That donut ain't fucking around

Hatred building up inside me: Tourist photography

2010-04-17T22:36:00.000Z

Nowadays with Facebooks, Flickrs and Picasas it's really easy to predispose your entire social network with your vacation photos. Naturally, people wish to force feed their experiences with others, whether they asked for it or not. Don't get me wrong, vacation photos can be enjoyable to watch. However, in most cases, they are not. This is simply because people seem to have a need to take a photo of themselves at each tourist attraction. You know, a photo of themselves posing in the foreground, putting up a fake smile, while leaving the actual subject in the background.

After a while of studying this idiotic human behavior, I've reached a conclusion:
• people need to prove something
• people want to brag
• people love themselves

I would say the actual reason is a combination of all of these. People love watching themselves and to show "how good they are doing" and sure as hell want everyone to know about it.

The thing that breaks my pot is that these typical tourist photos don't serve any real cause. They are rarely good as portraits and never good as pictures of the subject.

Furthermore, I've noticed that people don't actually need to be witnessing something exciting, i.e. a tourist attraction or a beautiful landscape. Other reasons leading to photos filled with people with a stupid grin are:
• people are in front of anything
• someone finds a "funny" item, e.g. a hat
• people are drunk
• someone is taking a picture

Each given scenario ends up in a sequence of n+1 photos, where n is the number of people. The additional photo is a photo of the whole group. This leads me to the next subject.

No matter whom you're with, there's always some dipshit suggesting a group photo – the grandmother of sons of bitches of all times. It's the typical tourist photo times the number of persons in it. And naturally, you simply have to take those in front of every single rock and polar bear you come across.

The most ridiculous thing I've heard so far went something like this: "OK, the weather is really bad. Let's run fast to the waterfall, take a photo and return inside the car". Naturally, by photo they meant a group photo. A group photo of them smiling in front of a waterfall in a terrible blast, just to prove they were there. No one gave a rat's ass about the waterfall itself! Sometimes I'm wondering if people are traveling just because everyone else is.

Here are some hints on how to "untouristize" your future albums:
• Start taking pictures of the surroundings instead of taking pictures of yourself in the surroundings.
• If you're taking a photo of your friends, don't inform them. Try capturing the actual moment.
• Take group photos for a reason, not just because you can.
• Fuck Kodak moments and konichiwas.

P.S. Coming up: Erasmus – not a synonym for an exchange period.

Hatred building up inside me

2010-03-02T03:10:00.001Z

Since I'm running out of nice things to write about, I decided to widen my repertoire of writing by launching a new series of blog entries called 'Hatred building up inside me'. The upcoming entries will be mostly about everyday life in a multinational environment, i.e. about the cultural and personal deficiencies that others have. So sit back and derive pleasure from my frustration.

Part 1: Ignorant idiots aren't able to develop

Although Iceland is a safe country with low crime rate, people still have locks in their doors and tend to use them in order to prevent unwanted people from entering. This is also factual in the house I'm living in and sharing with nine others. Surprisingly, one of my fellow inmates, let's say Ms. X, has a hard time understanding the basic principles of how the door functions and therefore doesn't feel the need of carrying any keys with her. So, every time Ms. X comes home, she tries the door, realizes it's locked and then rings the fucking doorbell. Since my room is the closest one to the front door, I usually open it for her. This scene has been going on for months now. At first I was extremely tolerant working as her personal butler, but slowly got tired being constantly interrupted and started expressing my feelings with a really nice smile and tone. One would expect to get the message and realize how much of a burden you are to others. But no, if you're an ignorant idiot, you're not able to develop.

The current situation is that I have quit my duties as a butler and passed the burden to others. Today, for instance, people from the third floor came down to open the door. And as you might think, they were expecting to see a visitor, not a permanent resident. I'm looking forward to see how the situation develops.

Second encounter with Reykjavík

2010-02-08T16:57:00.006Z

I participated on an annual four-day excursion, Stóra vísindaferðin suður, arranged by the University. The excursion started on Thursday noon when we left to Reykjavik by two busses. It was obvious right from the start that the trip was just a great excuse to party. Majority of the students started drinking (btw, beers provided by the University) as soon as we hit the road. I took it a little bit easier and slept most of the way. I remember having quite weird dreams in Icelandic. All the talking and signing mixed with my subconscience was an interesting blend :)

Unlike in my previous visit to Reykjavík, the weather was absolutely fantastic. The sun was shining mostly from a clear sky and – what’s best – there was no wind!

Incredibly vivid sky over Reykjavík.

The view after a two-minute walk from our hotel

Once again, I got surprised by the beauty of Iceland. We arrived to the hotel at dark on Thursday so I had no clue that we were just by the ocean with a mountain view. On Friday morning, while having a harmonic moment in the balcony, I was astonished by the sight. Looking the magnificent morning light over the mountains was almost a perfect start for the day; If only the breakfast coffee had been good enough... (note: picture above taken in the evening).

