sustain(able)ity

whew. the first five days at sólheimar have flown by. what i've experienced in the past five days has already begun the unavoidable (and very exciting) process of changing my mind. i've eaten several meals made from icelandic ingredients, all which have been tremendously satisfying and healthy. my body is already adjusting and i couldn't be happier about this. spending breakfast and dinner with the whole CELL group makes me feel so at home, and our daily lunches with the sólheimar community are entertaining and rewarding. the cafeteria has served us fish with pineapple curry sauce, chicken and potatoes, and lamb stew - just a little food imagery to get your taste buds curious.

i am in awe of the landscapes i am blessed to wake up to every morning. as far as the eye can see are moss-covered mountains in the distance. surreal doesn't even touch the emotion i experience everytime i walk out the backdoor of the brekkukot house. i love exploring the new buildings and workshops. there is so much magic here, i feel as if iceland may never fully sink in.

classes are going great. our icelandic language/history course is off to a wonderful start. we are learning the icelandic alphabet, which excludes c, q, and w, and has three letters i've never encountered before: ð, þ, and æ. as the days progress, my icelandic tongue that was born on saturday has progressed and i am able to make more complicated sounds when communicating with the people here, like "dl" and "eegh" and "kva" (harder than it looks). our other CELL class started today and we had a remarkable three-hour discussion that was pretty much popcorn style with everyone ratting off their opinions, but very respectfully with everyone else listening actively, something that the group strives to always practice. today left me with improved outlooks on sustainability, environmental/mental possibilities, diet, my subconscious, and death.

my double dorm right now is very quiet. in iceland, the only thing that makes a sound is the wind - and when you are guarded from that wind, the world settles down enough to let your mind blossom. although we are all struggling to find a balance, i will speak for myself when i say i have revolutionized my thinking in a mere 120 hours. this growth would not have been possible were it not for katherine, karin, sylvia, ben, nate, jason, phil, rachael, victoria, jeannie, lizzie, maddy, cassie, eric, katrin, and the sólheimar community. i am falling in love with everyone, and i think they are beginning to notice. (gott.)



tomorrow: reykjavik.
i put this post to rest tonight with a haiku:

mountains feel no ease
buggy moss, and sleeping cold
heroes are the hills

st

HERE!

only took five years... but i have arrvied in ICELAND!!!

i am currently running on about 20 minutes of sleep over the course of 28 hours. eric and i sat in the terminal at the airport since 11am and we boarded the flight at 930pm. by that time i was exhausted so i took some medicine to help me sleep on the flight (5hrs) and i couldn't get comfortable so i basically time traveled and am wasting away. the fact that i am so delirious right now is really overshadowing the fact that i am in ICELAND. we took an hour bus ride to solheimar and the whole ride was just breathtaking. purpley green mountains with black volcanic rock crumbling down the sides, plenty of beautiful icelandic horses and sheep, oh and my favorite "bonus" which is apparently really cheap food. i had some of their cereal for breakfast this morning and it was delightful.

when we arrived at Solheimar, we entered the Brekkukot house, which is the student housing. it is a gorgeous building with a two long hallways with dorms branching off, a relaxing den area, a beautiful kitchen with a long table to feed the whole mess of us, and a patio that looks like is getting some renovation. overall, it feels like home, and for that i am thankful (this could just be the sleep talking though. bed right now = heaven). breakfast consisted of fresh apple/orange juice, a variety of teas and coffee, white/wheat bread with cheese and mushroom spread, oat and raisin cereal, fresh bananas, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, the works... it was lovely. after breakfast we assigned rooms and i am now living in dorm 10 (a double) with miss maddy jacknin who has kept me laughing since she arrived yesterday afternoon. i am delighted to share a dorm with her.

the tour of Solheimar was quick but exciting. i am really antsy to jump in the 85 degree swimming pool and use the gym here. but what i am happily anticipating the most is our classroom - it looks so fresh and polished. the walls are adorned with framed wool and pictures of different wildflowers and birds and whathaveyou, i have a feeling i will be spending a lot of time in these buildings just reading and reading until my eyes fall out of my face.

above all, i am so thrilled to get to know everyone who is participating. we have what seems like a very multi-faceted, compassionate, willing and able group of students and instructors here at our new home in Solheimar.

but for now i need to nap before my head explodes.

namaste

st

boston

from what very little i have seen of boston it is beautiful! my hotel is harborside, and the view from my room is breathtaking and reminds me a little too much of new york - sigh.

i hardly got a wink of sleep last night and woke up at 4:45. both flights were fine. my second flight i sat next to a girl a couple of years older than me and we talked about her tattoos and other things. she was cooler than the iranian snoring from shreveport -> memphis.

think i'm gunna crash for a few hours and then head into downtown around 6. getting my tattoo in less than five hours.... wish me luck!!!

--st