UNA Magazine / May 2015

UNA Magazine Official newsletter of Worldwide friends Iceland

"The mo st beaut ifu world ca nnot be l things in the seen they are felt with or touched, the hea rt."

Antoine de Saint Exupe The Litt le Prince ry

May 2015.

Windy, Windy Iceland • The People of Hali • Guesthouse Gerði • Victor’s Ode To Snow Sustainable Living On WF Farm House • Why Are the Houses in Iceland so Warm?

Frozen Millenium • The Face of the Taste of the Shark • Here Comes the Summer May Day Traditions - The Forest Saga • People of Eskifjörður ...and much more in this edition!

INDEX: Windy, Windy Iceland .................................................................

The People of Hali .................................................................

Kyung Eun’s Instagram Memories ....................................

Guesthouse Gerdi ....................................................................

Victor’s Ode To Snow ...........................................................

Traveller’s Notes by Max ......................................................

Facebook News from Iceland by Sasha ....................

Sustainable Living On WF Farm House .....................

Why Are the Houses in Iceland so Warm? ..............

Frozen Millenium ........................................................................

The Face of the Taste of the Shark ....................

The Other Side of Magnus the Driver ......................

Here Comes the Summer ....................................................

May Day Traditions ..................................................................

The Forest Saga ......................................................................

People of Eskifjordur ..............................................................

United Meals of WF Workcamps .......................................

Flora and Fauna of Iceland ............................................

Tongue Twisters ........................................................................

Miaow, Miaow, Woof, Woof .....................................................

3 5 10 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 26 27 28 30 31 33 36 37 39 40

magazine design and cover photo by Jadranka Ilić

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Editor’s Note “PHOTOGRAPHY AND JOURNALISM” & “CLOSE TO NATURE” VOLUNTEERS

Veraldarvinir - Worldwide Friends Iceland was founded in 2001 as a non-governmental, non-profit organization promoting nature and peace orientated activities. Last year we hosted 1.550 international volunteers in different projects all around the island.

The main activities offered are work-camps (related to environment, art, culture and education), youth exchanges, exchange programs for adults, educational seminars and campaigns, study visits and short courses related to environmental protection, environmental sustainability and energy (hydro and geothermal).

Denis

Yulia Max Heloise

MJ Claire

Suvi

Sasha

Victor

Milena Jadranka Eun

Madlen

Dear friends,

Eskifjordur, Iceland May 2015.

We are also active in the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. All our activities are suitable for anybody over the age of 18. We also organize special projects for youngsters 13 to 17 years old.

The UNA magazine is the official magazine of the organization and it is made by our international volunteers. There you can find articles about the life of the organization and short stories from Iceland.

Big thanks to our great volunteers and enjoy the reading!

Toti Ivarsson

illustration by Kyung Eun Lee, photographs by Max Zhuravlov (below), Jadranka Ilić (left)

Director of Worldwide Friends Iceland

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Windy, windy Iceland Sunday, 26th April, 2015.

It is very common in Iceland to hear the people saying “If you don’t like weather right now, just wait five minutes”, but it didn’t happened to us, we had to wait a little bit more.

We started our journey from Reykjavik to Eskifjordur on the 26th April, around 9h. We met at the WF house and after we’d finished putting our baggage and all the food in the trailer, we left. We stopped at two waterfalls, at a black beach and a glacier lagoon. It was amazing! Actually we were planning to arrive to Eskifjordur the day we left, but we started to feel the minibus shaking because of the strong wind. We could not bring the trailer with us so we had to move the baggage and all the food into the minibus and left trailer in Höfn. Magnus, the bus driver, said we cannot go further. So we had to go to the guesthouse in Hali. We decided

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to stay one or two nights until wind gets weaker.

The guesthouse was so cozy and clean. We loved the landscape that we could see through the window. As the proverb says “If you cannot beat them, join them”, we could not beat the strong wind, we “joined” the wind. We went outside and took some funny photos of loosened hair.

After that, we heard about the sheep barn from Magnus. We went to the sheep barn to see the sheep giving birth to lambs. It was amazing. It was my first time to see it.

At the moment I was faced with the strong wind, it was little bit scary, but I know I will remember this day ‘til the end of my life with a smile on my face.

Kyung Eun Lee

photographs by Jadranka Ilic

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Written by: Claire Robertson Suvi Lehtinen Minjeong Kim Kyung Eun Lee Photographs by: Jadranka Ilić

THE PEOPLE of Hali

After being stranded in the tiny settlement of Hali by high winds in the east, we decided to interview the owner of our guesthouse for this magazine. We arranged to meet him through Magnus, our minibus driver, but after several hours waiting and with no sign of him, we decided to ask Magnus where he’d got to. After a long conversation in broken English, we finally realised that he was busy, not eating lamb, as we had thought, but helping lambs be born!

SHEEP FARMING IN ICELAND We all headed out through the fierce winds to a white barn where around 200 sheep and their lambs were crowded together in pens, jostling for space and hay and bleating loudly. 200 pairs of large sheep eyes stared at us as we took endless photos – they looked as surprised to see us as we were to see them! They probably hadn’t seen so many people at once in their entire lives. There we met Þòrey and her husband Björn, who live and work here all year round.

Whereas the tourists we’d seen were kitted out in nice designer outdoor gear, these people wore huge blue overalls, but no gloves.

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Q: Do the children go to school here?

