UNA - the official magazine of Worldwide Friends Iceland - November 2018

The official magazine of WF

UNA November 2018

h i g h l i g h t s

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UNA

content

Introduction:

Articles:

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Meet the Team

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WF workcamps 2019 Winter and Spring

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The story of Iceland’s mysterious ghost wreck

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Geothermal energy in Iceland

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Ring Road Tour in 10 days

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Cycling in Iceland

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Northern lights in Iceland

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“I think about dying, so I go to Iceland”

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Minami • 21 years old from Japan • Junior in college, the major is economics • Currently taking gap year to go abroad and get new sights • I’m a volunteer for all over the world

Marlene • 18 years old from Germany • Finished school this year • Gap year for travelling, working and for gaining new experience • Next year I will start to study

Robin • 19 years old from Germany • Graduated school this year • Gap year for travelling, working, photography and gaining new experience • Next year I will start to study

Timothy • 23 years old from Belgium • Study Chemistry for the 3rd year • Currently a gap year including 1,5 months of Iceland

Yui • 30 years old from China • Journalist for a national newspaper • Learning French in order to continue my studies in France next year • I speak English, Chinese, Japanese and French

Peter • 25 years old from The Netherlands • Graduated from Civil Engineering this year • Camp leader in Iceland for 3 months • Travelling before starting the working life

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WF workcamps 2019 Winter & Spring

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland During this workcamp, volunteers will deal with different tasks related to renovation and maintenance of our house in Stodvarfjordur in the east of Iceland. If the weather conditions are good, we will also help the local community with various kind of environmental work.

Peace and children’s rights in the Eastern fjords This camp focuses on human rights education activities that will be carried out by the WF volunteers in schools in East Iceland. The aim of this camp is to increase awareness about human rights among elementary school aged - children and early adolescents through a non-formal education approach.

The villages of the Eastern fjords Volunteers will have environmental tasks in different areas in Fjardabyggd, for example cleaning the coastline, planting trees and flowers, taking down old fences, removing lupines or other plants and fixing hiking paths.

Worldwide Friends volunteers will be staying in the WF house in Stodvarfjordur, in the east of Iceland.

Journalism and photography Reykjavik During this workcamps, volunteers will take photos, create videos and conduct interviews with volunteers, local hosts and people living in the area. The outcome will be published in the UNA WF magazine.

Worldwide Friends volunteers will be staying in our house in Sveinsstadir, which is located on the outskirts of Reykjavik.

Aurora hunting, art and renovation at the arctic circle During this workcamp, volunteers will deal with different tasks related to renovation and maintenance of our house in Raufarhöfn in the North of Iceland. The work will depend on the skills and knowledge of each volunteer, but focuses mainly on tasks such as painting, cleaning, fixing small things.

Worldwide Friends volunteers will be staying in the WF house in Raufarhöfn.

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Schedule Winter & Spring CODE

