Days 18-21

The past three days I’ve been volunteering at the Akranes Folk Museum for seven hours each day.  The flow of people is rather slow so I’ve spent most of my time cleaning the exhibits.  The lack of tasks to be done around the museum has given me a lot of time to work on practicing my Icelandic with Sigga – who is super patient with teaching me new phrases and talking to me slowly in Icelandic.  She has also given me plenty of recommendations for funny Icelandic TV shows to watch that will help my language skills!  After work each day I bike to Þorunn’s house for a post-work snack and then dinner a bit later (usually with one of her driving tours in between the snack and dinner).  Then Þorunn and I chat about her family for the rest of the night.  These past couple nights, Þorunn has been telling me a lot of stories about her different family members and ancestors that are interesting to hear.  She has also been describing the different stops she’d like to make during our trip to Akureyri this weekend.

On Thursday, I went to the Akranes lighthouse with Þorunn after work and even though the weather was super windy climbing up the lighthouse was still a fun experience.  It was very tall with staircases to four different levels on the inside.  On each level, there was also beautiful art exhibitions of pieces for sale.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to walk on the outside top floor of the lighthouse due to the high winds but there wouldn’t have been much of a view because it was overcast.  The weather in Akranes has been so rainy and windy this week that it has prevented me from exploring the town more by bike, which I would have liked to.  Friday after work, Þorunn drove me up by Akrafjall, the mountain by Akranes, where there was a great view over the city.  We also drove to a nice spot on the coast with a rock that had a place to sit carved out of it so you could sit and look at a view over the ocean.

Today, Þorunn, one of her daughter’s named Anna, Anna’s two year old daughter, and myself left Akranes in the morning to drive to Akureyri.  It was supposed to be something like a five hour drive without any stops but we stopped for lunch and in Sauðárkrókur (located in Skagafjörður), where Þorunn grew up.  We visited the houses of her sisters who both had dogs - one was an old black retriever and the other a fat pug!  Unfortunately, it rained for the entire drive and there was long periods of poor visibility – even fog all around us at one point so I was not able to see as much of the landscape as I would’ve liked.  However, I was able to see some amazing lava fields near Borganes and steep mountains on each side of a deep valley that we drove through near Akureyri.  We didn’t reach Akureyri until 7 pm so we bought a quick dinner at a grocery store and headed to the apartment of Þorunn’s eldest daughter (which is empty this week since her daughter is on vacation).  We will spend two full days in Akureyri then leave on Tuesday so it should be an enjoyable long weekend!  The weather was supposed to be around 80°F on Monday but now the forecast shows more rain and moderate temperatures.

More photos of the folk museum exhibits and one picture when it was sunny for about an hour outside!

The Akranes lighthouses and an old fish drying rack next to it.  Pictures of the newer Akranes lighthouse, which has been in used since 1947, are shown first then one picture of the older lighthouse built in 1880 is shown last.

 Pictures from our trip to the base of Akrafjall and the rock sitting spot on the coast:

Me with Anna's two year daughter, Þorunn's granddaughter:

Pictures of the drive from Akranes to Akureyri today:

Day 17

Today was my first day volunteering at the Akranes folk museum!  Essentially my job is to keep everything at the museum clean and work the front desk selling tickets.  I am lucky to be working with a girl my age, Sigga, who speaks good English and showed me around the museum.  I am looking forward to working with her every day since she has the same job as me!  She was so nice in answering all my questions about Akranes and gave me several tips for working on my Icelandic language skills.

The folk museum features a lot of old fishing equipment since fishing has been one of Akranes’ main industries for a long time.  Unfortunately, the museum is quite outdated so it is undergoing a lot of repairs and the curator is designing a new exhibit to make the museum more modern and attract more tourists and Icelanders.  The folk museum is composed of one central building with old houses contain different exhibits surrounding the central building.  One of these historic houses, which was donated to the museum by its owner after he died in 2006, is supposedly haunted by his ghost according to Sigga and the repairmen painting the outside of the museum.  There have been inexplicable events that have occurred in this house which are attributed to the presence of the old owner’s ghost.  I have yet to experience anything supernatural in the house but I will keep you posted.

After work, I went over to Þorunn’s house where we ate a little post work snack with bread, cheese, butter, and green onions.  Then Þorunn drove me to the local library to sign me up for a library card.  I’ve realized that she loves driving me places (she seems to keep coming up with places that she needs to show me around Akranes) and wants to share her passion for reading with me, hoping it will help me learn more Icelandic.  Next we ate a nice simple dinner with oven cooked chicken, French fries, cucumbers and tomatoes at her house while her husband and son watched the Iceland-Croatia football game.  Þorunn and I were quite busy discussing our common ancestors and where they lived in Iceland before emigrating.  She is very passionate about keeping track of her family tree so she has lots of information on our ancestors.  She even showed me some books that were records of people who emigrated from Iceland between 1870 and 1914 and had bookmarked the pages that had the names of my ancestors.