There is big school and kindergarten in Höfn. And we have 3 kids – 4 years old, 2 years and 7 months. The older ones go to Kindergarten twice a week - because I have an Au Pair and she helps to drive them. She drives one of the days and I drive the other day. Because it’s too far for young kids – 45 minutes drive. When they are 6 they have to go every day – wake up at 6.30am! The school in Höfn is until 16 years old. There are around 80-100 people.

Our interview was interrupted every second word with loud “MAAAAAAAAA”s from the sheep.

Q : What is your daily food?

Depends who you ask in the family!

Q: Did you realise Icelandic food has been voted one of the healthiest in the world?

Apparently Icelandic lamb is very healthy.

Q: Are all these lambs for meat?

Yes – well, we have about 900 lambs a year.

About 850 lambs go out for meat, and we keep around 100 for breeding. These are the ones from last year.” She points to some smaller sheep at the back.

Q: And these are the rams, with the big curly horns?

Yes. 1 ram has 20 to 40 females! He’s very happy.

Q: What’s the weather like in the winter time?

It’s not actually too cold, just there are strong winds. Driving can be difficult, but if

you have to do it every day, you get used to it. The sheep stay inside all winter, and we only let them out in May. ......................................................................

Suddenly, the interview is interrupted by a sheep giving birth to two lambs in quick succession. We all hurry over to see, go ‘awwwwww’, take more photos and generally get in the way. She tells us there’s 6

catch her name) has been working for the family since August, and will stay until this August. Like Þòrey, she didn’t seem very bothered by the winter weather, although she said driving on 5cm of ice was scary.

The children seemed just as excited as us to see the lambs, and were only briefly surprised by the many people and camera lenses, quickly smiling and posing for photos. They enthusiastically were lifted over fences to get in amongst the crowd of sheep. ......................................................................

Finally we get back to our interview.

Q : Do you own the guesthouse too?

The guesthouse? Are you staying there? Yes, it’s ours. My husband built it himself last summer – he’s a builder as well as a farmer.

Bjorn built it, although the pieces came ready-made.

Q : In the UK, it is quite difficult to be a farmer. They get paid very little, and the a sheep that has had four lambs (poor thing!) and takes us over to another barn to number of farmers is decreasing.

Yes, the same is true here. No sheep farmer see. is just a sheep farmer – you have to have another job as well, like we are running the The two bigger children are brought over guesthouse. by the Au pair, bundled up in thick winter overalls, with only their pink faces showing.

Q : Do people come here to do horseback The Au Pair (from Germany – we didn’t 7

riding?

We own the horses, but there is not that much riding because we have been so busy with other things. But we hope that will change.

Q : Are there other farms here?

There are two more farms in Hali. My parents-in-law own the one over there.

They have cows.

Q: Is it common for a family all to live in one settlement?

Yes it is, this is very common. Bjorn was born here, but I came here after getting married.

Q : Are these winds normal?

We often have strong winds – mainly in the Fall; November and December, and in te Spring. In fact, all year! But these strong winds and rain are becoming more and more common every year.

age working with the sheep. It’s unusual in the UK for women to work on family farms so we wanted to find out more about her.

It turns out Fie was not Icelandic but in fact Danish, and normally lives in Q : Have you ever lived outside of Iceland?

Copenhagen – a very large city by Icelandic Yes, I did a Masters in Animal Science in I asked if it was Climate Change, but she standards! She came to work on the farm Ontario, Canada for one year. shrugged. We thanked her and left her to 5 years ago via a website called nordjobb, care for the lambs and sheep. and she said she loved it so much she’s Q: It must be strange… it is strange for us Earlier we’d spotted another girl around our returned every year since. Her official job coming here but for you it’s totally normal.

Was it strange to live outside of Iceland?

It’s also cold in Canada – but still very different.

Q : How do process the waste? Like the sewage and rubbish?

It is just one guy who comes and collects all the sewage and rubbish from Statafell (to the East) to Kálfafellstadur (to the West) – between these two towns it is one community. It is all taken to Höfn and processed there. But it has to be taken off Iceland to be processed.

Q : Does everyone recycle here? The landscape is so pristine. Much better than the UK. Well, yes, it is good, but not everyone is happy doing this recycling.

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there was working in the guesthouse, but she slowly but surely was drawn into farm life.

We took our leave, stepping outside the dark, cramped barn into the freezing air.

As we left, we saw the children again, happily driving the tractor with their Dad. Walking back to the guesthouse, the barn and the other farm buildings were soon

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overshadowed by the massive mountain.

We couldn’t imagine anyone could live in this bleak place all year round, let alone keep animals (and children!) here. The people we met seemed, from the outside at least, to be friendly, welcoming and happy.

It might be freezing cold outside, but the people of Hali are very warm inside.

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Kyung Eun’s Instagram memories from Iceland

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If you are on the way from Reykjavik to the East of Iceland you should not miss the opportunity to spend the night at the cosy guesthouse Gerรฐi which is located midway between Skaftafell National Park and the town Hรถfn in Hornafjordur. Enjoy the spacious rooms and the stunningly beautiful scenery with glaciers, mountains and the sea: A PARADISE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS!

