I love my new neighbourhood to death. The surprising thing might be that it is definately at its best at night.
On Saturday night, after all the Eurovision craze, the following party with random people made me at last realize that I'm not made for the stereotypical exchange student living. Not like I didn't know that even before I came here, but that night it just finally struck. I have never felt like being so alone. I had to negate that somehow before going home, before even making an attempt to tuck myself into bed.
We've been blessed with a magnificently clear and sweet weather for the past couple of weeks, so I felt like doing the soul searching at the Seltjarnarnes peninsula beaches. The south side of the peninsula was being quite dimly lit, the sea an unstable and shapeless mass, the lights beckoning from Hafnarfjörður.
As I kept strolling forward, towards the western tip of the peninsula and the northern side of it, the sky started to change. The deep blue started to have slightest hints of yellow, which would later grow to golden. The sun that was turning and planning to rise in a somewhat immediate future also coloured the sea differently, the giving life and shapes for the waves approaching the shore. The water turned from a dark void to a moving organism. I felt calmer again, maybe, hopefully, learning even a little bit about my position in the universe. It was not drinking along those people of whom I barely knew a couple, it is at the serenity of the sea during a windy spring night.
Tonight, as I was coming home from a dinner, the view experience was completely different, but no less touching. A couple of hours earlier, the sky was spattered with a plenty of orange in addition to the blue and yellow. This time it was almost still, the same colours reproducing on the water surface, distorting the horizon. The sea looked so crystalline and shining that it was almost like one of those autumn mornings when you first see how the local pond got the thinnest shimmering layer of ice on it during the night.
My shortcut to the house cuts past the swimming pool and a couple of schools, and I was wondering why there were a couple of cars with their engines running at the parking lot. It became apparent very quickly though, as the scent of the sweet smoke reached me from surprisingly far.
And for me, being high on landscape was more than I'll ever need.
tiistai 15. toukokuuta 2007
tiistai 8. toukokuuta 2007
Life at the sidewalks
One of the essential Reykjavík area characteristics are the relatively narrow sidewalks. I haven't yet discovered whether this is the cause or the effect, but the local walking behaviour seems quite different from what I've used to. The Icelanders don't seem to like making way, so we foreigners end up sailing from one side to the another, dodging the determined looking locals walking their perfectly straight lines.
This naturally isn't a problem since I'm used to doing it anyway, but it makes me wonder what happens when two groups of Icelanders going to different directions meet at the narrow trodding paths. I never realized to observe, but based on my own experiences, I'm assuming an inevitable crash. Actually, I think that Mike Patton visited Iceland when working on Faith No More's Album of the Year and wrote the track Collision on Icelandic sidewalk behaviour.
No, the jokes aren't going to get any better. Suck it up and bear with me.
The narrowness makes the cycling a little tricky at times as well. While you'll definately attract more attention from the other traffic participants when you're on the saddle, there often isn't ample room to maneuver. As a result I find myself interacting on the other sidewalk users a lot more than I'm used to. The thankful headbobs and smiles, ushering someone else to go with a wave and the like are quickly becoming the second nature.
This naturally isn't a problem since I'm used to doing it anyway, but it makes me wonder what happens when two groups of Icelanders going to different directions meet at the narrow trodding paths. I never realized to observe, but based on my own experiences, I'm assuming an inevitable crash. Actually, I think that Mike Patton visited Iceland when working on Faith No More's Album of the Year and wrote the track Collision on Icelandic sidewalk behaviour.
No, the jokes aren't going to get any better. Suck it up and bear with me.
The narrowness makes the cycling a little tricky at times as well. While you'll definately attract more attention from the other traffic participants when you're on the saddle, there often isn't ample room to maneuver. As a result I find myself interacting on the other sidewalk users a lot more than I'm used to. The thankful headbobs and smiles, ushering someone else to go with a wave and the like are quickly becoming the second nature.
maanantai 7. toukokuuta 2007
You've come a long way, baby
Last week was so busy that I can't really believe that I still didn't make any progress with the history essay or acquire any furniture to my room. At least now I have a duvet, took care of the moving paperwork in Icelandic, dealt in many occasions with the customer service of my Finnish bank (keys to the online bank expired and they sent the new ones without any address, unsurprisingly they never arrived) and went to a police auction.
