I went exploring around midnight last night. I found a waterfall, and horses, and lots of strange, tiny purple flowers, and three pure white birds on a mountainside. A playground in the middle of nowhere, a japanese-style shrine, and I heard Sigur Rós recording something incomprehensible while I napped in an amphitheater just outside their studio while I waited for the rain to stop.
An excellent night.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Expat-Blog
Just wanted to give a quick shoutout to a site that's been a great help with figuring out how to go about moving and getting immersed in the local culture:
There's all sorts of forums and help FAQs for people coming from every country and going to or living in any country - and so many people are willing to share any wisdom and advice they can! It's a wonderfully friendly community and I love just going around in the forums and seeing what people have to say.
On a more personally-awesome note: the family in Stockholm booked my ticket! After three years of waiting, I'll be in Stockholm on August 12th!!
And on top of that, I was interviewed last night by the creator and director of a writing program I participate in every year - http://www.nanowrimo.org/ - and I impressed him so much he wants me to do some pep talks and a video blog for it this year! WOW!!
There's all sorts of forums and help FAQs for people coming from every country and going to or living in any country - and so many people are willing to share any wisdom and advice they can! It's a wonderfully friendly community and I love just going around in the forums and seeing what people have to say.
On a more personally-awesome note: the family in Stockholm booked my ticket! After three years of waiting, I'll be in Stockholm on August 12th!!
And on top of that, I was interviewed last night by the creator and director of a writing program I participate in every year - http://www.nanowrimo.org/ - and I impressed him so much he wants me to do some pep talks and a video blog for it this year! WOW!!
Friday, June 17, 2011
National Day!
Whoofah I've been so busy working for Mr. Iceland and completing the comic contest audition with my favourite Finn that I totally forgot to update this!
Today was the national day (Iceland day? I'm not even sure what it's called) and the entire country seems to be in a happy uproar. I went in to Reykjavik with some Norwegian girls who are staying at the inn I work at, and we went and trolled a bunch of free outdoor concerts that were TERRIBLE in the most hilarious way possible. They were all singing in Icelandic and so of course we couldn't understand a word they were saying (except where Icelandic had similar words to Norwegian or Swedish, but that wasn't nearly often enough for us to understand anything).
The first band we saw was pretty ok; we didn't catch their name, but they had something like eight members, including a trumpeter and a clarinetist! It gave them a very unusual and distinct sound, very cool, although the singer sounded a bit generic punk-rock-pop, and only the drummer seemed to be very excited about playing - although this may have been because he was sitting at the warmest part of the stage, haha!
The second band was called Joe And The Dragon, and was only two members, but...that was enough. They were just a singer and a keyboardist, and the singer came out wearing tight pleather pants and a shiny silver shirt that buttoned low at his belly and nowhere else, and the keyboardist was wearing dress pants and an open suit jacket and nothing else. They sang mostly in English, and it was the sappiest and sometimes most risque 'I love you I want you so much' songs I've ever heard, and the singer was always thrusting his hips and being overdramatic about everything - it was HILARIOUS. If they were being serious, they're the worst band I've ever heard. If they were being ironic, then oh man they were the best band I've ever heard.
The third band we watched was the one we'd really come to see, or rather the one that one of the Norwegian girls was really excited about, and it was this (apparent) teen idol named Frederick Door. From what we gathered from his music he sang generic teen idol pop songs, and I still haven't figured out if the Norwegian girl was joking when she acted so excited about him - although it was so fun to troll his concert, dancing horribly and hooting and hollering at the stage and poorly mimicking his Icelandic lyrics along with all the Icelandic teenyboppers who were so crazy about him.
After that we went to an incredible little restaurant in town and had wonderful, wonderful food - I had baked salmon with a herb-lime crust, and a lava cake and hot cocoa for dessert. The food here always sounds so pretentious on the menu, but when you get the plate in front of you it's just these wonderful large, hearty portions that you can taste the love that went into their cooking. And the COCOA. It's different at every place I've gotten it, but as a rule it's thicker and more bitter than in the US, and I don't have a problem with that at ALL. But I'll cut myself off before I go on a rant about how much I love the food here.
