Rain, Rain, Go Away

So I have been a bit neglectful of the blog lately, but I've been busy being in Iceland.  I hope you understand.  To make up for it, a super image heavy post!!

Saturday, I was lucky enough to meet up with Kent.  He's been living in Iceland for almost 10 years now, but is originally from Gimli.  He had some cousins from Seattle (Maryann and Brian) coming out, and was taking them on a tour, and invited me to come along.  It turns out they're my cousins as well!  It's a very very small world.  I didn't even know these people existed, yet I find them in Iceland.  Kent's friend Karen, who is here teaching for a year, also came out.  Here's the group.

 Left to Right: Kent, Maryann, Brian and Karen

Here is a random guy who jumped in the photo.  He's awesome.

Now don't be fooled by the nice weather in that shot.  That was Sunday.  We toured the Golden Circle Saturday, when the weather wasn't nearly as nice.  In a country where you can expect the weather to change every 15 minutes, it rained consistently all day.  We had expected it to clear up, because that's just what it does here.  Despite the wind, the rain, and the cold, touring the circle was amazing.  The scenery is fantastic.  I haven't been outside the metro area much, so it was a new sight for me.

Our first stop was Þingvettlir, the first Parliament in Iceland.  There is a huge, impressive cliff, as well as scenic destinations like the Drowning Pool, where unfaithful wives were executed after Christian law came into effect.  After that, we drove to Gullfoss, an amazing waterfall.  I can't wait to go back in the summer when there is a trail where you can walk right down to the falls.  We also had some great kjottsaupa, or lamb soup at the cafe there.  I haven't had much lamb since I've been here, which is a bit disappointing.

 Rocks.  Lots of rocks.

 The Drowning Pool

 The drowning pool now has a life preserver.

You can scuba dive here!

Because I haven't had any pictures of me yet.

 Gullfoss

Very wet.

After lunch, we braved the rain again to see Geysir and Strokkur, the geysers.  Geysir does not actually erupt anymore, which is too bad, because it is apparently the more impressive of the two.  I didn't get a picture of the eruption, because it was cold and rainy, and I just didn't have the patience for it.  I will be back before my trip ends for sure though.

 Colourful mountains.

So wet!  So cold!

The last stop was the church at Skálholt, where the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland (and his two sons) were executed after refusing to convert to Lutheranism.  In the church, a singer and organist were practicing, and the acoustics are amazing.  It was a very eerie but great moment to hear this beautiful music in an empty church, while a storm raged outside.  In the basement there is a museum dedicated to tombstones.  I was happy.

I was soaked by the end of the day, but I'm glad I got to see the circle in the winter season.  At home, I had a nap, and then headed out to a club in Reykjavik called Sodoma, where I saw this show.  A classical pianist named Vika, and the drummer Brian from Dresden Doll, playing heavy metal.  It was amazing.

Again, I apologize for any photo weirdness, I'm not doing much work to them anymore, because this monitor is so out of whack.  I will have so much editing to do when I get home.

Áfram Íslands!!! (Go Iceland!)

Handball is something I knew nothing about before I came here.  I thought that handball was like racquetball, but played with your hands.  Lucky for me, I find myself in Iceland in the middle of the World Championship of Handball (Team Handball that is, very different from the racquetball type sport), something that is a very big deal to Icelanders.

Anything that's a big deal has vevuzelas.

Iceland generally does quite well at handball.  They won silver in the 2008 Olympics.  And for such a small country, being able to beat other countries at anything is a big deal for national pride (see also Eurovision).  Last World Cup they came in third, and everyone has very high hopes for this time.

Handball is a sport that I can really only describe as a cross between soccer and basketball.  Teams of six try to throw a small ball into the opposite teams net.  You can only take so many steps without dribbling or passing.  And the really cool thing to me is that since the ball bounces, and the net is on the ground, you can bounce the ball around the goalie into the net.

 Photo from BBC, photographer uncredited.

Image Creative Commons from Wikimedia

Watching the past few games, it's really a very fast paced, very fun game to watch.  And though I've only been here two weeks, I've developed an intense national pride when it comes to sports.  The first few games Iceland was unbeatable.  We beat Japan by 14 points, which at first, I thought must mean that there was a scoring system like basketball.  Nope.  One goal is one point.  Iceland just rocks.  Here's a taste of that game.

Video from krizziix on Youtube.

However, in the second round of the tournament, we've now lost both the games we've played.  Not by a lot, but still disappointing.  I know everyone here was going in thinking we had a good chance of winning, but the losses to Germany and Spain put that hope on hold.  Next game is tonight against France, last years winner.  Hopefully we can do better!

Kaffitimi

There are a lot of things I like about Iceland so far, but the coffee is pretty stand out. It comes strong, and in large quantities. And there are no shortages of great kaffihus's around.