NAME

DATES

VOLS total

WF111

Peace and children’s right in the Eastern fjords

15/01-25/01

8

WF112

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

15/01-25/01

7

WF250

Aurora hunting, art and renovation at the arctic circle

17/01-31/01

6

WF301

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

21/1-31/01

8

WF113

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

24/01-03/02

15

WF114

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

02/02-12/02

15

WF302

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

10/02-20/02

8

WF115

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

11/02-21/02

7

WF116

Peace and children’s right in the Eastern fjords

11/02-21/02

8

WF251

Aurora hunting, art and renovation at the arctic circle

18/02-04/03

6

WF117

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

20/02-02/03

15

WF118

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

01/03-11/03

15

WF303

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

02/03-12/03

8

WF119

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

10/03-20/03

7

WF120

Peace and children’s right in the Eastern fjords

10/03-20/03

8

WF252

Aurora hunting, art and renovation at the arctic circle

11/03-25/03

6

WF121

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

19/03-29/03

15

WF304

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

22/03-01/04

8

WF253

Aurora hunting, art and renovation at the arctic circle

01/04-15/04

6

WF305

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

06/04-16/04

8

WF122

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

28/03-08/04

15

WF123

Aurora hunting, art and renovation in the East of Iceland

07/04-18/04

15

WF306

Easter Peace building camp in Reykjavik

18/04-25/04

8

WF307

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

01/05-11/05

8

WF124

The villages of the Eastern fjords

26/04-06/05

12

WF125

The villages of the Eastern fjords

06/05-16/05

12

WF308

Journalism and photography - Reykjavik

21/05-31/05

8

WF126

The villages of the Eastern fjords

16/05-26/06

12

7

8

9

10

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Iceland is known as a country which makes use of natural energy successfully. The country has various natural resources like volcanos, glaciers, hot springs, plateaus of lavas and so on.

The temperature of the center under the ground is about 50006000℃. This heat is regarded as GEOTHERMAL ENERGY. The energy is used for generation of electricity, hot spring, and many purposes as well.

The rain soaks deeply into the earth and it reaches magma that has high temperature. Then, the rain is changed the form into steam by the heat. It stays around at 1000-3000 meters underground. We can extract the heated steam by digging a well. It is used to revolve turbines to generate electricity. That is the system of geothermal generation.

This is my first trip to Iceland. I am so impressed by its great nature at every moment.

While walking in the city center in Reykjavik, I could see magnificent mountains from between city buildings. There are several lakes and parks which have clean air, water, plants, and flowers. At night, we might witness mysterious Aurora and brilliant stars. In addition, as a famous leisure spots, there are some hot pots and pools. You can enjoy natural benefits from our planet here.

We can feel natural power even when being inside of buildings. I found Sulphur smell from water taps in the hotel. Why? This country has made use of natural power everywhere in the living. To probe into a secret more, I will show you something about geothermal energy.

We have the responsibility to know where the energy comes from to build a sustainable society. Let’s learn a bit about the energy which we can get along with?

「Let’s promote development of natural energy instead of petroleum!!」

1973 Oil Shock 1977 Svartsengi power station was opened

In 1976, when a construction work was done in a geothermal power station in Svartsengi (it is located on west of Reykjavik), a huge pool was created coincidentally. It is named ‘‘Blue Lagoon’’. It has warm water (37 ～39℃) and the color is sky blue.  Blue Lagoon is one of the most popular place among tourists.

「Let’s rebuild our economy with natural energy!!」

2008 Lehman shock 2010 Eyjafjallajokull erupted Lately: Iceland Deep Drilling Project The IDDP was founded in 2000 to find out whether it is economically possible or not to distil energy from hydrothermal systems under conditions of supercritical.

If it worked well, that would mean that there was a high possibility to produce much energy by making use of the volcanic zone.

This project must take a long-time to complete its research. Since there are about 217,000 people in Reykjavik, it is worthful for such a big city to find more efficient way to use their energy.

It brought considerable disruption to the airplane network all over the world.

Because of the effects from volcanic ash above Europe area, over 100,000 airplanes were canceled.

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Usage of the energy 40% of geothermal energy is used to generate electricity. 30% of the electricity which is used in Iceland is generated by geothermal energy. It is a quite high rate in the world. They rarely use gases and oils because there are mountains of geothermal energy. It is one of tips that is why this country can generate almost all electricity by natural energy.

Currently, most houses have home heaters which use that energy. It is more surprising that their taps provide water from hot spring. It means that they can have a natural spa in their bathtub naturally!

Moreover, there are a few countries which use geothermal energy for like Iceland even some countries (America, Philippines, Indonesia,‌) make use of that energy for their electricity. We can learn various ways to resuscitate such a huge energy resource.

In Iceland, its electricity charge costs only 5 cents per 1kwh.

It is one-fifth compared with Germany. The Icelandic use many hot water for showers, heaters, and melting snow. Nevertheless, it costs about just one euro per a day. Since the charge is cheap, they have made successes to attract overseas businesses which consume much electricity.

They can export this cheap electricity to other Europe countries.

