Eighth Week

Sometimes a post-vacation needs two days of rest.

A fastlagsbulle made by a Swedish pastry chef gives a new meaning to Fat Tuesday.

Or maybe eating two and a half of them gives that a new meaning…

Scratch that, three days of rest are needed.

Everyone needs to go on someone else’s time for a night.

Arriving late and sober to costume party is scary. Seriously frightening.

Knitting makes even the fourth day of rest after a vacation feel productive.

The best way to break the monotony of four post-vacation rest days is another vacation.

Every clutch is different.

You can never have too much alcohol.

Cooking is like driving manual: both are cathartic.

Grilling meat makes you feel like a man, even if you can’t eat it because of lent.

Every group needs at least one class clown, but with five, hey, laugher’s the best medicine.

Battle-shots: finally a way to make battle-ship interesting.

Star-tanning is exactly what you think it is, plus something you’d not want to know.

Bacon is the best breakfast food, hands down.

Found blank CDs offer the best surprises, and catchiest songs.

When on vacation, always remember to “vacation” or not give one iota of cares.

Peeing on the side of a dead volcano makes you feel like a BA.

Everything is strangely green directly under the snow.

An insatiable urge to climb will make you question if you have mountain goat blood.

Icelandic side-roads were built for go-kart racing.  Not that I would attempt that in a car…

If you get bored of the landscape in Iceland, drive five more minutes.

It is hard to make pasta for a large group, and doesn’t get easier with very few large pots.

Don’t mix beer and wine and hard alcohol: especially in the same glass.

Pictures are the best way to piece together a fragmented night.  But do you want to know?

14 people over 2 nights go through a lot of cans.

When you borrow things, return them in better condition than you got them.

Café’s make you feel productive, even if you are being anything but.

Birthday tomorrow?  Well, guess you don’t have to wake up early for class tomorrow.

Seventh Week

Planning for a trip beforehand makes for a stress-free trip during.

Concentration in class wanes considerably when a vacation is on the horizon.

Knitting eliminates the awkward pause in a conversation.

Getting money from Iceland, even if it’s your own money back, is awesome.

Sometimes two groups of people can’t decide.   Oh well.

Wanting to vacation even more knowing it’s dangerous might make you crazy…or suicidal.

Seven people and their things, even packing lightly, take up a lot of room.

Getting out on the open road will brighten up anybody’s mood.

You cannot hold your breath for a six-kilometer long tunnel. (Maybe if you’re David Blaine.)

A pro of a whiteout: you can’t see that you are driving on a cliff’s edge, so no pressure.

A con of a whiteout:  you may be driving on a dangerous cliff edge and not know it!

If you haven’t realized it yet, everyone in Iceland apparently knows everyone else.

If there is one constant in Iceland, it is the price and deliciousness of hotdogs.

Sorcery Museum: proving early Icelanders were creepy.

Fjords are everything they are built up to be.  Gorgeous!

Arctic foxes are scarily fast.  This face is scarier by the fact that they are jet black.

Horse tastes like beef.

There’s no better way to end a stressful day of driving than an outdoor thermal pool.

The only way to top an outdoor pool is to add a clear night and slight aurora.  (Done.)

Hot chocolate was made to be drank in cabins.

Nothing wakes you up more effectively than a swim in the ocean.

Soaking in a thermal pool in an isolated fjord on a crisp morning is the definition of living.

Fjords’ beauty never fades, no matter how many there are.

A fishing town to only have fresh fish five days a week is strange.  Stupid weekends…

A one lane tunnel is a little bit frightening, especially when you a T-intersection.

Unpacking and repacking a seven person SUV becomes tedious.

Sampling different country’s food, is a great way to get to know cultures.

The game Uno should not take more than ten minutes to complete. What went wrong?

Mind where you put your wine, especially on a white tablecloth.

Butter isn’t the greatest substitute for oil, unless you plan on deep fat frying pancakes…

Someone’s got to be the dad of the trip (and jokester).  Step up.

Finding a natural thermal pool isn’t as easy as it seems on paper, even with a guide.

Seals make photographing them a whole lot easier by swimming up to you.

One person paying for everything avoids a confusing web of IOU’s.  (Unless you like math.)

A substitute makes you appreciate how a good teacher is able to make material interesting.

Sometimes an intense vacation requires a vacation from itself. 

Fifth & Sixth Week

You’re a 80s baby when you can dress up for the era using items already in your wardrobe.

Knitting is something every foreigner should learn.