Oh, I lied, one more food thing - I tried Skyr for the first time the other day. It's sort of like super-thick yogurt, and it's DELICIOUS.
It's getting late here now and the sun still hasn't gone down; I don't think I'll ever get used to that. But I'll leave talking about that and how pretty it is here for another day.
Today was the national day (Iceland day? I'm not even sure what it's called) and the entire country seems to be in a happy uproar. I went in to Reykjavik with some Norwegian girls who are staying at the inn I work at, and we went and trolled a bunch of free outdoor concerts that were TERRIBLE in the most hilarious way possible. They were all singing in Icelandic and so of course we couldn't understand a word they were saying (except where Icelandic had similar words to Norwegian or Swedish, but that wasn't nearly often enough for us to understand anything).
The first band we saw was pretty ok; we didn't catch their name, but they had something like eight members, including a trumpeter and a clarinetist! It gave them a very unusual and distinct sound, very cool, although the singer sounded a bit generic punk-rock-pop, and only the drummer seemed to be very excited about playing - although this may have been because he was sitting at the warmest part of the stage, haha!
The second band was called Joe And The Dragon, and was only two members, but...that was enough. They were just a singer and a keyboardist, and the singer came out wearing tight pleather pants and a shiny silver shirt that buttoned low at his belly and nowhere else, and the keyboardist was wearing dress pants and an open suit jacket and nothing else. They sang mostly in English, and it was the sappiest and sometimes most risque 'I love you I want you so much' songs I've ever heard, and the singer was always thrusting his hips and being overdramatic about everything - it was HILARIOUS. If they were being serious, they're the worst band I've ever heard. If they were being ironic, then oh man they were the best band I've ever heard.
The third band we watched was the one we'd really come to see, or rather the one that one of the Norwegian girls was really excited about, and it was this (apparent) teen idol named Frederick Door. From what we gathered from his music he sang generic teen idol pop songs, and I still haven't figured out if the Norwegian girl was joking when she acted so excited about him - although it was so fun to troll his concert, dancing horribly and hooting and hollering at the stage and poorly mimicking his Icelandic lyrics along with all the Icelandic teenyboppers who were so crazy about him.
After that we went to an incredible little restaurant in town and had wonderful, wonderful food - I had baked salmon with a herb-lime crust, and a lava cake and hot cocoa for dessert. The food here always sounds so pretentious on the menu, but when you get the plate in front of you it's just these wonderful large, hearty portions that you can taste the love that went into their cooking. And the COCOA. It's different at every place I've gotten it, but as a rule it's thicker and more bitter than in the US, and I don't have a problem with that at ALL. But I'll cut myself off before I go on a rant about how much I love the food here.
Oh, I lied, one more food thing - I tried Skyr for the first time the other day. It's sort of like super-thick yogurt, and it's DELICIOUS.
It's getting late here now and the sun still hasn't gone down; I don't think I'll ever get used to that. But I'll leave talking about that and how pretty it is here for another day.
Friday, June 3, 2011
oh. right.
The flight from DC to NYC was delayed, so I got to NYC just in time to watch my flight from NYC to Keflavik take off, and had to spend an extra day in NYC. But the airline paid for me to stay in a hotel room and gave me money for meals for the day, and I got to meet up with some friends in NYC that I haven't seen in years, so it's all good.
I had to take some buses from the airport to the place I'm staying just outside of Reykjavik, and since there are no buses in the town I came from, I had no idea how to do this and took the wrong bus and then missed the nextg bus I was supposed to take, but I FINALLY got where I was going and Mr. Iceland helped me with my bags and showed me around, and then I laid down to take a much-needed nap. My cell phone has no service here and my converter isn't working, so I can't tell the time at a glance, so every time I woke up after what felt like a few minutes I saw it was still light out, and laid back down and went to sleep. Then a few minutes ago I woke up and remembered...it won't get dark here during the summer. And it's almost midnight now.
