Well, here I am. Still in Iceland, but only until tomorrow! I guess you've seen the photos below. I will load more when I get time (and when I get my school computer account working!). But I am going to throw in this photo of me with an Icelandic horse, which is uber cute (the horse, not me. They're just little and furry and adorable).

But yes, still in Iceland and heading home tomorrow at 1.30PM. I'm looking forward to getting back to the Faroes but it will be horrible to leave Silja for the second time! Ah well, we'll just have to get her to New Zealand. Or me back here.

Anyways, so our week has been as follows:

Tuesday we went to the Golden Circle, which consists of Þingvellir (oldest parliament in the world), Gullfoss (the golden waterfall which is huuuuuge and not very golden, at least not in the middle of winter) and Geysir (if you can't guess what that one is, it's geysers). That was awesome but it's also a major stop on the tourist trail and we ran into the same people all the way round, guess we followed a tour bus. But yeah, there are a few photos in the post below from that and I shall post more in due course.

On Wednesday we did nooooothing. Silja read a book that she had to read for school and I .. slept the whole day. At 7.30 we headed to her dad's place where we were invited for dinner with the whole family and I got to meet all of Silja's step-siblings, which was nice. And dinner was really really good - lobster soup to start and pesto chicken salad as a main, followed by a very decadent chocolate cake which was absolutely delicious. It was the birthday of Friða, Silja's sister-in-law and I think that was the reason for the meal, though it may have partly been me also. Either way, the food was unreasonably good. Afterwards we all sat around talking - Icelandic people find the Faroe Islands HILARIOUS, so we had plenty to discuss. And we wound up watching music DVDs until the not so early hours of the morning, because Silja's dad has a great collection.

On Thursday we also did nothing - we had meant to head up North to visit Silja's nana but we decided against that because the weather was so incredibly bad.

So we went on Friday - the drive took us about 3 hours and we wound up in Valgerður's (Silja's mum's) hometown of Sauðárkrókur, which has about 2000 people and a fish factory. It's on the coast between two mountainous pensinsulas that jut out into the North Atlantic. In the bay between the two peninsulas you can see 2 small islands, and there's a local story about one of them that two trolls, husband and wife, were moving their cow across the bay when the sun rose and turned them into stone. The cow and the woman still stand, but the man has apparently fallen into the sea.

Silja's grandma was really, really sweet, even though she spoke no English and didn't understand much either, if any. I'm not entirely sure. But I understood most of what she said to me, which was probably because of the huge similarities between Faroese and Icelandic, and I wound up answering either with mimes or in a weird pidgin-Icelandic language. But yes, the North was really nice and I met a LOT of Silja's cousins. She has a lot of cousins. But yeah. Last night the Northern Lights came out really strongly, and Silja, one of her cousins and I went out of the town to see if we could catch them more clearly. I couldn't photograph them, but Silja could, and I will see if I can procure her photos. Afterwards we went to a party at her uncle's place.

We drove back today and got to Reykjavík at about 3PM, and it was good to be back, though the North was lovely and I intend to return! And yes, it's Easter Sunday so we are all eating chocolate and doing very well, and apparently we have turkey for dinner so that's something to look forward to.

Anyways, I'd better go and pack my suitcase if we're heading out in the morning.

Kelsy

:)

Silja looking snowboardy
The blue lagoon
Silja and I being sexy as usual
The beautiful view from Þingvellir
Where the tectonic plates are moving apart at Þingvellir
Silja standing on a rock at Reykjavík's only white beach (the sand is imported and the ocean is heated)
Leif Eriksson or however you spell it. In front of the massive cathedral thing anyway
Silja standing on the [very, very frozen] Reykjavík pond
Silja and I at Kolaportið, the awesome waterfront flea market
Me somewhere in Reykjavík, big shopping street anyway
Huge cathedral in central Reykjavík (note amazing weather)Pond in central Reykjavík, you can just see the frozen bit in the background

Silja and I at a concert on Friday night
Silja looking hot as always
Silja and I atop the Pearl, or Perlan

Beautiful view of the city and the mountains from Perlan

Perlan, massive building made mostly of water tanks (.?)

