Alright so it looks like I am headed to Vietnam! I have been accepted to a volenteer program that is for the 1000th aniversary (yes, thousandth!) of Hanoi. It is a really big festival, and it looks like I will be helping run stands and set up in some way.
I am leaving super soon, as my volenteer project starts on the 4th of October! It is a bit of a rush to get stuff together, but my planning (or lack there of) is actually almost done. I will be meeting up with my friend Karen there who has been away in Australia for a year, so that is an added bonus of this trip. I will be kickin it around Asia for about 2 months, and will be back at the end of November.
Alright, let the adventures continue!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Vestman Islands
So those few months ago I ran out of computer time wilst I was actually in Iceland. And since then, I proceeded to somehow forget my password and really forget to update this blog.
So for this entry, you can personally past-date it to sometime in early June.
Vestman Islands was SO beautiful! It is this small little island that is south of Iceland itself. Our host Heimer was raised on Vestman Islands, and he asked us if we wanted to go visit his family with him for a weekend.
Getting there required a three hour ferry ride that proved to be the new bane of my existance. The waves were incredibly powerful on the ocean that day, and something called "under waves" caused our boat to rock and roll most of the passengers into incredible fits of sea-sickness. Beth was somehow fine, and through her stories after the ride, she saw some hilarious things. Picture walking into a room and seeing about 25 people sitting buckled over, or laying down, or standing - all holding on to something of course, and all staring at these small waxy white paper containers that looked something like a chinese food box. Then keep walking, and see the same scene you just saw in about ten more variations... that was everyones wonderful boat ride experience (keep in mind that I am leaving out the many gruesome details, such as a sink of vomit rocking with the waves - ew. )
Anyways, once we reached Vestman Islands, all was good. The weekend was full of "Sailors Day" festivities, which meant a whole lot of random, cool things. It also meant that Beth and I did not have to spend a dime on food, as Heimers mommy cooked up a storm and generously offered us every meal. Beth learnt the wonders of dried fish, and I enjoyed the bakery down the road.
There were a few things very specific to Vestman Islands. One of which was the rope that hangs off of a cliff. It is basically this freyed looking rope, hanging down probably 100 ft, that you are supposed to climb up on a rock, grab the rope, and swing to another part of the cliff. Super hilarious, and such a cool tradition. Another thing specific to this particular island is the fact that it expanded by about 20% in the 1970's when a volcano erupted! The eruption also buried a street or two of houses, so there are some cool half-buried excavation sites that you can walk around in. One evening we climbed up the volcano that had errupted, and it was still warm in a lot of places. Also, if you dig down about a meter or so, it is still hot enough that you can bake bread in the hole!
Anyway, the weekend in Vestman Islands was pretty wonderful. We laughed, climbed mountains, and even tried nose tobacco at a party (it burns so good!). Full of adventures, it was a good last weekend in Iceland.
So for this entry, you can personally past-date it to sometime in early June.
Vestman Islands was SO beautiful! It is this small little island that is south of Iceland itself. Our host Heimer was raised on Vestman Islands, and he asked us if we wanted to go visit his family with him for a weekend.
Getting there required a three hour ferry ride that proved to be the new bane of my existance. The waves were incredibly powerful on the ocean that day, and something called "under waves" caused our boat to rock and roll most of the passengers into incredible fits of sea-sickness. Beth was somehow fine, and through her stories after the ride, she saw some hilarious things. Picture walking into a room and seeing about 25 people sitting buckled over, or laying down, or standing - all holding on to something of course, and all staring at these small waxy white paper containers that looked something like a chinese food box. Then keep walking, and see the same scene you just saw in about ten more variations... that was everyones wonderful boat ride experience (keep in mind that I am leaving out the many gruesome details, such as a sink of vomit rocking with the waves - ew. )
Anyways, once we reached Vestman Islands, all was good. The weekend was full of "Sailors Day" festivities, which meant a whole lot of random, cool things. It also meant that Beth and I did not have to spend a dime on food, as Heimers mommy cooked up a storm and generously offered us every meal. Beth learnt the wonders of dried fish, and I enjoyed the bakery down the road.
There were a few things very specific to Vestman Islands. One of which was the rope that hangs off of a cliff. It is basically this freyed looking rope, hanging down probably 100 ft, that you are supposed to climb up on a rock, grab the rope, and swing to another part of the cliff. Super hilarious, and such a cool tradition. Another thing specific to this particular island is the fact that it expanded by about 20% in the 1970's when a volcano erupted! The eruption also buried a street or two of houses, so there are some cool half-buried excavation sites that you can walk around in. One evening we climbed up the volcano that had errupted, and it was still warm in a lot of places. Also, if you dig down about a meter or so, it is still hot enough that you can bake bread in the hole!
Anyway, the weekend in Vestman Islands was pretty wonderful. We laughed, climbed mountains, and even tried nose tobacco at a party (it burns so good!). Full of adventures, it was a good last weekend in Iceland.
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