So I figure I've been in this country over seven weeks and I still haven't really told you anything about the country itself. Except for a few things when I first arrived, and before I came, you still know very little about the essence of this strange little country.
Strange to you, but not to me any more. I can understand their customs now, they make sense to me. I've lived amongst these people for a while and I get what they do because everything comes with a reason.
Being an isolated little country in the middle of the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands had to learn to be self-sufficient a long, long time ago. And so they farmed the wild, wiry sheep that they brought from Norway in 800AD and grew potatoes, because that was all they COULD grow in the shallow, infertile soil. And they dried the lamb because it was too tough to cook otherwise, and they kept it outside in the cold - no need for a refrigerator. They caught fish - there was an abundancy of that, and they hunted whales when they came into the bay.
Today, they eat the same food and it's delicious, I must say. Though I shall be well and truly over potatoes when I get back to New Zealand.
It's funny how they cook, sometimes - they love the skins of both meat and vegetables, even though they don't eat them. Fish and potatoes are often cooked with the skins on, because that way they absorb the nutrients better. It's healthier. And then you peel the potatoes and/or fish on your plate.
The food is very, very good, though. lots of herbs, spices, meat. There are lots of salads now, though apparently there never used to be. And it's good.
They still eat a lot of dried lamb and fish, and grind (whale meat) when they can get it. Dried lamb and fish is delicious, but I haven't tried grind yet. I'll let you know on that one.
The people are the kindest I have ever met. My class make me word lists of Faroese, they teach me every day. My host family are fantastic - they help me with everything and I feel like a real part of the family. As if letting me live in their home for a year wasn't enough. And even people on the street are absolutely happy to help you if you ask for directions or anything. They all speak English, some, at least, and if not they will point you in the direction of someone who does.
The weather is very, very cold. Sitting on maybe seven or eight degrees most days, but that's OK. The air is amazingly clear and on a good day, the sky is incredibly blue. At night, you can see the Northern Lights, but not properly yet. That will come in the winter. The wind is gale force most days, too, but nothing for the Faroese. And the rain isn't as I expected. Their torrential is my drizzle. And they have no electrical storms. But it's all made up for by the fog.
If you can imagine torrential fog, this is it. You can't see your feet when you walk in it - thats how thick it is.
The houses are beautiful - sooo colourful, and some of them have rooves of grass. The gardens are lovely and from most houses in Tórshavn, you can see the sea. Tórshavn central is especially gorgeous, cobbled streets and houses very, very characteristic of the old Faroe designs. I'll put photos up when I can.
And there are always ships on the harbour. It's so fantastically beautiful.

My week has been good - school again, and I'm back at it now, though in a few weeks I get a week-long Autumn break. I like school here, though. It's very social.
I had my host grandad's birthday on the weekend in Klaksvík and that was fun - also had an AFS thing in a little town called Gøta where I finally got to see the other AFSers, Celeste and Katharina again (they live in Klaksvík and Toftir, both about an hour and a half's drive from Havn). So that was good.

Anyway, I must head off to bed as I have school in the morning, but I shall leave you with this thought:
the word høna in Faroese means both chicken and stapler, and the word for staple is egg - so when you staple something, the stapler lays an egg. Genius.

Goðanátt, Kelsy
P.S Comments, guys, comments ...