UNA
Dear Readers:
Index
These articles you are about to read are as varied as the Icelandic landscape that we all grew to love as we worked for 15 days in the Journalism and Photography workcamp. Prepare to be dazzled by a magical, ancient language. Marvel in the dedication of various volunteers who help to keep Iceland beautiful by helping to preserve the environment and who help young Icelanders discover the fun of football. Enjoy rocking out at the biggest heavy metal festival in all of Iceland. See how a group of volunteers can help to inspire youth at the LungA art festival.
The power of the Runes an and the old viking religion
We hope you have as much fun reading as we have had writing these pieces! Enjoy the beauty that is Iceland! Takk Fyrir! Scott, Katie, Ho-Chin, Hana, Daria, Kasia, Rita, Johanna, Neora, Linda, Neus
Football and fun and FIFA World Cup 2010 Rock in the East Fjords Eistnaflug in Neskaupsstadur Art festival LungA July 12th - 18th in Seythisfjorthur, Iceland Close to nature in Fjarรฐabyggรฐ Journalism and Photographing in east Iceland
The power of the runes and the old viking religion
Power of the runes
Viking Runes of Magic
The power of the runes and the old viking religion
Ancient Viking culture was the main heritage in Iceland for the 1st to 10th centuries A.D. Visitors in Iceland often look for Viking souvenirs, and one of the Worldwide Friends workcamps focuses on restoring the power of runes (the ancientViking character equivalents of the Icelandic alphabet). Belief in the divine origin of the runes also contributes to the idea that runes possess magical powers. In the runic alphabet, (also called Futhark), each rune not only represents a phonetic sound but also has its own distinct meaning often connected with Norse mythology. The Vikings left behind a great number of documents in stone, wood and metal, all written in the enigmatic symbols known as runes. They relied on these symbols not only for writing but also to tell fortunes, cast spells, and provide protection. We found the Power of the Runes and the old Viking religion group working in the studio in Reykjavik. It was immediately apparent that this workcamp is perfect for people who enjoy design and artistic expression. The camp leaders - Gustavo and Marianna, explained the process of restoration, while the other camp participants showed us the actual work, and even let us try it ourselves. We were drawn to how powerful this means of historical storytelling this can be. One starts by choosing a stone from the pile that was collected at the lava Black Beach in the Western Peninsula. After cleaning the stones, one needs to drill the rune onto it, based on a chart of the runes. Then you paint the drilled rune with red color, let it dry and shine it. Some improper pieces are thrown or given away to friends, whereas the good ones are gathered in collections inside a leather sack and sold in the Worldwide Friends’ shop,
The Vikings left behind a great number of documents in stone, wood and metal, all written in the enigmatic symbols known as runes. which is right upstairs from the working studio. This shop can compete with all of tourist shops found within Reykjavik’s center and even has a small cafÊ where they serve freshly baked bread and homemade soup. Other works done by this group are making jewelry, such as earrings, necklaces, pins and more. All of these items are prepared by combining stones with metal parts, pieces of cloth and colorful feathers.
Football, fun and FIFA World Cup 2010
Getting Your Kicks in Reykjavík The sun pierced through the grey clouds as we pounded the pavement through the streets of Reykjavík. Suddenly, we began to hear screams, yells and a sharp, loud “Goooooaaaaaalllll!!!” Was this Spain vs. Germany? Did the Netherlands just advance to the Word Cup Finals? We hurried towards the excitement and saw that the 15 players on the field, running in their brightly colored skirts, shirts, scarves and hats were only 5 years old! Thus began our experience with the Reykjavík Football Workcamp. In the midst of the thrill of the World Cup, there lies a smaller version of the game happening at Vinsamilega Stodvid Velina. Volunteers from around the world work hard to teach eager young campers the basic skills of football: kicks, dribbling, passing, and rules, with a whole lot of fun thrown into the mix. Every day the volunteers work with a different group of campers who come from all over Reykjavík to enjoy their tutelage and company. While we were there, we met volunteers from Canada, South Korea, and Poland who might not speak Icelandic, but who all share the same language of football.