There are already enough technologies to send the power. So far, the plan was under its financial problem. But now, the chance to start the project is coming because we are facing the condition that electricity charges in Europe have increased dramatically. I hope that it will be successful

Industry Snow melting Swimming pools 4% 2% 4% Fish farming 5% Greenhouse 2%

Space heationg 43%

Utilisation Electric generation 40%

Data by ORKUSTOFNUM https://nea.is/geothermal/direct-utilization

I experienced natural life outskirts of Reykjavik with international friends. We could use hot shower, heater, and cooking stove in the house thanks to geothermal energy.

The house which we lived is located almost in the mountains. We enjoyed hiking around while feeling how nature is beautiful and compelling. WF offers several programs that you can experience huge nature including some exclusions. You will find a new perspective how to spend your life.

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Stokksnes. Photo: Peter Spielmann

Diamond Beach. Photo: Robin Krone 15

ICELAND, the volcanic island where you can explore waterfalls, glacier, hot springs and much more.

If you want an impression of the whole island, you have to do the Ring Road Tour. The Ring Road is the main street in Iceland which runs around the island with a length of 1332 kilometres and connects inhabited parts of the country.

Furthermore, many touristic attractions are nearby the Ring Road.

Ring Road Tour in 10 Days – Tips for travelling

most flexible and ‘cheapest’ option travelling along the Ring Road is renting a car. If you are about twenty years old you can rent a car of an Icelandic car rental company which is often the cheapest. If you start your journey at Reykjavik you can start with the Golden Circle, which is not so far from Reykjavik and is the most popular touristic route. At one day you can visit three of the most popular sights of Iceland, the waterfall Gullfoss, the Geysir and the Thingvellir National Park.

Driving from Reykjavik to Gullfoss takes about 1,5 hours for a distance of 116 kilometres. The name ‘Gullfoss’ is based on the ‘golden waterfall’ which embossed the term ‘Golden Circle’. If the weather is sunny there is a rainbow in the waterfall and you can take a lot of impressive photos.

The

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Because this part of Iceland is overcrowded with tourists you can skip the Geysir and visit the waterfalls Midfoss and Bruarfoss which are 24 kilometres off Gullfoss. After walking about 45 minutes from the Official Parking you will reach a beautiful turquoise waterfall which is not overcrowded by tourists. Enjoy the nature, take photos and keep it in your memories!

A tip for an accommodation is the Ljรณsafossskรณli Hostel close to the Thingvellir National Park where you can find cheap twin rooms and of course a common kitchen where you can cook on your own.

The next day begins and you can drive into the north to Akureyri which is 426 kilometres away.

The ride takes about 5,5 hours because the Icelandic roads do not many tunnels for which reason you have to drive around all of the mountains. While driving into the north you can make a stopover at Hraunfossar (waterfall) to come out of the car. If you arrive in Akureyri you can see that the landscape differs to the south.

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To find a cheap accommodation in Akureyri you can sleep in a dorm room of the HI Hostel for only 30-40 euros per night.

In the north of Iceland are many things to see. The waterfall Dettifoss, which is the waterfall with the highest capacity in Europe, is 150 kilometres away from Akureyri. You can take amazing pictures, see a rainbow if the sun is shining and you can enjoy the nature.

Close to Dettifoss you can find another waterfall, the Hafragilsfoss and the Lake Mývatn where the surrounding landscape is dominated by volcanic landforms. 51 kilometres off Akureyri is the waterfall Goðafoss which is one of the most spectacular waterfalls on Iceland.

The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.

Just at 64 kilometres distance you can visit the Krafla Viti Crater, where you can park directly in front of. The Viti crater is a circular crater filled with blue water, surrounded by a geothermal area and colourful mountains and you can walk on the rim. Pay attention, there is a small second lake on the side of Viti!

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Continuing, if you ride into the south you can make a stopover in the east where you can enjoy beautiful fjords. ‘Airbnb’ is a good way to look for reasonably priced and cozy guesthouses like ‘Hamar, Hótel – Kaffihús’ in Breiðdalsvík (353 kilometres from Akureyri).

