28 March 2017

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Someone I met today is an aspiring actress.

We had just flown back to NYC from Iceland, and she greeted us when we arrived at our Airbnb. She asked how the trip was and we shared some of our pictures. We learned that she had been in Hawaii before and was stoked that we were from there.

While talking, I realized she held a lot of different jobs. One was babysitter, and the other was Airbnb host. She shared that if we were free, she'd be acting in a play called Loose Ends. It was the first time she'd be in a play like that, so she was nervous about the reviews, saying some are good and some are bad. 

We were tired so we didn't talk much more, but we wished her luck!

27 March 2017

in

Someone I met today led our Reykjavík Food Walk... And another one was attending it. 

We had decided to do a food tour because we had absolutely no clue what we should eat while we were still here. 

Since we spent most of the day together, I'll just share what I learned about her and from her. She seems to be a single mother with a 3-year old daughter at home. She shared that high school is basically from 13-16, and 16-18 is college. College in Iceland is kind of where you can specialize your study in anything specific, and you can do it either multiple times, or get multiple degrees. College differs from university, but it still involves a really lengthy and involved study of the Nordic mythology.

Iceland reuses a lot of stuff, and it's practically a crime to not recycle. She said the only thing they don't recycle is consumable plastics, but the country is likely moving towards banning plastic bags. I really admire how committed they are to preserving the natural environment. 

The other woman I met on the tour was interesting, only because she didn't realize how much luxury she had compared to the rest of us.

"Yeah, so before the trip I realized my passport still had my maiden name on my passport. It's really when my dad's pilot lessons and license came in handy. He flew me to the passport office so I could fix it and then flew me back so I could get to work. If he didn't do that, it would have been a 7 hour drive, but instead it took two hours. I really recommend people look into doing it. It's so useful." 

Uh. Sure. 

26 March 2017

in

Someone I met today was another Airbnb host. She was really nice. I felt like a dummy because I didn't read all of the instructions she sent me, but she was very sweet about it.

I met her when she was holding the flashlight over the engine parts of her brother's car. It was night time and we had just finished dinner at Steakhouse. She shared that her brother has a long drive for work, as it's near a place called Höfn... Where we had just come from that day. It's about a 5-7 hour drive, so it isn't close by any means. 

Her AirBnb is legit and was probably one of the best we stayed in!  

25 March 2017

in

Someone I met today is a cow farmer. One of the Airbnbs we stayed at was on a legit cow farm. We didn't get to see the cows, but we did get to meet the guy running it.

The room we stayed in was on the second floor, so we had crept downstairs after our adventure to Skogafoss. At the dining room table was a lone man, quietly sitting by himself with only the rain to keep him company. He turned to us as we entered the room, and we felt a little weird not introducing ourselves so we took a seat with him.

He had been a farmer, and so was his father, and his father before that. He hoped that one of his 5 children would be interested, "But I wouldn't force them into it either." 

We asked about the home and he said it was the one he grew up in, then they built the one in the back. The best investment he made was turning his family home into an Airbnb, and it was a nice one at that. He asked us what the weather was like at home, so we let him know.

"I don't think I would like that very much. I was in Portugal once. I didn't like it very much then either."

Super exciting was the super fresh cow milk! He had a glass of it himself, and I offered to was his glass with mine.

"You can do that for me. Thank you."

I think through my interactions with this guy is that Iceland people are very nice, and their niceness can be seen as cold and stiff compared to... Maybe more extroverted countries. I thought it was perfectly fine. It reads like a polite genuine stiffness, only because you hope that the other person doesn't go too far in their niceness. 

-

Someone else I met today was a guy from the UK who worked for Glacier Guides, and took us to Vatnajokull. He also hated the cold. 

24 March 2017

in

Someone I met today was a gas station attendant. 

We had stopped for gas and famous gas station hotdogs! Since we had previously met some really uninterested teenagers at the last gas station, we couldn't ask them what the sauces were. We ordered our hot dogs and finally got to ask.

"What are all the sauces?"
"You have ketchup, mustard, and the white stuff that the northerners like. I don't know why they like it but it's there."

Funny how such a small country could still have huge variances in taste. 

23 March 2017

in

Someone I met today is a college kid. After another amazing day of exploring the Icelandic nature... We were unwinding at home in our amazing Airbnb. 

We were chilling, when we heard a knock at the door. Turns out, it was a college kid asking if we wanted to hang out.

While we told him we were pretty tired, turns out he was with his friends from Chicago, Vancouver, and Shanghai. They were taking a spring break trip and were hoping to see the northern lights. They hadn't been as lucky as us, but they were hoping that they would be. 

We gave them our leftover beers, and listened to them play card games late into the night. 

 

22 March 2017

in

Someone I met today runs a dog-sledding tour for Inspiration Iceland. Andrew knew where all his guests were from, there were 3 pairs and he manages the payments... So of course he would know. I asked if we locked the door before getting into Andre's jeep.

"This is Iceland! You don't need to do that around here."

We chuckled and hopped in to pick up the other guests. As we were driving, we were having conversations about where we're from. 

"Do you guys consider yourselves American?"
"Uh... Well... Depends on who you ask."
"Hehehe, it must be a thing of islanders to want their independence."

I would later learn, on 28 March, that Iceland seized its independence from the Germany-occupied Denmark. More on that later.

We chatted a little more, and it turns out he's from Switzerland originally. He lives in Iceland with his wife. They have a few kids, and a greenhouse where they grow coffee, "It's not profitable, but we do it because we can."

He had such a great sense of humor, even if it was insanely cold for us. Someone on the tour forgot his gloves, "You know, it's not such a good idea to leave your gloves at home anywhere in Iceland."