Speaking of the latter, it was for stray bicycles they had found, a tradition that's held in Finland as well. Most of the bikes were so new and good looking that I can't believe anyone would've just abandoned them, but oh well. This resulted in outrageous prices for some of them. I went there in hopes of picking up something old and rusty for a couple of thousand, but for two hours it looked like everything would either be out of my price range or a tricycle. The median price must've been over 10.000 ISK, some were going for well over 20k. Luckily at last something I wanted came up. An adult sized oldie that nobody else wanted, so I picked it up for a thousand. I was a little concerned since it looked quite worn out, but to my delight, turns out that it works almost flawlessly. The front gears are stuck but everything else is either fixed in two minutes or working as intended.
Two of my German co-habitants also went there, but failed to show sufficient perseverance and left after thirty minutes, being shocked by the prices the Icelanders were willing to pay for used bikes. I wanted to ride away from the auction with something though, so I stuck around, and got rewarded. When I rode it home, their curiosity and patriotism was sparked by the fact that it's apparently been made by a famous East German factory. Whenever I'm leaving Iceland, I think I'll be able to sell it to them for profit.
Especially since they apparently understood that my price announcement of "eitt þúsund" ment "eight thousand."
The weekend saw a surprise visit from a friend back Vaasa, who recently came to Iceland via Nordjobb and is living and working in Borgarnes now. She brought another svensk nordjobbare with her, and I got to act as a terrible tourist guide to the Big City as they both hadn't been there yet. We strolled around Perlan, Hallgrimskirkja and 101 during the day, before going back to some Seltjarnarnes touring, which was almost as much exploration for me as it was for them. The original plan was to cook at home and then dispatch to the Reykjavík nightlife, but as it usually goes, things didn't go like planned. Eating late, watching the sun peacefully set to the sea while having a couple of glasses of wine and having conversations with a wacky mix of Swedish, English and Finnish drained the energy.
Around 1 at the night we were still determined to go, but the Swede fell asleep on the couch shortly after, and looked so happy that waking her up would've just been too cruel, so instead the two of us just kept talking. The interesting thing is that the two of us didn't know much about each other or even talked before really, despite having started the same studies at the same time almost three years ago. One of the mysteries of life, it seems. How far you sometimes need to travel to learn to know a little from someone who has always lived so near.
Speaking of the latter, it was for stray bicycles they had found, a tradition that's held in Finland as well. Most of the bikes were so new and good looking that I can't believe anyone would've just abandoned them, but oh well. This resulted in outrageous prices for some of them. I went there in hopes of picking up something old and rusty for a couple of thousand, but for two hours it looked like everything would either be out of my price range or a tricycle. The median price must've been over 10.000 ISK, some were going for well over 20k. Luckily at last something I wanted came up. An adult sized oldie that nobody else wanted, so I picked it up for a thousand. I was a little concerned since it looked quite worn out, but to my delight, turns out that it works almost flawlessly. The front gears are stuck but everything else is either fixed in two minutes or working as intended.
Two of my German co-habitants also went there, but failed to show sufficient perseverance and left after thirty minutes, being shocked by the prices the Icelanders were willing to pay for used bikes. I wanted to ride away from the auction with something though, so I stuck around, and got rewarded. When I rode it home, their curiosity and patriotism was sparked by the fact that it's apparently been made by a famous East German factory. Whenever I'm leaving Iceland, I think I'll be able to sell it to them for profit.
Especially since they apparently understood that my price announcement of "eitt þúsund" ment "eight thousand."
The weekend saw a surprise visit from a friend back Vaasa, who recently came to Iceland via Nordjobb and is living and working in Borgarnes now. She brought another svensk nordjobbare with her, and I got to act as a terrible tourist guide to the Big City as they both hadn't been there yet. We strolled around Perlan, Hallgrimskirkja and 101 during the day, before going back to some Seltjarnarnes touring, which was almost as much exploration for me as it was for them. The original plan was to cook at home and then dispatch to the Reykjavík nightlife, but as it usually goes, things didn't go like planned. Eating late, watching the sun peacefully set to the sea while having a couple of glasses of wine and having conversations with a wacky mix of Swedish, English and Finnish drained the energy.