Recommendable in the south is especially the glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón, which is told to be one of the greatest wonders of nature in Iceland. Huge blocks of ice break off the glacier and large icebergs float in the lagoon.

Nearby the lagoon you can find a black beach, which is called ‘Diamond Beach’ because the ice chunks lying on it resemble diamonds glistening in the sun.

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If you follow the ring Road 131 kilometres further south you pass the Fjaðrárgljúfur, a beautiful canyon which is not well known. Thus it is less crowded than other sites in the area.

Fjaðrárglúgur is about 100 metres deep and 2 kilometres long, with sheer walls and many waterfalls.

The next must see stop is the Reynisfjara Black Beach, because a black sand beach cannot be found in many places on earth.

The contrast between the black sand and the white foam of the waves and the blue water is a great impression for every eye and every camera. 25 kilometres south from the Reynisfjara Black Beach you can park at ‘Sólheimasandur Parking’ to see the abandoned plane wreck which is 45 minutes by foot. Go for it- the walk pays off, especially for photographers. Close to it you can find the waterfall Skógafoss, which is also a great place to take some photos. Another thing you have to do if you are in Iceland is swimming in a hot sping or in a geothermal pool.

Drive 12 minutes to Seljavallalaug from the Plane Wreck where you can park your car. Go straight in direction to the colourful and snowy mountains, the view is great. After a short walk you will find Seljavallalaug, one of the oldest swimming pools on Iceland, which was built in 1923. The advantage is that there is no admission fee to enter Seljavallalaug. Hop in and enjoy the location where you are swimming. Some parts are colder than others, but out of the source flows hot water into the pool which makes the temperature in some parts very warm.

The journey around Iceland is almost at its end, but you can make a last stop at Seljalandsfoss.

A path leads you behind the waterfall, but do bring a raincoat as you will get soaking wet from the drizzle. It is fantastic walking behind Seljalandsfoss, especially on a sunny day when one can catch the rainbow.

But pay attention, the path might be frozen and the grass as well which is a great photo motif.

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You have got also the possibility to make excursions with the organisation WF : SOUTH COAST: Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara Black Beach, Vik, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon (1 Day, 100€) GOLDEN CIRCLE: Gullfoss, Geysir, Pingvellir (8 hours, 60€) ROUND TRIP: Grábrók, Akureyri, Goðafoss, Dimmuborgir, Hverir, optional Green Lagoon (30€) -Night in StöðvarfjörðurJökulsárlón, Vik, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara Black Beach, Seljalandsfoss (2 Days, 1 Night, 180€) SNAEFELLSNESS: Ytri-Tunga Beach with TIPS: seals, Arnarstapi and • CAR RENTAL: Rent a car Hellnar Cliffs, to be flexible and at an Djúpalónssandur Beach, Icelandic car rental Kirkjufell Game of Thrones company Mountain • FOOD: Buy food at the (10 hours, 100€) supermarket ‘Bónus’ to cook in the hostel or Disclaimer: prices may guesthouse on your own.

• ACCOMMODATIONS: Hostels (dorm rooms) and guesthouses (book it in advance at ‘Airbnb’, ‘Hostelworld’,…)

change from year to year

• CLOTHING: Raingear is necessary

by Marlene Rüschoff

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ycling in Iceland Timothy Van der Ouderaa

While Iceland offers many beautiful excursions that are available with car or bus, there are also options for the more adventurous type of people. Why not cycle around the island, for example?

Iceland’s beautiful landscapes and wide views can be a motivation to start with this adventurous and unique experience. The main ring road of Iceland, road 1, is about 1400 km and passes by some famous sightseeing spots and stops. But despite Iceland’s excellent roads, cyclists may stump on some difficulties and issues.

