I left for Iceland a month ago today. It's strange - it feels like I haven't been here very long, yet I feel like I've crammed a lot into this short time. It's definitely moved into fall here. The leaves have turned to shades of orange and are beginning to fall off the trees. There aren't many trees here so the fall won't be as impressive as a Canadian fall, but I still enjoy this season. The days have gotten a lot shorter since I got here. The sun now sets around 2 1/2 hours earlier than in mid-August. There isn't any snow here in Reykjavik yet, but I'm sure it's on its way soon!
Yesterday I saw the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, and I didn't even realize it! I was walking on the university campus when I saw someone who looks like Ólafur exiting the main building. No one else was paying any attention to him, so I thought it must have just been someone who looked similar. I later found out that it actually WAS the President of Iceland! None of the Icelanders were excited to have the President in their vicinity. If this was the US, or even Canada, the country's leader would be surrounded by police on all sides and everyone would be watching. It was another reminder of how small Iceland really is.
I must comment here on Icelandic phonebooks. Normally I would never pick up a phonebook but Icelandic phonebooks are really strange. The entire population of the country is listed in alphabetical order...by first name. They don't really use surnames here, even for authority figures (If an Icelander spoke to the President he'd call him Ólafur, not Mr. Grímsson). I don't understand how you'd ever find the number of the person you're looking for, because there are always dozens of people with the same name. The number of Jón Jónssons runs into the hundreds. I tried looking up the phone number of the Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, but there were over a dozen people with that exact name in Reykjavik alone.
Tonight I'm having Icelandic sushi for the first time - can't wait, Japanese food is my favourite :D
Yayay Icelandic sushi!! :)
ReplyDeleteYour adventures sound SO awesome and the pictures are gorgeous! I am so glad you are having such a cool experience, it's going to be an awesome year :) Good luck at school and with the language!
-Jasmin
Hey Joseph
ReplyDeleteYour pictures from the glacier are amazing - I'm jealous of all the waterfalls you are seeing, not to mention government leaders! Not much chance of my bumping into Stephen Harper at Zehrs...perhaps that is a good thing! Look forward to seeing more about your adventures.
All the best from Mary Jo and Warren