UNA
Summer Workcamps The Official Magazine of Worldwide Friends
March 2019
Contents We Are… Introduction Summer Workcamps Reykjavik & Around East of Iceland North of Iceland South of Iceland Others Volunteer Experiences Sammantha Aryuna
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Carmen
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Niceland
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We Are...
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Introduction Iceland is a beautiful country, well known by its amazing natural landscapes, the northern lights, kind people, cold and rough winters, but also beautiful 24h daylight summers. So it is not a surprise that Iceland often brings a lot of tourism from all around the world, especially in summer, Americans,
Europeans, Asians and all sorts of people gather in this beautiful land to experience Iceland natural beauties in person. Which is reflected in the amount of tourists they have each year (approximately 2 million, which is almost 6 times their total population1). However for some people, being a tourist is not enough, some would like to be more involved in the Icelandic culture and be more than just another visitor. These people looks for volunteer opportunities, which gives them the chance to experience Iceland in a different way at the same time they help in different tasks.
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WF, Worldwide Friends (Veraldarvinir in Icelandic), gives that chance to the people that is interested in volunteering for a couple of weeks, and even more time if you decide you’d like to stay longer. WF runs short camps all year round, but of course the high season is summer, where WF offers camps all around Iceland, for all types of volunteers and different types of work, that could be, working in the greenhouses in the amazing geothermal area of Hveragerdi, to renovation camps in the arctic circle (Raufarhofn, North of Iceland), and many more options. The main goal of the organization is, as the title says, to have worldwide friends while you volunteer and experience Iceland in a different way, with leaders and volunteers that come from all around the world. So for this magazine we decided to investigate more about WF’s summer work camps, we took the task of talking with volunteers that were here during the summer, our goal was to learn more about their experience here in Iceland, and also to learn more about the workcamps. We hope this helps people to know a little bit more of this amazing organization and encourage them to volunteer in Iceland, or volunteering in general.
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Summer Workcamps Worldwide Friends offers many different summer workcamps, located all around Iceland, Reykjavik and arounds, the east of Iceland, the north of Iceland, and some other options. Camps for all ages, like the teenage camps in Reykjavik, photography and journalism in the east, environmental related, volunteering in festivals and all sorts of projects, this helps WF bring together all sorts of people. And even though according to locals, last summer was one of the worst summers they’ve had in 100 years, it didn’t stop people from coming and enjoying. Last summer the temperatures were around 11 degrees Celsius, which, according to Icelanders is not really common during summer, temperatures tend to be a bit higher during this time. These are the workcamps we had during last summer.
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Reykjavik & Around
Journalism and photographing in Reykjavik Hafnarfjordur Preventing soil erosion in Reykjanes peninsula Teenage camps at the farm Glymur
Fludir Eistnaflug Vogar Hveragerdi
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East of Iceland
Villages of the eastern fjords (Neskaupstadir and Stodvafjordur) Taking care of nature in Stodvafjordur Lupine warriors Journalism and photographing in the east.
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North of Iceland Pure nature near the arctic circle Renovation camps
South of Iceland Vestmannaeyjar music festival
Others On the move teenage camp
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Volunteer Experience
We tried to contact some of the volunteers that were her for the most part of the summer in Iceland, they experienced different camps, worked with a lot of people, helped in different areas and they all had a different view on their experience here in Iceland. Our volunteers were in charge of contacting them and interviewing them. Here’s a little bit of what they experienced.
Did you know that WF, has no maximum age limit in our Workcamps?
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Sammantha’s Experience By: Sakura Oshima Have you ever experienced being a volunteer? Iceland has magnificent natural landscapes and nice volunteers. I was in charge of interviewing one of the many volunteers WF had during the summer. She is from Toronto, Canada. Her name is Sammantha Ip Why did you choose to volunteer with WF in Iceland ? I always like to search for international experience, so when I saw that WF had an opportunity to host volunteers in IceWhat kind of activities did you do in the land, I was instantly sold! camps ? Which one was your favorite and why ? How was the atmosphere of the summer We did a variety of activities, from workcamps ? cleaning up the shoreline of beaches around Iceland, to maintaining fields, to The atmosphere was always very nice. adding natural fertilizer to an area to For the most part, everyone was very kind to each other and were interested in promote growth. My favorite activities would be the excursions that WF had on learning new things. the side, or going hiking during our free time. It was a great way to explore the country.
