On My First Day,

This morning, well, it was probably a little after noon, but you know, jet-lag.. 

I took some pictures of my place. I've already made it my own, as you can see, with my own "Katie-like Charm" -complete with a wind-up toy, of course. And a very lovely shoe collection.

Don't worry, I brought practical shoes, as well.        

Before I came left, I went all out and bought nice KEEN hiking shoes and a 100% recycled KEEN bag made from Asian rice bags. Though, I haven't put them to use yet. I can't wait. Today was too busy of a day to go hiking, but gosh, the view was spectacular. I need to remember to bring my camera tomorrow when we're out and about. 

I am proud to say that I have bonded with some people, and I am already so excited for these friendships to grow. 

When I woke up, Mystic (Mist-eek), my Danish/Jamaican flat-mate and I had a conversation. I found out that he is a music and culture supporter (maybe professor?) at the University. He makes reggae music, and though that is not my thing, I happily traded him for one of his albums for one of mine. That's him (below) tying his shoes in our living room, but he's a little blurry, because he wasn't still. Tonight he DJ'ed at a club downtown in Reykjavik (ten minutes away), and me and the other roommate went to cheer him and drink his free beers. I can't wait to hang out downtown more. It's sort of empty on week nights. Respectfully, people only party on the weekends. 

My other Danish roommate is Anders, but you say it with no "d" (Ah-noos). He's my age and has been working in Iceland for a year. He knows his way around town and has a car, which is very normal here in Iceland, actually. Out of everyone I've met so far, he speaks the best English, so it's easier for me to relax and make jokes. I might make too many jokes around him, but I think we're becoming good friends. He likes to tell me about Scandinavian culture and history (very geeky), and I like to tell him lies to see how he reacts (to lighten things up). To be fair, I'll always tell him when things aren't true a minute after he believes me. When I do this, he pretends to be frustrated. It's a good time. 

The family hired another au pair (Marine) two weeks ago. Her and I switch off throughout the day. Marine is an 18 yr. old French girl. I'm sure that's the incorrect spelling of her name. Anyways, you would think she is really shy, but I think it is just hard for her, because she doesn't speak English well. I wish I can speak French. It sounds so lovely. We talked about French films today, which made her happy. After work and dinner with the family, we came over to my flat to have some ice cream. I introduced her to Anders, but I'm not sure if she caught on to our conversation or not. (That must be so aggravating and boring..) When she left, I gave her a hug (you know, because I want her to feel like she's got a friend) and it surprised her. That made me laugh and I asked if it was weird, because I did not hug the family when I met them (which is strange to me). She demonstrated that her and her friends do the whole- kiss each other on the cheek thing, but not actually touching... you know? That one French greeting thing. It was cute. We had a giggle. 

 

I was a little shocked to see so many plants around our street. If I open my window, the lively garden flowers and soft plants fill the air with the smell of honey. It's like Colorado here but with more of a tropical feel. Well, in Mosfellsbaer anyways. Hard to explain. This is my room window.

And this is our nice kitchen. Mostly everything is from IKEA.