Enter Reykjavik

Hello! I’m back again but in Reykjavik this time. I have been here for about three days now; I arrived a day earlier than almost everyone else going and got to spend the day exploring on my own and then met up with everyone yesterday. Today was our first day of class and we had a small orientation and went over the syllabus for the first half and then went on a study tour of Reykjavik.

One of the first things we did when we first arrived was to take a tour of the school. The school looked so new and open. While there weren’t many kids there since finals had already been taken, I was surprised that the kids I did see looked older than us. Our professor explained that many of them started University around 20 years old, when we start around 18 years old. After the tour, we had to do a short introduction of ourselves for the professor and the rest of the group. Even though this is something that gets done in many orientations and people hate, I think I learned more about some of the people than I would have ever known. Our professor made us share the usual like where are you from, something about your family, a fun fact, but he also made us share a secret fact that hadn’t been told to anyone else in the group. Many people tried to combine the fun fact and secret but he made them come up with two different facts and some people had great stories to tell. One person shared a story about how she climbed up a mountain and came back down with a donkey which I don’t think anyone else in the group would’ve found out about this if it hadn’t been for the secret fact. Our professor had also done extensive research on what our first and last names meant and what each person’s origin was, so it was interesting to hear about everyone’s names during this introduction.

After the introduction, we were split into groups and were given the task of coming up with expectations for the course, the professors, and the group. This showed me that the professors care about knowing what we want to get out of the course and expect from them and one of them even said that they change the course slightly depending on what we expect from them. This stood out to me that they are willing to modify the course and their teaching depending on what we want.

The main idea that we learned about today was the pillars of Iceland: tourism, energy, and fisheries. I think that many people in the group, if not all, thought that Iceland was one of the most sustainable countries in the world. I was surprised to find that although they have a great set up for an economy, they don’t capitalize on it and end up with problems. I know that I had this misconception but I’m excited to hear about what they are doing currently and what changes should be made to capitalize on the economy more.

I have noticed some similarities when comparing Reykjavik to Boston. Currently, the temperature is about the same as back in Boston, around the 50’s and the wind is like the wind tunnels on campus. There is also a big church called Hallgrimskirkja on a hill. It can be seen from most places in the city and we call it our Prudential Center or North Star. If we are ever lost but can see the church and get there, we will be able to figure out where we are. Our hostel is also about 20-30 minutes away from the downtown area so being able to make it to the church helps us reach our destination.

While walking around the downtown and the outer parts of the city, I have noticed that the people here seem nice and friendly. When buying groceries at the store, I wasn’t sure if I could make exact change with the coins I had but the cashier helped me by picking the coins out of my hand. I also know of people on this trip with me that got lost and said the person they asked for help was friendly and gave them directions to where they wanted to go.

I have also noticed that in the Icelandic culture they have some different foods than we have. On the menus, there have been foods such as lamb and fish which are common in the U.S. but they also have puffin, fermented shark, and mink whale. Even though the traditional Icelandic meal is different than the tradition American meal, I am excited to try some Icelandic food and get the full experience of what they might eat daily. In addition, the food is more expensive than in the U.S. It seems like dinner can cost around $30 for one entrée when back home it would be at most $20! Today was a fun and enriching day and I can’t wait for more fun experiences.