Wool is cheaper than food.  If only you could eat it…

Coffee shops are the best places to do anything.

Two birthdays are always better than one.

Whale tastes less fishy and more like a salty steak.

Guilt tastes less bitter when you know your restaurant only kills one whale a year.

Hot dogs may not be the best drunk food, but dang are they amazing!

Homemade desserts are worth the sugar high for the taste of nostalgia.

Reykjavik is small town. You will randomly bump into everyone all the time.

Just cause someone’s so interesting you could talk until 8:00 doesn’t mean you should.

Studying two straight days for a test will burn you out. (Sometimes for an entire week.)

Brits don’t need to put ingredients on food products. I’d be concerned if it wasn’t so good.

Running into a 65kph rainstorm is exhilarating, a good workout, and painful on the face.

When heading into the countryside always dress warmer than you expect.

Super jeeps are the coolest, manliest things ever.  Terrain trembles before them.

Caves, no matter their size, are awesome, just watch your head… and feet.

Apparently wool keeps you warm even when wet.  My feet can verify that cotton doesn’t.

When soaked to the core, the best thing is a hot shower, hot chocolate, and Hot Rod.

Knitting is addictive.  Seriously.  And that’s a good thing when you’re cold and want a scarf.

Pipe organ is alright, but when you add a possessed, old-man warbler, it gets weird.

Projections are cool, but when you add a contortionist and demonic eye it gets weird.

Practically no buses run past 18:00.  Plan on walking.

Honestly though, remember to dress warm.  You’re in Iceland.  What’s wrong with you?!

Seeing a large movie collection is weird after only being able to stream movies.

Everyone needs a good heart to heart.  Just try not to have a breakdown on main street.

Large amounts of people walking around Reykjavik? Something must be up.

Being vegetarian is easy.  It’s working meat into meals that’s a challenge.

Windless days are weird.  Everything is too quiet.

1:30 is never too late to go out.

Sometimes you just need a really good stout.  When you do, pay whatever the price.

Fourth Week

Just cause you feel that you can eat anything after a workout doesn’t mean you should.

You can get tacky Icelandic souvenirs only if they are practical for everyday use.

Everyone needs a wool sweater from Iceland, even if you weren’t planning on it.

Icelandic wool sweaters are furnaces. I say that as a good thing.

Icelandic Scrabble® isn’t quite the same.  No English word uses a þ, and U is not 8 points.

Handball goalies need to be extremely flexible.

A wheel of fortune is less exciting when a spin costs you 1500kr and beer is on the line.

Opening a bank account makes everything feel real.  This is no normal vacation.

Icelanders love requiring pictures on everything, including debit cards.

Eating sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables is a challenge.

Most fellow foreign exchange students are tolerant and open to cultures.  Some are idiots.

Watching TV alone makes you feel lazy. Watching it in a group makes it an accomplishment.

Rabbit hair is incredibly soft.

Know what labels say.  Horse meat finds its way in a lot of things…and liver.

Relax.  Those sheep heads are only in the freezer because a Viking festival is approaching.

Texas hold’em takes a while to get back into.  Our maybe I just suck…

Orka is a good Icelandic energy drink, just don’t combine it with candy, you will feel it.

Large snowfalls will all but melt away in a matter of days leaving no trace.  What about it?

Get your fish at the market, and horse meat if you are so inclined.

Skype makes you wonder how exchange students communicated before the Internet.

There is a sense of pride from cooking all your meals at home.

Playing beer pong and flip cup makes one feel nostalgic for American college life.

As an American, your body will feel naturally inclined to quit partying at 2.  Resist the urge.

Bar close at 5 is tiring on a person who loves to dance.  Arrive late.

Humour doesn’t translate, especially when it’s being paraphrased to you in real time.

Staying up until 7:30 isn’t the same without the sun greeting you.

Double check bus schedules or you may be in for a long walk.

Ice-skating is fun anywhere, but it feels like the perfect activity in Iceland.  Even indoors.

All drivers are in a hurry, or at least that would explain having no patience for pedestrians.

Theatres put a ten-minute intermission in the middle of movies.  It’s annoying.

Missing home friends, loving Icelandic ones, and never wanting to leave?  Normal.

Three weeks into class? Sounds like the perfect time to do finally do homework time to me!

Third Week

When you pray for snow just for a break from the rain, you’ve been here long enough.

Bad teachers make bad classes, especially when you add annoying students.

Friends make studying for a test a little bit easier.