Gues thou

se

Gerรฐi

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Written by Madlen Bรถhm Photographs by Jadranka Iliฤ

If you are interested in some local culture you can visit the þórbergssetur museum which is only 5 minutes walking distance. The museum is dedicated to one of Iceland`s most significant twentieth-century writers þórbergur þórðarson, who wrote for example “Letters to Lára“, ”In Search of my Beloved” and “The Eccentric”. If you are in the mood to stroll around you can walk along the coast or use other hiking possibilities in the area like Þórbergssetur, Jökulsárlón, Vatnajökull, Skaftafell and Ingólfshöfði.

So come along and get a warm welcome from the hosts Björn Þorbergsson & Þórey Bjarnadóttir.

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, VICTOR S ODE TO SNOW This winter was so cold Or maybe I’m just old I cannot sleep thinking about it Now that I realize How cold is the ice I want to be sure I am near to the shore

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This is why I To sleep inside I was on an The name I know

went a tent island is Iceland

I had not ever thought It was not that hot The worst was yet to come I wanted to go back home

Then it began to snow And I saw one rainbow The water started to freeze And on my face was hitting the breeze All the grass was white And I thought I knew why I just started to jump And I made a man of snow

poem by Victor Ed uardo Avilés Romo

The beautiful snow That Mexicans don’t know ‘Cause we came from the land Where there’s a lot of sand

Have you ever seen the snow?

“In México it is not common to see snow, so it is rare to find some people who have seen it. We grow up listening to people from other countries talking about how in winter there’s a lot of snow. These stories make you imagine how it will be, but here in Iceland you’ll see snow everywhere you look. Some people don’t like the snow so much, but I feel very lucky to see it around.

As soon as we arrived in Eskifjörður I realized it’s a very cold place, because there’s the snow everywhere, covering the mountains from top to bottom and turning the place into a very colorful landscape. And then finally I was able to touch the snow; it was not like ice cream, as I was expecting, but it was a very pleasant experience.” photographs by Ja

dranka Ilic and V

ictor Eduardo Avi

lés Romo

(Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo)

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illage.

The Millionaire’s V r why is this

of Eskifjörðu t en d si re e n o ed I ask men, but er sh fi to e m o h ly n small settlement o e windows th m o fr ew vi e h T not millionaires? e suburbs of th In ! n o li il m a h is certainly wort ay millions for p le p eo p , le p m a le Moscow for ex re plain and simp o m ch u m e th f o the privilege ps with a few a h er p r, ve ri e th in view; a small bend e in the distance. g ed st re fo a r o ts plan enerally, I was g t a th ed li p re n My companio at the richest th w o n k I ’t n id d t correct. Bu in all these small le p eo p s u o er sp ro and most p I looked it up, ? en m er sh fi e th re Icelandic towns a ge income of a ra ve a ly th n o m e and it’s true - th ousand euros! th ty en tw to n te fisherman is

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ve

The Birch Gro

re were many e th d n la e Ic s avel acros e stops our s e th f o During our tr e n o t ful places. A ti u a e b ething very ly m ib o s d e e r e s inc ld u o what now we w ignificant and rare, , s u ld to e id u g nd; exciting, s e la Is r fo n e v e l ll means. So w a y b specia it t a k o take a lo ch grove ir b y w o n and all should s ll a d found… a sm n a , e r nded with e u o th r t r n u e s w e k la r nt bright wate a li il r b al, and our a e r n r o p fo l u fu ti u a s! It was be re very special, a d rocks and cliff n la e Ic in t – forests guide was righ d places. te c te o r p d n a rare

Traveller’s Notes photographs & notes by Max Zhuravlov

The Icelandic Nights

e beginning of May is th in d an el Ic in t gh ni e Th light enough to s it’ . m a.

3 t A r. ai aff f ie quite a br e days themselves are th nd A y. ad re al y rl ea cl see insk or Moscow.

M in an th er ng lo ly ab consider high, the air is dry and y el em tr ex e ar s ie sk e Th ance are clearly st di r fa e th in ns ai nt ou bright, m at to be back to under th e m to s em se It e. bl si vi rning to a typical tu re to e lik be ill w y sk s ’ Moscow ng after living in palace ili ce w lo ith w t fla ow rr na where there is no roof…

The Smoking B

ay REYKJAVIK means “t he Smoking Bay”. I le arnt this via asking how to say “Let’s go for a smok e” in Icelandic - it is FAU M OKKUR ATH REYK JA. I’ve learnt this one sen tence by heart and it’ll probably be the one I remember when I retu rn home.The Icelandic la nguage is so much unlike to any another one, difficult to catch but distinctive…

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Facebook news from Iceland!

by Alexandra Galdina

#Iceland #Reykjavik Hello, the island of contrasts. Hello, the end of the world. Hello, the world where ice and fire exist side by side.

Hello, people without surname. Hello, the country with an ancient language that can not be learned. Hello, colorful Reykjavik.

#Iceland #wood Trees in Iceland have been stolen by aliens :) #Iceland #Eskifjörður Eskifjörður - a picturesque village in the east of Iceland.

It smells of fish. It stands at the foot of the mountain.

And some locals still celebrating Christmas :) Locals are very friendly.

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#Iceland #waterfall Here Snow Maiden has walked. The first stop - a waterfall with an unpronounceable name. A staircase goes up. Ten meters before it ground is covered with frost. Five meters later – with ice. A staircase itself is completely frozen.

Freezing rain is dropping to a hooded winter jacket. I can hear Icelandic cheerful music on a background. Only in a bus I noticed that my jacket covered with a thin layer of ice.

