Day 13

June 22, 2018

12:02 AM (Midnight) Iceland Time

This morning I woke up a bit early so that I could say goodbye to the Snorris that were leaving earlier. I know I will be seeing them in three weeks again for the adventure tour, but I am having some separation grief. We have grown together as a group and have created a special bond, and so saying goodbye has been bitter sweet. All of us are going to have our own adventures with our families for the next three weeks, but I know for a fact that I am going to miss them a lot.

After breakfast I waited for my family to pick me up. He came a bit early, but it was great to finally meet him! His name is Skarphéðinn (Skarpi for short) and he lives in downtown Reykjavik, and I will be staying with him for the next 8 days. Turns out he is pretty closely related! He is my second cousin 3 times removed. It’s a bit surreal meeting a relative I’ve never met in Iceland! His apartment is beautiful and has a great view of the beach. He lives alone; he is a widower and his three children are all grown up. He has a daughter who is working in Stockholm in the computer field and his two sons are also living in Reykjavik. He keeps in close contact with his children, so I am sure I will be meeting some of them in the next 8 days!

After settling in we had lunch, and he took me out for a walk so that I could get an idea of where I am exactly. He was so sweet and showed me where the bus stops are so that I can get to and from work (starting Monday) without getting lost or confused. He also showed me where the nearest pool was, and where he usually goes grocery shopping. We got a few things at the market and headed home to watch the football (soccer) match. Iceland was playing Nigeria, and we sadly lost. There is another game on Tuesday against Croatia, so I am crossing my fingers they will do well in that match. Once the game was over, we made a great dinner; baked salmon, salad and potatoes. We talked about his interests, his travels, and about how our families. We also facetimed my parents so that I could introduce them.

After talking for a while, I went out around 8:30 to meet up with a fellow Snorri who is also staying in Reykjavik for the next two days. We met up at the thermal pools, and then went out for vegan crepes! There are a few crepe shops in town that are AMAZING. It was funny, the lady who worked at the crepe shop recognized me from the thermal pools- guess I have been going so much that the locals are starting to recognize me! Haha It was good to hang out with her, I really am going to miss having all of the Snorris around to hang out with. I usually have anxiety meeting new people. I definitely was super anxious about meeting people before coming to Iceland, but it turns out my that my anxiety was pointless since we all have become great friends! I am hoping that it will be the same outcome in the next few weeks with my work placement. I am hoping there will be some cool people I can meet! I will be working with the Kópavogur Municipality doing various things, so we will see!

I am free this weekend, so we will see what adventures I will be going on with Skarpi before I start work Monday morning. Stay tuned for more updates!