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Did the weather affect the activities you did ? The weather was often rainy, so yes it did affect the work to some degree. However sometimes we would continue to work outdoors in the rain if it's light, because the rain never bothered Icelanders! Where there any difficult you had to deal with? I found it a little difficult to regulate my sleep schedule at first, because I was too busy staying up and socializing with the other volunteers. It was also a little difficult to sleep because Iceland has 24h daylight in the summer! Describe you experience in one word ? Enlightening Would you come back to Iceland ?Would you work with WF again? I would definitely go back to Iceland and would love to do it through WF! What advance would you give people interested in joining our summer campus ? BRING WATERPROOF CLOTHES! You'll need it.
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Aryuna’s Experience By: Youssef Habouria
Why did you choose to come to Iceland? The first time I heard about Iceland was an Indiana Jones movie (the main guy confuses Ireland with Iceland). The second time I encountered Iceland, was on the plane from Moscow to New York but then I forgot about it. Finally, was charmed by the northern lights, and started to look information about where I could see auroras. Google showed me Murmansk, a city in the north of Russia, but I thought it would be too boring to go there, other options were Norway and Sweden, but to get there it was too much of a struggle, finally I was able to see Iceland. So I researched more about this beautiful country, and realized that it was so green and surrealistic so I made my choice.
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How was the atmosphere during the summer workcamp? We were living in a huge house with almost 50 people, every night was a cultural night with national food and a small presentation and sometimes games from different countries, it was so much fun, loud, friendly, but overall a very positive atmosphere in the camp. What was your favorite activity in the summer workcamp? Cultural nights, hiking in the fjords and chilling in the hot tubs. What kind of activities u did in the summer camp? My camp was photography and journalism in the east of Iceland. We had a group of 8 volunteers and 3 camp leaders. We split into 3 small groups, covering all sorts of topics. Some of us had experience in journalism and photography so that was very helpful when it comes to put the magazine together because people shared their skills. We were doing interviews with locals, with museum and shop workers, other volunteers from other camps, and of course taking pictures.
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Carmen’s Experience By: Ryosuke Ono Iceland is famous for severe winter cold. However, people who live there are warm kind. In such place, we can build up international bonds through volunteer works. “Worldwide Friends” is one of organizations which promote crosscultural understanding. WF have a lot of activities to achieve our aims. For example, in summer camp, you can participate in journalism camp and environmental camp. These activities will bring you awesome experience. Ricca Carmen, one of the camp leaders in WF, told us her experience in Summer work camps in Iceland. Why did you choose to volunteer with WF in Iceland? The first time I heard of Worldwide Friends was because of my sister, Marta, who had started working as a camp leader for several months before. The report I was getting from her was nothing but thrilling so, of course, I felt like joining them. How was the atmosphere of the summer work camps? The atmosphere was exceptionally great from the beginning considering the huge range of cultures. I believe everyone took this trip up with such a will to meet new kinds of people with greatly different mentalities or lifestyles but sharing one same purpose: do something to help our environment in any way while embracing such a mysterious and exciting country like Iceland. Not to mention our camp leaders, Victoria and Dave, who took care of everything even in the most awkward situations; they were just “the icing on the cake”.
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What kind of activities did you do in the camps? Which one was your favourite and why? Two camps gathered altogether during the stay at the East, the Photography & Journalism camp (where I was enrolled) and the Environmental one, so we were a pretty big group and had to split up. We started getting to know the place wandering around. My camp made a schedule and several groups to divide the articles to be made to publish the magazine we were collaborating at, UNA. We interviewed locals, made photography reports and researched about their lifestyle, behaviours or customs. Free time was spent roasting marshmallows, playing games or trying out some Icelandic traditions such as bathing in the fiords. Of course, daily home tasks were carried out throughout the whole stay but nothing that couldn’t be done within a short time. We always managed to do everything with lots of laughs. I personally enjoyed the most wandering around with the camera or taking our Icelandic dog Frosti out for a walk (it usually happened to be the other way around). Did the weather affect the activities you did? Of course weather affected our whole daily routine, but not necessary in a bad way sometimes. It’s just a different way of dealing with conditions surrounding you, always adapting to circumstances. Nevertheless, they have a saying in Iceland: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait for five minutes”. Actually, we were able to enjoy a few of the best sunny days I ever had, and I’m Spanish.
