Life in Akureyri

The Golden Triangle (day 10)

We left Hella (pronounced Hetla) first thing in the morning and headed towards Reykjavik to what is known as the "Golden Triangle"; the Alþing Parliament Buildings, Gullfoss, and the famous Geyser. First, we went to Gullfoss, one of the major and most commonly visited waterfalls by tourist in the area. It was freezing out and raining and really packed with people. Since the area is so close to Reykjavik tour buses come there continuously, we were totally not use to seeing this many people. So we were really not to excited stay long. The highlight of this stop was Alex (Russian) who thought he was from Siberia and therefore, didn’t need a coat! Dummy! He was shaking and cold and just looked at the falls, yelled I am from Siberia! And ran back to the car. I personally was getting a bit bored of waterfalls and in comparison to some of the ones we had seen on the trip it was not all that thrilling. Pretty but not top of my list of things to see in Iceland. Next, we moved on to the geyser. Everyone had been looking forward to seeing the geyser they just look so amazing on the postcards. The main geyser goes off every 10-12 minutes so there was a ton of people standing around with there cameras at their eyes just waiting. Once is goes off it is so fast it is very hard to take a photo plus you want to get a look at it without a camera in your face. I managed to get a great picture and could spend my time looking around and not concentrating on my camera. The temperatures of the geyser’s reach over 100 degrees and apparently every year some tourist gets burned by crossing the line and getting to close to the steam. Anyways there are multiple smaller geysers around the site and some that have burned out and are pretty colours and still steaming and bubbling. We skipped the Alþing because we were running short of time and needed to get into the city before dark. Alex is NOT a good driver so getting into the city was a bit stressful. I had to be the eyes and navigator which worked out okay actually. Alex was stressed but we found the hostel with little trouble and no accidents. We found the rooms (dorm style) and went to look around Reykjavik. I honestly don’t care for the city, it is nice but it is a city... I am a small town gal through and through! We went up to a famous lookout point and took some photos of the city and drove to the waterfront and walked around the harbour front. Everyone was getting tired and cold, because as normal in Iceland in the spring it was raining so we returned to the hostel for an early night. Tomorrow would be the last day of the trip and everyone was feeling a mixture of sadness and happiness to be home again. Travelling is the best thing ever, but returning to your home is always a great thing too. # - Andrea Merschilz - 5/9/07; 11:13:16 AM -

Interlude

This is a fast break between telling the tale of my road trip. Last night I attended a small group meeting called the Feminists of Akureyri. The group is made up of mostly female students as well as a few men. They meet once a week and talk about issues surrounding women in Iceland. The topic of last nights meeting was the perception of equality and treatment of women through the eyes of a foreigner. It was interesting to attend. The group is small and really just starting out, they are facing a few obsticles such as the word feminist here seems to be the equal of saying the F-word. They seem be be very energetic and excited but have yet to take many steps into the direction of action. As of yet they are just talking, it will be interesting to see how this group progresses and what power they choose to use in the future. I was also able to get some of my questions answered regarding social issues here in the north. They told me that most women go to the hospital for emotional support and there is a small group called The Force here that is available to listen but nothing in the way of a shelter. One girl told me about her friend who has been raped 3 times and has said nothing to the authorities because there is still a feeling that nothing will be done. Those that do decide to take action against such crimes or to leave an abusive relationship go to Reykjavik to avoid the town gossip. They believe that Akureyri is a small town with big gossip so the safety and anonymity of such a step is hard to take here. Even though it is a small step it was good to see that things are starting to happen within the community. Many of the students are studying law and nursing and in a few years time may be the founders of a great center here in Akureyri. # - Andrea Merschilz - 4/20/07; 5:08:03 AM -

Me? Teach????

