The Land of Fire and Ice: One Week Down

I have officially been here just over a week. Lesson learned: If the wind catches you off guard, you will be blown over... may or may not have happened to me. This week consisted of a lot more exploring, a few fun adventures and a few failed adventures. On one of my solo trips I was able to take the lift to the top of the tallest church in Iceland, Hallgrimskirkja. Not only is it the tallest in Iceland, but it was built on the tallest hill in Reykjavik... imagine the view. From there I explored the harbor and along the sea side. I will never be able get enough of the mountains visible from Reykjavik. The rest of the week consisted of figuring out schedules, finally receiving my Kennitala, or my Icelandic identification number, and failing to see the Northern Lights :( Saturday was quite exciting though! We made our way down to the harbor, once again, and found the Icelandic Flea Market! Think of anything, they had it. The market was in an enormous garage type building, chock-full of Icelanders selling their goods. Oh the wool sweaters I could have bought. Side note, I have to admit, I exchanged my sweater for a phenomenal wool blanket. I will leave all my clothes here in order to take this blanket home if it comes to that. The market also sold fresh fish upon fresh fish. A deliciously here in Iceland happens to be rotten shark. Yup, you read right, rotten shark. Of course, seven foreigners in a fish market would be on the prowl for this peculiar dish. The first man I asked about it replied "Of course we have it, now you must try it". Is it so obvious I am not Icelandic? Push came to shove, and I am proud to say I have now tried rotten shark. It tastes exactly like it sounds it would, rotten. Today we were supposed to go on a hike up Esjan Mountain, though the weather, as it tends to do in Iceland, changed very quickly and the trip was canceled. This weekend has been the first bad weather we've seen since arrival. Instead of the hike we went to a wonderful cafe type place called Bergsson with most of our house. Eat instead of hike, sounds about right. After being in this magnificent country a week I am finally starting to figure it out. The money conversion is not half as confusing as it was when I arrived, and bad weather means bad weather. I have not met many Icelandic people yet, though the ones I have met have been polite and helpful. A hint of homesickness has crept in realizing the true extent of four an a half months, though I am not ready to jump on a plane back home just yet!