I guess I'll stay up another couple of hours and then sleep again and hope I can get my sleep schedule back on track.
I had to take some buses from the airport to the place I'm staying just outside of Reykjavik, and since there are no buses in the town I came from, I had no idea how to do this and took the wrong bus and then missed the nextg bus I was supposed to take, but I FINALLY got where I was going and Mr. Iceland helped me with my bags and showed me around, and then I laid down to take a much-needed nap. My cell phone has no service here and my converter isn't working, so I can't tell the time at a glance, so every time I woke up after what felt like a few minutes I saw it was still light out, and laid back down and went to sleep. Then a few minutes ago I woke up and remembered...it won't get dark here during the summer. And it's almost midnight now.
I guess I'll stay up another couple of hours and then sleep again and hope I can get my sleep schedule back on track.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Have I mentioned I'm nervous?
Leaving tomorrow night - all packed now (except my laptop, of course) and super-nervous. I've still got to repack some stuff in boxes for my mom to send after me (winter clothes and such), and I'm doing that obsessively because otherwise I'll fall apart in a nervous wreck.
I fly out in the evening and have a layover in NYC, and will arrive in Reykjavik around midmorning local time. I'll call Mr. Iceland when I get through customs, and then take a bus just outside the city to the bed and breakfast he owns, and I'll meet him there. GAH SO COMPLICATED WHY SO COMPLICATED AAAAAAAAA
On a more awesome note, my family and friends threw me the most amazing semi-surprise going-away barbecue party ever last night. Apparently one of my mom's friends has been to Iceland before, and he busted out his photo albums and basically gave me a tour of the country. Very cool! Beautiful country, and I'm looking forward to seeing it even more now. I'm glad I planned on bringing my watercolours because I get the feeling I'll be painting lots of landscapes.
I was supposed to finish the detailed lines for the children's book tonight, and I did get a lot done on it, but got nowhere close to finished. I'm too stressed and nervous, and that'll show in the lines, and I don't want a children's book to show stress. Maybe I should work on the comic book instead.
Nah, who am I kidding. I'll just go eat and pass out in front of the TV.
I fly out in the evening and have a layover in NYC, and will arrive in Reykjavik around midmorning local time. I'll call Mr. Iceland when I get through customs, and then take a bus just outside the city to the bed and breakfast he owns, and I'll meet him there. GAH SO COMPLICATED WHY SO COMPLICATED AAAAAAAAA
On a more awesome note, my family and friends threw me the most amazing semi-surprise going-away barbecue party ever last night. Apparently one of my mom's friends has been to Iceland before, and he busted out his photo albums and basically gave me a tour of the country. Very cool! Beautiful country, and I'm looking forward to seeing it even more now. I'm glad I planned on bringing my watercolours because I get the feeling I'll be painting lots of landscapes.
I was supposed to finish the detailed lines for the children's book tonight, and I did get a lot done on it, but got nowhere close to finished. I'm too stressed and nervous, and that'll show in the lines, and I don't want a children's book to show stress. Maybe I should work on the comic book instead.
Nah, who am I kidding. I'll just go eat and pass out in front of the TV.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Visa application
Just sent away my au pair visa application on the Migrationsverket site ( http://www.migrationsverket.se ) - the fee was 1000kr, which is about $160 right now. It should take 2-3 months to process, but I've heard of them being approved within as little as three weeks! I'm so excited!
I leave next Wednesday for Reykjavik, and I'm still not all packed - ack!
I leave next Wednesday for Reykjavik, and I'm still not all packed - ack!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Nervous!