So we have finally worked out the transportation issue for the road trip but it means two cars (which is cheaper) and the self proclaimed bad driver is driving! Lucky for us Stienn has been so kind to lend his car for some driving lessons. For the sake of confussion I will call good driver Alex, Alex and bad driver Alex, Saska. So last night Alex, Saska and I went out for the first driving experience in Iceland... it was interesting. Saska is not all that bad, but still a few scary moments. We drove to the ski hill and just around town. It was dark and getting hard for us to see so we went home after about an hour. Today Saska was dying to go again so we asked for Stienn's car again. He gave it but Alex said he didn't want to come.... so this is how I became the driving teacher! I have never had a license, with the epilepsy, everytime I get close I lose it again. So technically speaking I have been driving for 12 years, just never in a row! So I still know how to drive, my mom said I am a good drive does that count??? And my sister gave me her NEW MUSTANG to drive for two weeks with no trouble.... Anyways it started off pretty badly with him kind of sort of hitting the fence post at the end of the drive way... luckily Stienn didn't see it out the kitchen window and there was no damage... it was really just a tap. I can't believe I stayed in the car! Okay, so off we go to the main street of Akureyri, it isn't exactly a big town but the roads can be busy and Icelanders are not really known for their calm and relaxed driving habits. So we were both a little tense at this point. He did "okay" didn't hit anything, but we did stall sort of in an intersection which anyone that has ever learned to drive stick has done, paniced and than moved on. After getting out of the way of a few angry Icelandic cold glares we were off again. We drove out of town and passed the airport, I think we went about 20 km out of the city actually. The Fjord ended and it turned into an amazing landscape, with high snow covered moutains all around and waterfalls every few km. We decided to turn around and stop at all the interesting stops we had seen. First stop was just a beautiful landscape. We climbed over a barb-wire fence and into the hay fields, we walked onto the top of a rocky edge and took some photos (which I will post shortly) on the way back to the car I was looking at the section of fence we just climbed and realize that the next section over was missing the wire and we really didn't have to climb over in the first place... next the waterfall. It turned out that to get to it we had to park in someone's driveway and walk through their yard. I am sure it happens all the time! We climbed all the way to the top of the falls, to get there we had to jump over the small and close together areas and step from one rock to the next to pass. Saska, is in his 5th year of biology and studies plants, we found some edible plant and tried that. After a very scary and tough three point turn (more like 7 point turn) we were facing town and heading back. Since Saska can't take his eyes off the road I pointed out another waterfall and we went to explore it. This time we actually had to climb the fence into an old horse yard, walk through old horse pooh to reach the falls. This one was not nearly as exciting as the first I actually found the barn cats more entertaining, but hey thats just me! The last stop was really funny. If any of the Yukoners reading this have ever made the drive from Dawson City to Tok you will know the North Pole, well as it turns out there is one in Iceland too. This one is a lot smaller but equally cute. The owner of the shop took some photos for us, and I bought a candy cane for all the flatmates, Saska had never had one. We obviously made it home with no troubles (other than the fence in the driveway) and I have confidence that we will live through the road trip around Iceland! We leave on Good Friday... wish us luck! Oh a fast update about the internet bill.... the landlord stopped over a few nights ago and said she got the bill for March dropped by the company because they just started a new system of measuring usage without informing the clients, so I assume many people ended up with crazy high bills. Anyways March's bill is gone (it could have been close to Kr 100,000 which is a lot in Canadian) and that she paid the bill for February but would like if we paid half. so it ends up that we have to pay kr 3000 (not bad at all) and she will have unlimited usage internet hooked up again by the time we return from the trip... so everything has worked out and the landlord doesn't hate us and think we are downloading heaps of porn any more... this is what the guy at the computer store originally told her he thought we were doing!!! (we aren't!) # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/29/07; 10:15:24 AM -

Icelandic Weather

So all the stories you may have heard about the fast shift and change in Icelandic weather is all true. This week has been interesting thats for sure. Spring is here and with that has brought and mixture of gale force winds, blue sky, and rain.... oh did I mention that this all happens in the span of a few hours? In the morning I got up and it was beautiful outside, warm and sunny so the idiot I am I took the liner out of my jacket. I went to class and at 10am I planned to walk to the grocery store Netto. The walk was so cold, I think my teeth actually chattered together the whole way. It was not the actually temperature that made it cold but the wind coming off the sea. After shopping I decided to take the bus home because the wind was so strong. The next day (after putting my liner back in) I was walking home from school and wow! I don't know how I ever made it, with each step you took the wind would practically lift your other foot too. I would start on one side of the trail and after two steps be way over on the other side. The only way I have been able to describe it is to compare it to the scene in Mary Poppins when she arrives and all the other Nanny's and items on the street blow away. The wind is so loud and forcefull that is shakes the house and the noise has given many of us strange dreams. Eva actually heard the alarm clock for her morning class but was dreaming that if she went outside that she would blow away and be lost forever.... she didn't go to class that day. Now my dream was to strange for words.... even my sister said so.... I will just say this people could fly, and Donald Duck was my mother.... (sorry mom) We are getting closer and closer to the date of our road trip but we did recently hit a bit of a snag that hopefully will work itself out by Monday. To rent a car here that fits 7 people you have to be 23, now for many of us that would not be an issue, however; none of us can drive! Well not legally anyways... the only one that can is 22. We think we found one company that will rent to us and we will book the van on Monday. It was very stressful thinking that this trip might not be able to happen. Our only other option would be to rent two cars one an experienced driver and the other a self procraimed bad driver... none of us feel comfertable with that. We are suppose to set out on the 6th of April, now here comes the bad news.... my love Björk after much time of not touring is starting her 18 month world tour in Reykjavik (she lives in Iceland now) on April 9.... unfortunately we are traveling the opposite direction and I will not be able to make it to the show. My next option to see her though may be in Vancouver on May 24th... I think I fly in on the 23rd so I am going to look into spending an extra night and going to the show. Anyone want to meet me in Vancouver??? # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/25/07; 7:34:55 AM -

