We will explore Iceland's stark, natural beauty, its rich saga literature written in its ancient language, and its
unique geological location on the mid-Atlantic rift. Students will also consider how these factors have combined to forge
the identity of the Icelandic people who are uniquely literate, independent, and tech-savvy.
Sunday, March 9
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
- Winston Churchhill
All eighteen of us left O'Hare pumped up and ready to go to Iceland. By the time we arrived in Akureyri, our final destination, all of us felt like we had just run a marathon. We had liberal amounts of coffee to keep us going through the many hours of intense travel, along with the excitement of wanting to see the "Land of Fire and Ice." Once we got off the plane from Minnesota to Reykjavik, we felt like we finally reached our destination. However, we still had about one and a half more hours of fun traveling until we reached Akureyri. Our "buddies" from the school in Iceland gave us warm greetings at the airport and drove us to school in their cars, which is a pretty generous notion considering that gas is about $7.95 a gallon.
Monday, March 10
Upon our arrival in Reykjavik, we rode a bus to a domestic airport, where we then took a short flight to Akureyri. We were welcomed by our Icelandic student partners who helped us out with our bags and drove us to their school. After a tour of the school and some pastries with chocolate milk, the students drove us to the hostel we're staying in. We were able to get settled in, and many of us immediately crashed and had a nice nap.
Once we woke up, we were only in for more adventure. Jonas, the teacher of our Icelandic partners, was able to give us a tour of Akureyri. At the end of our tour, we all went to the Akureyri local pools, which are a very prominent aspect of Icelandic culture and social life. After relaxing in the steaming hot pools, we ate some dinner at the school and went back to the hostel to catch up on some much needed sleep!
--Mr. Bowen |