Behind a bus’s window famous Eyjafjallajökul appeared.

Half an hour later - another waterfall. Colorful, beautiful.

Water is falling and turning into mist and then into a rivulet. Wind blows our bus.

#Iceland #aurora “Aurooorra!!!” - our friend Victor burst into our bedroom in the middle of the night. Half-sleepy I couldn’t clearly understand what is going on... “Girls!

Wake up! Northern light!” Not dressed we rushed to the window.

The first wave of aurora I was watching with mouth open... Then somebody asked - where is your camera? One shoot... One picture of a magic.

#Iceland #map Once I read that in every country the world map is printed in a way that the countryauthor is placed at the center of the map.

Here Iceland is clearly in the middle. New Zealand is printed twice - on the left and the right side. On Russian’s maps there are four oceans - Pacific, Indian, Atlantic and Arctic. Here there are six of them - North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Arctic and Southern.

#Iceland #camp A good company is when nobody bothers you to play a table tennis with a frying pan.

#Iceland #driver After a week in Iceland, we found out that our driver Magnus is incomparable pastry cook, a singer and even practices an aromatherapy. And what is your driver can? :))

#Iceland #water The country of ice has a wonderful water.

It can be drunk from the tap without filtering.

Very tasty.

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SUSTAINABLE LIVING ON THE WORLDWIDE FRIENDS FARMHOUSE workcamp from 14/04 – 24/04

Written by Madlen BĂśhm Photographs by WF farm volunteers The Worldwide Friends farm, which is located 15 km from Reykjavik, was given to the Worldwide Friends organisation following a large fire last year.

The fire destroyed part of the house so volunteers started to renovate the entire building. A lot of changes were made inside and out and now and it feels like living in a home again.

After the previous camps took care of the renovation inside the house; painting

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the kitchen, rooms and doors in the winter time; we started to work outside. Sustainable living is a huge priority in the worldwide friends organisation. It means for example that we grow our own vegetables and reuse and recycle material. A big project we started in our workcamp was digging a potatoe field in front of the farm house so that volunteers can grow their own potatoes. Row by row we cut up the ground and started to build a wall out of

the sods beside the field. It was really hard work

but the results are remarkable!

In rainy conditions we started growing fresh herbs like parsley, thyme and dill for refining the meals.

We used old egg packages, filled them with earth and planted seeds inside. After a few days of watering

you could see how the seeds started to sprout. Through decorating flower pots and preparing manuals for the next workcamps, we could let our creativity flow.

In our spare time we spent a lot of time hiking. In the area around the farmhouse there are a lot of beautiful places to discover: lakes, hills, mountains, horses and so much more.

The cosy WF farmhouse is the perfect place to feel at home and enjoy the beauty of Icelandic nature.

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Some features of house building in Iceland

Anyone who visits Iceland meets not only natural beauty but also a challenging climate. He will quickly get acquainted with those very warm, comfortable and functional shelters, Icelandic houses. In spite the very real possibility in Iceland for heavy rains, snow storms and extremely strong winds to go one after another, the Icelandic house stays the safe and convenient, with all vital systems working…

How do they do that? What is the real secret of these house-fortresses?

Why are the houses in Iceland so warm?

Text and photographs by Max Zhuravlov

Let’s take a look from the point of view of an Icelandic native resident, professional builder and expert. Below – an expert’s look in brief.

Basically, Icelandic settlements are found on two generous types of places – so called hot spots and cold spots. A Hot spot is a place where hot water is found underground.

Houses on hot spots are fully supplied by this natural and cheap source. This is very economical, no any kind of infrastructure is needed. Cold spot settlements are 21

found on the earth without natural “heaters”. In this case as well very cheap energy via electricity from water and steam resources provides houses and whole cities with all necessary means for living. We must understand that Icelanders spend a considerable part of their lives indoors, and their houses are to be built in a way to keep them warm and safe all the time.

Most of the buildings in Iceland are not older than 100 years old. Unlike other European countries, Island doesn’t have historical landmarks. It means that we can consider all Icelandic architecture as modern. Icelandic houses are very simple at first glance; there’s not any kind of design

or artistic decoration. This is obviously a part of the general Scandinavian approach to design. Function is most important! But this approach also works to a purpose – the clean lines and well- pronounced shape of the buildings lets the wind pass by, not causing any turbulence or excessive pressure to walls and windows.

Another important issue to pay attention to in Island; this is a land of seismic activity. In older times the main material for buildings was timber - flexible and earthquake resistant. Now, in most cases, houses are being built from cast-in-place concrete, reinforced by steel beams. In the case of an earthquake, walls may crack, but will stay standing. Icelanders never use bricks…

If we get a little closer to the usual Icelandic house façade, all is revealed; every little detail is literally wrapped into one another, and tied in with pins in series of very small steps. Wall panels, roof tiles, drain system, moulds, window frames – all of it! In the weather conditions, when wind speed

can reach up to 60 m/sec., and rain goes not from top to bottom, as normal rain does, but horizontally from left to right or vice versa, and destructive power of water fluctuates around the zero point – conditions like this make the house truly vulnerable. This is coupled with a constant temperature regime inside the house – temperature is kept at the rate of 22-23°C - moisture doesn’t come into the rooms and obeys the balance.

