The Land of Fire and Ice: Classes Are No More!

This week was the last week of classes before our Easter Break, and then finals. Monday and Tuesday consisted of turning in and continuing to write final papers for Icelandic Nature and Marketing Plans. Wednesday, we were able to go on a bird watching field trip with our teacher Hrefna, a woman very experienced in the activity. We walked around the school and main pond in the Reykjavik's center, Tjörnin. Hrefna told us about projects that were underway to re-create better habitats for the birds nesting around the university's campus. Though I do not think I will ever take up bird watching as a hobby, it was impressive to hear her knowledge on every bird we watched fly by. After the trip, Laura and I treated ourselves by going to the Tea Room in the City Hall building that overlooks the pond. It was lovely and filled with lace. Friday night we were invited to dinner at the Resident Halls on campus. An Australian friend was making dinner for a group, and celebrating another friend's birthday. It was a pleasant evening, meeting many new people and enjoying a tasty meal. After, we made our way to the Student Cellar for the rest of the night. Saturday morning was an early morning; we were going on another field trip, this time for Volcanology! The bus left at nine, and we did not return until six in the evening. We went around the Reykjanes peninsula, an area southwest of Reykjavik. I believe I learned more on this nine hour field trip than I have in most of the classes. By the end of the trip we were convinced, the two men who taught us, between the both of them, know everything there is to know about volcanoes. Not saying that they did a poor job of teaching us, it just is a subject that is so much more fascinating to learn when actually seeing the fissures and crevasses in the earth, and feeling the hardened lava beneath your fingers. And that we did. We examined lava field after lava field, crater after crater, and even crossed from the North American continental plate to the European plate. Iceland is an amazing place to learn about the earth. Now for Easter Break!