Vit Síggjast

Hi.

It's July 31st and I'm sitting in the same spot, right down to the chair, where I wrote my first blog post on August 10th of 2013 (Starbucks in the Copenhagen airport). The biggest goal of my exchange year has been fulfilled. It was light years harder to say goodbye to the Faroe Islands than it was to say goodbye to Minnesota.

I would tell you about my summer in the Faroes, but I would waste everyone's time by going through every detail, so I'll just say this. The weather was absolutely perfect, it was light out almost all day and night, I enjoyed a great music festival with friends (G! Festival), and spent the national holiday (Ólavsøka) saying goodbye to my friends, family and a country that has grown to hold its own special place in my heart.

And then suddenly it was time to leave.

It just can't be over yet. It can't just end, can it? Before I fell asleep last night, I was worried because I didn't feel sad at all. I didn't really feel excited either, I just felt nothing. I woke up this morning at 5:30am to mind heaps of messages from friends telling me to have a safe trip home, and that they will miss me, and then the tears came. They still haven't stopped. In the shower, in the car, at the airport, on the plane, and now in Starbucks.

I wouldn't call them sad tears. For sure, there is some sadness built up inside them, but there is also happiness. I have so much happiness and thankfulness and overall love for my year in the Faroe Islands. It was so much more than I could have ever hoped. I thought a place like this would only exist in my dreams. To find out that it's real, and that I got to live there and create a life for myself there, fills me with a powerful feeling of life. I know life isn't typically used as a feeling, but that's the only way I'm able to describe it. I'm feeling very life today.

I have so many emotions that it's not at all boring to spend endless hours sitting in airports and on planes. It gives me more time to think about how thankful, happy, sad, excited, drained, and how much I already miss my beautiful country.

I will be back. Maybe next year or maybe in five years, but I will be back. The Faroe Islands has become a part of my life in a way that I never thought it would. When you become an exchange student, you pay a certain price. Your life is split into two forever, and it's absolutely wonderful and absolutely terrible. You'll never feel completely at home again, because your heart is in two different places, both far away from each other. I'm afraid that I'll spend the rest of my life constantly "going home".

I want to give a genuine thank you to everyone that made my year possible, and I want you to know that I will try to pay it forward in the future... I am now a firm believer in the Rotary Exchange Program.

I arrive in Minnesota at 7pm this evening, so this will be my last post... Thank you to all who enjoyed reading. I certainly enjoyed writing.

Bye for now,

Katie

Euro Tour

I have been putting off writing for many weeks, because I have no idea how describe the events of my month away without trying to publish a novel. I've come to embrace the fact that this will be a long post, and I hope you all have enough time to sit through and enjoy reading it.

On the 15th of May, Isabelle (Rotary exchange student from Indiana) and I left the Faroe's and arrived very late that evening in Skagen, Denmark. The Eurotour began on May 17th, so we arrived in Denmark with two nights to spare before boarding the bus in Aalborg. Skagen is a small town at the top point of Denmark with a population of about 8,000 people. It's about a 45 minute drive from Aalborg, so I am still unsure as to why they had us stay there, but I'm glad we did. The town was full of little shops, cafes, and beaches at every corner. It was the perfect place to start our trip.

The day Eurotour began, I was actually pretty uneasy. Everyone on our bus had been together for the past year in Denmark, and I wasn't sure how accepting they would be in getting to know me. I have no idea what I was worried about. Making friends was not a problem, and I had no idea how hard it would be to say goodbye come the last days...

Our bus consisted of 62 exchange students from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, India, Japan, Canada, and more that I am unable to remember. It was an explosion of languages, accents, songs, clapping rhythms, and chants. I couldn't possibly have wished for anything better. I won't lie, it made me a bit resentful that I missed out on having the "exchange student experience" during my year in the Faroe's, but I was happy enough to have my month getting to know them, and wouldn't change the way my year turned out for anything.

The first night of the trip was spent in Berlin, Germany. We spent two nights in most places, other than Paris and Lido Di Jesolo (Italy), so we had a full day to do whatever it was our hearts desired in each city. In Berlin, our goal was to make it to the Holocaust museum, but the map got us lost and impulsive desire took over so we ended up spending the day wandering the city, playing with giant bubbles, and getting scammed, as every tourist should have the chance to experience.

