ERASMUS RUBEN MARCO
My Erasmus experience in Iceland from September 28 to October 5
Everything started on Saturday. I was very excited to finally visit Iceland. The whole group met near the school in case there were any issues with luggage. My aunt had to drop me off because my parents were working. We arrived 15 minutes early and picked up the teachers from their homes so they wouldn't have to walk to the meeting point with their luggage. Once we were all ready, we headed to Alicante airport. We checked in our luggage without any issues and still had an hour to spare before boarding the plane, which we used to walk around the airport. At 10:15, we boarded the plane for a 4-hour flight that felt endless. I had downloaded some movies that kept me entertained for two hours, but the last two hours were unbearable. I kept getting up to stretch my legs and go to the bathroom. During one of those times, I found an iPhone in the bathroom and wondered what to do. I decided to hand it to the flight attendant, which was the best thing I could have done.
When we landed, we went to pick up our luggage, and luckily, mine was the first to come out. Joaquín was so desperate that he grabbed a suitcase that wasn’t his. He didn’t even know what color his suitcase was, as it was completely different from the one he took. Once we all had our luggage, it was time for the moment we had all been waiting for—the reunion with our Icelandic hosts. They all looked the same and hadn’t changed a bit, except for Julian, who joined the group since Oule was in America. As we left the airport and headed toward their cars, we realized we were going to be very cold.
In the car, they told us they would take us to a supermarket to buy whatever we wanted. But no one bought anything since we were more interested in sleeping than eating, although it gave us a chance to see how expensive Iceland is. Finally, it was time to go to our homes. On the way, I noticed how sparsely populated Iceland is, with large empty fields, few houses, and completely deserted roads. As we say in Spain, "there wasn’t a soul around." When we arrived, I thought the family would be waiting for us, but they were all asleep. Solveig told us to help ourselves to whatever food we wanted. I grabbed a piece of toast with jam, and Carla took some chocolate. Then Solveig showed us the rooms and bathroom, and we finally went to sleep.
Day 2
When I woke up, I waited for Carla to get up because I didn’t want to go downstairs alone. While I waited, her father saw the door open, came in, and introduced himself. A few minutes later, Carla woke up, and we both showered. Then we went downstairs and gave them all the gifts we had brought. They opened them while we had breakfast with some coffee. Afterward, Julián and Joaquín arrived, and the three of us got in the car to head to Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, to have lunch at a mall. Before that, though, they took us to a beach. But it wasn’t a typical beach; it was more like a gulf with no waves, almost like a lake. They explained that people swim at the beach and then go to the spa right across from it. After visiting the beach, we went to the mall nearby. We browsed a few stores, but the prices were incredibly high. We ended up having lunch at SBARRO, where Solveig treated Carla and me. The food was really good. Out of nowhere, Solveig and Amelia left and then came back with cards they had bought for us to play for 30 minutes in an arcade with basketball games, motorbike simulators, etc. After playing, we headed back to their house and relaxed while Solveig's father prepared dinner. He made chicken with a sauce and some vegetables, which was delicious. At dinner, I asked where her mother was, and he told me she was on a trip since she is a flight attendant and was currently in New York. After dinner, we helped clear the table, sat on the couch, and waited for everyone to arrive to watch a movie and play a board game. We watched The Hangover, and after everyone left, we cleaned up and went to bed.
Day 3
I showered at 7:30 a.m. since we had to be at the school by 8:00. We quickly had breakfast and went to visit the school. It was huge and had every type of program imaginable. In the carpentry program, they were building wooden houses that they later sold. They gave us a tour of all the classrooms and the entire school. There was a lounge with sofas, video game consoles, a foosball table, and more. Afterward, at 10:30, we visited the Rock 'n' Roll Museum, which showed how rock arrived in Iceland and how it evolved. The museum had a dance floor and a concert hall. They also had several electronic instruments like guitars and drums that we could play with headphones, so no one else could hear us. There was also a soundproof room where we could sing karaoke with music on a TV screen. We spent two hours at the museum, and afterward, we went to a nearby burger place. It had a set menu, so we couldn’t choose our burger, but it was really good. There were tons of sauces to choose from. After lunch, we took a bus tour of the peninsula. Our first stop was at a lighthouse, which was really cool. There was also a campsite and a museum about farming machinery, like old engines and fishing tools. There was a model of an old house and artifacts like sewing machines and telephones. Then we headed to a rift that divides Europe and America, stopping at a small village with a tiny church and cemetery. While walking to the church, we found a soccer ball and a goal, so we played for a bit before continuing to the rift. We took some photos standing between the two continents. From there, we saw geothermal waters with a lot of steam. We were warned not to touch the water because it was very hot. When we arrived, the smell was awful—like boiled eggs and fish. We saw a few factories nearby that used geothermal energy for production. Around 5 p.m., we returned to the school, went home, showered, and went down for dinner. They had made soup, and Amelia, Jorge, and Adriana came to join us. After dinner, we watched a movie, La Casa de Papel, and then went to bed around 10:30.