He had a lot of experience with the dogs, and really enjoyed meeting new people. He was as polite as the man at the DFS counter I had met. It wasn't the same kind of nice I was used to but it was nice all the same. He talked about the community aspect a bit, which confirmed some of what I had thought after reading the History of Iceland.

Even with the snow, cold, and high cost of living... But as he put it, "It's a hard life, but it's nice." 

 

21 March 2017

in

Someone I met today is a Spanish lady. We were at the Myvatn Nature Baths an hour away from Akureyri. Akureyri is the northernmost city in Iceland, which is where we were spending most of our vacation. We had met some very bored, uninterested teenagers in Husavík, but I didn't interact with them much. Beyond buying an Icelandic hotdog. 

In Iceland, it's customary to take a full on shower before jumping into the pool. It was a little awkward because I'm a little shy of being naked in front ofstrangers, but I was able to snag a private stall and shower in there. After that, we made it to the pools, and it was so cold walking from the bathhouse to the actual pool. It felt like death was upon me.

There literally was snow a foot away from the geothermal pool in many areas... But it was so relaxing overall. Especially with all the walking we did around NYC and driving in Iceland up until that point.

When I went back to the shower, there were some Spanish ladies in the bathroom. They were braver than me and were completely naked in the showers. I had dropped my locker coin and it rolled over to one of them, who was half dressed. She picked it up and handed to me with a smile.

Honestly, I was just so impressed at how comfortable she was with her nakedness. Because to me, watching the coin roll all the way to her feet lasted 100 awkward years. 

20 March 2017

in

Someone I met today worked at DFS in the Keflavík Airport.

Something interesting about the Keflavík is that it used to be the base of operations for the US military. It explains why it's so removed from Reyjavík. Anyway, when buying SIM cards for our phones at the airport (NOVA was what we got), I was ringing out our snacks with the guy when the card machine flashed.

ISK or USD?

"Yeah... It can be confusing sometimes."

The cashier chuckled. He noted it happened a lot with tourists. He seemed really pleasant and didn't seem like he minded being there at all. I've heard Icelandic people are nice, and this was a good start.  

19 March 2017

in

Someone I met today was my mom's friend's nieces. 

We had texted them around 11am to leave our stuff at their apartment. The place we had originally decided to leave our stuff at a luggage hold, but they're closed on Sunday. I texted them and they got back to me in the AM.

The girls were super sweet. We met one of them when she came downstairs to bring our stuff up, but she asked us to wait outside of their apartment.

"Let me check inside, I know sometimes my sister likes to sleep naked on the couch."

Later, when we met the sister, it was because she brought the stuff down from her room. 

They were super nice, and I say that especially since they were doing a favor for their aunt... For two strangers they've never met. I gave them some furikake. I know that's really random, but something I've learned is always bring something to give to people who help you. It's especially helpful at places of hospitality. Trust me, I know. 

18 March 2017

in

Someone I met today has the same job as me! We went to the flagship store and gave them some chocolate from home. It wasn't a lot, but it was definitely appreciated.

We toured the store with her, and I couldn't help but be amazed at how much the store accomplishes. I was really most impressed by the level of enthusiasm she had for her job. For me, it's a nice refresher to see people who care about what they do and put 100% in what they choose for their occupation.

I know some people are just miserable in their jobs and that can rub off on others, so the energy was definitely refreshing!

17 March 2017

in

Someone I met today was a  flight attendant, or rather two of them. We were sitting in the extra comfort seats, and if you're familiar with jump seats, you'll be sitting across a flight attendant and take-off and landing. Sometimes off-duty flight attendants can use them to fly somewhere. 

The first flight attendant had recently come off maternity leave and was getting used to flying. She was excited to be back in the air, but really missed her son. We did talked about her favorite places to eat in NYC and why we're going to Iceland. We asked her for some pizza recommendations but she didn't have a specific favorite.

The second flight attendant was a man making use of his off-duty time to take his daughter to tour colleges. I saw he was reading a self-help book, and he shared with me that he was separated from her mom. We talked about Iceland and the power of names, and the power of seeing how fortunate you are. 

Our service was really good, I'm sure because we were super polite to the jumpseat guy. I mean, no use being rude if you're going to be staring at each other for most of the flight. I learned that the HA flight attendants generally stay around Hell's Kitchen, and there are apparently really good eats around there. 

Overall, they wished us well and it totally reminded me why I like flying with them. 

15 March 2017

in

Someone I met today is about "1 in 500" guys in the world who works with transmitting high quality video through a combination of various systems.

Most of what he asked me about was complex regarding computers, especially since some of the computers he works with don't have internet access for a long time. I eventually asked what he did, and he said that he sets up cameras on the boats that follow whale migration paths for National Geographic. 

He said he does it once a year, and most of his work is with Hawaii 5-0. Honestly, I thought the whale thing was cooler. 

13 March 2017

in

Someone I met today is a reporter in the Pacific Northwest. I started talking to him because he had a very smooth voice, calm, even in its expressiveness. 

He said he mostly did the weather, but he did other things as well... Depending on what the job calls for. I asked him why he was visiting Hawaii, and it turns out that he graduated from here! His dad lives here, so he comes by to check on him every so often. 

12 March 2017

in

Someone I met is an insurance adjuster.

He was super mellow, and we connected about how letting people be super angry at you is the best way to get them to exhaust themselves. He talked about how he never yells at his customers, and encourages them to keep talking until they've worn themselves down. 

"Sometimes, I listen to the guys in my office, since you know... We have cubicles. I can hear the phone slam and I just tell them, you know you gotta call them back." 

He also talked about how he approaches the judges in court differently when he has to present evidence, and reads boy language to see how well he's being received. 

He said he liked his job enough because he learned a lot about different areas. Who knew?