than the other film we went to the other day. Even though it was a bit late when we got home, Skarpi wanted to watch some British crime dramas with me again. He really likes watching television, but I also feel like he just likes spending time with me. He said he typically goes to bed around 10, but he has been staying up with me until about 11:30-midnight for the past few nights! It was the last full day I got to spend with him, so we were making the best of it despite how rainy it was today.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be going to his sister Þora’s house. I am looking forward to meeting her, but I will definitely miss Skarpi. I will definitely keep in touch with him and look forward to seeing him again when I come back! (I know I will be coming back someday) Anyways its late, so I am headed to bed. Stay tuned!

Day 20

June 29, 2018

11:08 PM Iceland Time

Wow, I just realized I have been in Iceland for 20 days now! I am only half-way through this amazing adventure, and I can’t wait for what lies ahead! The past 20 days have been so amazing- the first bit was lots of excitement, awe, and learning. I am still experiencing all of that- but the difference is that I feel like I belong here, and I need to be here more than just this trip. I never thought I would want to live in a colder environment, but I really can see myself possibly coming back and study abroad sometime in the near future. The one thing I am not really looking forward to is going home back to reality. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in Maui, but I feel like there will always be a huge part of my heart that will remain here.

Anyways, today I didn’t have to be at work until 11, so I decided to of course go to the thermal pools! I went to the Kopovogur pools that are right near the art museum. What a great way to start a day! I stayed for about an hour, and then headed to work. I spent the first part of the day brainstorming and looking through the books we got at the library for art activity ideas for future events, and possible inspiration for the informal collage event I will be doing tomorrow. Later in the afternoon all of the museum staff invited me to join them for lunch, and we went to a Thai place in town. They are all really nice and pretty funny. After lunch, Hrafnhildur thought it would be a good idea for me to make an example collage to show people when they come in for the get together. So, I got to make collages for the remainder of the “work” day! The museum was closing, so Hrafnhildur and I caught the bus back into town together.

When I got home, I helped Skarpi make dinner, and his eldest son came over for dinner. He was also really nice, and it was good to get to know him a bit! He sells building materials to contractors currently and lives in Reykjavik. We talked and got to know each other and watched some TV. Skarpi loves to watch television, so we always watch shows, news, football matches while also having a little bit of conversation. Skarpi’s son headed home after a few hours, and he will be joining us tomorrow again. Once he left, Skarpi and I watched some more British crime shows. Skarpi wants to go out to another Icelandic film at the local cinema, so we will be doing that tomorrow night, and his eldest son will probably be joining us!

Tomorrow I will be facilitating the art activity at the museum, so I better get some sleep. Stay tuned!

Day 19

June 28, 2018

10:41 PM Iceland Time

Today was a productive and relaxing day. I went to work at the art museum where I spent a few hours organizing one of their supply rooms. After I finished Hrafnhildur and I went out for lunch again, and on our way back we stopped by the library to look at some craft books to find some ideas for activities. They aren’t having an official event this Saturday, so Hrafnhildur thought that I could do a little informal activity for anyone who stops by. I came up with the idea to have a collage session. I will be helping participants make collages and/or mosaics using newspapers and construction paper!

We also stopped by the natural history museum and talked with one of the historians about possibly helping them make an English brochure to accommodate and inform tourists of the museum. Hrafnhildur and the historian talked in Icelandic the whole time, and I could pick out some of the words, but Icelanders speak so fast it’s hard to follow! I can pick out about 20% of what they are saying and can get an idea of what they were discussing. It is good for me to be surrounded by the Icelandic language; I am trying to absorb it and comprehend as much as I can. I have been getting tired faster, probably because I am using my brain a lot to try to catch on.

I wrapped up at work and took the bus back into town. Instead of going straight home I decided to go on a bit of a walk to check out another pool that I hadn’t been to yet. It is called Laugardalslaug. It was by far the largest pool I have been to in Reykjavik so far. There was a huge lap pool, a stadium (I am guessing to watch swimming competitions), 5 different hottir potturs (hot tubs), a seawater geothermal bath, steam room, sauna, massage station, giant chess board, volleyball courts and the kalt pottur (cold pool). I will definitely want to take the rest of the Snorri group there once we all meet back here in Reykjavik.

Soon there were a bit too many people coming to the pool and there wasn’t much room in the hot tubs, so I headed back home. I was able to make dinner for Skarpi again, and that was nice. I really enjoy his company. We watched a few football matches, and then watched both British and Scottish crime dramas together! He said that tomorrow his older son will be joining us for dinner, so I am looking forward to meeting him as well!

Headed off to bed, so stay tuned! Goða nott!