Back to the Basics

# - Andrea Merschilz - 3/20/07; 8:50:19 AM -

Its the little things

# - Andrea Merschilz - 3/14/07; 6:58:02 AM -

Arabian Nights

This weekend was the Universities yearly ball. I was told that it is considered the biggest event in Akureyri and after Saturday night I can see why. The use this bar called Sjallon, which is a beautiful location... huge dance floor, balcony overlooking and I think 4 bars. Anyways the theme this year was Arabian Nights but not very many people actually dressed up. The nights ticket included dinner, and the dance... the dinner was kr 4,000 which is close to $50 Canadian. So needless to say none of the exchange students went to the dinner section. But to go to the dance at midnight was only kr 1000. We had all planned to go but as always plans change and I was the only one in the house that went. I spent the day with my friend Gustavo and we actually met the guy that would be preforming that night. He is a famous singer here and competed a few years back on the Euro Vision Music Compition; for those that don't know it, it is like the European style America Idol. Iceland just finished their internal compition to decide who would represent them this year and the finals begin in May. Anyways, he was a really cool guy and put Gustavo and I on the VIP list. So when you are a poor exchange student you take anything free that is offered to you. When we arrived at midnight the place was pretty empty, dinner had finished and people than go home, change outfits (Iceland is all about fashion) and drink at home because drinking is very expensive. Within an hour the place was so packed that you could not move. The dance floor was jammed and the air was still. It really felt like there was no oxygen left in the building. Maya and I couldn't handle it and we moved to the lower floor were there are big leather couches. Next thing we knew it was 4:30 and the bar was closing. I heard later that there were also two buses of people in town from Reykjavik which explains the number of people. I didn't think there were that many students here in Akureyri.   # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/5/07; 12:42:50 PM -

International Pre/Post Natal group

I am so sorry it has been so long since I wrote anything, I wrote a few things and they did not end up getting posted I guess I didn't hit the right buttons! So this is a bit of a con't of the earlier posting I didn't even realize that much time had passed. I guess it has been kind of busy around here. Nothing to over the top exciting though. This week I had a midterm in my Deconstruction of the 20th Century class. It is a tough class so I was studying a lot. Plus on top of it all I got sick with a mild cold. Still feeling a bit stuffy but I eat a lot of ginger, all of those that work/ed with me at Boston Pizza know about my ginger theory. Anyways, back to life in Iceland. As I have said before I have been in touch with a pre/post natal group of International women so last weekend one woman, Rachael a University Law Prof and wife of one of my teachers contacted me and asked me to attand a meeting with them. It was at a women's home out in the country and there was about 10-12 women there with their children. It was nice to be in contact and talk to women about their experiences having a child here. Things are very different from North America in the terms of midwifery... both for the better and worse. Here a midwife is not only common but in the minority however. home births are rare. I was told that most midwives would do it at home but it is not common and water births are virtually non-existant. I guess there was an accident during a water birth a while back and now the midwives are somewhat afraid to do it. One women I talked to from England ask 3 people and only one would do it and she said she would rather not.  It really felt like being back at work with the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program and to top it off one of the babies look like a little clone of one of the baby's in Whitehorse. (Prema you would have died!!!). Other than isolation, language barriers and homesickness the women here are very healthy and seemingly happy. I hope to attand a group again, they are not an established program so their times of meeting are sort of ramdom. Many of the women are now working again so their normal meeting time of Wednesday has been changed to the weekends.   The next day my teacher (husband to Rachael) asked if I would be able to take care of their son, their sitter was ill and they were in a jam. So I said sure... the only way I am able to make money here would be babysitting. I took care of their son for 6 hours that day and he was great. Fun little guy (20 months) He is a little confused as far as talking goes though. Dad speaks Italian to him, mom English and the sitter Icelandic, so needless to say he hasn't said much yet! Anyways they paid me EXTREMELY well for my time and cooked me dinner. (this post was in need of a photo, eventhough it is not relivent) # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/4/07; 5:17:29 AM -

