I don’t know if time is playing tricks on me but these months are flying by! Three months is a quarter of a year! Did time go this fast when we moved in the states? Maybe it’s because I’m documenting each month with these posts?
Here is what we have been up to this month.
10/18 – The fall colors were still a blazin out of control, so we took a drive south to explore more. We found this paradise looking waterfall called Hjálparfoss. Always thankful for a blue sky and sunny day in Iceland!
10/24 – Because I am an American and I can’t let got of certain traditions, I decided to have a pumpkin carving night. When I lived in Houston I had an amazing group of girlfriends and we always got together for things like pumpkin carving and gingerbread house making so I decided to keep the tradition alive. I invited a few girls over and we carved our imported pumpkins. It was so fun! P.s. Look at these beautiful Houston ladies! Ugh, I miss them! Thanks for the picture and video, I was there in spirit!
10/25 – Today we woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground. I got way too excited about the first snowfall, but it was SO pretty! I’ve been waiting to see Iceland in the wintertime. So we took a drive down the Reykjanes peninsula to a geothermal area called Krysuvik. Hot pots, black sand beaches, vibrant colored rock…this place had it all! It was so beautiful I wrote a whole blog post about it.
10/27 – I always get really nervous to try a new salon. My mom is a hair stylist so I’ve always been really picky about who cuts my hair. I tried three places in Houston before I found one I liked! But then I found out that hair stylists in Iceland go to school for 3 years before they start working – thats like three times longer than in the states! So I was in good hands.
Waiting to get my hair cut – Icelandic style!
10/28 – WE BOUGHT A CAR. Well, it’s more like a monster truck. Or a tractor. But you have no idea how big of a day this was! Bobby spent hoursssss researching and test driving vehicles until he found the one car that is prefect for Iceland. It really is, this thing is a beast. It’s definitely going to get us into the highlands and to all of the off road places we want to go in Iceland, I can’t wait!
10/29 – Lonely Planet released a list of the “top regions in the world to visit for raw beauty.” West Iceland was ranked number two and I agree! Especially since we recently went there for the second time, so I rounded up my top 10 places to visit in West Iceland to help you plan your trip!
Today my friend Kristy also confirmed that she booked her flight to come visit over the Easter holiday – I am SO excited. She is a travel rockstar, so her visit is going to be packed with awesomeness. March can’t come soon enough!
Today my friend Kristy also confirmed that she booked her flight to come visit over the Easter holiday – I am SO excited. She is a travel rockstar, so her visit is going to be packed with awesomeness. March can’t come soon enough!
10/31 – Whats the most American thing you can do in Iceland on Halloween? Go to a play called “How to Become Icelandic in 60 minutes“! Today we celebrated our clinic being 5 years old with our co-workers by going to dinner and the theater. I have to say, this one-man show was hilarious! This is a really great way to spend an evening in Reykjavik, and bonus, you get to see the beautiful Harpa!
11/3 – While we were getting ready to head to Icelandic class, I was reading that there was a huge sun storm that was going to make for an amazing northern lights show tonight. I looked outside and saw the Northern Lights on another level. I’m talking sun. storm. explosion…the sky was out of control! Aurora was dancing literally EVERYWHERE you looked! These are photos from our apartment window, which is insane because there is so much light pollution! (P.S. for amazing tips on the best way to see the Northern Lights in Iceland, click here.)
11/5 – Another expat fail: trying to make mashed cauliflower with a mixer. Mashed cauliflower is my jam and I like to make it a lot with my meals. This was a nightmare. I couldn’t get the clumps to break up and the mixer was throwing cauliflower bits everywhere. It just didn’t work. I need a food processor in my life again!
11/8 – This weekend we went on a super awesome secret trip that I will be writing in a blog post soon!
11/14 – You know what’s awesome? Watching the fittest woman in the world and the third fittest woman in the world battle it out in the Icelandic Throwdown. These ladies are seriously amazing.
Things that are easier:
-I can now confidently go through the checkout line without looking like a foreigner! Unless I buy something American like an acorn squash and they don’t know what it is and ask me.
-I can now confidently go through the checkout line without looking like a foreigner! Unless I buy something American like an acorn squash and they don’t know what it is and ask me.
-You know you’ve adapted to living in Iceland when…you don’t even think twice about paying $7.50 for a pound of ground beef and don’t check to make SURE its organic AND grass fed for that price. And because there aren’t any other options.
Things that are still hard:
-One of my amazing friends from Houston just had a beautiful baby boy. And my little sister just got a first big girl job and apartment. It´s times like these that make living abroad really tough – missing milestones and not being able to celebrate them with the people you love. I SO wish I could be there to help with the baby or decorate the apartment.
-The light hours are still fewer and fewer every day. Currently the sun rises at 10:08am and sets at 4:17pm. This makes the whole trying to be a morning person reeeeally hard. I need a wake up lamp!
-My latest outrage was when I was running low on mascara and went to the store to buy another tube. The most basic mascara I could find was 2750 kr, which is $21.04 USD. I’m talking the cheapest brand. I’m not kidding. I protested and left the store and then immediately called my mom and told her to send me 5 tubes.
-Icelandic. Will it ever get better?
-Icelandic. Will it ever get better?
On another note, I have a final exam in Icelandic 1 tonight…wish me luck!
Question: What have you been up to lately? Is it snowing where you are?