The next stop was Prague. I don't know if it was the miraculously beautiful buildings, finally affordable prices, the best potato on a stick I've ever eaten, tourist friendly subway system, or overall "Golden City" atmosphere, but Prague stole my heart. If I were have to come up with an answer for my favorite city of the trip, Prague is it. We began the morning up at the Castle, and spent the day meandering down into the city by way of the Charles Bridge, certainly a highlight. And if I thought Prague was beautiful by day, the night life was just as incredible. Lights reflected off the golden buildings and it was as if the city never fell asleep. Music was always heard and people constantly filled the streets. I'd love to make it back some day. 

By day... 

By night ... 

The Golden City 

I watched these guys for at least 25 minutes. I took a video at the request of anyone who would like to hear. 

The next day we drove to Vienna, Austria, stopping at Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia along the way. I felt a bit uneasy about taking pictures inside the camp, so I don't have any to show, but it was an interesting experience to say the least. Our full day in Vienna was spent at the Natural History Museum (an activity I would recommend if ever you find yourself in Vienna), admiring St. Stephen's Cathedral in the city center, and enjoying some Austrian coffee and pastries in a charming pink accented coffee shop. The weather was on point, and overall it was a gorgeous time spent in Vienna, Austria. 

After Vienna we made our way to... Italy. Ahh, Italy. The land of pasta, gelato and stereotypical accents and hand gestures (which coincidentally happened to be 100% accurate). We spent three nights in a little Italian beach town called Lido Di Jesolo. The hotel was fantastic, a five minute walk from the beach, and the main street was lined with gelato shops and flip flops. It was a little piece of Italian heaven. La dolce vita, my friend. We got on the bus early on our first full day in Italy, to spend the day in Venice. Venice was more beautiful than the famous pictures. We looked on the outskirts and through every little ally way, and not an ugly site was to be found. It was, however, disappointingly hot, humid and a bit too touristy for my taste. But I managed to get ravioli and a gondola ride, so my Venice experience is complete. The next day was spent in Lido Di Jesolo, with absolutely no requirements other than to sleep until noon, spend the day on the beach, eat gelato, and go sing karaoke in the evening. It was a fun day to regroup, but the leaders had to distribute a bottle of aloe vera to each of the 62 exchange students that night in the hotel. Everyone looked like a tomato the next day except some of the South Americans, who are super humans immune to sunburn. 

A jumble of cities came between Italy and France. The drive between Lido Di Jesolo and Avignon was to long to go it in one day, so we spent an overnight in San Remo, Italy. I won't say much about San Remo other than the hotel reminded me too much of the movie The Shining and I have never had that kind of uneasy feeling in a city before. The next morning we drove to Avignon, France, making a day stop in Monte Carlo, Monaco along the way. We spent the day feeling out of place, looking at cars we couldn't afford in a lifetime, and checking out the spectacular view from the palace. 

Looked even more heavenly in person.

We made it to Avignon later that night, and ended up staying at the YMCA Youth Hostel just outside of Avignon. The next day we all traveled together to the Pont du Gard. The bridge was fantastic as well as its beautiful surroundings, and we enjoyed our morning by splashing in the river, taking pictures, and having a nice picnic. The rest of the day was spent in Avignon city center, riding the carousel a couple times and checking out the street vendors. 

The next morning we left for... wait for it... (insert Pink Panther theme song)... Paris. I was a bit worried about Paris at first because I wasn't sure if it would live up to the amazing city that it's said to be. Over the three nights we spent in Paris, I discovered that the praise was much well deserved. The night we arrived, we took a riverboat tour through the middle of Paris and "ooo"ed and "aah"ed as we fell in love with the city. We then continued to the Eiffel Tower and watched as the sun set, and the tower turned into a glowing piece of magical architecture. I felt outside of the moment, like I was watching myself watch the Eiffel Tower instead of looking straight at it. I still can't grasp the way I felt in that moment, other than that I loved the feeling more than anything. We returned to the hostel at a rather early hour, because sleep was an important ingredient for the following day. Although, I don't remember sleeping that much, as I was still on my Paris/Eiffel Tower high.
The next day we traveled as a group to the Louvre and spent our morning taking selfies with the Mona Lisa and posing with the Greek statues. After lunch, we took an hour long metro ride to... DISNEY LAND PARIS. DISNEY LAND PARIS. It was a refreshing afternoon that made turned everyone into happy five year olds, but at the same time homesick for their families.
Our last full day in Paris, we were left free to do whatever it was we desired. We began the day at the Eiffel Tower, and walked along the river until we reached the Love Lock bridge. My friend walking next to me and I found ourselves talking about how our parents met as we walked, one of the many side effects of Paris. We then circled around to the Champs Elysees, and ended at the Arc de Triomphe where we took the metro to the old graveyard in Paris. A strange location to go visit, but it was one of the most beautiful graveyards I've ever been in, and I got a picture with Jim Morrison's grave. We returned to the hostel for dinner, and then we were free to do whatever we wished that night. Of course, I returned to the Eiffel Tower for one last glimpse and a chance to go up inside. The view of Paris at night from the Eiffel Tower was just as stunning as the tower itself, and worth climbing up a crazy amount of steps. Overall, Paris was an absolute gem.