Baby Group

This morning I got up after a late night of cake baking and music sharing with some of the roommates and had received an email from this girl Rachael inviting me to the International Baby Group. Their group meets once a week and is mainly post natal women and baby's are up to two years old. The group is not like the CPNP (Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program) it is just some moms that found each other and take it upon themselves to meet and talk, share and drink tea while the babies play. There were women from literally all over the world there, Germany, Romania, Latvia and the UK. Most of them are married to Icelandin men and found it very hard to make friends so the group developed. We talked about the major differences in countries and the poticies regarding midwifery... that kind of stuff... things I love and most find boring! I had a good time and will likely go again next week. Yesterday was a day of big plans that all ended up going bust! We walked at the skating rink only to find a figure skating compitition cancelling the public skate, so we watched for a while and then went to a friends to warm up and have tea. Next we had plans to go out dancing and oddly for a Saturday night there was no good music playing and very few people out. The one bar we like normally has a good guitar player and last night Eva had to ask what the song was, Wonder Wall by Oasis... if you can't even recognize that then you know the guy sucks! Anyways we were all disappointed so we headed home. When we got here we were still wide awake so we pooled together foods and baked a cake! It was a lot of fun to be up at 4am baking chocolate cake, we impressed ourselves with what we could do with limited ingredients and skills! All about improv~ This week may be tough I am onto the mid-terms and first assignment due dates. Luckily I have been on top of writing papers (first time in my life) and shouldn't be to stressed.   # - Andrea Merschilz - 3/4/07; 5:15:37 AM -

BINGO and Dinner

Sunday was a very busy day for me, 2 of my roommates are Art students and have been trying to raise enough money to go on a field trip to Reykjavik. So they organized a Bingo which was held yesterday. There was a lot of people there and I think Steinn said they sold 600 bingo cards. Myself, Eva, Majya and Elias went and it was a good time, plus I had a crash course in Icelandic numbers! I was doing really well by the end... so I at least know up to 71. It was also Women's Day on Sunday so instead of calling the typical B-I-N-G-O they used women's names. Which I didn't clue onto until much later! Because gambling is not a popular thing here and it is not possible for them to give out money as gifts they went to multiple businesses and received donations. The prizes were amazing, and each game won many things, plus an original piece of art from one of the students. Eva and I were very disapointed not to win Steinn's or Gunhildur but luck for us we can commision work at a good price! I always buy art when I travel but getting it from a friend is very special. None of us won any of the prizes and we are all embarrassed to admitt that we had a lot of fun, especially Elias (being the man and all!) All of a sudden it was 5pm and we were suppose to be at Demean and Emily's for the big International Dinner. So we had to rush to get home and quickly cook... so needless to say we were an hour late. I couldn't come up with a good Canadian dish so I made pesto and spinach pizza. There were 9 counrties represented and the food was great. Oh and Saturday we did go to the Museum to see the exhibit of old nameless photos. The pictures were very cool, and it was nice to see that most of them had been named, or at least guessed at the location and time. We were also permitted to explore the rest of the museum for free because of this special show... as students on a major budget free is a good thing! So the rest was the history of Iceland and the history of Akureyri. Here we also saw the traditional style of dress of both men and the women. The women's dresses are very nice, and at BINGO there was a women wearing her dress. It was made by her mother who was born in 1901... yes we went to talk to her, we are foreigners after all! She was happy to tell us about the dress and how it was made. I guess they are very expensive and very difficult to make. But the desire to own one is growing among the young people. We took photos of her dress and us with her but they are on Eva's camara so I will post them as soon as I can. I was also finally able to get some photos of the swimming pool across the street from my house. In this photo you can actually see my kitchen (the yellow house behind the waterslide) This is a picture of the kiddy area which oddly is more popular with the adults... I go to the pool about 3 times a week... it is fantastic living so close. The best time to go is at night when it is cold. The hot water and the cold air create a really thick steam. When you are swimming in the pool you can't even see the other end. So yet again a weekend passed with little homework getting done... I did go to the University of Saturday to photocopy my readings, does that count for anything??? ps. I just wanted to clearify that I have been moving some of the updates into the links on the side panel. Ex. everything before I got here is now in the "getting it going" file and some of the first entries I made are in "life in Akureyri" thanks # - Andrea Merschilz - 2/19/07; 4:31:52 AM -