Well hey hey, late again, but that's my culture now ... (in case I hadn't mentioned it before, everybody in the Faroe Islands is customarily late. As a rule.)

Um well, what has happened in the last week? Well, first things first, I got the week off school last week which was a total bonus except for the massive essay I had to write (for Faroese class but I got to write in English because even Faroese people can't write Faroese properly. Nice, huh?). But I only got 4 days while everyone else for 5 BECAUSE I was scheduled to fly out to Iceland at 11AM on Friday morning. And I did and hoorah, here I am in the 'land of the ice and snow, the midnight sun where the hot springs blow' to quote the trusty Led Zep.
And they have all these funny letters on the keyboard like þ and ð and ö and so excuse me if they pop randomly into my words, they're not meant to be there. Unless the words are Icelandic which is unlikely!

Um, yes. I am sitting here at Silja's house - for those of you who don't know Silja (and I pity you) she was my host sister back in NZ on AFS for a year (except I was only there for 6 months so I guess the other 5 don't really qualify) and I have finally made it up to Iceland to visit her. And, by finally, I mean 2,5 months after she made it back to Iceland. Haha. No rest for the wicked. But so far she seems to be handling me fine ... I have also met her mum, and her dad and her brother, all of whom I heard so much about in New Zealand so it's really cool to finally meet them. As Silja says, though, it's extremely weird to be together again on the other side of the world. It's like we are in the wrong country. But it's amazing and awesome and great all the same.

Uh, so yeah, I landed on Friday at about 12.30PM local time and headed to Silja's school with her where I went to her chemistry class (it was pretty fun if a little random) and met her friends. After that, we headed home and hung out for a while discussing stuff and the like. At 7PM(ish) her dad and stepmum picked us up and we went out for dinner with them to a pizza place where we got a really nice dinner of pizza (the waitress picked mine as I was incapable) and just discussed stuff ... I told a lot of stories that Silja had apparently neglected to tell them and yeah, 'twas a right laugh. Then we went to a concert which Silja's dad shouted, and it was fantastically great - if Icelandic and so pretty un-understandable. They had a fantastic sax guy. Look them up if you're bored - Sálin Hans Jón Míns is their name and they're really good even after they've played for 20 years. The concert was from 10PM until 12.30AM and as we went in we saw the Northern Lights, only for a minute or so but in green, pink and purple which was so extremely beautiful.
And yeah, afterwards we headed home to sleep!