People that are a little bit familiar with the unpredictable weather in Iceland know that cycling around the whole island will ask the proper equipment and spirit. At all times of the year you should carry warm, wind- and rainproof clothing, and gloves since temperatures rarely reach more than 15°C and strong winds and heavy rain showers can

occur the whole year around. Of course in winter conditions warmer outfits are required, since temperatures can often drop to -5°C , -10°C, or even less.

In addition, the weather is extremely changeable and unpredictable, so you should always be prepared for the unexpected. Snow in the summer is not unusual in some places. You should always consult the weather forecast to be safe!

One must also be aware of food supplies. Since food and drinks can only be bought in towns and highway locations, you will have to take enough food for several days if you are crossing the highlands. Sometimes there may be 100-200 km between shops even on Road 1. Water can arranged from streams and rivers, you should never take water from downstream of farms or fields. Water from glacial rivers should preferably be filtered.

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As far as biking equipment is concerned, one should have a mountain bike, for the highlands, with low gears. As the next bike shop may be far away, wearing parts such as tires, brake pads, chain and bearings are necessary. Most main roads are asphalted but there can still be gravel on parts where there is the least traffic. There is far less traffic on the gravel roads, but you may encounter long stretches with potholes, �washboards“ or loose sand. Note that the mountain roads in the interior highlands are usually closed until late May or even July, because of the snow.

As far as cycling speeds are concerned it is possible, considering you cycle 8 hours per day an average speed of 25 km per hour to circle the island in 7 days. Of course when there is a head wind 15-20 m/s, which is not unlikely.

In many parts of Iceland, the average speed will be much less. In the Highlands, depending on the road surface, speeds can be very low, even as little as 25 km per day!

The traffic in Iceland is of course the busiest in the south-west part of the country, areas in and around Reykjavik.

Once you go to the East or North the traffic volume decreases, but vehicles still move fast. The roads also become narrower, especially once you exit Route 1. The lack of a cycle path is also a reason why cyclists must always be aware of traffic at anytime!

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Northern lights in Iceland Peter Spielmann

Besides the beautiful variety of landscapes Iceland has to offer there is another natural phenomenon that draws tourists to Iceland each year, the northern lights. This natural light displays in the Earth’s sky is also called polar lights or Aurora Borealis, and is predominantly seen in high-latitude regions.

In Iceland aurora activity can be seen eight months of the year; from early September to the end of April. Whether you’ll see it depends on your luck, the weather and solar activity. In the work camps of Worldwide Friends looking for aurora is an important activity during the night-time. The camp ‘Aurora hunting and Renovation in the East of Iceland’ puts even more emphasis on this natural phenomenon.

The word Aurora Borealis comes from the combination of the words ‘Aurora’, the Roman goddess of the dawn and ‘Boreas’, meaning north in Latin. Around the south poles aurora is also visible and is referred to as Aurora Australis. The aurora’s were for a long time in history a mystical phenomenon, which signified different things to different cultures. The Vikings from Norway and Iceland thought the lighting up of the sky was due to the reflection off the armour of the mythical Valkyries, the legendary female figures who took the dead to the afterlife. To the native Eskimos from Greenland and Canada the lights were thought to be communication from the dead. The American Indians thought that it were lights from huge campfires from the far norths. In the medieval times the lights were thought to be a prediction of an upcoming war or disaster..

Nowadays we know that this light phenomenon is caused by high-energy particles from the sun’s solar winds interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Within the sun the process of fusion occurs and as a result high-energy particles (ions, electrons, protons, neutrinos) and radiation are released into space with the solar winds. These particles and radiation travel throughout the solar system and encounter with the earth’s magnetic field.

This encounter causes a distortion of the earth magnetic field and also the deflection of the solar winds towards the north and south poles, see the picture on the right.

The solar winds create an opening in the magnetic field at the polar cusps. These charged particles hit our atmosphere usually above the 60° latitude mark in the north, and below the 60° latitude in the south.