I woke up this morning, looked around my room to see everything in boxes and bags, and proceeded to freak out. All of the nervousness I hadn't had before decided to hit me all at once! It lasted a couple of hours despite my Favourite Finn's best attempts to calm me down, and finally disappeared when a coworker and her fiancé came to kidnap me away to a morning at the beach. After a couple of hours of arcades, bodysurfing, and building mermaids in the sand, I felt much better. I'll be going back with another coworker tomorrow, to hopefully make my hide a little less snowy-white and to teach him how to bodysurf. I think the waves here are what I'll miss the most, other than my friends and family!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
But where will I put my clothes?!
Everything's all straightened out between Mr. Iceland and the family in Stockholm - I'll be leaving Reykjavik for Stockholm on the 8th of August!
I've already started packing...since I'm bringing my cello with me (I've played for about 15 years now) I can only bring two suitcases with me and a small backpack because that's all I'll be able to carry along with my cello. One of the suitcases is already most of the way full with art books and supplies! I can't leave them behind, either, because I'm in a huge comic book contest with my favourite Finn that will likely last almost six months, and I'll need the books for reference. Oh well; I'll figure something out!
I've already started packing...since I'm bringing my cello with me (I've played for about 15 years now) I can only bring two suitcases with me and a small backpack because that's all I'll be able to carry along with my cello. One of the suitcases is already most of the way full with art books and supplies! I can't leave them behind, either, because I'm in a huge comic book contest with my favourite Finn that will likely last almost six months, and I'll need the books for reference. Oh well; I'll figure something out!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Double-Going!
I'm so so so excited about Iceland - less than three weeks, now!
I'm still negotiating between Mr. Iceland and the family in Stockholm, but everything's going smoothly and I should be able to head straight from Iceland over to Sweden some time in mid-August. And on top of that, my favourite Finn is going to meet me in Stockholm on the 20th or so and will be staying in town for a week! It's going to be so fun exploring Stockholm with him!!
Some important sites I've found for visa information are swedenabroad.com (http://www.swedenabroad.com/) and migrationsverket.com (http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/159_en.html) - both have lots of information about how to get all different types of visas. SwedenAbroad has the phone numbers of the embassies, and the Washington D.C. embassy - the closest to where I live now - has been a great help every time I called them. You just have to make sure to catch them during their very limited phone hours, which can be a pain sometimes. MigrationsVerket is where I'll actually be applying for my au pair visa - you can do everything online, and only need to send a notarized copy of your passport, so you don't have to let your passport out of your possession, which is a GREAT relief to me. I'm always so nervous about losing it.
Now that I think about it, I don't think I've described what an au pair is. I've never been one before, but from what I understand it is a sort of combination of nanny, housekeeper, and tutor - I would do some cooking and cleaning for the family, help the kids with their homework and to improve their English, and drop them off and pick them up from school and such. Every au pair job has different little bits and pieces about it; with the family in Iceland it will focus much more on caring for the home and I will only see the two children on weekends, and the family in Stockholm has a dog (a labradoodle!) that I'll take for walks and such a few times a day. But an au pair is not to be confused with 'hired help' - they are intended to be treated as a part of the family; an equal rather than an employee or servant.
The host family pays for all of the au pair's living expenses (food, electricity, internet, etc.) and provides them with a place to stay, and often the host family will pay for the plane ticket to and from them as well (although Iceland does not require this, so I had to buy my own ticket for there), and will also pay at least a certain amount (usually $100 or so) to the au pair every week just for pocket money. Language classes are often required, and will be paid for by the host family - I'm very excited to take Swedish classes once I get to Stockholm, as it's such a beautiful language!
Really, an au pair seems like the perfect job for me...I love to cook and clean and take care of people, and as girly as that makes me sound, it's what I really enjoy. And the fact I can do my favourite thing in my favourite place in the world...I'm so very, very lucky.
I'm still negotiating between Mr. Iceland and the family in Stockholm, but everything's going smoothly and I should be able to head straight from Iceland over to Sweden some time in mid-August. And on top of that, my favourite Finn is going to meet me in Stockholm on the 20th or so and will be staying in town for a week! It's going to be so fun exploring Stockholm with him!!