Shark smells god-awful and tastes worse.  Only try it to say you tried it.

America apparently has the lowest food prices of the industrial world. I’ll stop complaining.

Second Class sounds worse than a C, but First Class with Distinction sound better than an A.

21:00 is early to start an event, especially in Iceland.

Nicknames save everyone the embarrassment.

When your depth perception is sluggish, mind your teeth.  You could chip one.

Beef is an expensive treat, making burgers the best indulgence food ever.

You’re officially an Icelander when you give directions to a tourist.

After getting a taste for a buddy, you’ll want one for every aspect of your life.

It’s a small world after all.

Icelandic electo-pop songs are catchy.  Just don’t ask what the lyrics mean; it ruins them.

Follow the crowd; it normally leads to free beer and new people.

Even if you’re too tired to go out, don’t be surprised if you stay up until 3:00.

Take the school planned trips; they are exceptional deals.

Important deadlines are just a friendly suggestion, everyone’s happen to accommodate.

When you can walk up to a president’s house you know crime isn’t an issue in the country.

A raging ocean will calm the most troubled man.

Get used to naked people if you plan to swim in Iceland. Naked showers are mandatory.

When heading off to view the northern lights, don’t wear skinny jeans.  Layer!

The northern lights are unpredictable; don’t get your hopes too high.

It takes a Nordic tough to speak Icelandic; a Romanic tongue should just stop trying.

Two washers, one dryer, can only be used from 9 til 21? Yeah, that’s not going to work.

When your entire floor decides to be lazy and not do homework, don’t be a hero, join in.

Boiling hot soup, no matter how masterfully created, will burn your entire mouth.

The northern lights is most spectacular phenomenon in the universe, get your hopes up!

You need an expensive camera to capture the northern lights, or a friend with one.

A fortune amulet is the best give to get in the year of the dragon.

Don’t “wing it” with directions in the dentist district.

(Other Random Things to Round Out Life)

It hovers around freezing most of the day, a little less at night.

The cold isn’t bad, the wind is.

The sun setting at 18:30 seems normal.  It not rising before 10:00 doesn’t.

Military time takes a long time to get used to.

(Almost) Every door to exit a building you have to pull.

Yes that is a fire hazard, but there’s nothing that can be done.

Rarely will people know where Iowa is.

Good northern lights cover the entire sky and dance and shift before your eyes.

Icelandic girls are very attractive; the common belief behind this being that the Viking only brought the most attractive Brits to Iceland in the early days; I’d believe it.

Icelanders love coffee.

Every class, no matter the length, has a 10-minute break in the middle of it.

Several main buildings of the university were recently built, giving it a modern feel.

It is an uphill battle for me to remember foreign names.

I live in dorms a three-minute walk to the Háskólatorg (University Center).

Icelanders mainly know English from watching American TV shows; they rarely speak to between themselves, however, with most of them you couldn’t tell.

Second Week

You should care and put effort into every job you do, kitchen guard is no exception.

The first day of class is exciting no matter how old you get.

If things were effectively labeled, all the fun would be gone.

The best professors have long hair and British accents.

Budweiser is also a classy, expensive beer.  Don’t be surprised.

Classic rock sounds cooler in an Icelandic café.

Find a spot and make it your own, then invite your friends so you never have to leave.

Learn to love fish.  (Anchovies and sardines count.)

Only buy the amount of food you can carry comfortably; your body will thank you.

Wine classes up any party.

Knowing it’s the worst winter in 100 years is only a small concession for having to live in it.

90kph, sideways wind is fast and will nearly take a man off his feet.

Fashion is an afterthought in a blizzard.

7 digit cell phone numbers remind you you’re in a small country.

People are generally non-confrontation: don’t take advantage of it, just know it.

Working out in the metric system is a mentally, as well as physically, strenuous activity.

Directions are harder to give when you can’t pronounce or read any street names.

American clubbing music, whether you like it or not, has presence everywhere.

All women should wear Claddagh rings. The life of a male would be a lot easier.

Waking up two hours after the sunrise sounds a lot worse during an Icelandic winter.

Having my kennitala reminds me how inhuman I was without it.

290kr beer at a bar is cheap no matter where you’re from; just remember control.

When all us foreigners get together we are a force to be reckoned with.

Try authentic Chinese food- cooked by a Chinese person if you can.  So good.  So different.

Don’t spill oil, especially a whole bottle.

Foreigners will try to apologize for their English.  Don’t let them.

The honeymoon period is over.

