Kani

I never feel more American here in Iceland than when I go to the grocery store, and try to make a friendly comment to other shoppers, about the greenness of the bananas or whathaveyou. They always stare at me, and I try to tell myself I probably made a grammatical error or something to account for their less-than-friendly response. The fact is Icelanders only say a quick hello to close associates at the grocery store and do not make idol chit-chat with strangers.  In California, this constitutes a major facet of our sense of being part of a community. 

Today I asked a staff member for help, and was so self-conscious about it, I felt compelled to start explaining I was half-American, etc. Turns out the staff-member's father was also stationed at the base, his mom also Icelandic, which isn't so unusual here in Reykjanesbær, and we ended up in a 10 minute conversation. Next time I'll try it the Icelandic way, no talking to anybody. 

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