Some important sites I've found for visa information are swedenabroad.com (http://www.swedenabroad.com/) and migrationsverket.com (http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/159_en.html) - both have lots of information about how to get all different types of visas. SwedenAbroad has the phone numbers of the embassies, and the Washington D.C. embassy - the closest to where I live now - has been a great help every time I called them. You just have to make sure to catch them during their very limited phone hours, which can be a pain sometimes. MigrationsVerket is where I'll actually be applying for my au pair visa - you can do everything online, and only need to send a notarized copy of your passport, so you don't have to let your passport out of your possession, which is a GREAT relief to me. I'm always so nervous about losing it.
Now that I think about it, I don't think I've described what an au pair is. I've never been one before, but from what I understand it is a sort of combination of nanny, housekeeper, and tutor - I would do some cooking and cleaning for the family, help the kids with their homework and to improve their English, and drop them off and pick them up from school and such. Every au pair job has different little bits and pieces about it; with the family in Iceland it will focus much more on caring for the home and I will only see the two children on weekends, and the family in Stockholm has a dog (a labradoodle!) that I'll take for walks and such a few times a day. But an au pair is not to be confused with 'hired help' - they are intended to be treated as a part of the family; an equal rather than an employee or servant.
The host family pays for all of the au pair's living expenses (food, electricity, internet, etc.) and provides them with a place to stay, and often the host family will pay for the plane ticket to and from them as well (although Iceland does not require this, so I had to buy my own ticket for there), and will also pay at least a certain amount (usually $100 or so) to the au pair every week just for pocket money. Language classes are often required, and will be paid for by the host family - I'm very excited to take Swedish classes once I get to Stockholm, as it's such a beautiful language!
Really, an au pair seems like the perfect job for me...I love to cook and clean and take care of people, and as girly as that makes me sound, it's what I really enjoy. And the fact I can do my favourite thing in my favourite place in the world...I'm so very, very lucky.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Going!
Bought the ticket to go to Iceland, the other day - June 1st to August 29th! and naturally, almost the next day I got in contact with a wonderful woman in Stockholm who wants me there in early-mid August. Augh! of course! Everything is always like this. We're still talking, though, and she says she can be a little flexible, so after I get my references to her to confirm that I'm awesome - haha oh I'm so pompous - and get a little more solidity on her wanting me there, I'll talk to Mr. Iceland to see about me leaving a little early. Maybe we can meet in the middle; I'm SO ok with meeting in the middle. If it means me getting to be in Stockholm again, I'd meet her all the way at her end.
I talked to my uncle for the first time in two and a half years today; he just called out of the blue! We had a little falling-out back then, so I'm very glad that we're ok again. He's a pilot, and while we were talking I told him about Iceland and Sweden and it turns out he flies out there sometimes! He was very excited about maybe getting to visit me some time while I was over there, and it'll be so nice to see him again. He's a great guy and I've missed him terribly.
I'm so so so busy with a million art projects right now. There's a huge craft show a few towns over this weekend and I'm not ready for it at ALL, I've still barely started painting the illustrations for the children's book I'm making with a friend, and it's only just yesterday that my favourite Finn and I finished the script for the comic book contest we're entering together - we've hardly even begun drawing it, and it's due on June 1st! I want to have the children's book done before I go, too - and I've still got so much to do just to move, too! I'm not stressing too badly yet, but I know I will be soon if I don't get my butt in gear!
Time to go get to work, then!
I talked to my uncle for the first time in two and a half years today; he just called out of the blue! We had a little falling-out back then, so I'm very glad that we're ok again. He's a pilot, and while we were talking I told him about Iceland and Sweden and it turns out he flies out there sometimes! He was very excited about maybe getting to visit me some time while I was over there, and it'll be so nice to see him again. He's a great guy and I've missed him terribly.
I'm so so so busy with a million art projects right now. There's a huge craft show a few towns over this weekend and I'm not ready for it at ALL, I've still barely started painting the illustrations for the children's book I'm making with a friend, and it's only just yesterday that my favourite Finn and I finished the script for the comic book contest we're entering together - we've hardly even begun drawing it, and it's due on June 1st! I want to have the children's book done before I go, too - and I've still got so much to do just to move, too! I'm not stressing too badly yet, but I know I will be soon if I don't get my butt in gear!