On Saturday morning the plan was that Silja would get up, go to work, come back, pick me up and we'd head out Reykjavík sightseeing. Sadly she never made it out of the house before she fell asleep again and we wound up heading out at about 11ish and making a really shoddy job of the offices she was meant to clean before running off into Reykjavík to check everything out.
Reykjavík is beautiful and I love it. We went to a place called Perlan (the Pearl) which is a massive building built mainly out of water tanks that supply Reykjavík with water. There's a huge glass dome on top and a deck which you can walk around and see clear to the mountains on all sides. We were really lucky, as I flew in to the best weather Iceland had possibly ever seen - the bluest, clearest skies and not a wisp of cloud or breath of wind. It was beautiful and we could see all the way to this glacier way in the North. It was amazing.
Then we went to the only white beach in Reykjavík which is handmade and features snow and a pool of up-heated ocean, which is cool. Or warm. Silja and I found it pretty hilarious as it was about 5 degrees and we posed on the sunbeds they have there. They also have a volleyball net and all manner of beachy stuff - it's like they're really trying to turn it into Hawaii or something. It's very picturesque, but it's also very cold.
Following this we headed to a beautiful big church which is yeah ... massive and just pretty and can be seen from most places in Reykjavík. We headed in and looked around, there was a huuuuuuuuuge organ, and then we walked downtown, investigated the shops and the pond which was heavily frozen and which people were riding bicycles across (so we walked on it, just to say we did). And so we headed to Kolaportið which is the huge fleamarket on the waterfront. I scored some nice second hand clothes which Silja is now modifying and which are very cool. Eventually we headed home, and made a really interesting dinner, the recipe for which I am including below:
1. Overcook rice.
2. Put too much chili powder on the chicken.
3. Burn chili powder.
4. Find a random curry sauce a la internet recipe.
5. Take curry sauce recipe and put in every second ingredient.
6. Mix.
7. Eat.
That was risotto according to Silja and Kelsy.
The next day being yesterday we went snowboarding or rather Silja did and I spent the entire day sitting on my ass in the snow (what can I say, I have zero natural balance). Which was fun as the day was beautiful and there were lots of snowy holiday makers to watch including one guy who kept rocking up who was just as bad as we were. Or, I was. And it was really ironic as we waited two whole hours in a queue just to get the boards and boots (which are uncomfortable but hey). But yeah, it was pretty fun, especially when I bailed hard out on my back going up the lift! Seriously, I made it like 4m, I believe.
After we did that, we came home, got some hot chocolate, and then Silja and I headed out to the Blue Lagoon which is the most beautiful place in all the world (and very, very blue). Pictures and the like can be found on www.bluelagoon.com and yes, it's all very exciting. We sat in hot water and picked up mud with our feet and saunaed and spaed and all sorts of lovely geothermal things for a while. It was very, very nice. And warm. Except we had to run outside in the cold in bikinis before we got into the water, which was unpleasant. But yes, it's lovely and anyone who ever goes to Iceland HAS TO GO TO THE BLUE LAGOON because it is great.
Then we went home and had a really really good dinner involving lamb and baked potatoes (which I failed at having never had before). But yeah, we did OK!

Today we were going to go the Golden Circle (google it) but we never quite made it and we intend to go tomorrow. Early. Which means getting up at a normal time. Ouch. But yeah, today we wound up heading to the mall where I had Chinese food for the first time since I´d left New Zealand (and even seeing a mall was exciting as were the motorways we had to drive on to get there). And Silja bought pants and moisturiser and yes, it was fun. And I bought a hip flask with Iceland on it (..?).
And so we headed home and ate dinner which was leftovers of pretty much the entire weekend's food. And really good.

Anyways, that's a seriously long blog so I shall head off. Yay! And yeah, go to bed ...
Goodnight!

I saw the Northern Lights for the first time last night. I was driving back from Kaldbak with my friends Sunniva and Christina - we'd been at Sunniva's place eating candy and watching Sweeney Todd. It was 4.30AM when we headed back and as we got in the car I was complaining that I hadn't seen the famous Aurora Borealis yet. Christina said that they came out every night, it was just that cloud prevented us from seeing them.
I was not impressed.
But anyway, halfway back to Havn, the cloud in the sky just kinda parted and I was looking to see if they were there. And there was this greenish light but it wasn't especially exciting looking and I figured I just had a very optimistic imagination.
As we drove into Tórshavn, though, it became obvious that the Lights were out in full force, bright and strong and right above us. The clouds disappeared over to the horizon somewhere and we all got out of the car and just stood watching them for about 15 minutes. Sunniva and Christina said that it was the strongest they'd ever seen them. And they were just like big pillars of green light that shimmer and move. And sometimes turn pink. It was really, really amazing.

