Saturday, June 17, 2017

Socks and Larry

Since yesterday and until tomorrow morning, we are stationed at an eco village called Solheimar. It is a small little village, there's not much around us, and only 100 people live here. 43 of those people have disabilities, but Solheimar offers all of their community members jobs, projects, and housing while they are here. Since it is an eco village, a lot of the buildings are made from sustainable and renewable resources, they have their own geothermal power plant on site, and they also have a beautiful greenhouse which (fun fact!) supplies the country with over 50 percent of its tomatoes. 

Last night we took a late night walk to the glacial river about half an hour away. It was still light out, don't worry. But I put some pictures of the area at the bottom if you want to check those out! 

Also something I've learned about Icelandic culture (and the reason for the title of this post) is that you always have to take your shoes off whenever you go inside a building and leave them at the front door. So I've been seeing and smelling a lot of socks lately. Which also brings me to the next part of this post: Larry and his socks. 

Since we have 7 weeks together, I figured I should start introducing some of the other characters on my trip. Larry was the first person I met on my journey, plus his story has a sock tie-in, so it's perfect. 

Larry (Laurence) is from New York City (ish) and goes to school at University of Virginia for biology (NOT PREMED EVERYBODY!). He likes 2000's R&B, all kinds of social media, and selfies that he looks good in. Normally when you meet a new person, they fit a certain category in your brain so that you at least have a sense of what to expect from them or what they are like. Larry fits no category in my brain, probably because I have met no one else like him in my entire life. 

I was standing in the JFK airport when this 5'5" random person (Larry) walked up to me and said, "Are you studying abroad?" Fortunately for him, the answer was yes, because Larry is quite awkward in new situations and would have started panicking. Larry was quick to inform me that he had done NONE of his required pre-departure assignments. We all know those people who say the most ridiculous things and then miraculously pull out 100's on their chem exams. I thought Larry was one of those people at first. But as I got to know him on our trip through the Keflavik airport in Iceland and in the days since, I've realized that he's not a disaster and he definitely has his s*** together; he's just a really really funny person.

So here are 2 stories about Larry and socks: 

1. You remember in a previous post how I told you we saw 2 geothermal power plants a couple of days ago? So we did that, and at the second one, there was a very cute gift shop (almost got you a key chain, Meg, but I didn't want to buy you something so early on without seeing what else was out there). Everything was really expensive, so most of us just glanced around and kept walking as we were leaving the place. We get back to the bus, take our seats, and realize that Larry, who we thought had been right behind us, wasn't there. Couple minutes later he gets on the bus holding the most ridiculous pair of socks you've ever seen in your life. They are baby blue, probably about knee-high on him, have a sheepy looking wool rim at the top, those grip pad dot things on the bottom, have little puffins (or something bird-related) all over them, and probably cost around 30 dollars. "Guys, I bought socks," he says. 

He puts them on as we are driving to the next stop, and once we get there he realizes that there is zero chance his new-sock feet will fit inside his tennis shoes. Haven't seen him wear them since. 

2. Yesterday we went on that late-night hike to the glacial river that I mentioned above. Let's play a game: if it was rainy outside, it had been raining all day long, it was cold, and you were going on a hike, which of the following would you NOT wear? 

a. grey cotton sweatpants
b. new tennis shoes
c. bright red knee-length boxers
d. all of the above

If you chose (d), you would be correct. Choice (a) is bad because they would get soaked and the water would show up all over you. Choice (b) is bad because your shoes would get destroyed and wouldn't dry very fast. And choice (c) is bad because no one should ever wear that. 

Well, our friend Larry also chose (d), but instead he chose TO wear, yes, all of the above. Which means some very wet socks indeed. But...how did I know what underwear he was wearing? Because at the turn-around point he removed choice (a) and walked the rest of the way home in choice (c) instead. 

So that's Larry :) He cracks me up. 

And now for some pictures!


Glacial river from our late night hike. This picture was taken around 9:30 pm. 

Another view of the glacial river featuring Mackenzie 


I call this one 'Grace in the Greenhouse'

Some Solheimar flags

Road where we walked to see the river. 40 minutes total on this road and didn't see a single car.

Here's Larry in the middle! with Alex and me :)

View from the dining center in Solheimar

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Hi from Mars

I think I have seen more natural beauty in the past two days than I have seen in my entire life.

Yesterday we went to the Blue Lagoon, which is basically a giant adult bath tub made from the excess water from the geothermal plant next door. It was so odd and humbling to be swimming right up next to the huge rocky hills surrounding it.

Today was a geothermal day, so we saw two different power plants and walked around a geothermal hot-springs area where we hiked a pretty steep mountain with no safety anything whatsoever (mom you would’ve been freaking out). The view from the top was so well worth it though.