Time to go get to work, then!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Iceland!
Today I spoke with the father of the family in Iceland I want to be an au pair for; he seems like an awkward, friendly, strict kind of guy, with a very strong hardworking streak. I think he and I will get along excellently :) He's not pushy, but keeps mentioning that he really needs help as soon as possible, so I really wish I would hear back from one of the families in Stockholm I want to au pair with - I have to be in the US while my work visa is being processed, and I have to have a letter of employment before I can apply for the work visa, so I can't move forward until I hear from one of the Stockholm families again. Which stinks, because I'm so so so excited to go to Iceland!!
In other news, I started my yoga classes today. This may not seem relevant, until I point out that my group's instructor is a wonderful, gorgeous Swedish woman. We chatted after the class and when I mentioned I was moving to Stockholm this summer, she got so excited! We tried to speak a little Swedish to each other but my accent is too terrible to understand, apparently - not that I'm surprised, since I've learned 95% of my Swedish from books. Time to get practicing!
Now if only I could find that Salmiakki that my favourite Finn sent me for Christmas...
In other news, I started my yoga classes today. This may not seem relevant, until I point out that my group's instructor is a wonderful, gorgeous Swedish woman. We chatted after the class and when I mentioned I was moving to Stockholm this summer, she got so excited! We tried to speak a little Swedish to each other but my accent is too terrible to understand, apparently - not that I'm surprised, since I've learned 95% of my Swedish from books. Time to get practicing!
Now if only I could find that Salmiakki that my favourite Finn sent me for Christmas...
Sunday, March 27, 2011
First-Time Jitters
I really have no idea what to say for this first post! It should probably be something big and meaningful, but I'm all jumbled up and too excited to straighten myself out. I know the blog title is saccarine-sweet, but I'm sure it's best to kick off this fiasco with a positive attitude, and it really does describe my personality and the outlook I try to have on things pretty well.
Nothing's 100% confirmed yet, but I'm in the process of finalizing plans to move to Stockholm late this summer to live as an au pair with a wonderful Swedish family. I've never been an au pair before, and I'm really nervous, but pretty confident that everything will turn out ok - I know my way around a house and DEFINITELY around a kitchen, and kids are awesome between the ages of diapers and hormones (non-inclusive).
An Icelandic family also contacted me, asking for me to come and au pair with them in Reykjavik (try saying that ten times fast) in the early summer - wow! I never even expected to get even one response when I signed up at that au pair site, and now I have two right in a row that will work right with each other and will get me out of this stale place in the USA so quickly?! I must be better than I thought at writing text interviews of myself, or something!
This blog will be a chronicle of my experiences in Iceland and Sweden - and the journey there and back, or wherever I go afterward. Hopefully someone will find this interesting, but if not, I'll always have it to look back on later and hopefully remember with a smile :)
Nothing's 100% confirmed yet, but I'm in the process of finalizing plans to move to Stockholm late this summer to live as an au pair with a wonderful Swedish family. I've never been an au pair before, and I'm really nervous, but pretty confident that everything will turn out ok - I know my way around a house and DEFINITELY around a kitchen, and kids are awesome between the ages of diapers and hormones (non-inclusive).
An Icelandic family also contacted me, asking for me to come and au pair with them in Reykjavik (try saying that ten times fast) in the early summer - wow! I never even expected to get even one response when I signed up at that au pair site, and now I have two right in a row that will work right with each other and will get me out of this stale place in the USA so quickly?! I must be better than I thought at writing text interviews of myself, or something!
This blog will be a chronicle of my experiences in Iceland and Sweden - and the journey there and back, or wherever I go afterward. Hopefully someone will find this interesting, but if not, I'll always have it to look back on later and hopefully remember with a smile :)
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