Day 40

Thursday we drove from Hófsos to Álftanes, passing through Reykjavik along the way.  With another great day of beautiful sunny weather we stopped at the side of the road to walk around Grábrók crater.  

After arriving at the hotel in the afternoon we visited the President’s house.  The current president of Iceland Guðni Jóhannesson is married to a Canadian woman!  He was very welcoming to us and has supported the Snorri program in the past.  We ate ponnukikur and a dessert that resembled vínarterta then were shown archeological ruins of the Danish government building when Denmark had control of Iceland.  After visiting the president, we had a Snorri program graduation ceremony at the hotel.  All the Snorri west participants, our Icelandic language teacher, and the Canadian ambassador came!  All the participants got a matching program T-shirt and each of us gave a short presentation about our experience in Iceland.  Then we had a delicious dinner and went to the Blue Lagoon!  At the Blue Lagoon we got a complimentary silica face mask and drink.  All the water was opaque and a whitish color from the natural silica present.  The lagoon area was huge with plenty of room for floating around.  

After the Blue Lagoon, the Snorri participants gathered to say goodbyes back at the hotel.  They all gave me a group hug since I was the first one to leave the next morning at 5 am from the hotel.  I will miss all of them!

The Snorri program experience was amazing and helped me reconnect with my Iceland roots as well as meet so many of my living Icelandic relatives.  I enjoyed each part of the Snorri program from the language classes to the homestay and work placement in Akranes to the West Iceland adventure tour.  The whole program went by so fast since I was enjoying it.  And I really was able to improve my Icelandic language skills throughout the program.  I would like to give a big thank you to the Snorri program, the National League of North America, Rosemary Guttormsson, the Icelandic Club of Greater Seattle, Islendingabók, and Icelandic Roots for their support that made this program possible!

It is on a bittersweet note that I leave Iceland.  I intend to stay in touch with the relatives and Snorri participants I have met during the program and will continue to work on my language skills.  I am looking forward to continue traveling in Europe for another month.  However, I am sad to leave Iceland and the feeling of being in the country where my ancestors lived which made me feel in touch with their culture.

Me in my Snorri program 2018 shirt on Friday morning at 5 am before flying to Oslo and a photo of the sun low on the horizon duirng my last evening in Iceland.