The particles from space Interact with the particles in the earth's atmosphere; mainly oxygen and nitrogen. This interaction results in different colours which can be seen from the earth as auroras. The different colours depend on the altitude in the earth's atmosphere, namely: Blue and violet: less than 120 kilometres, Green: 120 to 180 km and Red: more than 180 km. We see different colours at different altitudes because the relative concentration of oxygen to nitrogen in the atmosphere changes with altitude. Other planets in our solar system with an atmosphere and magnetic field also experience aurora’s around the Poles, for example Jupiter and Saturn.

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From the explanation in the previous paragraph it can be seen that the solar activity is an important variable for seeing the aurora. There are several websites where the solar activity is monitored and therefore the probability of aurora can be forecasted. An often used system to forecast aurora is the KP index. This index is a system of geomagnetic activity, ranging from 0 to 9. With 0 being a very weak or non existent aurora while 9 being a major geomagnetic storm with auroras likely in France and even Northern Spain.

However in order to see the aurora it is important to have a clear sky with minimal cloud coverage. Auroras can be dancing in the night sky behind the clouds not visible to see from the earth. Otherwise than some people might say the cold does not influence aurora, however the sky needs to be clear which is usually on cold nights.

A helpful app that can be used is ‘My Aurora Forecast- Aurora Alerts Northern Lights’. This app shows the solar activity, cloud coverage and a map with the best viewing locations.

In order to capture a decent picture of the northern lights you don’t need an expensive setup, most smartphone cameras can be used. Depending on the settings of your phone you can use different functions to get a good picture. Some smartphones have pre-settings that can be used, for example night mode for stars, lightning or in this case aurora. You can also manually adjust the ISO, the light exposure, and exposure time in order to capture aurora. General advice would be an ISO around 800 and exposure time around 15 seconds. For long exposure pictures it is important to have a steady tripod or something similar to make a focussed image. You can use for example a car, tree or rock to make a steady image.

More tips and tricks with a professional camera can be found in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIAtlH dqM0Y. For the best end result you can edit the photos with an editing program afterwards.

TIPS  

  The journey of the high-energy particles from the Sun to the Earth’s poles (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/aurora/en/)



Come between September and April.

Get out of the city. There should be as little unnatural light as possible.

Plan you trip around the full moon. The fuller the moon the less dark the night will be.

Check the forecast of both the weather and solar activity.

Bring some warm clothes, blankets and a hot drink with you and most important: patience.

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“I think about dying so I go to Iceland“ —“But if I can see the snow here maybe I can retrieve the courage to be alive.”

By yui ( qin tan) photographs by yui Render assistance to translation by wei zhang This is not my first long trip by myself.

I’m a reporter, writing articles about travels in China.

My job can be described as “blind and desperate”, keeping going without thinking too much.

Even though I can’t choose the place I travel to, I share my experience on the road with breadth & depth with my readers.

However, deep inside I always hold a faith, treasuring “traveling “ as a so private matter that “sharing” seems to be attempted in vain.

I wonder how much the thoughts & feelings about those journeys can be 100% objective and neutral, considering people’s diverse backgrounds and preferences.

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I guess it is my fortune to be here in Iceland this time, not for business, but just for personal recording and responding in a pure and spontaneous form.

One thing that surprises me is that I have been asked the same question by the people I encounter:

“Why you choose to come to Iceland?”

Upon the countless times I meet this question, I even half-jokingly assume that they are not simply exchanging pleasantries, but with sincerity they ask me and ask themselves: ”what’s the motivation to start traveling so far away to this island instead of some other warmer place.”

Everyone has a lonely island in his/her heart, or maybe it just has the same outlook of Iceland. Therefore people gather here from every corner of the world, seeking for the answer of the question

“Why Iceland ”.

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One couple come from America with their 18-year-old son The first time they travelled to Iceland was 20 years ago. The couple met each other when their flight was delayed because of the heavy snow. The girl from America fell in love with this French young man. Then after 3 mouths, in tears, she had to tell her boyfriend in America: “Sorry I’m falling in love with a French guy ,we have to break up...”