I had the day off on Sunday, so I headed to downtown Reykjavik.  Unfortunately, it was raining, and most shops and galleries were closed.  However, that made it the perfect day to sit inside and drink coffee.  Tiu Dropar seems to be a an institution here (at least Reykjavik Grapevine says so http://www.grapevine.is/media/pdf/bestof_grapevine.pdf).  The name literally means 10 drops, but it's a common expression to use here when you just want a bit more.  It's the Icelandic equivalent to a splash.

Hidden in a cozy basement on Reykjavik's equivalent of Osborne St, the place reminded me of Amma and Afi's house.  It's grandma-y, but that's the great thing about it.  I promise I will get some better pictures, but I'm so awkward taking pictures while I'm out and about.  I'm so concerned that I look too much like a tourist, or that I'm just freaking people out taking pictures everywhere.  Really, doing self portrait work has been more necessity for me than anything.

I have no idea what the little needlework hanger things are called, or really anything about them, other than I remember Amma having them, and I see them everywhere here.  Also the sort of needlework chair cushions they had on their dinning room set.  It all makes me very happy.

The food and coffee here were great too.  The coffee was good and strong, the sandwich came on nice thick Icelandic brown bread, which is not as common here as I thought it would be.  Neither is the coffee sock, which I thought was the official Icelandic way of making coffee.  Nope, that's really old fashioned.  What I have to go back and try is the skyrkakka.  Cake made out of the thick, amazing yogurt they have here.  Apparently it's amazing.

I have most of the weekend off, so I will likely be heading down to Reykjavik for my frimitimi (free time).  I'm going to try to get some shots tomorrow of protests that have been going on in reaction to the trial of 9 protesters who entered the Parliament in 2008.  Even the prime minister thinks the whole thing is a farce.  The 9 face up to 16 years in prison, yet so far none of the bank heads have gone to trial.  I was going to photograph today, but I read some wrong information on where the protests were being held, and wound up in an empty park.  Oh well.  They will be continuing, I'm sure.  Here's an article for anyone interested in the trials. Reykjavik 9 Trial

 Bless bless.

The Basics, and an Upadate, One Week In

Finally, I'm back.  It's been quite busy for me lately.  Getting used to new things, starting my job for real, and starting an intensive language class.  Things have been especially busy since the grandmother of the family I'm working for was in the hospital, so things weren't happening like they normally would.

I realize that I maybe didn't explain what I'm doing in Iceland, and that everyone who sees this may not have talked to me or my parents recently.  I've come here for 6 months to work as an au pair, which is a parents helper.  It's sort of like a nanny, but it's a specific cultural exchange visa set up, to provide a way for young people to travel cheaply and learn a new language.  Basically, I get my room and board, and a small allowance, and one of my flights paid for in exchange for 30 hours of week of childcare and light housekeeping.  The family I'm working for has three kids, one 6 year old, one 4, and a baby who will turn 1 later this month.

I'm living and working in a suburb of Reykjavik called Hafnarfjöður.  It's about a 20 minute drive from downtown Reykjavik or a 40 minute bus ride, which is not too bad.  I felt like I was so far away from everything when I arrived, now it doesn't seem bad at all.

Here is what my street looks like.

Mountains!  Crazy!  Not much snow here either.  The weather is very strange.  It snows on day, is gone the next, and then it is raining.

This is a very common sight around here.  I live in an area that was just being developed when the economic crash hit.  As a result, there are a lot of buildings around here that were either not finished, or are just sitting empty.  There is an area that I'm very excited to photograph that has paved roads, street lights, but no houses.  Eerie.

Please let me know how the photos are looking, I'm using a new camera, and an uncalibrated screen, so things might be a bit all over the place.

Bad Blogger

I promise, promise, promise I will have an actual new post up tomorrow.  I suddenly (and it's about time) decided to get serious about my digital photo organization and workflow, so instead of uploading photos, I've been setting up systems.  I've also been quite busy with the kids, my Icelandic class, and just life here in general. More so than I thought.

But tomorrow.  For sure.

I Have Arrived

I am here and settling in just fine.  Today is my 5th day here.  Not too much time for photography yet, I've been getting adjusted to my new life, cramming my head with Icelandic grammar, and trying to work out some sort of system of communication with the kids, who know less English than I thought.  I also know much less Icelandic than I thought.

I am living in Hafnarfjodur, a suburb of Reykjavik, and yesterday I had my first chance to check out downtown, the 101 postal code.  I stopped at Bæjarins best, a pilsur (hotdog) stand that is very likely Iceland's most popular restaurant.  People line up in the cold for these hotdogs, and I will say, they were good.  I'm sure there is some lamb in the hotdog, and they come served with perfectly crispy fried onions and a variety of awesome sauces.

I also participated in my first pub quiz that a group of expats hosts every month.  I had two Scotts who were longtime residents of Iceland, a Hollander and a Brit in my group, and the only strange thing I found was that I was the only one who wasn't there because I was dating/married to an Icelander.  I had a great time though, and got some good perspective from foreigners who have been living here for more than a decade.  Also, my trivia knowledge needs work.  I'm winning that thing next time.

Future days should provide more time for photography, with a better camera than the one used above.  I apologize for my terrible point and shoot.

Bles!