Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
So I headed off from Norway on February 1, and time had felt like an odd concept ever since. I left in a hurry, and unfortunately left my life at home half completed (i am so sorry about that), and even my electricity bills are still in my name. Oh, well, I'll hopefully get that sorted out eventually.
So I came to Iceland bewildered with half finished plans for my trip and no idea about what I was on about or how to relate to time , place and activities. I didn't really know what I wanted to do on Iceland other than meet Ragga, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to live in the moment - that I would spend too much time on planning future activities, applying for universities and trying to reassemble the loose ends left at home.
The Iceland stop became a time to regain sleep after a hectic time in Oslo, party loose and see Ragga NOW, because I needed to see her. I can "always" get to Iceland somehow, as it is pretty close to Norway, but the essential part was to get her in the beginning and not in the end of the trip. I WILL have to go back there sometime and see more of the nature and country side, but this time I got to see Reykjavik's nightlife, cute cafe's and friendly people.
I also got to experience first hand how a people react to a sudden huge economic and political change. The impact of the financial crisis in Norway on my life was rather limited. Yes, I know that I felt it slightly in my line of work with getting less extra help for christmas, more restrictions on orders in december and a few lay-offs in the company, but it was nothing major. I also saw more sales before christmas and my father having to do extra work as an economist, but other than that, it didn't affect me and my friends to a great extent.
On Iceland, it was very different. People felt it. After what they now call a spending spree for years, the realization that the government(and partly, the people) were part of bringing the economy in to a state where they owe three times their GDP has made everyone I met ready for a change of attitude, and more importantly, a change of government. In a couple of months, they've gone from 0 unemployment to about 10%. Their currency has plunged. The inflation has been very noticeable, people have had to move out of their appartments not able to pay rent, and they have trouble paying back their loans. Changing attitudes towards spending is hard, but it's even harder when they feel like it's the governments fault. And in addition to that, everyone seems insecure about their country's future and the prospect of whether to join the EU or not. Norway's talked it over and over and over again, it's been on the political agenda for 30 years, but Icelanders seem to never have considered it before. And if Iceland joins, North Sea politics and economics might get very interesting for Norway and Iceland, and who knows whether Norway'll have to take another EU round...
Enough about politics: on Iceland, I really relaxed, didn't go to the blue lagoon(but took a picture of it from the air), did go to a local thermal bath in Reykjavik, did visit several cafe's and bars, spent time with Ragga, saw Slumdog Millionaire, which was worth the money and pretty much amazing, saw northern lights in a way I've never seen it dance across the whole sky, experienced a country with no trees and got lost and found again. I enjoyed wonderful food cooked by Ragga's mother(a meal not cooked by me! hurray!), waking up in the morning not having to do ANYTHING, applied for universities, wined and rummed in good company and got to meet Ragga's cute and wonderful friends. The best part was actually to get a little look in to Ragga's life and world these days, even if I didn't see nearly enough. I want to return.
- comments