fool, look in thy heart and write!

I decided that blogging is not a game because I would have lost all of the extra points I gained last week for not blogging sooner and I'm not in the mood to lose those extra points. Life has been repetitive but at the same time busy. Whenever I want to blog there isn't time and when there is time I feel like I would be repeating the same facts: homework, how bothersome colds are, I got to know someone better again, ect. Tonight I have time and new things to say.

I decided before coming to Iceland that I needed some phone detox time. (Okay, so it started out with me wanting to save on money by not getting a phone plan over here, but it has turned into a good detox experience). Have you ever noticed how dependent we (Americans/young people) are on our phone? If we're bored we'll look at our phones and text someone, especially when we're sitting alone in a public place. No one wants to look alone so we start texting to make it seem like we have a life. I'll be honest, I do that all the time. As soon as I got through security at the airport I wanted to text anyone because I was already missing that instant access to people. Being here in Iceland I have had moments when I wanted to take out my phone to text or even to look at it because I was alone in a public place. Just yesterday while I was at the doctor's I longed for a phone so I didn't look so lonely because I forgot to bring a book and I couldn't read the magazines (they are in Icelandic). But really, how ridiculous is that?! I can't sit for fifteen minutes without needing a connection to people. On a totally different side I am LOVING not having a phone. I don't need to worry about loosing it, dropping it, or turning it off during class. It also forces me to get out of my room and knock on someones door to see what they are up to instead of texting to see what they are doing. I have only had one moment here when a phone would have been nice. I was going to meet Charlize and Maggie for a movie and when I got there I found out that the movie was at a later time, but I had no way to let them know. They got there late, bought a ticket and went in without seeing me (because we were walking different ways to get there). It all worked out in the end because Charlize was still able to see the later movie with me because Maggie had a all access movie pass. The only other time I have fasted from something (besides last years lent) was back in 10th grade when I gave up makeup for a week. I learned a lot from that and am looking forward to the challenges and successes of a phone-free semester.

I am finding that there are some aspects of the Icelandic Culture that I love and some that I can't get over that they actually do them. Like mother's leave their babies in strollers outside while they go into a store, or they let their children run around without much or any supervision. Maybe we are too uptight for that to happen or maybe they are too trusting of others, I'm not sure. I am in an Icelandic Culture class but I am learning far more by leaving campus and placing myself in places where they are. Like coffee shops, restaurants, the streets, and the night life. Last Saturday I went to two very Icelandic places. The first was the swimming pool (which are heated and people go there to socialize). It was interesting to be outside in 40/50 df weather swimming and then it started to hail, oh Iceland. The second thing I did was go to a pub that night to listen to some free acoustic music by locals. I enjoyed the songs they had written themselves because it shows a lot about what they value. Even the songs in Icelandic were great because that's who they are and their language is beautiful. I will NOT be partaking in their food culture though, I could never eat puffin or whale. No thank you. And they still eat things like Hakarl which is shark peed on and buried in the ground for awhile and Svio which is sheep head. But I have been eating the candy, rhubarb jam, and lots of fish!

Yesterday was the perfect day ever. It started off by me receiving my student id for the school. (yay for finally being able to get discounts on coffee!) Class was great because I was interested in what we were talking about (This great poem I'll talk about later) and I made a doctor's appointment for that day. After that things continued to get better. The weather was 100% ideal for viewing the oceans and mountains. You could see every peak, valley, and the ocean was crystal clear. There was no way any of us could sit inside and do homework so thankfully Maggie had moldy bread and a group of us went to feed the ducks (thus the picture above). The rest of the afternoon we wandered around the city and walking down streets we haven't been down. My doctor's appointment didn't ruin my day either because nothing is wrong, its just a cold and I got medication now. wahoo. And while I was walking back from getting my medication I ran into more people from my dorm who were taking advantage of the great weather. (Gotta love a small city where you are always running into people you know). Weather days like yesterday make the rain/hail every 10 minutes bearable.

I had been ignoring my own journal as well as my blog and when I was in class and read Sir Philip Sidney's "Astrophil and Stella" line biting my trewand pen, beating myself for spite/"Fool," said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart and write" I knew I was guilty of allowing myself into a lull of letting my music express my feelings this past week instead of trying to express it myself. My professor explained that this was the first time in British Literature when an author was trying to be creative and not following the literary style of the age (King Arther stories). 7,000ish years later and people (myself included) still are reworking and rewriting what they have learned, read, or heard). When my afternoon class was canceled there was no doubt about it, today was my day to go and write. I left campus and walked toward the big church for no particular reason besides the fact that I am captivated by it. I love the truth behind the renovation the church is under-going. Even strong institutions that have been standing for years need fixing eventually. There is no point in fighting the renovation because change brings growth. I sat on a bench outside the church, taking in the beauty/majesty/peace/security of the church's steeple, wrote for fifteen minutes (until I was cold) and then I visited the coffee house without a name and finished up. I am now caught up in my journal and even wrote two poems (that are very terrible, I'll think about posting them after I give them more love, but don't hold your breath).

I have now been in Iceland for a month. Time is interesting here because it feels like I have been here longer than a month and that I have a ton of time left. In reality the weeks are trickling by rather fast (it's almost October and my birthday! ba). I am determined to do as much as possible while I am here because this is a once-in-a-life-time kind of a trip.

Random fact for closing this post: I can bake jaw-dropping-wow-that's-amazing banana bread. I never knew I could bake and I can't wait for more people to forget about their banana's so I can make more when they are all brown. :]