Generally, Icelanders use all the same building materials as anywhere else in the world. The main difference lies in their methodical approach and extremely strict laws. All that concerns house building is described in great detail in special documents and law acts. And every builder in Iceland has to follow them without exception. As a result, the Icelandic house stands against even the strongest storm, and doesn’t even make a sound, to say nothing about something being damaged or torn away!

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FROZEN MILLENIUM Photographs and text by Alexandra Galdina

Have you ever tasted an iceberg?

The idea to put a piece of eternity in a glass came to me after the decision to go to the end of the earth - Iceland.

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cerulean ice blocks opens directly off the road!

It is “Jokulsarlon”, a Glacial lagoon. The young iceberg-filled bay first appeared in 1934, after the glacier began to retreat. Like any young creature, it is growing rapidly - in the last halfcentury the lagoon has increased almost fourfold, from 5 km2 to 18 km2. This means that in one year Jokulsarlon expands by approximately 300 m2. Icelanders say that a fjord will very soon be formed here - a narrow bay with rocky beaches.

Iceland - a huge time machine. Each grain of ice, lying here, was brought by weightless snowflakes that year on year, millennium on millennium fall in the cold areas of the country.

The lagoon or “Laguna” is a great place for photographers. Yes, pictures of icebergs always come out wonderfully. And the landscape is constantly changing; even if all of your friends come here, none of you will have exactly the same pictures.

Over time, this process has formed the many glaciers of Iceland - a small stop for water that moves between the atmosphere and ocean. Incidentally, the famous Eyjafjallajökull is officially a glacier too - the volcano itself is just below it. Generally in this country, all words which end in -jökull mean glacier.

You’re travelling along Route 1, Iceland’s main road, when suddenly the icebergs appear. Yes, it really happens - a Lake with 24

It’s difficult to leave the place. If I wasn’t in a group, I could spend hours here, watching the birds flying over the ice blocks. Time stops here. Eternity can be felt by skin, it can be breathed and touched.

The age of the ice is about 1,200 years. If you take a piece of the iceberg, and put it into a glass, you can hear it hissing like Coca Cola - an ancient air that has been compressed under high pressure, escapes from the bubbles.

Have you tried the taste of the iceberg?

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The face of the taste of the shark There is a national dish of Iceland consisting of shark. They call it ´Hakarl´. The shark meat has been cured with a particular fermentation process, and hung to dry for four to six months to get rid of the toxic substances it has. It smells strange and has a strong taste because of the ammonia. Even a fair amount of Icelandic people crinkle their noses when they are asked to eat ´Hakarl´. The U.S. business magazine Forbes selected ´Hakarl´ as one of the 10 most stomach-churning dishes in 2011.

You can find ´Hakarl´easily at supermarket in Iceland which is packed in plastic. Try it!

article and photographs by Min Jeong Kim shark in plate photograph by Kyung Eun Lee shark illustration by Buster Hein http://www.cultofmac.com

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Photographs by Jadranka Iliฤ and Madlen Bรถhm

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HERE COMES THE SUMMER Thursday after 18th April, called “Sumardagurinn Fyrsti” in Icelandic.

Nowadays in Reykjavik, it is marked by a procession of boy scouts, school groups, the police and fire brigade. Children get their faces painted, buy balloons, there are brass bands and this year, a 5km race through the streets. However, it is more often than not freezing cold, as it was this year, despite the bright sunshine.

The first day of summer in the Norse calendar was also the first day of the month of Harpa, which would run from approximately April 21st to May 21st. In fact, Harpa was the beginning of the Norse year.

With such harsh winter weather conditions and most Icelanders living in deep poverty in the past, it was an achievement for a child to survive the winter to make it to Harpa. Therefore peoples’ ages were counted in winters; if you were seventeen, you had survived

Written by Claire Robertson & Min Jeong Kim Photographs by Jadranka Ilić (Sumardagurinn Fyrsti/International Day in Reykjavik)

.................................................................................

As I write this on the 1st May, snow six inches deep has covered the houses, streets, mountainsides and sparse trees of the small village of Eskifjordur in the Eastern fjords of Iceland, whitewashing the landscape. Yet a little over a week ago, on the 21st April, Icelanders all over the country celebrated the first day of summer!

This is a tradition that dates back to the Viking times in Iceland, when the Old Norse calendar divided the year into only two seasons – summer and winter. Now, there’s a national holiday held on the first 28

seventeen winters.

The day is also called ‘Girl’s Day’, and was accompanied by the tradition of young men being particularly courteous to girls. Gifts were also given on this day – the earliest evidence of which is from the 16th century, but even in the 19th century Summer Gifts were more common than Christmas presents! This custom has waned now, but Icelanders will still wish each other a “Happy Summer”.

Inevitably, there are many, often contradictory, superstitions attached to the day. Some say if the

day is cold, wet and freezing, then the summer will be a good one (this hasn’t held true so far!) In the past, this was tested by leaving a dish of water outside in a sheltered place the night before. If the water had frozen by the morning, then summer and winter had ‘frozen together’.

............................

Let’s hope for the Icelandic people and this year’s volunteers that the summer is a good one!

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MAY DAY TRADITIONS

Interviewed by Claire Robertson, photograph by Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo

may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may Milena : This day is celebrated. It’s more a Labour Day than a day may maywe’ve day discovered may daythat may day may day may daybeginning may day may day may day dayconcerts may day may day of summer celebration.

Theremay are public outside, In our day workcamp, in our respective countries the big cities like Rome.