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Were there any difficulties you had to deal with?
Difficulties of any kind are part of this experience for sure. Sudden rough weather conditions, soaking feet, extremely windy days were especially problematic considering we had to carry our photography equipment, so the word “waterproof” became extremely essential. Because of huge distances food and any kinds of supplies were not really easy to get nor accessible. Language was a bit of trouble sometimes as not all Icelanders speak English, however they always managed to help as far as they could. Describe your experience in one word Extraordinary. Would you come back to Iceland? Would you work with WF again? Yes. I believe is one of the best ways to get to know Iceland pretty deeply and with the best company indeed. Working with Worldwide Friends is an amazing and unexpected way to escape routine. What advice would you give people interested in joining our summer camps? Always keep in mind not to stick to what you planned as it would probably go the other way around. Come with an open mind and embrace every second of it. There are some experiences that we can undergo only by joining volunteer works. WF can provide you opportunities to make unforgettable memories, international friends, and to escape ordinary every day. In addition, Iceland is full of beautiful natures such as “Golden Circle” and “Gullfoss Waterfall”. You can visit such places for excursions. WF is ready to invite you our summer camp programs. Come to join us for your extraordinary experiences!!
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NICELAND BY: JOSUE CASTRO 18
The first time I heard about Iceland was in 2016, I’m a big football fan, so I
remember following the Eurocup 2016 and it was a big surprise when England was eliminated in the round of 16 by Iceland. After that I recall everyone was talking about Iceland, such a small population in this country, and then I was curious about Iceland so I started looking more information about the country and I realized it has such amazing landscapes and ever since then I was hooked. I knew that at some point I’d like to visit Iceland, I just had to go. So, some time passed by, and I was looking for opportunities to go live abroad for some time, there were many projects in many countries, and Iceland was one of them, I asked for more information to my local organization, I’m from Costa Rica, and they told me that at the current time I wanted to go, the only project that they had available was working as a camp leader for short camps in Iceland. I was very interested because according to the project description, I’d have the chance to see many places all around Iceland, so I made my decision and got to Iceland.
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When I first arrived I was amazed by this place, everything was so different to what I was used to, the landscape, the weather, the culture, the people, food, the 24h light days, everything, it was new and exciting. I remember feeling a little bit nervous about meeting so many people, and just being in Iceland, cause I was not used to any of that, but of course, step by step I was able to adjust better, the light
was not an issue to sleep anymore, I got a little bit better at meeting new people, and in general, I started to get used to all of it. But the truth is that Iceland never stops amazing you, from the beautiful views on the ocean in Hafnarfjordur, then to the amazing eastern fjords, then being able to work at the Reykjavik International Film Festival, then going to the beautiful geothermal area of Hveragerdi, where you can hike to the hot river, and so on, different experiences always. 20
I’ve been here for a little bit over 10
months now, and as I look back I realize that Iceland is one of the nicest places I’ve ever been and ever will be. Even now I still think is amazing and when I think it can’t surprise me anymore, it does, over and over again. And all of that thanks to WF, sure is not all perfect, but nothing ever is, and I have learned so many things with WF. My experience here is almost over, but coming here, with this organization has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I was able to experience so many things, joy, happiness, calmness, surprise,
satisfaction,
kindness,
love,
among many other things I felt by being here. I know that my experience wouldn’t be the same without WF and for that I’m really grateful. I hope that sharing a little bit about my journey here helps other people make a choice. It might not be very
easy, and sometimes you will have to deal with many things you might not be used to, but you’ll never regret it, and it is totally worth it.
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I would like to end by saying that I thought I was prepared when I fist arrived here, but the truth is that I wasn’t, and I don’t think anyone can really be 100% prepared for Iceland, it is just amazing. However in my stay here I have learned some things I think might be useful, first of all, the weather, it is really unpredictable, so take that into consideration, if you come during summer there’s always light, so you might want to bring a face mask to sleep, if you come during winter, the lack of light might be an issue, so you might want to pack some lanterns and vitamin D, of course bring a big coat, is not really cold, but it is super windy and you’ll feel that, also rainproof shoes and a rain jacket, you might get wet during excursions, bring a camera if you can, you will be taking lots of pictures, if you drink, buy alcohol at the duty free, it is really (REALLY) expensive in the liquor store, but most of all, prepare yourself to be amazed, because you will. Niceland awaits. 22
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