More Culture

This week has been relatively uneventful really, I was sick for a few days so didn't do much. However; yesterday I went to the Arts and Craft centre where workshops are held to teach traditional Icelandic crafts. All the work was amazing, and to use the space and tools are free but you do have to pay for materials... I am thinking of taking one workshop on Icelandic Viking jewlery. I just missed the last workshop so I will have to keep my eye on the weekly newspaper for the next one. After that Gunhildur, Magda and I went to watch an open practice of an upcoming play. (added on Feb 19th.... Steinn just watched the news and gunhildur and I were on when they showed the audience. I am going to try to catch it agian later) It was very interesting, the play is all physical so language was not an issue. The stage was built on hydrolics and lifts and shifts in all directions leaving the actors sliding from one end to the next and top to bottom. One of the scenes we saw was called "leap of faith" and I guess it really was because on more than one occation an actor fell off the stage. The play moves to Denmark on Tuesday and will tour Europe, not to return to Iceland until the fall... so I will not get to see the final product which is unfortunate. When everything is in place I think it will be wonderful. Today we are planning to visit the Museum to see a display of old Icelandic photos. The exhibit is call the "Unknown" I think and is made up of photos that no one seems to be able to place. The hope is that the photos will travel the country and people will see them and fill in the missing link of where they are from and maybe who took them. This is similar as to what I have seen done in the Yukon, like in the Dawson City Catholic Church. There are many photos with unnamed people just waiting to be recognized.   As mentioned in a previous post a friend from Austria has been bringing multiple kinds of fish to us on a regular basis. And so far so good, I am enjoying it a lot. We have plans to entertain him again tonight and than the "International Food Party" is on Sunday, I have decided to just go with one of my personal dishes of a pesto, spinich and tomato pizza... one problem is that I can't seem to find spinich. So some green leafy like item is taking the place. It tastes good so all should be fine! Plans for the trip around the country are coming alone well. But because of high river levels in April some of the roads we hoped to take will not be open. So I don't get to go to "Hell" which I was really hoping for! Ha ha ha. Oh well another time I guess.  # - Andrea Merschilz - 2/17/07; 3:45:09 AM -

Art Openings

This past weekend was very nice actually. I live with two Icelandic people that study at the school for fine arts so we tend to here about all the art exhibitions that are happening... plus we make them read us the news calender that says everything that will be happening in the city that week! Anyways this past weekend three shows opened so we went to all of them. The one women's work was beautiful, I actually met her with Steinn in her studio while the peices where still in progress so it was great to see them finished and hung on the walls. They exhibits were very small like 4 peices each but very skilled artists. Later that evening we had been invited to a gathering at a friends flat which was nice to get out of the Gula Villan for a night, so far we have been the entertainers and the common area can be small when all 9 roommates plus guests gather. We had some drinks, conversations and food than made our way downtown to the Café Amour to see some live music. It was a nice day! But, the next day I didn´t leave the house not even for a good detoxing at the pool! Eva and I were sitting in the hot tub a few days ago and a guy from Austria that is friends with Steinn started to talk to us, he works at a fishery and said he would bring us some fish. On Sunday I opened the front door and there was a Christmas bag filled with fish. he didn´t ring the bell, nothing just hung the fish and left! So we planned a "family" dinner and called him over as well. This all took place last night and the fish was wonderful. Now anyone that knows me, knows I hate seafood, so I was ready to eat my left over curry but shockingly I really liked it. The freshness of the fish really makes a big difference. There were 2 different types both white fish, one like a Cod fish and the other, I don't know what it would be called in English but it is a very popular fish here even though it is a bottom feeder... this fish is not like most it only has a face on one side of its head so we call it the one sided faced fish. So I guess after all these years I have found a fish I can eat the bottom feeding flat on sided face fish cooked with rosmary and veggies is very nice! We are having a pot luck dinner at our friends Emily and Demein's house this weekend, they are the couple from Alaska and the plan is to bring a dish from your country... any ideas Canada???? What is the Canadian National dish? Poutine? I have no idea. I have also been invited to a party on Saturday which is also themed... Carnival... I was thinking bearded lady...     # - Andrea Merschilz - 2/14/07; 6:17:05 AM -

