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Iceland

May 2019
May - June 2019 Read more
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  • TravelerIceland
    Day 2

    Day One!

    May 14, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    1) The first day of our trip consisted of traveling from Colby, KS to Denver, CO to Reykjavík, Iceland! When we stepped off the plane in Keflavík at the airport, it was a bitter awakening with cold wind and rain in our faces but our excitement was so great I didn’t mind too much!Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 3

    Hallgrimskirkja

    May 15, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    2) Hallgrimskirkja is one of the most iconic churches in Iceland, and it was right down the road from our air b&b at our stay in Reykjavik. The church is Lutheran which is the national church of Iceland every Icelander is born into.Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 3

    Exploring Reykjavík

    May 15, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    3) On our first day in Reykjavík, we took a walking tour of the city where we saw many beautiful murals. Street art and graffiti were everywhere; It was very neat to see these creations in person as we had seen many of them before in photos during class.Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 3

    Icelandic Book Store

    May 15, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    4) What about being in Iceland is a new experience for you?

    Never have I visited a country where English was not the first language spoken. Being in Iceland, the primary language of most people is Icelandic. This language is a very old one—with Nordic roots. The language has not evolved much over time as the country is an island fairly isolated from the rest of the world. Before traveling, I considered how successful communicating with foreigners would be. My expectations were that it would be difficult because I did not know very much Icelandic besides a few words such as ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ and ‘bathroom.’ However, upon my arrival in this country, I discovered the language barrier would not be as large of a problem as I had anticipated. Most of the people I encountered in Iceland spoke English, as well as Icelandic. Thus, once they understood I was a tourist who did not speak their language, they quickly changed their dialogue to English and the conversation was able to ensue. Only a few instances occurred where I or the person I was in conversation with struggled to understand each other even while speaking English. Usually, we were just using different words to describe specific items and we had to search our vocabularies for the right word/s to say what we were attempting to communicate. One instance I truly encountered the difference in language was at a used bookstore in Reykjavík. Many of the books were in Icelandic, but I recognized a few because of their cover or by using context clues to deduce that their title was one of a book I had previously read in English (e.g. the book in this photo is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien). There were a few books, however, that were in English—I think this just shows the versatility the people of Iceland have with different languages. I admire this quality and hope I can one day become at least bilingual.Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 4

    The Symphony

    May 16, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    5) Today I had the opportunity to listen to the Icelandic symphony at the Harpa Building, the music hall in Reykjavík. The music was beautiful and it was amazing to see how universal the language of music is... the conductor switched back and forth between English and Icelandic but many of the words for different music terms were the same in both languages.Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 4

    Meet Us Don't Eat Us!

    May 16, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    6) Write about one Icelandic leader you have met: introduce him or her, describe the parts of the leadership system in relation to him or her.

    At our “Meet Us Don’t Eat Us” service work, we met Marvin (far right). He was one of the leaders of the campaign who advocated for the whales in the waters of Iceland. His job was under human resources and he worked directly with tourists, recruiting some to help increase awareness of the campaign and urging others to sign the petition. His goal was to inform tourists that eating whale meat is not an Icelandic tradition and one should not participate in this activity, as it is harmful to the environment. In his leadership system, he was the leader and his followers were the tourists he recruited. Their relationship was often one that was brief but both positive and fulfilling. Marvin and his followers were dedicated to the improvement of Iceland’s economy and natural resources. They wanted what was best for the whales and the people of Iceland. The context surrounding this system was that Iceland is only one of two countries left in the world that allows commercial whaling. Iceland’s economy also relies heavily upon the tourist industry and so there is a heavy tourist presence around the whales and many tourists are misinformed on the information surrounding whaling. The positive change this system is bringing about is increasing awareness about the damage whaling causes on Iceland’s economy and the whales directly. Their ultimate goal is to make commercial whaling illegal in the country.

    Describe one act of a servant leader that you have witnessed in Iceland

    Marvin, as mentioned above, was not only just a leader we met in Iceland but also a servant leader. When we began petitioning, he taught us the best way to be persuasive with the tourists and then trusted us to go out on our own and communicate. He gave us the opportunity to work with the tourists and experiment with different techniques, even though he was the most qualified at the task. When we finished, he put the spotlight on us, praising us for a job well done and lifting up our small achievements. His humility and positive attitude truly stuck out to me as important behaviors of a servant leader.    Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 4

    "Challenging the Process"

    May 16, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    7) What are you hoping to learn about yourself as a leader on this trip?

    Throughout my freshman year, I have studied the five leadership practices one should implement into their daily routine to be an exemplary leader. Recently the members of our leadership team conducted tests to discover which of the practices was our weakest. In my leadership inventory, my weakest practice was “Challenging the Process.” As a leader, I tend to shy away from new ideas and the unknown—I am usually not a risk taker and generally choose the course of action that I know will work, instead of inventing new ideas to experiment with. While in Iceland, I had several opportunities to try new things and take initiative in activities. On the trip, I hoped to learn to recognize the times when I fail to seize the opportunity to experiment and the best way to push myself to take those risks that present themselves. One important activity that challenged me was advocating for whales and approaching tourists to talk with them about whaling. Then we had to use our persuasion skills to urge the tourists to sign the petition. I discovered that when I had the support of my friends with me, I was more likely to take a risk because I knew they would have my back if something went wrong. However, when I had to convince the tourist myself, I was more likely to retreat and avoid the situation altogether. Another tendency I noticed was that being unprepared in situations created higher feelings of anxiety about taking initiative, as I did not feel qualified to speak on the subject matter. I did not have much time to prepare what I wanted to say to the tourists because I was not well educated about whaling—I had just learned about the industry several hours before. Yet, pushing through those feelings and getting the job done allowed me to see the success of our group. In the picture, my team posed after successfully convincing five tourists to sign the petition. Working together as a team allowed me to feel more confident in uncertainty, but I will not always have this luxury. Thus, it would be beneficial for me to practice being placed in impromptu situations so I can learn how to manage the feelings that arise when I feel vulnerable, as many of the times those feelings are the only obstacle holding me back.Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 5

    Keeping Up the Energy!!!

    May 17, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    9) In Iceland, coffee and tea are included with every meal; however, I found that all the sightseeing and service work we were completing still had me exhausted. On a day in Reykjavik, we visited the University of Iceland and discovered these delicious Swiss energy drinks. Unfortunately, I won't be able to find these drinks in the States so I will enjoy them now while I can.Read more

  • TravelerIceland
    Day 7

    Brushing the Goats

    May 19, 2019 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    10) Upon arriving at the petting zoo, we were all given various assignments and chores to do. One of my favorite tasks was brushing the cashmere off the goats. It was definitely harder than I anticipated and we all had a good time chasing and holding down the rowdy goats.Read more

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