After Paris, things started to slow down a bit. We made a day trip to Brussels, Belgium on our way to Holland. I got a wonderfully delicious Belgian waffle, as well as some Belgian chocolate for the road, and a little statue of the "Peeing Boy". We stayed in a cozy hostel in Arnhem for two nights, and spent the full day in Amsterdam. I would have loved to visit the Van Gogh museum, but the line was three hours long, and we only had five hours to spend in Amsterdam. A reason to go back in the future. Amsterdam was beautiful, and we spent most of the day following the canal's and enjoying the perfect weather.

The next morning was rather quiet, as this was the day we would be driving back to Denmark and each of us would leave the bus one by one. Tears were shed and last hugs were given as we made our way up to Aalborg, making our stops along the way as people needed to get off. It was confusing that it was so difficult to say goodbye to people I had only known for 18 days. Exchange students bond quickly, and the bond is hard to break. I would just like to say, I am more than grateful to everyone on Bus 2 for giving me 18 days worth of memories to last the rest of my life. I love all of you wonderful people. Vi ses.

Sól í Føroyum!

I love almost everything about this country, but the winter weather gave me so much appreciation for the indoors. Winter here is not like winter in Minnesota. Minnesota winter is freezing and dry. Faroe Islands winter is cold, windy and wet... soaking wet. There were only a handful of days this winter that I came home completely dry. I got into the habit of leaving clean socks on the heater before I left for school. And let me tell you, putting warm socks on after stepping in a frozen puddle is an indescribably great feeling. The wet Faroese weather had a way of reminding me that it wasn't going away, too. I remember one day when the sky granted us with a dry, sunny day. I decided to go for a walk into the town, and as I was walking a car zoomed past and drenched me in yesterdays rain puddle. I had no words for that moment.

The past two weeks, after four months of the vicious soaking cycle, we have had fantastic weather. There has been sun, warmth, light, and no wind for weeks. The temperature feels like late fall in Minnesota, which is without a doubt, absolutely perfect. When the sun is shining, everything is different. The town looks bright and full of life. People are out walking, shopping, and the general vibe from everyone is fantastic. We have all completely forgotten about the four months of stepping outside to an ice bath, because when the weather in the islands is good, it's paradise. Maybe it's because everyone has been starved of Vitamin D for four months and now we are trying as hard as we can to eat the sun.

It is almost 8pm, and I am sitting outside on the deck writing this blog post. I will take a picture right now, and hopefully you will be able to grasp the feeling -

April 8th 2014, 7:55pm

The amount of light in the day is becoming very noticeable. The sun is fully up around 7:30am and it is completely dark around 9:30pm - and this is just the beginning. By the time July comes, the sun won't ever set. I can't wait. It is already so much easier to come up in the morning and stay up late on the weeknights (part of the culture I still need to latch on to). 

As for what I have been up to, I believe it's time for a little update. A few weekends ago, we went on an overnight adventure to a summerhouse out in a little village called Bøur. Those along were my host mom, Sunneva, my host sister, Daniella, my friend from Belgium, Loes, a friend of Daniella's, a friend of Sunneva's, Sunneva's friend's son, and his friend. All together we were 8. It was an absolutely lovely village, and a great view! I have only one word for the summerhouse that I can't translate into English, but I know you have heard me say it before - it was absolutely hugnaligt. We enjoyed walking around Bøur, enjoying tea and conversation, and overall relaxing on a Saturday night. It was wonderful. Here are some pictures from Bøur -

As we were leaving to head back to Havn from Bøur, Sunneva drove out to another little village called Gásadalur. When we arrived, we walked down a path on the side of a cliff, only to reveal the greatest waterfall I have ever seen in my life. I never thought I would ever be able to see something that spectacular in my life. The pictures really don't do it justice. 

