Local Living in Iceland

Living in a town with under 500 people, it has been incredibly easy to meet locals. Our group sees the same people out in town and we see our neighbors every day. We have become friendly with those who work at the supermarket, the local restaurant, and the supervisors at the artist residency we are working at. During the three weeks we have spent in Skagaströnd, there have been many holidays celebrated in Iceland. Seaman’s Day, Icelandic National Day, and the 100 year anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in Iceland all fall in the month of June. On these days, people have been out celebrating in town and we have had the opportunity to meet locals our age. Luckily for us, we have encountered some really great people who are willing to help us with our projects and answer all of our questions about Iceland.

I can’t say that I have purchased anything too interesting while in Iceland. I decided to buy myself a puffin keychain as a souvenir, along with a minimalist print of an Iceland monster holding a snow cone. Some of my friends have made more intriguing purchases, such as a meal of whale meat or beautifully dyed fish leather. The currency in Iceland is the Icelandic Króna, where every thousand Króna converts to about $7.50 US dollars. The printed money here is incredibly beautiful, but anything under 500 Krona is a coin amount. All of us have acquired an unreal amount of change and it can be cumbersome to spend it without taking ten minutes to properly count it all out. Keeping a budget is not a hard task for me, but my group has found that it is easy to overspend here in Iceland. Most of us are trying to save up for when we go to Reykjavik next week!