“A typical day,” according to Camp Leader William, who hails from Montreal, “consists of playing and teaching about football, but also is filled with plenty of playground time, and tons of piggybacks and running around and having fun with the kids. We all finish the day tired, but it is extremely rewarding.” He explained how he had to learn some Icelandic in order to communicate with the young participants and that he and his volunteers spend the evening reviewing phrases such as “Are you happy?”, “Do you want to do that again?”, “Please”, “Thank you”, and “Football is fun!” The Football Workcamp is not all work. In fact, William shared that “meeting locals while being surrounded by all of the international volunteers is wonderful and truly a unique experience.” At night they go to the local swimming pool to relax and go out together in Reykjavík to have a good time and to... watch football! We journalists joined in the fun for the day in order to get a taste of what Football Camp is really all about. We kicked balls to eager 5-year-olds, played some tug-of-war and sat and marveled at just how happy all of these children are. Even after two hours, we were simply tuckered out, but all of the volunteers and the children were just smiling from ear to ear and having a blast. Even though the World Cup has ended, we are sure that the skills and fun that the campers and volunteers were sharing together will last a lifetime.
Eistnaflug in Neskaupsstadur
Heavy Rock Amongst Heavy Rocks In the small town of Neskaupstadur, situated on the eastern coast of Iceland, it’s a rainy day. However, it hasn’t decreased the enthusiastic feeling because the heavy rock festival is happening during the second weekend of July. Its full name is Eistnaflug 2010 and this is its sixth year. The festival is a huge event, which gathers people not only from the region, but also from the whole of Iceland, as well as other countries. This year fourteen hundred people swarmed to join this festival in this small village, which normally only accommodates 632 people. When speaking of the origin of the festival, the director, Stefan Magnusson, reported that it was originally a party for friends and people who love heavy rock music. Magnusson plays in a punk band called Dys, and was struck by the idea of creating a one day long event for similar music groups “to have fun”. In the first year there were about one hundred people who took part in it. Over the past few years more and more attendees have become interested and now come to this eastern town to enjoy the music and feel the climate of this unique event. Eistnaflug has become an annual music event in Iceland and now Magnusson thinks that this festival aims at more than just having fun. It is not only an event for people who love heavy rock but also an opportunity for musicians to promote themselves. The festival is a great way to promote the music groups which are not well known all over the country. It gives them a chance to appear in this competitive music industry. This year, the festival
hosted 36 bands, one from the UK, one from Norway and all the rest from Iceland. In order to hold such a big festival, Magnusson says that one year of preparation is needed and lots of manual labor is required, too. Thus, he thanks the many people who come to help. “Volunteers, are very excellent because most of them are very hard-working. They help to do almost everything related to the festival; for example, stage setting, table moving or campsite cleaning,” he stated. It is because of all the efforts from people that the festival can be successful. Despite cold and rain, one can feel the exceptional mood in the air; people are laughing, dancing and really happy to be here. It is no wonder that this event becomes more and more popular among music enthusiasts of every age. That is why, it can be said without hesitation that Magnusson’s goal of giving good entertainment to the people has definitely been achieved. In the small village, Neskaupstadur, despite the foggy day, we see the passion of people very clearly.
Preparing to Rock: The Volunteer Perspective
Good Kids at the Campsite: Beer Cans YES, Violence NO!
Worldwide Friends volunteers work in shifts around the clock, to keep the camp area clean from garbage and violence, as well as help to set up the stage for the musicians and administer pamphlets to excited fans. There are 16 volunteers that took part in this year’s Eistnaflug Festival and all were happy to be part of this unique musical experience.
When the show was over, the festival fans rested in their tents at the camp area. Some of them came from Reykjavik and its surroundings, some from small faraway towns that have no “action” going on most of the year. They were really looking forward to it and didn’t mind building their tents in the wet muddy camp area.
“We’ve had a great time volunteering,” stated Sophje (age 19) from England. “I’ve attended many music festivals in England, but this one is special because it is smaller and therefore more of a community.” Apparently, you don’t even have to be a fan of heavy metal music to appreciate this experience. Tomas, (age 21) the group leader from Slovakia stated, “I can’t hear this music for more than 20 minutes, but I like the atmosphere of the festival.”
“I can’t hear this music for more than 20 minutes, but I like the atmosphere of the festival.”
Volunteers have many reasons as to why they chose to lend a helping hand in Iceland. Hyeonji, (age 21) from South Korea told us that she wanted to “meet loud and funny people” and that she’s been so happy to be in this environment that’s “beautiful and full of nature, which is the exact opposite of home life in South Korea.” Tomas chimed in with how he enjoyed the “hiking, mountains and waterfalls and that the people are very friendly.” Similarly, Carol (age 26) from Hong Kong “wanted to learn about European culture” and has found it to be “so relaxing…it’s so busy in Hong Kong.”
“We’re not here to disturb their fun, or prevent them from using alcohol and drugs as they wish,” told the Camp Security Supervisor, “only to keep them from hurting themselves or each other. They’re good kids. We have never really experienced violence here.” “We appreciate the volunteers a lot,” said the Supervisor. “Not only do they help us with the ‘dirty’ work, but also, the participants are respectful and communicate with international and English speakers much more than local authorities.”
