I will be leaving for Iceland in less than a month!! Holey moley I'm more excited than I thought I would be. I mean, the four of us are leaving somewhere cold to go somewhere even colder. How this makes sense, I don't know, I couldn't tell you. But it's one of the girls' birthdays, which is why we're going, and I'm all for celebrating birthdays with trips. I guess you can't control when your birthday is, and hey, my birthday is in August and I left somewhere hot and humid to go somewhere MORE hot and humid. I guess that makes me crazy too! Iceland, for me, is one of those places that I hear a lot about, but I wonder what really makes it so "magical." I'm very skeptical about it, though I don't really know where this came from. I think I have placed my own assumptions and feelings about how things might be there that I neglected to put it on my list of top places I would like to go. I didn't even give it a chance. What these assumptions and feelings mainly revolve around is it being cold and also having "nothing to do there."
First of all, I have never been, so how in the world do I "know" that there isn't anything to do there. From the itinerary we have planned and another friend's recommendations, it seems like there is LOADS of things to do and, as long as you bundle up, the cold shouldn't be a problem. I also had similar reservations about Ireland, more centered on the "what even is there to do" argument, but I stand by my "don't pass up any doable adventure that comes your way" mentality, so I went anyway. And wow guys, I loved it! Ireland is an absolutely wonderful country, so vibrant and fun...but more on that in another post at another time. Long story short, it went from a place I never thought about going to, to a place I'd really like to go back and explore more of. Although close in spelling, Iceland will be a very different place from Ireland, but I have a feeling my appreciation for it will unfold in much the same way. I'll fall in love with the weird, quirky charms of a new country and the differences between this one and my own. As a lover of languages and learning, I'll revel in the excitement of seeing Icelandic everywhere and learning key phrases or words while also taking in facts and tidbits about the country itself. And once I come back I'll probably even find myself daydreaming about glaciers, snow covered landscapes, and frostbitten skies while the Northern lights dance behind my eyes.
The closer the trip inches, the more my doubts seem to melt away, replaced by the excitement and anticipation of a new adventure. What's even better is that I will be spending time with old friends and friends I've yet to meet while exploring a new country! I'll also be using the trip, with permission from the other 3 girls going of course, as a pilot episode for Crossing Borders. Which I think is so fantastic, especially given my personal reservations initially. It will be interesting to see how my own experience evolves as the trip goes on and also what perspectives the other 3 will bring to the adventure. This uncertainty is also one of the main points of Crossing Borders; to challenge ourselves and others to see past whatever assumptions they've created in their minds and to just go along for the journey and enjoy the ride. Life will take you to so many fascinating places if you let it.
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