Northern Lights

The past week has been pretty cold (-9) last night and very clear, perfect conditions for the Northern Lights. My roommate Eva is from the Czech Republic and had never seen the lights before, really she has been on a mission to see them. She stays up late every night and looks out the window every once in a while to see if they are visible. So a few nights ago at like 1am there was a poundinng at my door and Eva yelling Northern Lights!!! So I got up and went outside with her. They were very mild and light, closer to a white/blue then the vibrant green we see in the Canadian North. But she was so happy to finally see them. She took over 60 photos (some of which turned out very well) It was pretty cold and we realized the view would be just as good if not better from my bedroom. We sat in my window for at least an hour watching the sky. Last night again the lights appeared this time much brighter in colour, the new roommate from Belgium , Alexander (now 2 Alex's in the house) had also never seen them so we all got changed into winter ware and set out on a walk up the hill to find a dark clear view. We ended up in this area that overlooks the city from a clif and watched the lights. I have to say they were not that great... for sure very mild activity but it was fun to see two peoples reaction to the light for the first time. Now I know how I must have looked to all the Yukoners outside of the Kopper King bar the first time I saw them. I can't wait for them to see high activity they are going to go nuts!! Onto a social workers note** I recently had a meeting with one of my teachers regarding the material I missed prior to my arrival, he was chatting with me and I told him what I did back home for work (Pre and post natal work) he told me that his wife attends a program for foreign women with babies. He gave me an email address of another teacher that is also a part of the group so I emailed her for some more information. The program began not that long ago and was set up because statistics were showing a high rate of postpartum depression. They did not believe that this large amount of women could really be suffering with PPD so they called them all together to talk about the situation. As it turned out all of the foriegn women were in high isolation and having a hard time socializing and finding things to do with their babies. Many of the Icelandic women had pre-estabish social groups and they found it very hard to break into that circle. So they were all sitting home alone! This group now meets every two weeks which isn't a lot but it is helping them out and they look forward to the activities. It was interesting to hear about the programming that they organize, so much like Prema at the Victoria Faulker Prenatal Program! (big hug to you Prema). So I have contacted the organization and hope to do some volunteer work with the group. The organizer is out of the office for the next two weeks so I will have to wait to see what is happening and I will have to see if I can fit it in to my schedule, of course they meet on Wednesdays which is the day I have 3 lectures!!! I also set out on a walk to try to find the women's centre the other day but had no success. I think it is run out of someones home so I guess I will have to find another contact for this group, wish me luck. I actually brought the topic up in my Anthropology class, the teacher was talking about the high rate of domestic violence in "other" northern areas such as Greenland. So another student asked if there was anything being done to help these people and make changes.... than the teacher asked if anyone had anyother questions so I couldn't resist the chance to questions this topic further. I asked what Iceland is doing to help with the situation of domestic violence, there are 300,000 people here and one shelter for the whole country whereas in the Yukon of 30,000 people we have 3? He danced around the question and than said he didn't think Iceland had such a high problem with the issue, he than went on to talk about the lives of people living on reservations and such. This was exactly what I expected, my roommate (Icelandic) said that this topic is still very underground and not talked about. So I guess I got my answer! Well I hope that wasn't to boring, it is very interesting and exciting for me! Bye for now,  Þakka.   # - Andrea Merschilz - 2/9/07; 4:03:24 AM -

Trip to Reykjavik

Out of the 8 people I live with 6 of us left on Thursday afternoon for 3 nights in Reykjavik. The University organizes this trip each year and there is space for 100 people. I think about 70-80 attended (two buses). Things are very openly different here surrounding alcohol. As soon as the bus moved the beer was cracked open. Everyone was drinking and the University provided it all!! At pit stops bottles of hard boozes were brought out so we could line up and do shots. The whole weekend was destine from the start to be a big bender! It took us about 7 hours to get to the city (seeing as we had to make so many pee breaks) it should only be 5 hours. The scenery on the way was very beautiful and we took photos from the bus which actually turned out. The one thing that really struck me was how quickly the land changes. One minute it is lakes and streams and the next mountains. The roads seem to run right at the base of the mountains which is different from the Yukon were the mountains often seem distant or on the other side of a mass valley. There are a lot of little quant farms and villages that I hope to get back to in April. The wild life is very slim and the biggest predator is the fox so the most exciting animals we saw were sheep and horses. However, the horses are pretty funny, they are very small and kind of chubby, actually they look more like the North American pony... I can’t wait until we go horseback riding. So we arrived in Reykjavik at around 8pm, and everyone changed and we went to a small bar were everyone did very bad karaoke and we played some pool. There is no where in Akureyri to play pool which is to bad because we had fun. It was a fairly early night in terms of Icelandic bars. During the week bars close at 2am but Fridays and Saturdays there is really no set closing time it seems that they close when things start to slow down (I haven’t made it to a close yet... 4:30am has been my latest). The next day (since this is a school trip) was set to be educational tours of local businesses. We went to a statistics bureau and the whole tour was in Icelandic. So seeing as the five of us didn’t have a clue what was going on we decided to go site seeing instead. It was crappy weather but we sucked it up and walked around the city centre for the day and visited a local Icelandic Art Gallery. On Sunday we walked to a museum that has a large dome roof with a balcony. This gives you a full view of the city. It was beautiful when we set out but as they say the weather here changes every 5 minutes so be the time we got there it was raining and windy. The wind was so strong and the balcony so icy that I was actually sliding along without walking. I felt like a kid! In spite of the weather we got a good view of Reykjavik. The whole plan of the day was to see this large weekend flea market, so we took a bus into the downtown area and started to ask people if they knew where it was. No one seemed to understand and thought we were asking for a free market. We saw a girl from the trip and she said "ya follow me on this bus I am going that way," so we got on the bus and it seemed to be a long ride so I asked her again if she was taking us to the market or the mall... oops! So we sat on the bus for an hour waiting to get back downtown. By the time we got back and figured out were to go the market was closed. So missed that one. But we made it back to the hotel in time to meet the group for a tour of the local brewery, which also is the local Coke plant. So we arrive and there is a fridge of beer/wine and a fridge of coke products. The tour was also in Icelandic but one guide walked with Eva and I and spoke in English. Needless to say by the end of the tour the fridge was empty! That night we went over to a friends house (Polish guy that we meet in Akureyri and he took us to this amazing club downtown. The DJ played great music and there was a live drummer playing along, this is the 4:30am night. We got back two hours before breakfast was served, ate and had a nap before getting on the bus 10 minutes before departure. It was a great weekend and I can’t wait to get back and spend more time in Reykjavik. Goðan day! (Slowly learning, but still not good at ALL) Andrea # - Andrea Merschilz - 2/6/07; 2:34:08 PM -