“We appreciate the volunteers a lot,” the camp supervisor said.
Meet the Band: Spotlight on the Band XIII We had the lucky experience to be able to sit down with the band XIII as they had a coffee and relaxed before their debut at the Eistnaflug 2010 festival. The four musicians, Jon Thorvaldsson (Bass Guitar), Eirikur Sigurdsson (Lead Guitar), Birgir Jonsson (Drums) and Hallur Ingolfsson (Vocals, Guitar), have been playing together “since the beginning of time” as they stated, or what is more commonly known as the early 90’s. They were excited to play at this Festival because they normally only rock out around Reykjavík, and this is the “only Festival that has this kind of [heavy metal] music where you get the audience involved, where everyone is really friendly and has [positive] energy and everyone is here for the same reason... to enjoy the music.” When asked about where XIII gets the inspiration for their music, they simply replied “Life. We are all going through this thing called ‘life’, and some may choose to channel it into a painting or write a book about it, but we choose to put all of it into our music.” It seems that nothing beats the response that
they get from their audience. When XIII plays, they want to “get the audience involved” and create a unique experience for their fans. They go into each performance giving it their all and that is what earned them an invitation to this Festival. They had broken up somewhere during the 90’s and just regrouped this past Fall and played an amazing concert in Reykjavik. Because of the audience response, the phone rang the very next morning with the plea to play at Eistnaflug. After this festival, they are going to finish working on their double album, which will feature some of the moments from Eistnaflug. Overall, XIII has nothing but a positive response about this Festival and found that everyone is “really friendly, where newer musicians get to work together with older musicians [in order to create] this positive energy.” They stated that this was a wonderfully “peaceful experience where people from all over Iceland can come together and scream and no one can hear”, which we interpreted and have seen to mean that everyone can appreciate and enjoy heavy metal together without any judgment.
Angry Clothes, Happy Faces It can be rather intimidating to speak with people when they are wearing all black, with spiked collars around their wrists, and heavy make-up applied to mimic corpses. But, as we all know, you can never judge a book by its cover. We found this life-lesson to be true as we interviewed many fans attending the Eistnaflug Festival and found them to be warm and welcoming, fully embodying the spirit of community.
Still Rockin´ We got to meet one of the most legendary musicians of rock music in Iceland, Atlijarl from the band Atrum (which means darkness in Icelandic). He is 55 and has played in this heavy rock style for his whole life. Every year he takes part in this festival because it is the main rock festival in Iceland and the only one that focuses on heavy metal. This summer, he and his friends and family came here to the East Fjords from Reykjavik to see all of the main rock musicians, to play themselves, and to have fun.
We caught up with Magnus, Sindri and Eola as they had a coffee and some food before heading back to the festival for the second day. This was their second time attending the festival and they drove over 14 hours to get here. All three of them are big fans of heavy metal and were especially excited to see Napalm Death, Plastic Gods and Gruesome Glory jam out. When asked what was so unique about this festival, they replied that “it is such a peaceful experience, there is no fighting because we all know one another. We all listen to the same music and hang out in the same bars and clubs around Reykjavik, so we have developed strong connections.” The Eistnaflug Festival is truly a special event where everyone comes together and shares in the experience of listening to music and having fun with one another. We hope that this Festival continues to “Rock On!” for many years to come!
Art festival
LungA July 12th - 18th in Seythisfjorthur, Iceland
Youth Art with Heart Excitement is in the air in Seythisfjorthur. It is because LungA,one of the most important art festivals, is going to be held on July 12th till the 18th. The LungA Festival began in 2000 and started with only 20 participants and now there are over 100 in the event. The Directors of LungA, Bjort Sigfinnsdettir and Ivar Petur Kjartansson, said that LungA aims at promoting and providing an easy access to the arts for young adults from ages 16 to 25. Participants of LungA first choose one kind of art workshop that fits their interest from among several choices. After one week of studying, learning, and training, they present and display their works during the exhibition week, which comes right after the training week. Therefore, the exhibition serves as a harvest and celebration of their work with concerts and shows for everyone to come and enjoy. Instead of being a festival only for local people, LungA is an international event where the organizers invite teachers from Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Brazil and the Netherlands to lead workshops. In addition, LungA provides youth exchange projects where students from Norway, Finland, and Denmark can also have chances to join.