In my village there are meetings to and cities, all have a different way of welcoming the summer in. mayusually may day mayweday may day may day may day may day day inmay day may day may day may day may day may celebrate the achievements of different professions – like one meeting day may day may day may day may day may day may dayformay day may day may day may day may day may day teachers, one for doctors, for firemen and ambulance, for people Claire : May Day (1st May) itself isn’t a bank holiday in may day day may day the may day may day may day may maywere daysome mayriots day maythe day may work in hospitals…

Thisday year there in Milan, themay UK, but we do haveday a daymay off around same time.

In day maywho closest to me, against at amay big conference. people Oxford, everyone stays up all night nightday before, andday then may daycity day may day may day may daythe may may may day may daycorruption may day day mayTheday may day were angry about unemployment. at 5am, as the sunmay rises, aday choirmay sings from top day of Magdelen may day may day daythe may may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may College Tower. It’s very beautiful. In the 1970s and 80s, people Jadranka Serbian, calledday “Prvomajski uranak” which day may day may off day may mayseveral day may day may day: Inmay dayit’smay may day may day may day started jumping the may bridgeday into the river,day but then “First of May daybreak”. So we get up early people injured themselves and may this tradition had today be stopped. may day may day may day day may may day maymeans day approximately may day may day may day may day may day may – well, enough early for a holiday – and everyone goes outside Throughout the day there’s Morris Dancing and Maypole day may day may day may day may day may day may dayand may may with daytheir may dayand may day hasday a barbeque friends family.

Themay picnicday lasts may day dancing, but most people by then have gone back to bed! whole day day and into the night someday peoplemay partyday on themay next day may may day may day may day may day may day may day maytheday may may day –may day as well, as the 2nd May is also a holiday. We play music, and : In France, it’s a holiday.

And people give a day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day day may Heloise day may day may day may day may do sports outside, like Frisbee and Badminton. Btw, the beer is small flower – Lily of the Valley – to each other. may day may day may day may day may day may day may day mayinseparable day may may may day may day may partday of May Dayday celebration. day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may rday may day may day may day may day Suvi : In Finnish, May Day is called ‘Vappu’. The weather is really kifjörðu May Day picnic in Es may day may day dayitmay day may but day may day unpredictable, so may sometimes could be snowing, sometimes it’s may day may day may day may day may day may day may overday 20 degrees!

So what we day do really depends the weather.

If day may day may day may day may day may day may day day may may day may may dayon may day may it’s snowing, picnicking isn’t really fun! But often it’s one of the first may day may day daygomay day may day may their day may day may day may day may day may day may day may really warm days,may so people outside to celebrate, wearing day may day may day may day mayballoons, day may day may student caps, and children buy big helium and people throw day may day may day may day may day may day may day ‘serpentine’ (paper streamers) everywhere.

We shoot poppers may day may day may day may day may dayparty may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may at each other. Generally people are just really happy and in a party day may may day mayofday daychampagne! may dayAnd may mood.day There’s lots of alcohol, coursemay – mostly also day may day may day may day may day may day may day there’smay the traditional Vappu – Sima, lemons and brown may day day may daydrink may daymade mayofday may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may sugar, with a little alcohol. There are stalls on the street which sell day may hundreds day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day of different types of liquorice – pear, strawberry… may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may day may 30

THE FOREST SAGA Text and photographs by Alexandra Galdina

“Don’t you know that in this country there’s no wood?”, my friend told me before I got on my plane to Reykjavik.

“Why not?”, I wondered.

“It’s run out.”

My friend shrugged his shoulders, and I went to investigate…

Around a thousand years ago the whole of Iceland was covered by woods. According to the ancient sagas, three thirds of the island was green. And it’s not the volcanic eruptions which have changed this color.

It appears that humans were responsible; Vikings, who colonized this land. They used the wood for house building and warming.

But then it’s my very first day, and I find a wood – right in the centre of Reykjavik. It’s a fairy spinney, with many crossing pathways, a hanging bridge and rocks covered with moss. It seems that at any moment a troll may appear in between the trees for a second, and then slip away. But, honestly, in some twenty minutes the wood ends, and I can see roads again. There’s not much wood.

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, Icelanders have made a special effort to restore the woods.

But this is, they say, “a process full of pain”, requiring considerable effort: the climate, volcanic activity and sheep breeding all slow down the process.

Nevertheless, Icelanders plant more trees per capita

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than anywhere else in the world. However the trees more often than not remain small and scrubby because of the strong winds.

ICELANDIC JOKE: If you are lost in an Icelandic wood, simply stand up.

But this Icelandic issue has an advantage. For we tourists, these hills covered by mosses, and rising over cliffs are incredible; magically beautiful. And we can also thank the Vikings appearance in Iceland for the traditional Nordic peaty houses.

These dugouts made from stone and turf came to be built simply because of the lack of other building materials. I was ready to go to the edge of the earth just to take a look at these fuzzy constructions.

In supermarket I had a talk with an Icelander, who visited Russia recently. “And how did you find my country?” – I asked him. “Very beautiful, but all those trees spoil the view of the landscape”.

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PEOPLE OF ESKIFJÖRÐUR Alexandra, a Peruvian girl Written by: Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo, Kyung Eun Lee Photographs by: Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo, Yulia Pavlushkina ...................................................................................................................

We met a Peruvian girl on Saturday night at the nearest (and only!) bar in Eskifjörður, and she told us her interesting story about life in Iceland.