When a quite night in begins to take a turn toward a loud night out, let it.

Knowing how to say your name in the local language is the only icebreaker you need.

Icelanders are very generous.

Stevie G is a cool name in any language.

Sometimes someone will randomly punch you in the face and apologize; go with the flow.

The craziest nights always have the best stories.

Soccer is a game best played by those that know how to play it, not by me.

Any game seems more legitimate when everyone wears the same jersey.

People start to feel like a family if you see them enough; be good to your family.

Even if you don’t have the energy, make an appearance.

Pond sized hot tubs are the best; they get better when you add a swim-up bar and ice cream.

Playing with mud is socially acceptable at a spa.
Sometimes the body needs a night of catching up on its favorite shows.  School can wait.

First Week

A five-hour plane ride filled with other exchange students goes by fast.

A pitch black, snowy climate is magical, even at 6:00AM.

Withdrawing 50,000 of any currency is nerve-racking, no matter the exchange rate.

If customs is the only guide, Iceland is a laid-back country.

Friends are easy to make when everyone is in the same boat.

Ask for help; it’ll save you from unknown cold and confusion.

Icelanders are not into clearing sidewalks:  mind your step.

If anything is worse than packing it’s unpacking.

A sunrise at 11:15AM throws off one’s internal clock.

Always wear a watch, or hang around a friend who does.  (I choose the latter).

Icelanders are really not into clearing sidewalks; seriously, be careful.

If the immigration office is the only guide, Iceland is a strict country.

The Icelandic language is nowhere near anything I’m familiar with, especially English.

Food is slightly more expensive.

Alcohol is way more expensive.

Tip included makes everything better.

Electronics literally blow up when they have the wrong voltage.

Waking up on time without sunlight or an alarm is difficult, if not impossible.

Always carry a pen.

The kennitala (Icelandic personal ID number) is God; God takes two weeks to process.

Humour is universal.

No easy access to the Internet is both freeing and crippling at the same time.

Hot water is ever plentiful but smells like rotten eggs.

In the dorms, company is only a door knock away.

A frozen lake looks a lot like an open field when it’s covered in ice.

A foreigner’s attempt at Icelandic pronunciation is comical. (Or at least mine is.)

Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

You learn a city best when you walk it.

Expectedly, Iceland shopping malls have a lot of cold-weather clothing.

Unexpectedly, clothing, and most consumer goods, are very expensive.

Making plans without cell phones or the Internet is oddly rewarding.

It’s sad to say goodbye to a friend, no matter how long you’ve known them.

Waking up to pitch darkness at 9:30AM is unsettling.

Coffee isn’t bad, the amount they give you is.

When in doubt, watch the locals.

Don’t go directly into the hottest hot tub; you body will rebel.

That rotten egg smell is because the water is volcanically heated in the presence of sulfer.

Never say no to an adventure; the cost will always be worth it.

The best plans are those that are flexible.

Un-traversable roads mean a completely different thing to those on vacation.

Like snowflakes, ice-scapes are endlessly different and breathtakingly beautiful.

Icelandic horses only look like they are going to kill you, they’re actually very friendly.

Nothing replenishes the spirit more than nature.

Geysers are a mystery of nature:  don’t over think them.

Know your vice in everyday life and indulge it every once and a while. (Mine is sweets.)

Nothing brings people together faster than driving cross-country.

Driving manual transmission is fun; everyone should learn how to do it.

Good company is hard to find, but great company seems effortless.

Toast and peanut butter is the only breakfast a person needs.  (Or maybe Havre Fras.)

90kph is only a suggestion, even in icy conditions.

The sun is fantastic; cherish cloudless days.

The body can handle ice cold water, the feet can’t.

No matter what coast you see it from, the ocean is hypnotic and peaceful.

Never-have-I-ever will always turn sexual.

Icelandic gas station hot dogs have to have something illegal in them:  so good.

Driving clutch is an art form; some people will never get art.

All good things must come to an end.

Rain and ice aren’t a good combination, carefully slide your feet and you won’t fall.

A lot of young Icelandic people are hipsters.

Unexpectedly running into people you know is always a pleasant surprise:  take advantage.

Pizza is the best post-drinking food ever, hands down, no matter the country.

Sometimes even if you slide your feet you will fall.  Get back up and power on.

Too many pictures?  That’s not a thing.

When you can, drop what you’re doing and be social.  If it’s important, you’ll find time later.

Show guests a good time and remember to be generous.

Make lists.  They make it harder to forget things you want to remember.