Lots Going On

So it has been along time since I reported and I would like to open up with saying congratulations to Heather and Mike Robinson on the birth of their baby boy!!! So I actually wrote a huge update and the internet shut off and I lost it so here I am starting from scratch and I am not sure where I ended. Anyways school is good, I seem to not have as much work as most terms even though I have an extra course. Here there are less assignments but a lot of reading to be done still. I am sure it will pick up, but as exchange students the foriegn learning classes tend to be made somewhat light. So I am a stress free gal right now (sorry to the rest of you in school, I know you aren't feeling the same). This week our roommate from Sibera Alex arrived so we decided to go out to a local cafe, Kaffi Amour where a local guy was playing and singing acoustic music. He played a lot of Westerm music as well as Icelandic songs. Everyone danced and it was a lot of fun. I bought my first alcoholic beverage here in Iceland a glass of red wine, it was very expensive in comparison to Canadian standards but worth it... I have been a trooper and even though I don't eat meat I have been trying all the new things offered. In the photo gallery you will see Steinn cutting up the smoked lambs leg... well I tried it, I didn't eat a lot of it but I can say yes, I tried and no I don't like it! Last night at the pool Alex met a few Russian fishermen in town and they invited him to the ship. He returned this evening with squid, now this did not look like the restaurant style breaded calamari, this was raw sqiud, dripping on the kitchen floor! He cut it into thin long strips and boiled it, and again yes I tried it. And again I didn't care for it, it had little flavour but I felt like I was chewing for way to long, it is very rubbery. We have finally met with a student council group that is organizing field trips and events for the international students. They are actually planning a trip to Reyjkavik for this weekend which 5 of us are going on. They expect close to 100 people to come and say it is the best field trip of the year. I guess they do it each year and honestly it is just a party. The drinking begins in the bus ride there and from what I hear does not end until Sunday night. So not a lot of homework gets done. Of course I will fit in some site seeing and Art Galleries as well. It is a 3 night stay and transportation is included all for less than a flight down. So it is a great deal. They also asked us what sort of activities we are interested, so we suggested hiking, horseback riding and the geothermal natural pools outside the city. They told us about a mountain sledding trip that could be fun, freakin' scary but fun.... pretty much tobogganing down a mountain. So after the weekend I should be able to write a good update and add some more photos. Now as far as my interest in doing volunteer work for a women's centre there is very little happening here. I had asked around to a few people and no one seemed to know anything so this morning after class I walked to the police station. The officer I spoke to didn't know and went to find someone else. He looked it up in the computer and found a group of women called AFLIÐ which means The Force, I have their address and phone number but it is not an established group so to speak more like an oncall service. I thought it was sad that there is nothing in place like the shelters/centres we have in the Yukon. I was talking to a roommate and he said that these issues are still very hidden here in Iceland. I will look into it further anyways.  hope everyone reading along is well and happy!! Take care.    # - Andrea Merschilz - 1/29/07; 5:21:35 PM -