After 20 years, they’re back in Iceland and also bring back their kid here. Their son, speaking French with an American accent, talks with atypical “American confidence” and demonstrates interests in languages.

Two girls from America Because of the affordable flight tickets to Iceland, they get the chance to travel together.

One girl suffers Type 2 diabetes, and used to be annoyed by her large-scaled body frame.

Self-inflicted scars can still be observed under the tattoos on her left arm.

“It must be cold here.” She said, “but I will get used to it. I was laughed and mocked at school because of how I look like. So I guess I don’t have to be worried; my body fat is thick enough against the cold.”

One lady in her late 20’s, from Europe, a teacher

She was born in a Christian family. Since she graduated from college, she has been working as a teacher in a local school. She loves her job and loves all her students. Outside workplace, she is enthusiastic at attempting things mad and challenging. ”Who knows. Maybe I should go naked in the hot springs in Iceland.”

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Mr. D Volunteer of work camp Having been working for years, I find that interpersonal relationship becomes more complicated, centered with issues of power and money. Collaborative relationship appears to be tough and trustworthy, but ultimately it’s all about benefit, resource and money. But here, things turn out to be simpler. We have all the basic supplies, and chose to live the simple lifestyles. We live under the same roof, listen to and help each other, sharing music we enjoy and discussing our hobbies. We become a family here, purest and truest. volunteers S Australian age 21 I’m have a gap year during my college time. I love my family, but sometimes it can be “too much” to live with them all the time. I hear that in Iceland they have farms for volunteers. I want go Iceland but I don’t have enough money, so it makes sense to be a volunteer here I think. Also, I need some personal space, to think about my future, my career and my educational plan.

volunteer M Japan 21 At first, I’m interested in Iceland because they have technological education and also gender equality, so I want to see it’s true or not, it’s different in Japan, I want to see it and maybe help in the future. When I arrived here, it was not too cold, and I was so astonished that everyone here speaks English so well, it’s helpful that I can use euro’s and my credit cards (from Japan) very easily, I think I’ll have a good experience in Iceland, it’s bigger than I could imagine.

Mr. Guo. China Shanghai Honeymoon to Iceland. They decide to get married after an 8-year and long-distance relationship. Because the bride expects to take their “marriage photos” in Iceland, then after one year and a half, they finally make it with the enough money saved and vacation hours accumulated. Since the bride’s wedding dress is thin, the bridegroom especially take a “Chinese hotbag “ with him.

Miss Xin China Sichuan 19 She is a keen fan for an actor. Attracted by that actor’s a series of photos taken on a black beach in Iceland. She want to see the same view and take the same photos here.

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After talking with many people I was still uncertain why people come here?

Why do you want to go Iceland, and then I met her.

She is a Chinese girl, not special at all, short, medium size, with long and dark brown hair, and her eyes are also brown. I noticed her at the very beginning because she has little luggage to claim, which misleads me to assume this is her flight transfer for home.

She is quiet at the corner in the crowd. Tired by my overweighed luggage, I ask for her help since she stands next to me. She is surprised that we are from the same city in China, so started our conversations.

She is an independent lady. After college graduation, she sought for a higher education overseas with the money she earned from a part-time job. Then coming back to China, she got her first job which last 8 years, with a salary of 80000 euro per year.

In the 8 years, she worked, lived and travelled far from her family, all alone. Sometimes after work, she drank at home or with her colleagues. Aside from a high salary, she also built up her fortune by playing in the stock market, by investments, and doing business with her friends. Her routine overseas shopping list includes designer bags, watches and clothes. “My new boyfriend is six years younger than me. He has no idea about my salary.

Some of my close friends live in different cities, so from time to time I visit them during travelling for business. Otherwise we travel abroad together.”

She said, “we are all the so-called ‘tough woman’, just like the mockery many people in China often make.

Then she took a little bottle of whisky and kept telling her story. She is from lower-tier small city in south China. As the single child, she received full-resourced education her family could afford. However, due to the too strict traditional value in this family, she even had to come back to China as what her parents had planned. Not until she career began to prosper and her parents kept nagging her about marriage and children, did she realize that it was not like the life of her own. She felt like a successful RPS, and her parents were the masters creating that Sims world for her.

