"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live."
Hans Christian Andersen
So this post will need to extend for either a few posts or a few days by the time I actually get all of the photos and content I want from the over 200 I took today and the apparent limits of the free blogging site, oh well. Anyway, the day began in my normal Iceland fashion with a quiet run, which for me in Iceland typically means run a few paces and stop to take photos of everything. It was a balmy 34 degrees and drizzling, but absolutely remarkable at every turn. So the photos will be from the run around Isafjörður. After breakfast we went over to the University Centre of the West Fjords where we had around 6 different presentations. We learned about healthcare in this remote region of around 7000 people, about the governance with the elected local council, about regional development, environmental history, avalanche risk, equity and justice in small scale fisheries, and impacts of climate change. The biggest growth sectors in this region are energy, tourism, seafood, and aquaculture. One of the biggest companies is one that just works with the skin of the fish. We heard about the investments in infrastructure as they aim to complete a sort of internal ring road that will support some sustainable growth and tourism. In this area of the country they do not have the geothermal energy as other areas of the country so they look to other energy sources such as hydro and wind. We heard more about tourism and saw it's effects in real time as three very large cruise ships came in to port for the day. Each presentation was engaging in a different way and hopefully more information for more posts. So I will post some photos now, it's about 11pm and completely light out. Then if I have enough energy I will post again with the afternoon event from the day, spoiler alert, a visit to the local school. Otherwise I will post again in the morning as we have a later start tomorrow before a boat ride to an island wildlife sanctuary.
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Our Fulbright group all flew out from various places in the US and arrived remarkably all within a half hour of each other into Reykjavik. We immediately got on to a bus and began the drive to the West Fjords, a region we did not get a chance to see in our first visit. This bus ride took all day, but we had a few stops along the way. The first stop was Erpsstaðir Creamery and farm. The owner gave us a brief history of the farm and his start in farming and then we got to taste the skyr(an Icelandic style yogurt). Then we went on a tour and saw the milking machine in action, what an impressive piece of machinery. Finally we ended with a sampling of their cheese and ice cream, all delicious.
We hopped back on the bus trying to stay awake for the beautiful views along the coast. Then the next stop was the Arctic Fox Center. Here we got to tour a small museum and see two Arctic foxes. The Arctic Fox is the only native land mammal in Iceland. After the brief visit there it was back on the bus for the final stretch to Isafjörður. Isafjörður will be our home for the next few days. Although the biggest town in the region, it is a quite small, but stunning fishing village. Well, it's been a long couple of days of travel. Time to try and sleep. Tomorrow the part 2 journey begins. Somehow I need to remember how I fit so many things in my suitcase on my last visit, it's a game of Tetris that I'm losing right now. So some book recommendations from Iceland, some Icelandic music, and some photos from last visit to distract myself from packing. First, I just finished "Secrets of the Sprakkar" by Eliza Reid, the First Lady of Iceland. It was a fascinating book which tells about her experiences and some other interesting women in Iceland. I also reread "How Iceland Changed the World" by Egill Bjarnason. This book gives a short history of Iceland in a fun, engaging way. We were fortunate to meet the author in our last visit to Iceland. I just started listening to "Lullabies for Piano and Cello" by Gabriel Ólafs. These lullabies were inspired by Viking heritage. Well, I need to get back to my losing packing battle. Iceland, here I come!
Never in my dreams did I ever expect this. A little less than 2 years ago I returned from my Fulbright Hays Seminar abroad in Iceland. Since then I worked on developing/re-developing my curriculum project. I developed other small lessons to use with my students. I gave interviews to our school community and local paper. I did presentations at the local, state, and national level. I forced my family to taste the dried fish I had brought back and annoyed them with constant references to Iceland. I shared my experiences in as many ways as possible.
Now in an unexpected twist of fate, I get to go back for a part 2 Fulbright Hays Seminar in Iceland. I am excited beyond belief to once again get the opportunity to immerse myself in this amazing place. I am excited to see new places, connect with new people, to learn what I can about the art, geography, nature, history, and much more. I am excited to take this learning and find more ways to incorporate this into my teaching and share that with others. But the thing I am most excited about is getting the opportunity to reconnect with the other K-8 Teachers and our Fulbright Iceland Hosts. This is one of the most dynamic, caring, hard-working group of people that I have ever had the pleasure to know. I am grateful to continue this journey with them in the Land of Fire and Ice. I have had a few days at home, so some thoughts in addition to more photos(apologies if there are repeat photos). I am just beginning to sort through the thousands of photos, notes, and documents and will continue to reflect and create.
Many thanks to the Fulbright Commission of Iceland and the US Department of Education for this immersive, experiential learning experience. It is really difficult to put into words how incredible this journey has been, and yet it is not over in many ways. I am inspired and energized to carry this forward and excited for what comes next. A quick post before I have to finish packing and head to the airport. The presentations were exhilarating as even though I have had conversations with the other educators about their projects it was inspiring to hear what everyone is doing and gave me more ideas of ways to use this experience. What a dedicated and dynamic group. After the presentations we had our final meal at Harpa, the concert venue. We had the place to ourselves and ate our dinner on the top floor overlooking the harbor. This morning I had time for my final Iceland run so I took some photos of my favorite spots. Time to finish packing.
We are in the final stretch which is hard to believe, bittersweet in many ways. Yesterday we visited Höfði House. This was the site of the 1986 summit between President Ronald Reagan and Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev. We were given a tour and heard stories about the summit and other events that have been held there. The house had several impressive artworks including work from Icelandic artist Louisa Matthíasdóttir(the sheep and portrait painting).
The rest of the day was spent working on projects, having some free time, and getting our PCR tests for return. Today is our final full day in Iceland. We head to the US Embassy in a few hours to give presentations on our work. Our curriculum projects are a work in progress that will be finished within a couple of months of our return so we will just give an overview of what we have done so far. My project is still based on how art is shaped by land, but I have so many ideas and things that I want to incorporate. It will take time to process all of this information that I have learned over the past few weeks to make sure that I have a quality product(s). After presentations at the Embassy we have a final dinner together. Again it is a bittersweet day as I have gained so much from the places and experiences and people. It has been a real pleasure going on this journey and I feel so very fortunate. I'm hoping to post some final reflections, plus I have many, many more photos, but it may take a few days. Off to get ready for the day. Continuing with more about yesterday's drive back to Reykjavik, after visiting the waterfalls and geyser we stop by Friðheimar greenhouse. At the greenhouse they grow mainly tomatoes using natural resources to optimize sustainability. They took us for a mini tour and we got to see the operations and one of the boxes of bees they use for pollination. In addition to the greenhouse and a horse farm they also have a restaurant where they use the slightly "damaged" tomatoes to make delicious food. We ate some of their tomato soup and homemade bread while sitting in the greenhouse.
After lunch we went for our final excursion of the day to visit Fagradalsfjall Volcano, which began erupting March 19, 2021. We have been extremely fortunate to have excellent weather throughout our whole trip so far, but it was fairly rainy and windy yesterday afternoon, so visibility was low. We put on our rain gear and met Dr Christopher Hamilton our expert guide who took us on a hike to see the lava flow. After a 20-30 minute hike through the rain and winds we reached the front edge of the flow. You could actually smell the lava before you could see it as it was fairly strong. Once we reached the front edge Dr Hamilton explained more about the eruption and the pattern of the lava. We were not able to see the vent because of the foggy weather and rain. We were able to go down to the edge of the flow as it was not actively flowing in that area and not hot just a bit warm to the touch. There were areas further away where you could see steam rising especially as the cool rain hit the surface. Yet again a truly remarkable experience. We spent the day in Reykjavik today doing a mini excursion which I'll try to post about tomorrow and working on our projects. More later, but I must get some rest tonight. Struggling with photo uploads and WiFi tonight, so I will need to finish the second part of this post later. We made our way back to Reykjavik tonight stopping by some truly unforgettable places. The first stop was Gullfoss waterfalls and although I still need to go back and review everything, I think these may have been my favorite waterfalls. The waterfalls were very large and the movements were interesting going through several rock formations. Then we saw a Geyser hot spring area with several mini pools and one large geyser that erupted every 5-8 minutes. The colors in the geyser were an iridescent blue and reminded me a lot of visiting Yellowstone National Park. It was a great start to the day and hard to believe it got even more exciting, but I will need to save the tomatoes and volcano until tomorrow with hopefully better WiFi.
Today began with a run with 2 other women up the hiking trail and then around the fields at the top of the cliff. We did this yesterday as well and it was great to run in a group, plus the weather was beautiful this morning. The first 3 photos were from the top of the cliff this morning on the run. Then we checked out of the hotel and continued south. First stop was Reynisfjara black sand beach which are the next 6 photos(Game of Thrones fans may recognize that north of the wall). We had a little time to explore, but the waves here are very strong and dangerous so it was from a distance. The next stop of the day was Skógafoss waterfall, the next 3 photos. Then Seljalandsfoss waterfall where I had enough time to go on the trail behind the waterfall. The final stop of the day was at the Saga Center in Hvolsvöllur where we heard a brief presentation on Njál's Saga. We have a brief night here in south Iceland before we head back to Reykjavik tomorrow.
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