Sadly, Iceland ended up losing the football game against Croatia (1-2) and although I wasn’t able to see the majority of the game I did see Iceland’s goal.  Everyone seems pretty bummed about Iceland not making it further in the world cup because they were so eager to support their country’s first time making it the FIFA world cup.  After the game, I went to check out the local pool and swim some laps.  The hot pools were very nice but I missed having my Snorri friends to chat with at the pool.  Also, the pool was very empty due to the football game.  Nevertheless, I had a good time by myself at the pool enjoying the geothermally heated water.  Once I finished at the pool, I stopped by a small grocery store on my way back to the house where I am sleeping to pick up food items for packing myself lunch.  This week should be fun having Sigga around to keep me company at work and give me the chance to practice my Icelandic with her.  

I have noticed that the wind is definitely stronger here in Akranes than in Reykjavik since Akranes is less protected from coastal winds and has fewer buildings.  The strong wind makes biking around everywhere a cold and semi-difficult task but at least I will be in better biking shape by the end of these three weeks!  I probably won’t post for a couple days since my schedule is the same each day (working at the museum from 10-5 then eating dinner with Þorunn’s family).  I am very excited for the long weekend trip where Þorunn has planned for us to visit Akureyri and some other towns around there in Northern Iceland this Saturday through Tuesday!  Hopefully I’ll be able to meet up with some Snorris in Akureyri since there are at least seven of them doing their homestays there!

Some pictures from the folk museum:

A 400-500 year old walrus cranium with its long teeth still intact!

Day 16

Today was my last day with Svona.  Because it was a Monday and she had to work, her brother who is a school teacher (a car mechanic specialist) took me for a day trip.  There was good visibility today making it agreeable for sightseeing.  We went to many places including Mosfellsbær, Reykholt, Geysir, Gullfoss, and around Þingvallavatn by Þingvellir.  Mosfellsbær is where Svona’s borther lives and he showed me his apartment where he and his wife have an adorable ginger cat.  Then we wound through mountains and followed a geothermally heated water pipeline in the reverse direction back to the power station but unfortunately the facility’s gate was closed to visitors.  Then we stopped at Friðheimar in Reykholt where they were growing tomato plants in a greenhouse.  We ate some wonderfully fresh tomato soup with bread at the a restaurant in the greenhouse.  There were so many foreigners and tourists at the greenhouse restaurant speaking all kinds of languages.  I felt bad for Svona’s brother because when he tried to order food in Icelandic the employee didn’t understand him because they didn’t speak Icelandic.  So I had to order for the two of us which felt very odd.  Next, we drove to Geysir which is like Yellowstone National Park in that there are hot springs all around you and also a geyser that erupts in a consistent manner.  Geysir was so crowded with tourists and so very windy that I was thankful when he lent me a hat to wear.  After Geysir we visited Gullfoss, a massive waterfall that is also crowded with tourists on the walking paths.  Finally, we drove back around the northern side of Þingvallavatn and stopped for a minute where our common ancestors used to have a farm house near the lakeside.  The northern shore of the lake was decorated with many summer houses for Icelanders on vacation.  Then he drove me back to Svona’s workplace where both she and Þorunn, another Icelandic relative who I was to stay with, work in Reykjavik.  They showed me around their workplace: the National Energy Authority.  Then I moved my belongings to Þorunn’s car and she drove me to Akranes!  It was a beautiful drive that featured going through an underwater tunnel for several miles as a shortcut to the peninsula that Akranes is located on.  The tunnel is about 3.5 miles long and 541 feet underwater.  We passed by beautiful steep mountains and saw many farm animals grazing by the roadside.

Once we arrived at her house (where I will be eating dinner but not staying because there isn’t any extra space for me) I was able to meet her family.  She lives with her husband, Sigiður, her grandson Siggi Leo, and her daughter Anna along with Anna’s two year old child Linda.  Linda was very cute because soon after I arrived she ran up to me and said hi which is not normal (I was told she is quite shy).  But quickly the family realized it is because I generally look like Þorunn’s other daughter Margaret and Linda must have mistaken me for her.  Regardless, after a couple hours Linda warmed up to me and was giving me high fives and interacting with me as I showed her the photos I’ve taken so far.  I was happy to find that in her backyard, Þorunn has potatoes, rhubard, and green onions growing - all which I love to eat!  Hopefully, we can bake some happy marriage cake! After dinner Þorunn drove me to the grocery store so I could get breakfast food to keep at the house where I will be sleeping (the house of one of her daughter’s mother in law who I’ve heard doesn’t speak any English).  After dropping off my belongings and food at the mother in law’s house, Þorunn gave me a small tour around Akranes from her car.  She was so welcoming and friendly.  She showed me the lighthouse, harbor, swimming pool, bakery, beach and small forest with running trails, the folk museum where I will be volunteering, and finally some nearby farms where there are horses that I hope to visit again and learn more about animal care in Iceland if possible.  I am so excited for my stay in Akranes!  It seems like a pleasant small town that I will be able to get around easily by bike and grow used to where everything is located during my three weeks here.