Alexandra moved to Iceland when she was 8 years old with her mother and her Icelandic stepfather, so now she has lived for 15 years in a completely different place to the country of her birth. Apparently, this big life transition was not as difficult as we might expect; even learning the Icelandic language was an easy task because it was necessary for her to communicate with her father and schoolmates. Now she speaks Spanish with her Mum and brothers, and Icelandic with her father and her local friends. However, her parents use French to communicate!

She has a normal life in Iceland working at the local supermarket in Eskifjörður.

It’s interesting what a girl living here can tell us about the town: Q: Is Eskifjörður small enough for everybody to know each other?

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Yes, it is that small, everybody knows each other, our neighbors, our family, our friends, most of them are really so close. Everyone knows everything here.

Q: What do young people normally do for fun in Eskifjörður?

They go to bar on the weekends, drive around the town and go for walks.

Q: What is the thing you like the most about Eskifjörður?

I guess the security. We have a certain security here; it’s peaceful and quiet and we can go for a walk at 2am in the morning with no one disturbing you. That’s really quite nice.

Q: Are there any interesting events in Eskifjörður?

Yes, the 17th of June, which is the Independence Day of Iceland. It’s also called Seaman’s Day and is a kind of memorial for those who have lost their lives at sea. There is another event in November which is called “The Days of Night” and is combined with a romantic weekend here in the town; romantic things happen, it’s a special day for couples and friends. And people camp, and build campfires, toast marshmallows.

That is where people come together and finally can do something.

Didi the Icelandic Tunnel-Builder Written by: Claire Robertson Photographs by: Yulia Pavlushkina, Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo, Alexandra Galdina and Jadranka Ilić .............................................................................................................

Like so many of our most interesting Icelandic contacts, we met Didi on an off-chance; we’d relaxed too long at the swimming pool, and Magnus our driver had headed off without us (not spitefully I must add – the timer on the minibus clock was running out.) We needed a lift, as we couldn’t trek the 1km back in our flip-flops and indoor shoes, and Didi kindly offered to ferry us back to the Old School.

Once in his car I asked him, as a matter of courtesy, what he did for a living. In the UK, this question is met with predictable answers: “I work at an estate agents/in a call centre/in marketing” – in any office job you can think of. However his answer, in the clipped but musical Icelandic accent, surprised me: “tunnel-building.”

“Tunnel-building?”

“Yes, tunnel building. The second most dangerous job in the world!” He laughed, seemingly unperturbed by this fact.

It turned out that Didi (full name Sigurður Jónasarson) is part of a team building a tunnel through the mountain from Eskifjörður to Neskaupstaður, a town over the mountain, on the fjord to the north.

There is in fact already an old tunnel between the two, built in 1977, but it is high up the mountain pass of Oddsskarð, and sometimes blocked in winter.

It’s amazing that none of us noticed that this was going on, as Didi, a truck driver, removes 4 tonnes of material from the mountain with each trip! The mined material is being taken out into Eskifjörður to make reclaimed land, which new houses will be built on.

The tunnel will be over 7km long. I am astonished by this. “How far do you have to go?” I ask. “1200 metres. We are 85% of the way through.

But they tunnel from both sides of the mountain, you see.”

I hadn’t thought of this clever time-saving trick. “It would be annoying if the two tunnels missed each other!” He laughs at this again. (I never do manage to work out how they get the two tunnels to meet in the middle.)

We invite him inside for some coffee and dinner in the usual Worldwide Friends way. He tells us a bit more about his life, interspersed with ‘Yow’s (Icelandic for ‘Yes’, actually spelt ‘Já’ and a general sign of exuberance and enthusiasm!)

The tunnel was started 1 and a half years ago, in November 2013. Didi joined the team in October 2014. However, he’s been in construction for the past 17 years, and has actually helped build two tunnels already!

There’s a boom in Icelandic tunnel-building at the moment; whereas 3 tunnels were built between 1948 and 1977, 8 have been built since 1990, with 3 more expected to reach completion in the next few years.

The work sounds extremely hard: hot, dark, and with long hours (he starts at 7am.) I ask how dangerous it really is, skirting round the question of whether he’s known anyone injured or killed on the job.

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travelling, working on different construction projects around the island - “apart from the Westfjords, I have been to every village and town in Iceland.”

“People come and go in the job. You might see a co-worker from a job several years ago at a new job in a completely different part of the island, but the teams don’t stay the same.”He doesn’t have a wife or children.

“Do you find it lonely?” I can’t help but ask, although my classic British shyness squirms at asking such a personal question.

“Hmmm… Not really – no. Although you move around a lot, you get satisfaction.”He points out the window, to the road across the fjord, beneath the mountain “I made that” he said proudly.

I shouldn’t really have been surprised. After two weeks in Iceland I learnt to expect the unexpected.

He says it’s dangerous, but you must keep aware - continually look around you for rocks which might fall from the ceiling. Once, in another tunnel, they struck geothermally heated water – at a scalding 80°C. The temperature in the tunnel rose to over 40°C. He said “I’ve been to Thailand, and that was too hot, but this was worse!”

My next question I ask with some caution, not sure whether to be ironic or not – “Have you had any trouble with elves?”

Unflustered, Didi answers “No, no, not much trouble…but we have had some things ‘borrowed’. We put a tool down, it disappears, and then weeks later it turns up in exactly the same place we left it.”

