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

tentative schedule

wednesday aug 31: pack, skit night rush party, say goodbye to the chapter, hangout with the family, say goodbyes.

thursday sep 1: shreveport to memphis at 640 am, memphis to boston by 1 oclock, checkin to hotel, dinner, tattoo from 7-830, explore?, crash.

friday sep 2: checkout of hotel at noon, sit on my butt at the airport and wait on folks, ship out to iceland at 9pm!!!

things i am going to miss:

my family, my friends, the chapter

bali and toby and maybe socks a little

my bed/shower

counter culture

riding my bike

my drumset

waking up and making coffee and playing the piano

mexican food

driving my car

listening to records

my home

being able to google my curiosities on my phone

the poolhouse

starbucks

goodwill

atkins ave

louisiana weather in the fall

spooky food night..... can't believe this isn't happening this year

the red river revel

the farmers market

THE EDWARD SHARPE SHOW

the parks

being able to roadtrip whenever i want

among other things.

home stretch

i am officially two weeks out from departing america!

things to get done before i jet:

-figure out the packing situation. i have a feeling 1 large suitcase, 1 medium, 1 ginormous pack, a carry-on, and my sleeping bag won't cut the travel limitations.

-purchase some stamps and medicine

-print/frame photos

-polish the rest of grandma's silver for some extra dough

-tidy up my place

after rush workshop this weekend is my going away party, can't believe i've already said goodbye to at least three or four of my good friends.. pretty surreal. i'm actually really dreading telling my family goodbye. they have been so supportive of everything i've wanted to do in my life but this has gotta be the biggest. going to miss goofin off with my daddy and hanging out with mom and meg.

the week after next is rush. i'm happy i get to spend time with the whole chapter before i go. i fly out the morning of sep 2 to boston, mass and hang out there all day and night. got a room at the hyatt harborside, vanessa's stayed there before and says good things. couldn't be more excited to explore boston and jamaica plain. vk and jay are trying to ride down from CT to meet me there. then the whole next day in boston and flying out to iceland at night. giddy!

--st

PS: did i mention i'm getting a tattoo? tehe.

co-operation

howdy! looks like a fellow CELL-goer has created a blog that is ten times more polished, articulate and informative than mine, thankfully. if you wanna learn more about the CELL experience/motive, read nate's blog here!: The Eco-Villager

later!

--st

pre-journey

left: this is a photograph of Alftavatn (otherwise known as swan lake). i'll give you a minute to take all that in...

so here is why it starts now: i'm sitting in my bed, 10 pm on a summer night, streaming through countless photographs and articles about iceland and listening to sigur rós's "staralfur" - typical, but not quite. it was around four years ago when i was exhibiting similar habits, typing iceland into google and yearning to visit the lush, dreamlike country. three years later i'm typing up my centenary application essay on said topic. now i'm here, relaxing at home for the short period of time that i have left here in louisiana, glancing at the pile of sweaters and raingear in my corner, and ticking down the days til i'm in my new home away from home.

that's 60 days, to be precise.

85 days. 10 kids. solid simplicity and new air that i'm craving, far far away from shreveport, LA... just like honey. if all my travel documents, credit transfers, and other assignments/inquiries were secured i think i'd be ready to hop that flight tomorrow.

it feels as if i blinked, and january magically became july. the overwhelming feeling of adventure and excitement courses through my veins a little louder now! and how swell of a thing that is to feel!

welcome to the blog, where i'll be updating as often as possible come sept 2. until then, check out these websites:

CELL

the center for ecological living and learning hosts the 3 month iceland program i'll be participating in. i'll be living in an ecovillage with around 100 citizens (about half with disabilities) that supports living sustainably by using different work methods to fulfill their dream of the "development of man and nature." all the while, we'll be taking classes so i can get those 15 credits for centenary and doing all kinds of neat things - just click the link.

Sólheimar

sólheimar (in english)

Video

until next time...

Nú duga engin vettlingatök.
“No more mitten-takes.” — used for: Do it right this time.

--st