To make the LungA process as smooth as possible, Bjort and Ivar expressed that every year they start to prepare for the next year right after the end of the exhibition. It is always hard work during the preparation, but Bjort and Ivar said that they receive lots of support and help. “We can’t do without local people. They are our biggest support,” said Bjort. In the last two years, they also began to welcome help from international volunteers from Worldwide Friends. “Volunteers always help us out in some way,” said Ivar. “They help us with cleaning, organizing, ticket selling, and especially, taking care of the security of participants – guarding, which is very important during the workshop time.” Obviously, we can see that the LungA festival is trying to convey many positive messages and shows the energy of the town and its people. (It was even nominated for a European Culture Award in 2008.) In the future, we hope to see this festival grow, and hope that more people can get to know and join this event.
Going Above and Beyond It didn’t take much to get Kaddi (age 20) from Germany to decide to volunteer for the LungA Arts Festival in Iceland. She had seen Seabear perform a few years back and she absolutely loved how they engaged the audience. When she saw that they would be playing at the LungA Festival, she just knew that she had to volunteer. “They are such cool guys. At the last concert, they even invited us to celebrate with them after.” But it is not just for personal interest that Kaddi and the other volunteers are here. It is because they all share a common interest in the arts and love the idea that this festival is showcasing the talent of young adults. Inigo (age 24) from Basque Country is here because “even though [he] works in an artistic field (Social Architecture), [he] doesn’t get to be artistic on a daily basis.” He loved the sound of this program because he is excited “that some youth artists are gathering here in Iceland” to show off their various talents and creative ideas.
All of the volunteers have varied creative interests, whether acting, music, or drawing. It is because of this very talented base that they decided that they were going to do more than what the program required. Their normal tasks include guarding the festival, and cleaning and setting up the Workshops, but this group realized that they could bring even more to the LungA Festival. They contacted the Directors of the festival and told them that they would like to create a documentary that will showcase the set-up and the artistic endeavors of the young participants, and an interactive map that will show all of the attendees coming to the festival where all of the exhibits are taking place and what they should see while they are in Seythisfjorthur. This group truly embodied that self-starting motivation that the volunteers of Worldwide Friends seem to attract. We are positive that their hard work will add a wonderfully artistic element to this fantastic festival.
Close to nature
in Fjarรฐabyggรฐ
Close to Nature Getting close to nature is an everyday occurrence for Worldwide Friends volunteers. We had the opportunity to help some international volunteers from Italy, China and Israel weed for one of their fourteen days here. They have been helping to keep the environment surrounding the village nice. Even though they are only a few people, they contributed lots of effort to the tiny villages in the middle of the fjords located on the East coast of Iceland. Some may doubt whether volunteers really like this kind of job or not. Well, volunteers do love their jobs because what they do is meaningful and helpful to not only the environment but also to local people. Every day, volunteers are very proud of themselves; especially when they can witness the outcome of their hard work. We spent the whole day with Shani (age 21), Macy (age 22) and Lorenzo (age 22). Through our conversation, we understood the general reason why volunteers from different countries come
here every year. We asked Shani, a camp leader, about what she likes about the work, because at first glance, it may seem difficult to understand why anyone would love this hard work. She said, “The first day it was quite difficult to work, but when the job was done, we felt so much satisfaction. We lay in the fields, watching the sky, thinking: ‘It was we who made this place so beautiful!’” This small town, Faskruthsfjorthul, is so different from a huge, noisy metropolitan city. Here you can be face to face with nature, experiencing an Icelandic style of life on the fjords by inhaling fresh mountain air. After work, volunteers can go hiking, and see flowers and the grass covered hills which surround them. Also, there is a swimming pool with hot water near the accommodation and it is free for Worldwide Friends to go and enjoy their leisure time.
Journalism and Photographing in East Iceland
A picture is worth a thousand words… Not only did we get the opportunity to share experiences from our own lives and backgrounds on this journey, we also got to share in new knowledge together as we traveled through Iceland. We explored the Reykjavík, Sneaflnoss Peninsula, the Eastern Fjords, Northern Iceland and even the Interior. We saw black lava beaches, geysers, hundreds of waterfalls and endless stretches of untouched terrain. We got up close and personal with other volunteers by visiting various camps where we played football with 5-year-olds, learned how to carve runes into lava rocks, weeded in nature, rocked out at a heavy metal festival, and heard about the artistic endeavors of a youth art festival. We even got close to Icelandic locals by visiting the local pubs and interviewing fans at festivals. All the while, we got to share in long talks about our cultures and backgrounds and had many laughs along the road. Instead of writing pages about our experiences, we thought that we would leave you with a photo journal, which explains what our favorite experiences were along the way. Enjoy! Johanna, 19, Germany. I like Iceland because of the beautiful waterfalls and all of the little and big wonders.