Didi spends two weeks working in Eskifjörður for every one week spent at his actual home, on a farm near Akureyri. There are no animals there – with his nomadic lifestyle, there would be no way to look after them - so he grows trees instead. But they’re pretty small, like all Icelandic trees.

The isolation doesn’t seem to bother him: “North from me, there are only two farms – one 2 kilometres, one 5 kilometres, and then just the Highlands”. His eyes light up when he says this. He admits that it is really “just a place for the mail to come to”, as he spends most of his time

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Later I discover that both Didi and Lexi, a young man from the village, are part of the country-wide, wholly voluntary Search and Rescue team, and frequently have to rescue hikers from the mountains. Tourists who come to challenge themselves by hiking in the Highlands and on glaciers are relying totally on the goodwill of the Icelandic people for their safety.

Our volunteer co-ordinator, Lily, who works for the local council, gets up at 6am each morning to help on her family farm and feed the horses, before doing a full day’s work. Her family also own the southern half of Reydarfjordur, mountains and all. At the end of the summer, they have to climb the mountains to round up sheep – and she climbs them for fun year round anyway. Bogi, the property manager, used to be a CEO in Reykjavik before giving it all up to pursue his passion for renovating houses. And, of course, Magnus our driver has had multiple professions : pilot, aromatherapist, cook.

In Iceland, with such a small population living so close to, and at the mercy of, the elements, almost everyone has some job outside, and is responsible forkeeping the nation running.

And if you were wondering what the most dangerous job in the world is, don’t worry, we asked Didi that too. It’s a fisherman - another common Icelandic profession!

united meals of WF workcamps

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FLORA AND FAUNA OF ICELAND Written by: Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo Photographs by: Yulia Pavlushkina (flora) Jadranka Ilic (fauna)

Due to the very extreme weather conditions, and because Iceland is a very isolated place, there isn’t a great deal of Flora and Fauna.

The ones which have been able to adapt to the extreme conditions have won a place in Iceland.

There were large trees in Iceland which used to shelter the ground and animals from wind erosion; the two primary types were the Aspen and the Birch. These important trees disappeared when humans arrived in Iceland - they were felled to use for firewood and construction materials, making an island which is now three quarters flat fields.

The deforestation has reduced the number of species of some animal groups, especially insects. In Iceland, you can find only 1300 types of insects. As there are over 1 million insect species known to mankind, and 91,000 in the USA alone, this really isn’t many.

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However, it’s easier to find some mammals

that have grown and evolved in Iceland like the Artic Fox and the Icelandic horses. The former live over much of Iceland, changing their fur with the seasons for camouflage and also to protect against the cold. They feed on the many varieties of Birds around the island. The Icelandic horses

have been living here since 800 AD, brought by the Vikings. They are descended from Scandinavian ponies, and the first reference to this breed is in Norse mythology, when these horses were worshiped. Icelandic law forbids horses to be imported onto the island to prevent possible infection. Additionally, the horses are trained to move in two different ways: one is the traditional walk, trot, canter and gallop and the other way is used mainly for agricultural purposes.

Not everything is about the terrestrial mammals however, because around the island is very common to see many different types of whales in summer, when they return from warmer waters where they have spent the winter.

Iceland can seem to be a isolated place, but it’s full of life.

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TONGUE TWISTERS KOREAN: Ganjang gongjang gongjangjangeun janggongjangjangigo Doenjang gongjang gongjangjangeun gonggongjangjangida.

ENGLISH: She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

The sea shells that sh e sells are sea shells for sure!

ICELANDIC: Hnoðri í norðri verður að veðri, þó síðar verði.

RUSSIAN: Ehal Greka cherez reku.

Vidit Greka v reke rak.

Sunul v reku ruku Greka.

Rak za ruku Greka - tsap.

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FRENCH: Les chaussettes de l’archi-duchesse sont-elles sèches, archi sèches.

MEXICAN: Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en tres tristes trastos de trigo.

SERBIAN: Cvrči, cvrči cvrčak, trči, trči trčak; trči, trči trk!

Trčak trkom trči, crni cvrčak cvrči!

ITALIAN: Trentatré Trentini entrarono a Trento, tutti e trentatré, trotterellando.

GERMAN: Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische.

FINISH: Vesihiisi sihisi hississä!

photograph by Jadranka Ilić

Miaow, Miaow, Woof, Woof Do the animals speak the same language everywhere? We noticed they actually do not, or is it only us pronouncing it in a different way? Is it affected by our culture and language or do they really make different sounds?

We did a small research about it, and collected onomatopoeia sounds in following languages: French, Belgium, Serbian, Russian, Belorussian, Mexican, German, Korean, Finnish, English, Icelandic and Italian.

Collected by Héloïse Sandré Illustrated by Kyung Eun Lee Photographs by Alexandra Galdina

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map illustration downloaded from onestopmap.com (creative commons license) photographs taken by us :)

THANKS FOR READING! PHOTOGRAPHY & JOURNALISM TEAM ICELAND, MAY 2015.

WORLDWIDE FRIENDS

Alexandra Galdina • Kyung Eun Lee • Max Zhuravlov Víctor Eduardo Avilés Romo • Min Jeong Kim Madlen Böhm • Yulia Pavlushkina • Jadranka Ilic with a precious help of “Close to Nature” team:

Claire Robertson • Suvi Lehtinen Héloïse Sandré • Milena Innocente