Around 1 at the night we were still determined to go, but the Swede fell asleep on the couch shortly after, and looked so happy that waking her up would've just been too cruel, so instead the two of us just kept talking. The interesting thing is that the two of us didn't know much about each other or even talked before really, despite having started the same studies at the same time almost three years ago. One of the mysteries of life, it seems. How far you sometimes need to travel to learn to know a little from someone who has always lived so near.
keskiviikko 2. toukokuuta 2007
A taste of Seltjarnarnes
Curious is the way things go.
I spent yesterday in one of the worst hangovers imaginable, which made the prospective moving business a little tricky. First of all, I had to get to Seltjarnarnes, so I got into a bus. A wrong one at that. How'd I manage that, I have no idea. Luckily I realized it soon enough.
After managing myself into a right bus, I wasn't completely sure where to drop off. I had tried to memorize the map of Seltjarnarnes since I didn't have anything printed. Luckily it ain't especially the biggest or the most wildly laid out town, so I managed to find the location quite efficiently. I also managed to control my bodily movement and the shaking apparently well enough to convince the folks renting the room to let me in. It turned out though that I sort of knew them from before. Have you ever shared a house with a German construction engineer, architect and plumber?
Me neither.
As of now, instead of noisy neighbours and non-existent household equipment, my room is lacking lighting, curtains, a bed and basically all other furniture, a door and an internet connection, but it's still an improvement over where I used to live. I can see a little sea from the yard, and to get to the shore for a proper panorama, I only have to walk a couple of minutes. The house of the single family flavour, a little on the older side, but definately cozy and on a beautiful neighbourhood. The services are close and the sweet, sweet Seltjarnarnes seawater pool is ten minutes away. Lovely.
The walk to downtown Reykjavík isn't much longer than it used to be either, but in addition to some furniture, acquiring a bike would probably be useful. I heard that the local police holds auctions for stray bikes in here too, and it should be soon.
I believe I will start wandering around tomorrow looking for a job, and whoever I talk about it to, seems very encouraging about finding one. Maybe I'll tempt fate and waltz into Morgunblaðið as well. And who knows, maybe I'll even have a door later this week!
I spent yesterday in one of the worst hangovers imaginable, which made the prospective moving business a little tricky. First of all, I had to get to Seltjarnarnes, so I got into a bus. A wrong one at that. How'd I manage that, I have no idea. Luckily I realized it soon enough.
After managing myself into a right bus, I wasn't completely sure where to drop off. I had tried to memorize the map of Seltjarnarnes since I didn't have anything printed. Luckily it ain't especially the biggest or the most wildly laid out town, so I managed to find the location quite efficiently. I also managed to control my bodily movement and the shaking apparently well enough to convince the folks renting the room to let me in. It turned out though that I sort of knew them from before. Have you ever shared a house with a German construction engineer, architect and plumber?
Me neither.
As of now, instead of noisy neighbours and non-existent household equipment, my room is lacking lighting, curtains, a bed and basically all other furniture, a door and an internet connection, but it's still an improvement over where I used to live. I can see a little sea from the yard, and to get to the shore for a proper panorama, I only have to walk a couple of minutes. The house of the single family flavour, a little on the older side, but definately cozy and on a beautiful neighbourhood. The services are close and the sweet, sweet Seltjarnarnes seawater pool is ten minutes away. Lovely.
The walk to downtown Reykjavík isn't much longer than it used to be either, but in addition to some furniture, acquiring a bike would probably be useful. I heard that the local police holds auctions for stray bikes in here too, and it should be soon.
I believe I will start wandering around tomorrow looking for a job, and whoever I talk about it to, seems very encouraging about finding one. Maybe I'll tempt fate and waltz into Morgunblaðið as well. And who knows, maybe I'll even have a door later this week!
lauantai 28. huhtikuuta 2007
Ég er búinn... eða er ég?
That's the second relief.