There are few moments in life that leave you absolutely speechless. 90% of mine have occurred in the Faroe Islands, and this was one of them. 

I have been spending my days lately trying to soak up every last minute that I have here. Saying yes to everything, even when I don't feel like going out. Trying to find time to visit my host families. Being with friend whenever possible. Going to play football (soccer) even though I make a fool of myself trying. And if there's nothing else to do, just going outside. You never know who you will run in to. It's starting to sink in just how short my time here is, and just how fast it will go. 

In the near future-

I will be flying to Denmark on May 16th for EUROTOUR! The tour covers almost every place in Europe that I have dreamed of seeing. Our trip includes... Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Lido di Jesolo, Venice, Verona, Avignon, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. I can't even fathom myself just how excited I am for this adventure. I will be in Denmark until June 17th, over one month. I will miss everyone here so much, but I am looking forward to return to an amazing summer in the Faroe Islands. 

I'll leave it at this for now, bei! 

Katie

The Whale Culling

I have been wanting to right a blog post about this for a long time. 

Many people from the states have asked me about the article circling the internet which talks about the "Denmark Dolphin Slaughter". ... I have three corrections - the Faroe Islands is not Denmark, they are short finned pilot whales, and it is a culling, not a slaughter. 

Yes, whale culling's occur in the Faroe Islands. They have for hundreds of years. The whale culling is a very old cultural tradition for Faroese people. Because of the harsh North Atlantic weather, many fruits and vegetables are not able to grow on the islands, so hundreds of years ago the Faroese people used everything they could from the islands' nature - potatoes, fish, sheep, and pilot whale. That is the traditional Faroese diet. Now the Faroe Islands regularly receive all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meat, etc. by boat, but the whale culling continues with modern adjustments to preserve a part of the old Faroese culture. 

The culling's can occur all year round, but they tend to occur in the end of summer and early fall, as that's when the short finned pilot whale migrates through the part of the ocean surrounding the Faroe's. The Calderon Dolphin, or long finned pilot whale, is the animal that is referred to in many false articles regarding the culling. The short finned pilot whale is the only whale killed in the Faroese whale culling. The population of the short finned pilot whale is plentiful and thriving, and the Faroese people hunt about 0.1% of the species per year. International marine organizations have deemed the culling harmless to the population. 

The meat harvested from the culling is not put up for sale. Traditionally the harvest would be split into thirds - one third to the church to give to the poor, one third to the people who were involved in the culling, and one third to the people who reside in the village where the culling took place. Nowadays, half goes to the people involved and half goes to the village. 

A whale culling starts when a group of whales are spotted close to the islands. The spotter then calls the police, and the police announces it on the national radio. The spotter traditionally gets half of the biggest whale, and the first boat out to sea gets the other half. Only trained men are allowed to actually hunt the whales. The whale is killed with a cut to the spine and is dead within a matter of seconds. The animal is killed in the ocean, and as a result, the water spreads the blood around. This is why the pictures look so shocking, even for the Faroese people. 

The Faroese whale culling represents community and tradition. I believe that the culling is a huge part of the Faroese culture. The way they are executing the hunt today is a humane way to preserve their hundred year old tradition. 

Nowadays, the cultural aspects of many countries are getting washed away. The Faroe Islands is a country that, despite today's modern advances, is still extremely rich in culture. The Faroese people are proud of that, and I am more than proud to be having my exchange year here. 

Thanks for reading,

Katie

209 days down, 146 days left

Hey everyone!

A little update for you - I moved to my third host family on Saturday. And I just found out it's March. 

It's March. I thought we were in the beginning of February. I am only required to keep track of the day of the week, not the exact date, so it really snuck up on me when I realized I would be switching families in just one week. 

Once again, switching host families is a strange experience. I don't really remember it being talked about much last year, and I didn't think about it all that much coming into my year... 

It's great and difficult. Leaving a family that you have been living with, spending time with, traveling with, is almost harder than leaving home to go to another country. Yes, it was hard to leave home, but I know that I will see my family in Minnesota again for many years. I teared up a bit both of the times I have changed families. Not because I was sad to move, or because I didn't want to go to the next family, but because I was simply overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with emotions, memories, and absolute gratitude to them for letting me be a part of their family for just a few short months. 

When you switch families, it also puts you in perspective of your year. Three more months of your year have passed by, and you feel exactly the same. 

But, nothing is the same. You can understand and speak so much more of the language. Your relationships with friends and classmates are stronger than they were before, and you know more people than you did the last time you switched families. With that, you have twice as many family members in your host country as you did when you first arrived. I think I have family in almost every village in the Faroe Islands. 