Li Ho-Chin (Jean), 22, Taiwan, Taipei: My motivation to join the journalism and photography workcamp was to meet friends from different countries, sharpen my writing skills, experience and explore the beauty of Iceland. During our workcamp time and travel, however, I found that I learned and experienced more than I originally expected. From the interaction, conversation and cooperation with my teammates, I learned so much that it’s hard for me to describe and explain it all in a few sentences. Nevertheless, all I want I say is that I really appreciated this experience to be here and be part of the journalism and photography workcamp. Kisses for everyone! Mwah!
Scott, 37, USA, New York: I really enjoyed the community aspect of our experience, especially at mealtime, when we all shared recipes and dishes from our various cultures.
Neus, 27, Spain: Green, green, seal, glaciar, green green green, desert, green green green, rain, green, green, green, waterfall, green, greeen, reindeer, fjord, geyser, green green, green, volcano, green, green, green.
Katie, 31, USA, New York: Experiencing the midnight sun in Iceland was my favorite! I hope to be able to close my eyes long after this trip is over and picture just how magical it was to be wandering around at all hours of the night visiting beautiful landscapes.
Linda, 22, Czech Republic, Prague: I like visiting different places every day. I like spending time together. I like taking pictures of interesting people. I like swimming in the pool among mountains. I like rain. I like Thursday beer nights. I like biking at 3 in the morning. I like dancing on the roof. I like being on the move.
Neora, 56, Israel, Tel-Aviv: I was amazed to meet Icelanders and learn about their conflicts between preserving the natural resources of their country and letting advanced technology and Western culture in. My visits to the aluminum factory and the power plant on the Eastern Fjords were significant to me because both are controversial, as they pollute and disturb nature, while providing new jobs and means of living to Icelanders. During our beautiful trips throughout the country I now understand more about why Icelanders are preserving their wonderful nature.
Rita, 19, Russia, St. Petersburg: My greatest experience in Iceland is connected with books, because I adore reading. A famous Russian scientist in Scandinavian literature once said that Iceland has the most published authors in the world. That is true, because in downtown Reykjavik I found 9 huge bookshops! That’s amazing!
Hana, 21,Czech Republic, Prague: Iceland taught me a lot of useful thoughts; for example, how to be patient, felxible and happy! I have never been so happy in my life like I am here! It is because of people, nature, peace and the huge distance from stereotypes and commercial life! I am so far away from my home, but every day I get honest hugs and kisses - it is really nice! It is Iceland!
Kasia, 26, Poland, Warsaw: For some people Iceland seems to be too inaccessible, but in these difficulties one can find pure beauty of nature which is worth making a stand against it.
Daria, 21, Russia, Moscow: For me the greatest experience was to meet so many rock stars at the Rock festival and to interview them. Two weeks in the Iceland clubs was also fantastic. I love this country.
Improve Your Worldwide Friendliness After our wild experience in Iceland, we thought that we would leave you a few tips: 1. It is advised not to make up your mind about the workcamp before two days have passed. Enjoy it a lot, and don’t get hung up on the small things.You'll be surprised how good atmosphere, or a good meal that was cooked together, can turn any situation into a most cool one. 2. Although not every Worldwide Friend accommodation has showers, almost every neighborhood in Iceland has thermo swimming pools and showers. They're usually in open air and super pleasant; don't miss them! 3. Most public places in Iceland start functioning after noon or even 14:00. Don't assume earlier opening hours unless specified. One of Reykjavik's newspapers has even published an article called "The Art of Sleeping", relating to this phenomenon. 4. As Icelanders say, there's no such thing as bad weather, there's only non-equipped people. Remember that even sunny days may turn to showery ones - always carry some rain protection, and always carry enough good spirit, so not to be too disappointed by it. 5. On rainy days or long trips you may enjoy reading books by Halldór Laxness, Nobel Prize Icelandic author of 15 novels, plays and stories. They actually bring to life almost every place in Iceland that we visited - for example: Iceland's Bell is about the 18th century in the Eastern fjords, Under the Glacier is about the Western Peninsula, and Independent People happens in Reykjavik during the 1950´s. 6. Must haves: A good pair of hiking boots, an open-mind, a willingness to share stories and experiences from your own background, recipes, food, and a BIG smile!
Photographs, texts, design: Scott Lerner, Kate DeFeo, HoChin Lli, Hana Rašková, Daria Rodkina, Kasia Jablczynska, Rita Filipchuk, Johanna Hehmann, Neora, Linda Matějovská, Neus Bayarri Durbá