I meant to do an update a couple days ago, but I always seem to let the time slip away. My days tend to blur together, so hopefully I can remember everything that has happened since my last post.
Thursday was our last day of class for the week. We had our "final," which was a debate over nuclear energy. I was on the side against nuclear, and I'd have to say that I think we did pretty good. Of course I am biased, but I think it's actually easier to argue against nuclear since there are quite a bit of disadvantages. Plus this whole summer we've been working on a renewable energy project, so our group stood by the fact that renewables are much better than nuclear. After the debate, we had a speaker that just graduated from the University of Akureyri. I'm not going to say she was the worst speaker ever, but she was certainly close. Holy cow, it was the most awkward and embarrassing lecture to sit through. It honestly seemed like she didn't know what she was talking about. Luckily after an hour it was over.
Dinner Thursday night was a whole mash up of Eurasian tastes. We had this wonderful spicy chicken dish that has some sort of curry in it, delicious sticky rice (I'm a huge fan of rice), and garlic bread. So none of it really went together, but it was all great. That night I just hung out at home with my Icelandic mom and brother. We watched several American shows, but they all had Icelandic subtitles which are exciting to look at.
Yesterday was another off day for us. We originally planned to hike across the fjord again since it didn't work out Wednesday. (Instead on Wednesday we went shopping and spent the afternoon at the pool. The slide at this particular pool was incredible and so fast. I swear Icelanders must be the happiest people ever just because they have so many pools) However, the weather didn't really agree with us again, so I just walked partway across the bridge that spans the fjord and then hung out in a bakery with another of the girls here.
That afternoon, Marty, my family, and I went fishing. It was so great. Marty and I both caught fish. We were pretty thrilled about that. Then when we were walking back to the car from the river, we had to go through a field that had Iceland horses in it. We managed to convince them to come over to us and we got to pet them and feed them. They were adorable and they had soft noses. A perfect way to end our fishing trip. Then once we got home, we had our fish for dinner. It was pretty cool to catch dinner and then eat it. We also had potatoes from the garden. Finally, last night I went downtown for a little and listened to a band that was playing outside on the circle in the center of town. They played both Icelandic and American music, so what I heard was a good mix.
This morning I got to sleep in, which was exactly what I needed. We've been walking all over and I feel like we go all day long, so I always crash at night. This evening my family here is having a barbecue which should be tasty. Then I'll probably come back downtown for a little and see what is happening with the festival.
Oh, I don't think I've actually mentioned the festival yet. It's called Verslunarmannahelgi, which is the shopkeepers holiday. Traditionally it was a time when all the shops were closed so the workers got some time off. Now, however, it seems like everything remains open and there's tons going on downtown. There's a giant stage set up and little booths with people selling the traditional carnival foods and toys. Lots of bands are playing in the bars around town, and basically there's just lots of things going on. This is the perfect weekend to be in Iceland because there are celebrations all over the country. I'm excited to see what will be going on this evening.
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