well, there wasn’t actually a blog last semester so you didn’t miss much…
Takk Fyrir Síðast Thank You for Last Time
“When Icelandic people have enjoyed a fun time together at a gathering, the next time they will meet, they will say “Thank you for last time”. They are thanking the other person for the fun they had at their last gathering.”
https://www.extremeiceland.is/en/travel-guide/3126-13-weird-icelandic-phrases-and-sayings
The next time I am in Akureyri I will say Takk Fyrir Síðast to the town (well, if I could speak Icelandic…lets just say I only learned a couple of words but Icelandic is really hard). I thought this first post would be a good place to reflect on my last semester before I spend the next in Copenhagen. This way you, the reader (whoever you may be— maybe its just me typing into the void, which my sister said texting me was like while in different time zones), can learn about my time in Iceland, or just look at the pretty pictures, while I can look back at my semester. It might be a bit of a longer post so buckle up (or just skim the post, you’ll probably learn the same amount of information) and enjoy some of my favorite memories from Iceland.
August
My dad came to Iceland with me so we could travel a bit through Iceland before heading to Akureyri. We traveled through the South and East—I have been to almost all regions of the island, West, West Fjords, North, East and South, now I just need to head into the interior—for four days before heading to my dorm. The cool thing about the Icelandic landscape is that it changes every 10 min so there is always something different to look at outside the window (unless you fall asleep in the car-sorry Dad).
After arriving in Akureyri, I settled into my dorm and explored the city for the few days before orientation. Akureyri is super walkable (in every type of weather expect snow storm and then you just put on spikes) and it is easier to walk then take the bus. During the first weekend there was a town celebration that included a free museum entrance and a free concert which was a great way to explore town (Akureyri has about 20,000 people maybe less). After multiple trips to Glerártorg (the mall) to get bedding, food and random things (another reason I was really glad my dad drove me from the airport to the dorm, thanks again Dad!), my dorm room was all set up and I was set for my semester in Akureyri.
September
Classes started in September. During the semester I took The Concept of Modernity, Modern Studies Seminar, the Arctic Circle Project, Introduction to Circumpolar Studies, and Icelandic Society, History and Culture. My classes at University of Akureyri had about the same number of people as classes at Wellesley which meant small, interactive classes. I also got to go on a field trip to the next fjord over with my history course (to a traditional turf house, the historical Catholic episcopal see in the North, and a Herring Museum), drive up to Húsavík with some friends for the day and spend some quality time outdoors while the weather was still decent.
turf house museum 
Herring Museum 
Hólar 
Dettifoss—the most powerful waterfall in Europe
October
In early October, a group of students from UA traveled to Reykjavik to volunteer at the Arctic Circle Conference held at Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center. It was one of my favorite experiences during my time in Iceland—I attended many interesting talks and learned a ton about the Arctic and Iceland. On October 22 the first snow storm hit. During the semester my friends and I would also have weekly Sunday dinners where we would all get together and cook food which was a really nice way to end the week.
downtown Akureyri 
on the bus to Reykjavik 
Harpa 
downtown Reykjavik 
my walk to school 
leaving the university 
sunday dinner 
northern lights over Akureyri 
both these photos were taken by one of my friends
If you want to learn more about the Arctic Circle Assembly: http://www.arcticcircle.org
If you want to learn about the Arctic Council (which is really interesting): https://arctic-council.org/index.php/en/about-us
November
As other European countries, the holiday season began in November (the mall put up their parking lot decorations on Halloween). Also in November is when the darkness really began to set in—by the end of my stay the sun was rising at 11:30 and setting at 3. The lack of daylight didn’t bother me too much, but it was odd walking to a 9:00 class in complete darkness and the sun only rising when that class let out at 11:30. One of my friends had a birthday in November so we went ice skating at Skautahöllin á Akureyri.
December
On December 1st, my friends and I went to this Christmas House in Akureyri which really got us in the holiday spirit. My classes and exams were over by December 6 but my ticket home was not booked until December 23rd, so I decided to head over to Ireland and Scotland (Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow) for a week before heading back to Iceland. Originally I was supposed to spend December 16-23 out in the East in Seydisfjordur (with a 3 day stay at the research station Skálanes), but the night before my flight back to Iceland I received an email that the snow storm Iceland had while I was away had blocked the roads so badly that we would be unable to reach Skálanes by car. In the end, I decided my best action would be to get an earlier flight home just incase there were more snowstorms. I ended my time in Iceland at the Blue Lagoon before flying home on December 16th.
A lot of people have asked me why Iceland? The first time I went to Iceland I went with my family on vacation for a week in July and I knew I had to go back. The following summer I took a summer course in the West Fjords through Wellesley and after started thinking about studying for a semester in Iceland. The landscape and scenery is amazing—my phone is filled with almost daily photos of the sky. Akureyri is a cute town and I loved living there. Of course there were moments were I felt isolated, especially not having a car in a place where everyone drives to get anywhere, and language barriers to get through, but I also got to learn about a history I new very little about and experience living in a different country. I am so happy I was able to study in Iceland and am looking forward to studying in Copenhagen—though I will go further into this in another post. People have asked me if I plan on returning to Iceland in the future and the answer is a resounding yes! As of now I don’t think I would move there, but Iceland has many places left for me to discover and if anyone needs a travel buddy to Iceland let me know!
Now we have come to the end of this long post. This was just kind of an overview of my last semester, but as a blog my up coming semester I’ll probably mention Iceland so this will maybe provide some background? Anyway, if you made it all the way through—thanks! Hopefully you enjoyed reading about/ looking at pictures of last semester and are still interested in learning about what I’ll be up to next semester. Until then…
Erika Leaves America 