Despite that the concept of tests on Saturday seemed incomprehensible for many, the written part our Icelandic exam was this morning. Despite expecting a complete trainwreck after some truly bad preparation, I believe I managed to pass it. I know I still can't conjugate or decline very well, but it's all starting to come together better than two weeks ago.
Seven of us wandered to sit at babalú's terrace afterwards, and it was warm enough to drop the jacket. Afterwards five of us wandered towards the shore and picked up ice cream on the way, and found a spot where it wasn't absurdly windy. The relief of being done with the exam and the joy of having beautiful, springy weather caused the smiles be loose and the laughter loud. It was so good to be outside again.
I also registered myself as a job searcher yesterday, bought an absurdly big and cute giraffe mug for tea, and possibly found a new place to live in. It'll be a little more expensive than the (already expensive) price I'm paying now and it won't be furnished so I have to look up for a thing or two, but it'll probably be a lot more quiet, and it's in Seltjarnarnes. If it happens, the sea will be so very close in all directions, I get to visit the fun salt water pool more often, and won't be much further away from downtown Reykjavík as I'm now. It'll be an investment, but I think it could be worth it.
I don't really know what the future holds for me. I haven't got a job yet, but there's not much more to worry about studies, so I can devote myself for finding one. The friends I've made are mostly leaving the country in May. One thing is sure though - it'll be a different kind of summer. I'll try to make the most of it.
Despite that the concept of tests on Saturday seemed incomprehensible for many, the written part our Icelandic exam was this morning. Despite expecting a complete trainwreck after some truly bad preparation, I believe I managed to pass it. I know I still can't conjugate or decline very well, but it's all starting to come together better than two weeks ago.
Seven of us wandered to sit at babalú's terrace afterwards, and it was warm enough to drop the jacket. Afterwards five of us wandered towards the shore and picked up ice cream on the way, and found a spot where it wasn't absurdly windy. The relief of being done with the exam and the joy of having beautiful, springy weather caused the smiles be loose and the laughter loud. It was so good to be outside again.
I also registered myself as a job searcher yesterday, bought an absurdly big and cute giraffe mug for tea, and possibly found a new place to live in. It'll be a little more expensive than the (already expensive) price I'm paying now and it won't be furnished so I have to look up for a thing or two, but it'll probably be a lot more quiet, and it's in Seltjarnarnes. If it happens, the sea will be so very close in all directions, I get to visit the fun salt water pool more often, and won't be much further away from downtown Reykjavík as I'm now. It'll be an investment, but I think it could be worth it.
I don't really know what the future holds for me. I haven't got a job yet, but there's not much more to worry about studies, so I can devote myself for finding one. The friends I've made are mostly leaving the country in May. One thing is sure though - it'll be a different kind of summer. I'll try to make the most of it.
tiistai 24. huhtikuuta 2007
Oh boy!
I had the oral exam in Icelandic today. It was pair work, thus making it the most stressful thing I would have in my studies in here. We did fine, and I'm sure we both passed it. Such a relief. I've still got written exams in Icelandic and history coming up, but at least I'll only screw up my own stuff if I don't do well in those.
Now I can start committing myself to finding a job. And a new place to live in. That's long overdue, and not sure I can pull it off yet anyway, but at least I'll try harder.
Today I shall have a couple of exquisite and expensive ales, and not feel bad about it at all. It'll be rather chillax from now on.
Also, it looks like I may be able to pull off a curious move and go to the Big Chill festival in England in August. It'll be kickass. And Emmi, if you're still reading, check out these. Some very interesting Polish movie poster art right there. I wouldn't mind covering my walls with some of those.
Now I can start committing myself to finding a job. And a new place to live in. That's long overdue, and not sure I can pull it off yet anyway, but at least I'll try harder.
Today I shall have a couple of exquisite and expensive ales, and not feel bad about it at all. It'll be rather chillax from now on.
Also, it looks like I may be able to pull off a curious move and go to the Big Chill festival in England in August. It'll be kickass. And Emmi, if you're still reading, check out these. Some very interesting Polish movie poster art right there. I wouldn't mind covering my walls with some of those.
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