Day 2: Today we went to the University of Iceland and had our first Icelandic
lecture, taught by Sigríður Kristinsdóttir.
Icelandic is a pretty hard language, and I feel like I am quite the novice
despite all my studying I did prior to my arrival. Sigríður is a good
teacher and is understanding about all of our worries of not being able to
speak Icelandic to well. She goes at a good pace and has a fun sense of
humor! We then took a little break to have lunch, and then we had a lecture
about Icelandic genealogy from a representative from Íslendingabók
(Book of Icelanders). That was really interesting to see how important it
is to Icelanders to find familial connections. Apparently Íslendingabók
has a website, which is Iceland’s most popular website! After her lecture
we were each given an individualized book of our Icelandic ancestors and
how all of us Snorris are all related to one another. Most of us are
distant cousins, some closer than others. The book also shows how we are
related to famous Icelanders, and how closely we are related to our host
families.
After class all of us
decided to walk over to a local public thermal pool. Apparently thermal
pools are really popular here, there are 18 of them in Reykjavik alone! It
was very refreshing, though it was a bit awkward going in. I guess they don’t
treat the pool water, so they require everyone to take a shower with soap completely
naked, and the showers are all open. All of us felt like it was our “initiation”
into being more Icelandic lol. Then we walked a bit in downtown Reykjavik
to see what is around. I love all the buildings and there is a lot of
murals painted on the sides of them. Then we went back to the hostel to
have some dinner, and now we are doing homework and getting ready to go out
dancing! Stay tuned for more adventures!!
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