Then she paid attention to the city she was living in, to the houses and cars with different levels, and to the predicted cost for raising children. She is living in a ranted apartment in a upper-class community, with price of 8000-10000 euro/m2, and the price of house is still rising.

Even though she is able to afford an apartment here, she may still fail to get one because of the extreme demanding market. Things look losing control to her.

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“If I get married.” She hypothesizes, “I’m concerned about the two-child policy. I’m worried about that family’s tax and allowance will be influenced by the change of policy. And the income gap caused by gender bias can be even bigger. Then in the future, my husband and I may work for 12 hours a day (commuter hours included), and my house and children have to be left for our parents or a nanny. Moreover, the two of us, my husband and I, should take care of two children’s tuitions plus four parents’ living expenses. I even tremble to think about this.”

For many moments, she spends lavishly both her money and her youth, but coming back home, she feels tired at taking care the luxury skin care products, make-ups, leather bags and shoes in the musty environment. She says that she wants to end a life like this, for in every way she feels unable to satisfy her mother. She cannot figure out this most difficult question of her life, unlike getting a high score, entering a decent school or winning a scholarship in the past.

”Happiness, even turns out to be a term she cannot relate.”

She talks about her childhood in her hometown. It usually snowed during the new year period. Her parents and she would reunite with almost all the relatives at her grandparents’.

Snow was falling in large flakes outside, while inside was fulfilled with happiness.

Sometimes in the morning, she could see rime on the tree. Most of the time, together with the cousins she ran wild in the snow, drew a snowman a smile with a piece of coal, always got her hands frozen, and then oozed sweat after snowball fights.

Ever since her leaving home and settling in the city where her company is located, she has never seen snow for once. Even worse, her grandparents’ passing away destroyed the homeland for her soul.

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“For so many times I have been questioning myself:

Why should I even still live in this world.

I don’t want my parents to worry about me, neither do I know how to meet all their demands. I have already purchased a house in my hometown for them, but still in fear of their expectation on my future marriage and children. I feel incapable to continue this planned life, and I don’t want my kids to live like this, working hard but

feeling lost． “I’m exhausted. I don’t want my kids to have similar experience and then to blame me.....

I want to see the snow again. If so, maybe I can retrieve the courage to be alive.” She smiles, little by little, trying to open her heart to me.

When we arrived in Reykjavík, I saw all her simple baggage, with very a few warm clothes.

“That’s fine.” She replies, “people don’t die that easily.” She starts laughing with a child-like shyness in her eyes pure, and the fragile beauty of her make-up adds nuance of her mien.

”

It is unknown how many people have a dream island in their

heart. A dreamland icy and snowy world , just like Iceland.

”

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When one struggles between their dream and real life, when they try to escape from their life, and even escape from their country. No matter, they choose to keep silent or take a dreamy but short adventure, but after all, they know that the very problem of their life is still unsolved, no matter where they go.

From fairytales we reads in childhood, to famous movies winning awards worldwide, these works seem to convey a secret named “the silver lining of destiny�.

Then go; go out to try. You may encounter someone or some opportunity.

In fact, life may still teach one a lesson with silence and pain: statistically with a big chance, one will still be the same person after this trip. It is them that choose this life; not the other way around. So no matter where one goes, the shortcoming of their personality, the habits in life and manners in getting along with people still follow them.

But, attribute your luck to your diligence. Because one is seeking for change after noticing these problems. Choosing adventure and facing yourself should not be wrong.

As long as they do not give up struggling and give up on themselves. Then, when the journey is finished, they may find a chance to make reconciliation with themselves, so that they will be able to confront the reality, to reunite with the family, and solve problems in life with a better status.

May the pure nature of Iceland grant you a mind clearer than the glaciers, a view broader than the tundra, a hope for life more blazing than the volcano, and a future more spectacular than the aurora.

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