Wow has Iceland been incredible!! The land of fire and ice – what a unique place to be studying abroad and studying climate change. The landscape is unlike anything I have ever seen before, especially coming from Florida. There are so few trees, but so many rocks and so much moss covering these rocks. Despite its name, the landscape is entirely green! Apparently one of the first settlers, a viking of course, was in the West Fjords at the top of the fjord during the middle of winter and called it the land of ice as he was looking over an ice covered area. It has been incredibly interesting to learn about the Icelandic sagas and hear how much pride the people take in these stories. They are incredibly proud of their viking heritage! Yes, it is definitely played up in Reykjavik to cater to the tourist invasion, but it is clear when talking to an Icelander that they love their country’s history. Part of my program was a three-week homestay in Ísafjörður, one of the biggest cities in the West Fjords, and my host parents loved to talk about the viking history and sagas. My host mom is a distant descendent of a rebel viking, which could mean I was too for 3 weeks…? The home stay has been one of my highlights! I was staying with a vibrant, funny, loving, adventurous couple with two of their eight children and their hilarious and adorable Icelandic sheepdog. It was so nice to learn about Iceland from the inside of a family in addition to the observations I have made through my time. Any question I had about their culture, they answered, but most of the time they filled me in before I even needed to ask!! Their house was right on the fjord, providing me an opportunity to get outside and hike on a beautiful, glacier-carved hill. One day several of my friends and I attempted to climb to the top, something my host mom had said was possible… However, as we hiked up the fjord-side we got so distracted by the endless amount of blueberries!! Blueberries grow wild in the Western fjords and we were there at peak season! We didn’t make it to the top because we could barely make it five feet without stopping to graze on blueberries. The blueberry leaves turn red during the fall so the side of the fjord was painted shades of red. The grasses were yellow, the few trees were turning yellow and it was the first time I had been surrounded by fall colors. I LOVE FALL!!! I happily walked our energetic and funny pup when I could, especially close to sunset when the golden hour lit the hills up. My host family took me and the other girl from my program that was staying with us all over the western fjords. We drove over them, through them, and around them to get to know the Western fjords. Their beauty never ceased to astonish me, easily making them my favorite place in Iceland we have gone. Each fjord has their own unique charm, but they are all have hills covered in blueberries, grasses, and the little green that was left. Though I loved taking our puppy on walks and spending time with the family, my favorite part of the homestay is when we went sheep herding! The sheep are allowed to roam through the fjords from spring to summer, but come fall they need to be herded and brought home. Communities come together and bring the sheep in. I went in thinking it would be a piece of cake, but it was much more difficult than I anticipated. The fjord was steep and the ground was slippery, leading to lots of sliding when trying to chase the sheep down. Despite the struggles of the process, it was so fun to be a part of such an integral part of their culture and to get a warm bowl of lamb soup after. I definitely had the best lamb I will ever eat while I was there. Overall, my time in Ísafjörður was beyond incredible following how my time in Iceland has been!