I’m looking forward to my first day volunteering at the folk museum tomorrow!  We’ll see how it goes.  I will be working with a girl around my age so that should be fun!

Here are photos from my day trip:

Driving through the moutains around the southern part of Þingvallavatn

On the right above in the geothermal power station I describe driving by above.  Below is Friðheimar the tomato greenhouse where we stopped for lunch.  Also below shows the bees being used to pollinate the tomato plants.

Photos from the hot springs around Geysir and the huge waterfall Gullfoss (below):

 On my way to Akranes here is a not so great photo from the inside of the underwater tunnel:

 The mountains overlooking Akranes:

 Þorunn's house from the outside:

 Photos from my tour around Akranes with Þorunn:

 The sun finally coming out for evening after the day was over:

Day 14 + 15

These past few days I have been staying with my Icelandic relative, Svona, who is related to me through the Hannesdóttir Icelandic ancestry.  Yesterday and today were mostly filled with the same activity of going to the pool with one of Svona family members - yesterday I went to a pool with her sister and today I went to the pool with her niece.  Both days were different, new pools that had great facilities.  I often heard from her family members that they wouldn’t be able to survive in Iceland without having access to hot swimming pools.  I can understand why, since the cold weather all day makes your muscles tight and it is necessary to have a consistent place to go relax and be warm. 

The pool I went to yesterday had the smallest wave pool I’ve ever seen.  It was very amusing because it was so shallow and small yet all the kids loved it and had so fun much playing there.  After going to the pool, Svona’s mother ate dinner with us.  We had some great trout and potatoes while watching the Sweden-Germany football game (Germany won 2-1).  Last night we watched an Icelandic comedy all that had a funny plot but was difficult for me to understand since there were no subtitles and the actors often spoke too fast.

This morning, I met up with the other Snorri participant who is still in Reykjavik and went to the cultural house museum (photos below).  It had several interesting exhibits centered on specific themes and composed of pieces from different museums around Reykjavik.  Then, Svona’s niece Kristin took me to the pool with her little girl and her ex-partner (the father of the little girl).  Kristin told me about her international travels while we sat in the kids’ pool with her daughter.  She had gone to school in Denmark and then in Malaysia where she met her ex-partner (who is from Kenya).  He has lived in Iceland for about ten years and was a very interesting person to talk to.  He told me about his experience living in Iceland, which was such a change from his native land and how much Iceland has changed in the past ten years.  We talked about how much tourism has grown and the amount of immigrants working in Iceland that aren’t receiving the support and cultural recognition that they deserve.  Since he works as DJ with a main interest in reggae, he told me about the reggae scene in Iceland which I didn’t know even existed.  I believe he said there was around three bands performing reggae music, all of which he knew the members of.  I learned about his international university background in Japan and Malaysia.  During our conversation he told me some smart advice where he suggested all young people in their 20s should spend a year in a different culture to open their mind, understand the different ways people live, become more accepting of others, and gain consciousness about your own culture.  I do think that having young people interact with another culture would help open their mind to different perspectives but I also know that not everyone has the financial ability or freedom to live somewhere else for that long.

After going to the pool we met up with Svona and her mother at a café nearby.  They served delicious waffles at the café with jam and whipped cream which all of us happily ate.  Next, Svona and I went to see a movie called “Kona fer í stríð” or “Woman at war” at the university cinema.  The movie is about a single woman fighting against the local aluminum industry in order to protect the natural environment of Iceland.  I was planning on meeting up the other Snorri participant tonight for one last time before I go to Akranes for about 3 weeks but the very rainy and windy weather changed my mind in the end.

Here are some photos from the cultural hosue musuem:

A narwall tusk on the left and an interesting piece of art on the right above.

 A creepy wax figure of a random man as part of their exhibit focused on the different time points in life (with a lot of stuff related to death).

On the left: an artpiee with decorated with human hair surrounding the photo.  On the right: a very chilling description of a decaying dead body.

On a happier note here is a photo of a snack I got from the cafe we went to after the musuem:

A photo from the outisde of the pool I went to yesterday where you can see a fun slide I unfortunately didn't try out.

Finally here are some photos of a church in the neighbor where I'm staying that I thought looked cool: