Hey guys!
So as I've mentioned a bit in recent posts, I had the privilege and honor to be able to return to Iceland for a month this summer, which will be the focus of this post.
I returned to the U.S. from Finland on May 31 after nearly nine months abroad, and spent a much-needed month doing nothing at home with my family (more to follow on that soon potentially). As needed as the month of down-time was, by the time I'd been home for a month with next to nothing to do, I was feeling pretty antsy and restless, in need of a bit of direction and adventure - feeling quite ready to head to Reykjavik.
I arrived on the morning of July 1, and after two years of absence from one of my favorite countries, which was host to such a beautiful formative experience, I can't accurately explain in words how it felt to break through the clouds, see the green of the Reykjanes Peninsula jut through our view of the North Atlantic, and touch down.
My dear, dear friend Sofia from Bologna, who I met on our first Icelandic program in the Westfjords two years ago, had also gotten into the Árni Magnússon Institute's summer program, and so a dream of many years was made even better. We got to room together in a beautiful, cozy, perfectly-sized little apartment on Leifsgata behind Hallgrímskirkja, and walked together to class every morning about twenty minutes away at the Institute, located on the main campus of the University of Iceland.
On our first day we were sorted into three different levels based on our Icelandic language backgrounds; since Sofia and I had both completed the A1/A2 level program in the Westfjords, we got to sit in the third and most advanced level, spending a month studying Icelandic with people from Switzerland, the UK, the Isle of Man specifically, Ireland, the U.S, Brazil, and Germany, which was a fantastic group that made for thought-provoking and stimulating conversation, in Icelandic, English, or whatever else. As fate would have it, our teacher was actually one of the teachers from my program two years ago (though not the one that had taught my own class)!
Recognizing that being immersed in Icelandic can be somewhat difficult in a place like Reykjavik, which sees so much tourism (particularly in the high summer) that the center of town can get rather flooded with English, every possible measure was taken to ensure that we'd have as immersive an environment as possible in the classroom, and with great success. I didn't realize how much progress I was truly making until the end, when I realized just how many new things I was able to say. A particular moment of triumph was meeting my friend Unnur, an Icelander who my dear friend Salma met at a European Youth Parliament event in Vienna a few years ago and put me in touch with. We got coffee together at a delightful little place called Stofan, and started out speaking Icelandic almost jokingly...and then spent almost two whole hours speaking Icelandic, in which I only had to resort to English a few times and made few grammatical mistakes! Aside from being a way to finally meet up with a great human, it was also a pivotal and defining moment in my Icelandic learning experience, when I found new confidence in my own abilities and felt unspeakably proud of the progress I'd made.
Overall I was immensely satisfied with the organization of the program and how everything was set up. We had a couple of excursions outside of the Reykjavik area, day trips which took us mostly to saga sites in the countryside, where we heard all about these tales of strife and conflict which are so important to Icelandic literature and culture. Dramatically beautiful natural spaces are never too far away in Iceland, and as compact and comfortable as Reykjavik is as an urban area, it was still wonderful to escape into the lava fields and flowering cliffs that make the country so unique and beautiful.
We also enjoyed a number of academic lectures at the Institute itself, by far my favorite was a private lecture with Jónína Leósdóttir, a prominent Icelandic writer and playright, wife to Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the first Icelandic female prime minister and the first openly lesbian head of state in the world. Jónína's literary work is well-known and very important, as much of it centers around coming-of-age stories for LGBT protagonists that have been unprecedented among Icelandic literature. But it was most incredible of all to hear her talk so openly and candidly of coming to terms with her identity in the early '80s in Iceland, having to hide the relationship that developed between her and Jóhanna for FIFTEEN years, and the euphoria of coming out and being eventually accepted by her family, buying a flat with Jóhanna, and eventually tying the knot as Iceland legalized same-sex marriage in 2010. Even though only Jónína was present, their love was so strong and perceptible to every person in the room, just by virtue of the way that she told their stories, and talked about her wife.
It's stories of queer perserverance, triumph, and representation like Jónína and Jóhanna's that provide so much hope, inspiration, and solidarity for the future, and showcase the beauty and bond of what it means to be part of the queer community.
Overall I did my best to make this a trip of establishing rhythms and routines in the city, fully immersing myself in to the experience. Although I didn't stay in Reykjavik for the actual program that I did my first time in Iceland, I was there for four days at the beginning and another at the end, so I still did most of the staple touristy things and got to know the city quite well. I went for long walks in different parts of the city that I didn't know. I tried different coffee shops when my wallet would allow, trying to find ones that were a bit off the beaten path tourist-wise. I went to the pool with Sofia nearly every day, as there was one less than two minutes away from our apartment on foot called Sundhöllin, and we also visited several others with program friends. Given the relationship that I have with Iceland, and the comfort that I feel in the place and its general atmosphere, that month was, in many ways, just as, if not even more restorative than the month that I spent with my parents in St. Louis prior.
Leaving Iceland is never easy, especially when it was such a calm and wonderful experience as this one. I miss it very much, but am hard at work on a Fulbright application which will hopefully allow me to go back and study Icelandic at the University of Iceland for at least a year if I get selected. Ég vona að þetta reddast.
Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned for more about Iceland soon.
Best,
Nico
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