I am fortunate to be on a program that is saturated in travel, encouraging a hands on learning approach! I mentioned this in my last post, but I did not get to mention all the incredible places we have been as I focused on my homestay… We started off the program with two weeks in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Reykjavik is where tourists spend most of their time and where about 30% of Iceland’s 300,000 people live. The number of people on the streets makes it feel like a bustling city, yet the small streets with little traffic and lack of skyscrapers makes it feel like a small city. We spent most of our days going to lectures taught by various professors, researchers, and experts on climate change from various perspectives. The days not in class, we went out and saw the touristy “must see” sights. We went on the Golden Circle Tour, visiting some of Iceland’s most visited and “most spectacular, beautiful”places. The tour takes you to Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss waterfall, and Þingvellir National Park. We also went to the geothermal energy plant that supplies energy to most of Southwest Iceland, learning about the extraction of the geothermal fluid and how they process the steam to create energy. Though the tour was full of tourists, the sights were incredible and it is completely understandable why everyone flocks to see them. We also went to Sólheimajökull glacier and climbed onto it! That was easily one of the best days of the trip because we climbed onto an ancient piece of ice and then went to see a bunch of incredible waterfalls after! It was both incredible and jarring to be on the glacier. Incredible because it is a massive piece of ancient ice that shapes the surrounding mountains and plays an important role in the arctic climate. Jarring because you could see the rate it was melting, the water rushing off of the receding glacier into the valley below. It was covered in black volcanic soot causing it to melt even faster, which provided some incredible aesthetics to photograph but broke my environmental heart at the same time. Another favorite day was when we went to Hengill, a geothermal area in which our program director does research on stream ecology. The area has many streams and rivers running through it, but each stream has different temperatures due to the geothermal area below, so the natural temperature differences provides a great place to do climate research. Not only did the scientific implications of this area interest me, but the area was breathtaking! After Reykjavik, we went to Greenland!! This is a hands down highlight from the abroad so far. We were in Nuuk for 2 weeks and it was unbelievable. I was entranced by the inuit culture and landscape, but heartbroken by the impacts of Danish colonization on the people. We had learned about social issues in Greenland prior to going, so it was hard to get that out of my head upon arrival. However, the people are all express so much joy and laughter and are incredibly friendly so I would have never known had we not learned about it. In Greenland we went on some amazing hikes, boat rides, and ate some delicious blueberries, and saw the most incredible northern lights I’ll ever see!! We stayed in the coolest hostel ever in the most beautiful area with an island that became a peninsula during low tide. One boat ride we went on was to the a glacier that is a part of the Greenland Ice sheet. A feeling similar to what I felt at Sólheimajökull, a feeling of excitement and sadness, came over me when we were there because it was a breathtaking seascape and some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen, but we were surrounded by chunks of glacier that are contributing to sea level rise slowly but surely. I have learned so much about climate change and its comprehensive impact on the world while on this abroad and seen so many first hand impacts and I am so grateful I have been able to be on it.