And, it won't stop here. I have at least four more months to become as experienced in the language as I can, make more and stronger relationships with friends, and let my extended family in the Faroe Islands expand. I have four more months to make the best of every single day, and hopefully I will continue to do the same after I return home. 

Here's to the last third of our year, for all my RYE outbounds who are reading this! 

-

Sorry - I got caught in the moment and forgot to tell you about my new family! Things are going fantastic here. I have now moved from Argir (a municipality of Tórshavn) to Tórshavn. It's fantastic, because I am much closer to the center of town and many of my friends. My new family is so sweet and caring, and I can't wait to be spending the rest of my year with them! 

The next time I switch host families will take me back to the airport in Vágar... Hopefully that doesn't come too fast. 

Kærar heilsanir, 

Katie 

Íslands / Iceland

Happy February Everyone! This Saturday marks six months of being in the Faroe's, meaning half  of my exchange is over... A bittersweet feeling, but I am lucky to have as much time left as I do. I am hoping to depart for Minnesota on July 31st, allowing me to stay for all of the wonderful things the Faroese summer has to offer.

If you are my friend on Facebook or any other social media, you will know that I have just been to ICELAND! I am extremely fortunate to have been able to go on a three day adventure to Iceland with my host family this past weekend. We had a fantastic time, and I am so thankful that they made it possible for me to experience yet another incredible island country in the North Atlantic.

We left for the airport at about seven in the morning on Friday to get on our flight to Reykjavík. As some of you may know, I am not the best flyer in the world. I was glad to have a short and smooth flight/landing into Reykjavík! The scenery from the plane as we flew in was astounding. Snowy mountains (volcanos) everywhere.

Once we landed, we rented a little red Suzuki and drove to our hotel - which was located right in the center of Reykjavík. As we were driving around, I was surprised to see many familiar American logos. After Iceland gained independence from Denmark, I think they decided to incorporate many things American into their lifestyle, including the following - TGI Friday's, Ruby Tuesday, one Taco Bell, one KFC, many Subway's, Dominos, and a Pizza Hut. After we saw the first Subway, I made it a point to visit one before we left. To my surprise, I also found Malt o' Meal cereal and Arizona Iced Tea in Iceland. I ended up coming back with a bag of Berry Colossal Crunch, a bag of Frosted Flakes, and many of my favorite teas. I also looked high and low for root beer, something I haven't had since I left, but I was disappointed to find none - hint, Mom and Dad, can you send liquid in the mail?

I was glad to see this again.

...And this. Northfield represent!

We arrived to the hotel around 11am, and spent the afternoon walking up and down the main "shopping street" of Reykjavík. There were many souvenir shops, some cute restaurants, and some interesting art (graffiti) on the buildings. The town was alive, and the weather was fantastic (colder than the Faroe's, but no wind or rain). We walked around for about an hour and then ate some lunch in the "oldest cafe in Iceland". I got chicken wings.

In case you are ever in Reykjavík, Iceland and forget how to tie your tie, this is where you should go.

What happens when you live at 66º north. 

The oldest cafe in Iceland. 

Reykjavík.

After our exploration around the city, we went back to the hotel to get ready to go visit Blue Lagoon. I had heard of Blue Lagoon before via Pinterest, but it wasn't until we got there that I realized this is what we were going to. I was thrilled. According to National Geographic, the Blue Lagoon is one of the "25 Natural Wonders of the World". It's a naturally warm pool of water filled with minerals which give it it's blue color. It was extremely rejuvenating to be in, not to mention the incredible mountain (volcano) scenery surrounding. It was a very different and relaxing experience, and a must try if you ever find yourself in Iceland. 

The Blue Lagoon.

After a relaxing ride back to the hotel, we went to a Steakhouse in Reykjavík that my host dad had been to previously, and strongly recommended. I can say that one of the best steaks I've had was in Iceland. 

We spent the next day shopping at a mall called Smáralind. If I were to compare its size to a Minnesota mall, it would be about half the size of the Burnsville center. But, it was still nice to be in a somewhat large shopping mall again. Because we get tax-free on almost everything in Iceland, we bought many things and spent most of the afternoon in Smáralind. And we got lunch at Subway! But, this is the best part... As we were walking around Smáralind, I found a store called Hagkaup. This store strongly resembles the American "Target". Since there is nothing like Target in the Faroe's, I was a kid in a candy store inside of Hagkaup. My host sister can verify that I was grinning and squeaking like a mouse with excitement. It was just like Target! I ended up buying a sweater and some Arizona Iced Tea's from that store. On our way out from Smáralind, we got Icelandic ice cream! It's the exact same as regular ice cream, but better than the Danish brands and they had the flavor espresso (my favorite) so it was a good day. 