New Photos Up

We have finally had a clear day and I was able to get out and take some photos of Akureyri. It is a small town so what I expected to be a long walk about the community actually only lasted a little over one hour. On the way to our friend Agust home we saw so many amazing homes and building so I wanted to get some photos while we still had light. I decided to go out without my map and wander. I planned on being somewhat lost and trying to find my way home without help considering I have only been downtown once I thought I would easily become lost, nope! This town is complex yet simple, the roads are curved and have no real establish pathway (Gunnhildur my roommate says that the streets were actually established through the pathways sheep took with their herder... it shows) yet there are so many distict features that are hard to miss and unforgetable that even when you really have no clue where you are you tend to spot something that leads you home. I don't think I have taken the same path home from school yet, I always feel confussed and lost but end up on the right street nontheless. Oh back to dinner at Agust's home, the home was amazing! The original half of the home was built in the 1840s and the owners have maintained authenticity. They have all antique funiture and beautiful artwork on the walls I felt like I was in an art gallary. There was also a modern addition to the home with a glass room for reading. Agust cooked an amazing meal, we really didn't feel like we deserved such hospitality for someone we just met. He also brought us two loaves of homemade bread two nights before. Today was my first day of class, starting at 8am, I haven't done that in a long time but I made it and it was nice to have the whole day off. At 6pm Mya and Finnish girl that live's here in Akureyri with her boyfriend came over and took Eva and I to the pools. We just live across the street but we had not gone yet. There are two large outdoor naturally heated pools plus multiple hot tubs of ranging temperatures and a steam room. Throughout the hour and a half that we were there we ran into 3 other roommates and 2 classmates. The pools are a very popular location in the evening and are very social. We sat in a large hot tub for at least 30 minutes talking, we all had prune hands and felt light headed so you know it is time to go home! It was a great avening and I plan to buy a pass for 30 entries. So yes, new photos are up and I will add some more but the flickr upload seems to take a while, it is a fairly poor connection sometimes Enjoy   # - Andrea Merschilz - 1/22/07; 4:11:26 PM -

Fogged in and dark

Well I have been here for five days and I still feel like I have not yet seen the town. Yes, I have gone out exploring and looking around but it has not stopped snowing since my arrival. It has either be heavily covered with snow or dark. There is very little sunlight, less then the Yukon actually. Last night the University hosted a compitition against students from Reyjkavik (50 of them are here) which included a lot of beer drinking and running around in the snow. It was funny to watch but we didn't stay for long. There were 50 of them and only two of us up there so we were pretty much left out of the events. The night before we had a few people over Finnish girl and her boyfriend who is from Akrueyri and a Chinese guy they took us out to the bars. There are two bigger bars with dance floors and we had a really good time there, because of all the Reyjkavik students all the bars were very busy.  The Chinese guy originally came here on a highschool exchange and has now returned to receive a University degree. Tonight we are going to his home for dinner. He live's with the same family has when he was in high school. As soon as the sky clears I will take some photos but so far it seems silly! Bless, (the only Icelandic word I can say so far.... meaning good-bye)   # - Andrea Merschilz - 1/21/07; 3:05:09 AM -

My Arrival in Akureyri

Well I am here at the Gula Villan, or Yellow House and it is for sure that. I am currently having a hard time getting the internet to connect so I will be writing and than posting at a later date so there may be a few different entries on the same day.   I got picked up at the Akureyri Airport at 2pm yesterday by a guy named Gummi and he gave me a tour of the school and city. The University is actually smaller than Yukon College, maybe the café and library combined would be the equivalent. Then he brought me to my new home. I currently live with 5 other people (2 Icelandic, 2 Polish and 1 from the Czech Republic) they all seem very nice and it should be okay. I got to pick my room so I took the middle of the 3rd floor. It is very long and has a huge window that faces the water. I was shocked that no one else took it. The swimming pools are right across the street and are heated at different temperatures making it possible to swim outdoors year round. So far it is very mild (-4 today) but it hasn´t stopped snowing all day. I was told I missed the coldest day in 2 years which was -15. This is the first striking difference between Iceland and Canada their idea of cold is pretty mild in Yukon standards.         I will be starting classes on Monday and 3 of my roommates are in the Intro the Icelandic language class as well. It should not be hard to catch up, one class actually has not started yet because there are a few of us that had issues with the visa and the teacher wanted to wait for us all to arrive.   Last night I was pretty beat so I showered and went to bed early, getting ready ended up being a bit funny... you know that saying that North American electronics don’t work in European plug? Well Iceland fits into that category! Thank god my laptop is fine with a higher voltage but as it turns out my alarm clock isn’t. Suddenly there was a loud POP and a really bad burning smell. So I decided not to try the blow dryer and picked up a new one today. So for now on I will be waking up to a battery operated Winnie the Pooh clock. # - Andrea Merschilz - 1/18/07; 7:14:43 AM -

Last update: Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 12:09:42 PM
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