Svana and Sigga

Two of my mother's first cousins, who grew up around the corner from her here in Keflavík but then both moved to Reykjavík, came to the lecture yesterday. I was so happy to see them in the audience, I almost started crying. Instead, as soon as the lecture was over, and before the questions were over, we all snuck out to start chatting. They asked about my family, especially my mom. And then I told them about my son being here in Iceland. He was over at my cousin's house (I thought the lecture might not quite be his cup of tea), and I so wanted to go get him so that they could see him. They have not seen him since he was 2 years old, and were really curious how he is growing.

So now I think I am starting to understand how my mom feels when she comes here to Iceland, and ironically one of the reasons she does not come more often. When she comes, she wants to see EVERYONE: every first and second cousin she used to play with, and to meet those she never did spend enough time with as a kid also. Every schooldays friend, every Icelander-who-lived-in-the-US-and-is-now-back-in-Iceland, etc. That adds up to a lot of people.

That is how I am feeling about Palmer being here. I want him to see everyone, meet everyone, play with every cousin he can possibly play with, as much as possible. I want him to understand there is a whole, wonderful society here on this windy, cold island, where he can make plenty of friends.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dett í, ofan á, úr, út

I´m not sure if someone had dett í (gotten drunk), or if það bara dett ofan á (it just sort of happened), or if some dett úr (forgot), but at any rate, my household goods dett út (have disappeared). Let's review the chronology here. Early August packers from the shipping company arrive at the apartment in Moraga. They load my 4 large plastic containers and 8 cardboard boxes, plus one baby crib, into their truck. I watch my things depart. In September, I ask the friendly girl (Magie is her name) if she happens to know when I might expect my stuff. Late September she tells me. I am most impressed. Extremely so. Mid October rolls around, and I have not gotten a call. And it occurs to me that I am going to be traveling through November. Hmm. So I call again. Well, yes, she tells me, looks like your shipment should arrive on the 31st of October. Now here I admit that maybe I was a little lacks. I had a lot to do before my trip, and so when they did not call me, I did not follow ...
Read more

Cultural tourism in Iceland

I just finished writing a chapter of my dissertation, which resulted in a much larger discussion of cultural tourism in Iceland than I had intended. But the fact is, this is an issue I have been extremely interested and concerned about for at least 15 years, if not 20. I have never, ever liked the way Iceland is marketed to tourists in the U.S. Everything from the unspoiled nature to the crazy city life in Reykavik. It has always left the part of Iceland I loved--the simple joy of being in a relaxing and lovely place with my family--completely out of the picture. In 2001, I went to Hvollsvöllur to examine the Saga Centre as part of a study commissioned by the National Park's service to look into cultural landscapes as heritage tourism. I thought that endeavor might represent a change in how Iceland was presented to tourists. But in the last 10 years, and especially while working at Vikingaheimar, and at meetings with the Saga Trails Association, I came to see just how completel...
Read more

On Icelandic doctors

My friends and family here in Iceland were very enthusiastic about me going to the krabbameinsfélag for an exam. I was really impressed how easy it was to get an appointment--booked online even! And when I got there this afternoon, the efficiency continued: they have a well oiled operation in place there, all very organized with computers asking questions and keyed lockers to keep one's personal belongings in. Then when it came time to see the doctor, well, that lasted all of 2 minutes. And I paid 3420 kroner. So I was overall a little disappointed. When I mentioned to the front desk clerks that I was wondering if it was possible to actually get an appointment where I could speak to a doctor, I was given a variety of phone numbers. None of the ones I called had appointments within the next 6 weeks. In the United States, when I want a doctor's appointment, I can usually get it within a week of calling, though sometimes I have had to wait 10 days or so. The highest co-pay I hav...
Read more