In the evening on Saturday, we went to see a movie in the most comfortable movie theater I have ever been in. The theater has giant arm chairs, in which you can recline and flip up a foot rest. It was great. We saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which I had already seen, but was more than happy to see it again. A lot of the movie takes place in Iceland, so it was strange to walk outside afterwards and actually be in Iceland. I am very proud to be able to correctly pronounce the name of the volcano mentioned in the film, Eyjafjallajökull, because the Icelandic pronunciation is very similar to Faroese. I bought a magnet that says "Eyjafjallajökull" on it and I'm thinking of it as a "congratulations on your good Icelandic volcano pronunciation" certificate.

My host mom, host sister and I in the movie theater. 

On Sunday, we did the "Golden Circle Tour". We got on a bus around 9am with many other tourists, and throughout the day we traveled to Geysir, Gullfoss, and Pingvellir. There were many different cultures aboard our bus, speaking many different languages. Our tour guide was one of the funniest guides I have ever had. He was very informative, as well as inspirational. As we arrived at Geysir, he said in his strong Icelandic accent, "You have one and a half hours all to yourself. One and a half hours of freedom. Freedom to do whatever you want. One and a half hours. It's good for you. One and a half hours to go where you feel is right. One and a half hours of freedom." This was repeated many times. The Geysirs were astounding to see. One was very active and would spout every five minutes. The best way to describe it (excuse my crudeness) would be to say it's as if a giant troll was sitting upside down under the surface and let out a fart into a tub of water precisely every five minutes. 

One of the great things about Iceland is that all of their hot water is free. The downside is that they are living on a volcano. There is so much hot steam underneath Iceland that they use it constantly to heat the water, and it never runs out. The land is constantly changing and moving. It really is a landscape unlike any other. The ground in some places looks like rock that has been punched from beneath by the Hulk. In other places, new and old volcanic rocks intertwine in a combination down the sides of mountains. Needless to say, the bus ride wasn't boring.

Our next stop was the Gullfoss waterfall. It was extremely windy and cold there, so we didn't look at the falls for very long, but wow. It was incredible. 

After Gullfoss was Pingvellir National Park. I have never seen a landscape so vast and magnificent. The snowy mountains (volcanos) were surrounding everywhere you looked. The Icelandic landscape really put me in perspective. It was huge. Even when you looked up at the sky, it seemed so flat and vast. The feeling of being in one of the most northern points of the world was something quite unique.

I caught one Geysir just as it came up.

Gullfoss.

Sanna (host sister), me, Katrin (host mom), and Eydun (host dad) embracing the wind at Gullfoss.

Pingvellir National Park.

Pingvellir National Park.

In awe at Pingvellir National Park.

We ended the day at a rotating restaurant called Perlan. It is situated in the center of Reykjavík, so as you are eating you get to see all of the city. It was a very fine restaurant, and we made it all the way around the circle in the time we were there. The view of the Reykjavík was incredible. It's a city I would love to visit again some day. 

The Perlan "dome" from the inside. 

After dinner, we took a drive out of Reykjavík to see if we could catch a glimpse of the northern lights. The night was perfectly clear, but unfortunately the lights weren't appearing. However, it was just as beautiful to gaze at the northern night sky. A picture wouldn't do it justice. The stars were so dense that it felt like we were under a giant dome, similar to Perlan. It was the most undistracted night sky I have seen in my lifetime. 

...

While I was in Iceland, I realized that I haven't actually said "thank you" in a very long time. I had to stop myself from saying "takk fyri" as a waiter brought my drink, or a stranger held the door for me. I realized that a language that isn't my own has become instinct to me. It was strange to hear many tourists around me speaking English. It made me discover that I really do have two languages that I am able to use now, and that I will have to flip a switch in my brain every time I leave the Faroe's. 

Our time in Iceland was short, but it won't be forgotten. It was a place unlike any other, and I am glad I was able to visit. I would love to go back to Iceland someday...

Tad var ein ordliga gódan túr, men gledi meg at komi heimaftur til Føroyar. 

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the lengthy post. :) 

Katie