But yeah, that's pretty much the most exciting happening of my week - apart from that it's just been school, really - something I DON'T have to deal with this week as we have a massive Faroese essay that we get the whole week for. And we do it at home. Yay! :) I had to translate my story out of Faroese first, though, but thankfully I finished doing that today. It's called Sorg (Sorrow) and is very pretty and poetic and I discovered a lot of very interesting Faroese words - they have words for everything, I swear.
For example:
leikapettini - broken pieces of crockery one finds on a beach.
Clever, huh? And their word for shingles is very good as well - helvitiseldur, which literally means hell's fire.
But yes, Faroese is just one of those very functional languages with words for ... yeah, everything.
Anyway, I think that's about all I had to report except that I am heading to Iceland in 5 days and I can't wait! It shall be wonderfully fun.
And so I'm off ...
Kelsy

A long time ago, Stacey (the other New Zealander) and I, wrote an account of all the stupid, stupid things we've done and that have happened to us since we've been here in the Faroes. Because A LOT of stupid, stupid things happen to us. And we DO a lot of stupid, stupid things. We're just as flaky as each other.
And this week, nothing overly exciting has happened - I went out on Friday and last night, and had an AFS day yesterday where we made thingys out of wool. That's really all. O, and I had mock exams in maths and chemistry (and bio but I didn't go to it).
So, because nothing exciting has happened, I am going to put in the List Of Stupid Stuff Kelsy and Stacey have done - a.k.a SAK Moments. There are many.