Day 4:
I woke up at 7:30 to shower, and we were off to the school by 8:15. After finishing my shower, we went downstairs, had coffee, received our lunch, and walked to the school, where the bus was waiting to take us to Reykholt, Western Iceland. It was a cultural center, where they explained several sagas to us and told us that since writers didn’t have paper, they wrote on cowhide. After we finished, we took a walk outside where there was a cemetery and some churches. We then went to eat at the Settlement Center, which had a buffet. That day, it was a vegan buffet, so everything was vegetables and a bit of pasta, but it was all very good. Later, below the restaurant, there was a shop to buy some souvenirs and a museum where they told us the history of Iceland and a few more sagas. I bought some magnets for my family, and they charged me 28€ for four of them.
We headed back to the bus because we had to return to the school. When we got back, we went to their house and spent some time on our phones while they were making dinner. After dinner, Julián and Joaquín came to pick us up because we were going to the pool and spa. Not everyone came, as many didn’t want to go. Only three Spaniards and three Icelanders went. It was great, with various pools of different temperatures. The downside was that it was outdoors, and it was 6 degrees outside, so I didn’t like the temperature change. But luckily, I didn’t get sick. When we left, I went with Julián and Joaquín by car to Amelia’s house. On the way, we stopped because Julián wanted to buy us some pizzas, but I wasn’t hungry since I had eaten well at Solveig’s house. We arrived at Amelia’s house, and they had prepared something for dinner. While we ate, we watched a movie, and then we left because we were late from the spa. We stayed for about an hour, and then Julián took us back to our house.
Day 5:
We followed the same routine: wake up at the same time, shower, and be at school by 8:00 because the bus was waiting for us. Today, we went to the Perlan Nature Museum, a museum shaped like a sphere, where we learned about the history of animals in Iceland and went to a kind of planetarium, where we watched the northern lights in 8K. It was really good. After the show, we went up to the top floor, where there was a shop and a café. We didn’t buy anything. We went out onto the terrace where there were binoculars, and we could get a great view of Iceland.
Then it was time for lunch. We went to Hama University, where we planned to order from the menu, but nobody attended us, so we decided to buy something from the shop. We all got the same thing: a kind of spaghetti with meat. We heated it up in the university microwaves and ate quickly because we had to be at the Saga Museum by 2:45. After hearing all the sagas, we dressed up as knights and took several photos. Next door, there was an ice cream shop with reasonably priced ice creams, so we treated ourselves. After finishing our ice creams, we walked to the Flyover, a room that fit about 20 people. We sat down, fastened our seatbelts, and were lifted forward toward a screen, where we saw all of Iceland while being moved and sprayed with water for extra realism. That was the last thing we did that day. We headed back to our rooms, and later for dinner, we went to Juliana’s house, where they had bought pizzas. We stayed there until her parents arrived, and since it was late, we went home.
Day 6:
We woke up a little later today because the bus was leaving at 8:30. We went downstairs, had our coffee as usual, and headed to the school. We took the bus to Halldór Laxness’s house, but it was closed because we arrived too early. So, we took a 10-minute walk around the house, which had a river nearby. When they opened, they gave us some headphones and an MP3 player, and as we walked through the house, the audio explained how the writer lived. When we left the house, we saw a pool in the garden and touched the water. To our surprise, it was warm, and there was a view of the river and the mountains.
Next, we went to Pingvellir National Park, where the cracks separating the European and American continents are located. There were many rivers, and we weren’t allowed to throw coins. They showed us the cemetery of ordinary people and that of the wealthy, which was right next to it. Walking further, we reached a bridge where coins were allowed, and the place was full of them. After visiting the bathroom, we went to a fancy restaurant, which was like a farm. The menu was fixed: either a burger or soup. We all ordered burgers, and afterward, we went downstairs to the ice cream shop because a two-scoop ice cream was included with the meal. We ate it while watching the farm, as the walls were made of glass, and we could see all the cows.
Afterwards, we headed to see the geyser, the second largest, as the first one hadn’t erupted in 50 years. Luckily, we found a bench to sit on and waited. It took about two minutes between eruptions. The first one was small, but the third one was amazing. We couldn’t stay longer because we were being rushed to go see the waterfalls. That was the highlight of the day; the waterfall was incredible, and we spent about 30 minutes there before heading back to the school, which took over three hours. Once back at the house, they sent us to our room again, and after an hour, we were called for dinner. It was chicken with vegetables, and it was delicious. They didn’t want to tell us the evening plans because it was a surprise. After dinner, Julián and Joaquín picked us up, and we went to a social center where local youth gathered. The center had everything: a kitchen, a cinema, ping-pong, foosball, pool, darts, video games—everything! And nothing was stolen, which wouldn’t happen in Spain. We stayed there for a while and then went to Amelia’s house.
Day 7:
We had to be at school by 8:00. We had our coffee and walked to the school, where we entered a classroom. They gave us laptops, and we worked on some sagas. After that, they gave us diplomas and gifts from the school. Then we took the car and went to the supermarket to buy food. I bought a lasagna and a milkshake, and we went to Solveig’s house to eat. Afterwards, we took a nap because we were going out at night. At 6:00, we had boiled sausages for dinner. We all met up, and around 9 or 10, we went to a friend’s house for a party.
