The Ground Of Intense Cold Under The Pole Star

It’s been Two weeks and half since I’m in Reykjavik (Iceland). To whom it may concern, like those of you who were sleeping during geographic class, an island in the middle of Europe & America (considered as european thought). Don’t ask how I got here. It’s a rather long and boring story but can be sumed-up by the words: "luck, motivation & opportunity". I had basically 2 weeks to pack my stuff. It helped a lot due to the fact that I didn’t really unpack from my last place :) (probably not very clear for some of you :) ) When I first put a foot in the icelandic ground, I directly realised how strange and different it feels than any other european country I have visited. Not that I have visited thousands of european countries but when I took a look around me, I was amazed to see no trees AT ALL. Only montains, rocks, and old volcano’s lava flows could be seen hundreds of kilometers around. Am I in a moon :D ? Not really… Indeed, I quickly smelt the SUVs and others sports cars gasoline burned everywhere near a road. Yeah, Reykjavik is a bloody rich city. People in here have probably the highest purchasing power in Europe. In that way I’m not feeling perticularly in the right place :D ! But anyhow it’s where I’ll stay a year. I cannot avoid myself comparing Reykjavik to Vaasa and noticing differences. The first big difference was that I felt not very confortable. I felt more like being a god damn tourist ! That’s somehow odd because I’ve always wanted to go there ! still… Althought I haven’t decide to land in Vaasa, I have directly found something attractive: Simplicity. I’m not saying that’s what should qualify any nice place to stay, but It radicaly changed from where I came from. For now in Reykjavik, I’m more planning doing my 12 months mission for the government, taking a month to visit that amazing country and get the hell out of here to go somewhere else. Ideally somewhere I can avoid thinking what to do next. Ok, ok. I already hear what you’re thinking.I admit I’m not here since a long time and things can change pretty fast. We’ll see. Anyway, I’ve just found a flat about 50 meters from my office (weeee !!) So I can wake up at 8h20, more or less, to start at 9am. I don’t want to talk about my job (later maybe) but it takes, naturally, most of my time. Last friday I had my first Icelandic adventure and as you’d probably guess, it started in a bar.I’ve been so much trained last year in Vaasa, That I felt back to Home ! uksi ollut / En öl ! A couple of my colleagues invited me to chill out after a week of work. The first thing I did was to find a way through the crowd and join the bar where I ordered a beer. I knew it but still, I was shocked ! 600 kr the beer. (around 6,5€) ‘Gloup’. I swear that you taste each sips you’re drinking when you can buy you and 2 of your pals a lunch for that price. Luckily, I met an icelandic girl proud to make me discover the local alcohol ! She actually insisted to offer me my drinks :D .Thanks to her my wallet didn’t lost that much weight this night. I got bored quite quickly thought. At 3.30am I left the place. More suprising than the bright light of the sky once stepping out of that bar was the people in the street hanging around. Are we a saturday afternoon ? Hey, do you guys actually sleep ? They were all leaving parties obviously or who knows what the hell they where doing there. Reykjavik seems as what people I met here yet tell me: Sophisticated, stylish and turning crazy on week-ends. Anyhow, I hope to stop using: ‘looks like’, ’seems’ or any other verbs like that, get an idea and dig aspects of Life in Iceland soon enough :)