SAK Moments
-Kelsy going out for coffee after purchasing a bucket of jam (1kg) and putting it in her handbag (they don't have free plastic bags here and I'm a struggling exchange student)
-The Russian vodka theory - poor exchange students + a really good moonlighting system = MONEY (costs about $75 for 500mL of Smirnoff here).
-Stacey and Kelsy going out for pizza plus badminton racket which Stacey then managed to hit Kelsy on the [bad] knee with. The best bit is we were meant to go to badminton but we went to Pizza 67 instead ...
-The flying lawnmower theory - how do people here cut the grass on their rooves? Do they mow it? And what happens if the roof is steep and they lose control? Do people get ... killed? maimed? by flying lawnmowers?! (Later we discovered they use sheep. Yes, sheep.)
-Kelsy's insane random bursts of laughter ... usually in public places and class. Or AFS meetings while everyone is sitting around the table in awkward silence. NOTE, NZ FRIENDS: This is always, ALWAYS a result of an in-joke I have remembered. Or a party moment.
-"Who's shaving their beard?" - Stacey, when my host sister informed us that she was going to cut her hair. Funniest bit was, she came back with a random lump shaved off, just above her ear ... why do I never have a camera handy??
-Us going whaling ... me wearing a jumper with New Zealand on it ... possibly a not-so-good plan, better, though, than Stacey's continuous yelling of 'KELSY'S IN GREENPEACE! LET'S KILL SOME WHALES!'
-Stealing posters from Steinatun(centre of town)/everywhere ...
-Me getting yelled at by drunken Faroese guys at a concert who then asked my host sister to ask if I was horny. Yay.
-Taking down all of the posters at our school in the dead of night, except for one row which we couldn't reach, so then everyone thought that the poster stealers really liked Høgni Reistrup ..
-The guy in the phone shop, Kall, chatting us up hard out. He even went so far as to say 'So ... how do you like the guys here?' (I was so shocked I actually said 'What?!' and he had the nerve to repeat himself, then told us his life story. Apparently he moved here from Columbia when he was 3 but if he went back wouldn't feel the heat because he's black. Stacey: 'Doesn't black attract the sun?' (Though she didn't actually say it, thank god))
-Stacey unceremoniously plonking her handbag in my newly purchased ice-cream. Apparently she still feels bad. Maybe she can buy me a new one, one day.
-The Rating system. 1-100 and only applicable for those with genders beginning with M. -10 points if you're short. I believe it was -20 for acne but good hair gives you an extra 10. Beware, when we stare this is what we're figuring out.
-'Did Neil die?!' Stacey, after watching The Matrix Revolutions. A little confused, seeing as the guy's called Neo ...
-Stacey successfully lit the table decorations on fire at the [somewhat swanky] AFS function to celebrate their 50th anniversary. While we were in hysterics, the girl across the table calmly picked them up and blew them out.
-Us applying the rating system to the waiters (all of whom presumably understood English) as they served dinner.
-Us attempting to apply the rating system to identical twins (but seriously, one is hotter than the other). Oh, and they were also waiters. Very confusing as one stopped me and attempted to talk to me - he was one of my tutors at the beginning of the year (he was the hot one, by the way). I stood there shellshocked for a bit at the fact that he a) remembered me at all and b) remembered my name and then said [best line ever], 'BUT THERE'S TWO OF YOU!'
-'My foot has a soul.' -Stacey, at language class, a wee bit confused (as usual).
-'Leggings look silly when you take off your boots and expose ankle socks and half a foot of leg. Pardon the pun ...' - Me. I wish I'd come up with that one conciously.
-We invented a different way to play Guess Who? or Hvem er Hvem? This involved asking questions and the person on the other end giving the opposite answers. It's quite interesting and you invariably wind up with the wrong people.
-After a party at my mate's place we walked home at 2AM, possibly earlier, though I wasn't overly keen. Stacey, feeling bad at making me walk 20 minutes home alone, turned up half an hour later, knocking on the window and going, 'Are you OK?'
-Meeting Jannick the Dane on the bus, who, delighted that I could speak [some, or very little] Danish, started ranting. In Danish. He then gave us an intriguing liquor that is apparently based on Fisherman's Friend - avoid.
-I rang Stacey up at 11.50PM one night, much to her dismay. I'd decided to plan our weekend. She thought I was having a crisis. Or something. Now every time I say, 'I had a revelation!' (I actually say it a lot, worryingly) Stacey goes, 'Wow. You didn't ring me at midnight this time. Dry, Stacey, dry.
-Stacey at arrivals camp, talking to the German girl who told Stacey that she hated English. It was really nice and aftwerwards I was informed that Stacey had had an urge to turn around and start loudly discussing Hitler. Social skills, ja?
-HUGIN.
-Went shopping in the first snow in Havn! And ate ice-cream. Once a kiwi, always a kiwi.
-Singing Loyal at the AFS function, Stacey, who had a cold, held the mic a little close but we did OK.
-Lisa deciding that Stacey and Ice were madly in love (Ice is the extremely antisocial fellow from Thailand - we didn't think he spoke English for a long time until we realised he just didn't speak English to girls).
-Me and my perfume shopping, as Stacey and Celeste followed me around looking bored.
-Joining the TenSing Gospel Choir and leaving after an hour when they started the bible readings. Not trying that one again ..
-AFS 'recreation day' in the little town of Tjørnuvík where I bailed hard out on my tailbone (don't run in stockings, guys) and pretty much mashed my back. This was all made better with a few panadol and dancing the entire night (I think we got home at 5.30AM).
-My painkillers which my host sister wrapped in tin foil for me and which I whipped out and took on the dance floor (the night after I wrecked my back in Tjørnuvík) much to the horror of many onlookers, who probably all think I'm a drug pusher, or at least a junkie...
-Stacey's classmate, Grímur, informing me that he 'frrrrrreakin' LOVES Stacey' over and over again at some random party.
-Stacey calling one of MY classmates at about 4AM, only to discover HE WAS ASLEEP.
-'MY HOVERCRAFT IS FULL OF EELS.' Stacey deciding I was insane after I sat on the train in Copenhagen reciting Monty Python to Cory who had never seen it.
-'So I got a myspace and I have this random friend called Tom ... I don't know who he is! But I sent him a message asking,' - Stacey
-Wool-stuff-making-day in Skáli - I turned around to look out the window at one point and spotted 4 guys in full chemical suits with oxygen tanks, gas masks, helmets and everything, happily walking around the village. Everyone was extremely confused except Stacey, who spent ages trying to make me think I imagined it.
-Meeting one of the waiters from the swanky AFS dinner (see above) at the New Years party I threw. Even better, he was OUR waiter, he remembered Stacey setting the table decorations alight, AND asked what he got in the rating system (yup, they heard us, alright).