Now we are staying at an eco-village for the next 3 days, so more on that later!
I’m just going to put some pictures here because a lot of this can’t be described in words. Just some of my thoughts so far before I do that:

I actually feel like I’m on another planet. There were times where I’d look out the window of the bus, see nothing but moss-covered rocks with no wildlife whatsoever and think “This is literally Mars.” You’ll see what I mean with these pictures. Also the landscape changes are so dramatic. One side of the road can look completely different from the other, and in one minute of looking out the window, you can see 3 different views that you’ve never even imagined before. Mother Nature really had some fun with this place. It’s beautiful, it’s different, and it’s overwhelming!

It’s so safe here. My new friend Natalie and I went for a run this morning to some cliffs by the ocean (casual), and I felt safer being out and about here than I ever would have running at home. Plus the light-out-all-the-time part is an added bonus.

And lastly, 2 things I am thankful for: my hiking boots and my raincoat. Definitely necessary pretty much at all times I’m realizing.

So…for surviving and thriving? I’m gonna give myself some points here. But for being something I can’t even describe with words? I’m gonna give this country some too.
Charlie: 4

Iceland: 1005

Now pictures:












Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Moist

Greetings from Iceland, where the local time is 8:21! 

My body is very confused. 

I've already met 4 other people from my SIT program on my flight from JFK, which was a huge relief. I also met a guy sitting next to me on the plane who randomly decided to use his vacation days to journey here with zero plans. "This is the research I've done so far," he said, as he was holding up a singular magazine page with 'Reykjavik' on the top. At least I'm doing better than that guy! 

Charlie: 1

Couple unfortunate things: 

As we were waiting on the runway for takeoff, we got an announcement that we would be delayed due to weather. An hour later we finally took off. I swear it was 80 degrees and everyone was sweating buckets. Good thing we only had another 5 hours together on that plane. Yummy. 

So we finally get going, the AC kicks in, and I feel a drop of water land on my forehead. I dismiss it as nothing, until 3 minutes later I feel another one on my left arm. ("Why do I feel...wet...." -Pink Panther anyone?) I look up to see the AC above my head dotted with moisture droplets. Perfect. 

But I made it here (slightly damp) and so did my bag. So I'll give myself some credit for that. 

Iceland: 5
Charlie: 2




Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Before

I'm sitting in the JFK airport right now, waiting to board my flight to Reykjavik, and I wanted to write one more thing here before I leave for the next 7 weeks. I've been sitting here for a couple of hours (conveniently used up my 30 minutes of free Wifi, sorry Mom) and the only thing I could think of writing is something that I can look back on at the end of this trip and say "oh the good ole days." 

So here is a brief list of what I know about Iceland, as a wee little pre-Iceland baby. I put it in small text so you can skip over it if you don't care. Note that all this information could be completely incorrect. 

  • Language is really important to Icelanders. They pride themselves in preserving it and protecting it. Iceland also produces more books per capita than any country in the world. 
  • There aren't a ton of animals in Iceland, mainly foxes, horses, and rodents, but they have puffins (!!) in addition to lots of other unique species of birds (sorry em and kell if you're reading this). 
  • Iceland is one of the happiest places in the world, because those who suffer together stay together apparently. 
  • Iceland's electricity is produced entirely from renewable (geothermal and hydroelectric) resources. They also consume more electricity per capita than any other country in the world.
  • Icelanders love their liquids -- specifically coffee and alcohol. In the winter they drink to distract themselves from the darkness and in the summer they drink to celebrate the light. AKA all year long they look for excuses to drink. 
I'm going to stop there before I embarrass myself. In these last couple of minutes, I am reminded of one of the best movies ever made, Winnie the Pooh (2011), when Christopher Robin leaves a note saying "GON OUT. BIZY. BACK SOON." Here's Pooh with the note as a visual aid:




Owl, being dumb and annoying, misinterprets this note as an S.O.S. from Christopher Robin, who they think has been kidnapped by a monster called the Backson. Here's Owl's description (in song form, naturally): 


"Its hide is like a shaggy rug
Its face a surly ugly mug
With 2 sharp horns atop its head
Between a mop of hair that's red
And in its nose a ring of gold 
It smells of monkey feet and mold 
Its toes are black, its fur is blue
I SWEAR THAT ALL I TELL YOU IS NOT MADE UP!"

Which all sounds about as credible as my Iceland facts from earlier. 

So, as a farewell before I get on this plane...


Dear the US of A, 

GON OUT. BIZY. BACK SOON.

Love, Charlie


(That was a stretch, the whole Backson story was really just a plug for Winnie the Pooh. Oops!)