From Beaches and Margaritas to Asphalt and Wool Socks

ARTICLE Kolfinna Tómasdóttir

TRANSLATION Ragnhildur Ragnarsdóttir

PHOTOS Contributed

Last winter, my long-awaited dream came true. My application for graduate studies at the United Nations’ University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica for the 2020-2021 school year was accepted. My plan was to study International Law and the Settlement of Disputes, a program that played a big role in my decision to study law at the University of Iceland (UI). I was extremely excited, and the plan was to take a break from my postgraduate studies here in Iceland while in Costa Rica and then return and finish my master´s degree at UI. At the beginning of 2020, I already felt like I had a frozen margarita in one hand and a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic in the other while I practised my Spanish and visited different beaches each weekend during short breaks from my enthusiastic studies. I was going to travel around Central and South America. I would learn some tango in Buenos Aires, walk the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, sail down the Amazon River, and so much more. The adventures were endless.

But before long, these long-awaited plans became a distant dream. Margaritas were replaced with white Monster and sunscreen for cold creams and bottles of hand sanitizer. COVID-19 hit, and in an instant, all future plans changed. A new reality was upon us, and everyone had to adjust fast. Over the next months, everything was up in the air, and I didn’t know what lay ahead, on which continent I would live, whether I should postpone my courses in Costa Rica for one year, or at which university I would study for the next two terms. I spent the summer making plans A, B, and C but just a little more than two weeks before my planned departure, it became clear that I wasn’t going anywhere. My apartment in student housing had been rented out to someone else, and instead of saying goodbye to wonderful Lindargata with my passport in hand, I headed home to stay with my mom instead. With no income, no sun, and unsure as to what would be the wisest thing to do, I decided to start my program at UPEACE through distance learning, while simultaneously finishing my courses at UI. I realized that the semester would be hard, but by doing it this way I could extend my stay in Costa Rica at the end of my term there and would not have to hurry home to start classes in Iceland in autumn 2021. It seemed like a perfect plan – that is, until the term began, and I realized just how hard it would actually be.

It’s amazing to reflect on the way that our fixed plans almost never seem to turn out quite the way we thought they would at the beginning. Life interferes, changing our circumstances or even directing us in completely different directions that we had never even considered, leading us down paths that teach us even more. I still do not know how to digest this year, but I certainly realize how lucky I am to have a roof over my head during this pandemic.

The law department in Costa Rica consists of 20 individuals from 14 different countries. At the beginning, planning and dividing my time between two schools was a challenge, but the way the course schedules were structured meant that I mostly attended UI classes in the mornings and UPEACE classes in the afternoons. In the evenings, I’ve been working on assignments that are due soon, and weekends I use to catch up and work ahead on various projects. The time difference has had a greater effect than I anticipated in the beginning, Iceland being six hours ahead of Costa Rica. At first, I didn’t like attending classes all afternoon and into the evening, getting hit by afternoon tiredness while half the class was enjoying their first cup of morning coffee and still rubbing the sleep from their eyes in the classroom in Costa Rica. The tempo was not the same throughout the group, but I became thankful for my time zone when I realized that Julietta from Finland has to miss dinner with her roommates and eat leftovers every weeknight, and my classmate Toru from Japan is giddy with exhaustion by the middle of class, because where he is, it’s already after midnight, and it’s nearing 3 AM by the end of the class. Meanwhile, the students in Costa Rica go have lunch together and chat about the day’s lecture.

It isn’t only the time difference that has characterized the group of students from different areas of the world; being able to study the settlement of disputes with such a varied group has been a priceless experience. Early into the semester, I realized that I would not only study and learn demanding material in another language, but also how much I would learn from my fellow students from other cultures. It became clear during the first week, when students were asked to name the most controversial issues in their area in the media at the time, where a student from Cameroon spoke about the Monday curfew and a student from Nigeria described protests that were becoming very violent – during the same time in Iceland, the main controversial issue was whether the road at Öskjuhlíð should be paved or not. In an instant, all the conflicts that I was experiencing faded compared to the daily issues my fellow students were facing. To begin with, I had a hard time discussing controversial issues in Iceland, but as time goes on, I’ve found strength in the fact that Iceland is a peaceful country, and although we still have a long way to go, we live in a country that respects equal rights.

Up to now, the group work has been fairly good, as the time difference is not too bad, but I would gladly switch my woollen socks and home workouts on my mother’s living room floor for sandals and lunch with my fellow students, despite having to wear a mask on campus. As we probably all know, studying online is extremely draining, and it’s important not to forget to take those daily walks and to remember that this situation is only temporary. The worries are big and varied, and some days are just more difficult than others, but that’s okay. It’s difficult, but we will get through this together.

My studies at UPEACE have been extremely rewarding, and now, coming to the end of the first term, I can truly say that this program will have a lot of influence on the way I look at the world and how I will resolve different issues that will arise in my future, both in my professional life and my personal life. I am convinced that the unexpected experience of this semester will make me stronger and more grateful for life, and I look forward to learning even more, but mostly I look forward to having a margarita in hand and a thick layer of sunscreen at the end of 2020.