The faculty of Business and Science's agenda included a bunch of company visits on Friday. At first, we went to Innovít entrepreneurship center where I got a free pen. Yeah, that's about it. The next visit that I participated was to a telephone company called Nova. They offered free drinks and sandwiches. Gotta love that! Also, the presenting lady was a smoking hot mature :)

We had a lot of time to wander around downtown on Friday and Saturday and this time, because of the calm weather, it was actually enjoyable. I bought some souvenirs and ate well, for instance, in Brazilian and Pakistani restaurants. There was also some party stuff going on at nights, but there is not much worth mentioning. I thought I lost my camera on Friday and soon after mentioning that half of the karaoke bar was helping me to find it. Well, we didn't, but thankfully it appeared in my pocket the day after. Perhaps the camera heard my interpretation of Bon Jovi's Always and agreed with the lyrics: "And I'll be there forever and a day – AAAAAAALWAYS".

Sunset in Blönduós

All hail Þor!

2010-01-26T19:58:00.001Z

Next Saturday, I will be attending a seasonal feast called Þorrablót (Thorra feast) that will be held by the UNAK student union. All exchange students were invited to this event to get an insight into a true Icelandic cuisine.

Þorrablót was originally a pagan midwinter festival where participants held speeches and recited poems in honor of Þor, the Norse god of thunder. First Þorrablóts were arranged in the late 19th century, usually by student associations. Since then, the feast has transformed into a secular family gathering over a dinner consisting old-fashioned Icelandic food called Þorramatur (food of the Þorri). Icelanders celebrate Þorrablót only during the month of Þorri that takes place between late January and late February according to The Old Icelandic calendar.

Þorramatur is a meat-driven art of culinary. It’s a fine selection of animal parts that most people find inedible. Back in the days Icelanders weren’t enjoying the joys of over production of food, so they were creative (and wise) enough to cook the entire animal as nutrition.

Þorramatur consists, for example:

Svið (lamb head)
Súrsaðir hrútspungar (rams’ testicles)
Hákarl (fermented shark)
Lifrarpylsa (sausage from sheep’s liver)
Blóðmör (blood pudding from sheep’s blood)
Harðfiskur (wind-dried fish)

These, and many other products, are served with rúgbrauð (Icelandic rye-bread), butter and Brennivín (flavored spirit).

I’m hoping to get my hands on hákarl and svið. I’ve already tasted harðfiskur and sviðasulta which is the meat from svið compressed in gelatine. Also, a ram testicle slipped into my mouth on the other day. It wasn’t bad at all.

I will try to make use of my gayish pink camera and post pictures and experiences later on.

Breaking out from idle loop

2010-01-11T21:20:00.001Z

Christmas vacation is finally over. After four weeks of doing nothing I’m actually delighted to start having some brain activity. My pencils are sharpened and school clothes are folded. I’m ready for school.

My courses for the spring semester are as follows:

Data Visualization
Networks and Communications
Principles of Compiler Construction
Icelandic Society, History and Culture

Each course is worth 6 ECTS so I will gain the (Finnish) minimum of 24 ECTS. Once again, I will get to enjoy international atmosphere. All subjects are taught by a teacher with different nationality.

Hopefully we don’t have to write many papers in Icelandic Society, History and Culture course (like we had to in Icelandic Nature). Writing factual content with proper references and citations is very time-consuming for me. Exaggeration and writing bullshit using informal and versatile expressions is more like my style ;)

On top of the classes at the University, I will continue studying Icelandic in night school at Rósenborg. I will attend a course that is meant for people working in Iceland so I assume it’s efficient and taught by a skilled teacher.

Eruption in my pants

2010-01-04T19:40:00.000Z

Outstanding news from Iceland. Geophysicist Freysteinn Sigmundsson from University of Iceland predicts that Hekla volcano could erupt at any minute:

"...the pressure in the lava chamber below the volcano is similar now to immediately before the last Hekla eruption."

I sure hope the eruption will take place. Without any hesitation, seeing a volcano eruption, or just to sense the atmosphere near Hekla, would be the most tremendous experience for me so far.

However, it's not a done deal. Freysteinn continues:

"...it remains almost impossible to accurately predict volcanic eruptions".

Read the original news article

P.S. Also, if you're excited (or just bored) you can watch live video from Hekla.

Highlights, memories and observations from 2009

2010-01-02T08:25:00.000Z

Couple of thoughts about previous 4,5 months:

Road trips
We made three trips exploring northeast Iceland and Reykjavík area. I have great memories of deserts, where-did-they-come-from-mountains, crossing rivers, bumpy gravel roads, watching Sarah sleep in the backseat, Slovakian creature song, swimming in a volcano crater, opening a wine bottle in Reykjavik...

Great people
Majority of the people I've acquainted with are nice and fun to be with. I've laughed a lot with (and to) other foreigners and some of them have become dear friends of mine. I still don't know many Icelanders – that's a thing I want to change.

Eyes of an Icelandic
There is a group of women with extraordinary powerful and beautiful eyes. Seeing these representatives of Eyesland is really hard for my knees – especially if they have freckles as well.

Activities
During the fall I have been playing ice hockey, football, (table)drums, board/card games, swam, attended to concerts and theater, saw farm animals... I have been fortunate to have people around me who are excited about this kind of activities.

Akureyri
I like living in a proper-sized city such as Akureyri. There are enough services and everything is within a walking distance. I like hills, curvy streets, mild weather and being recognized in the streets sometimes.

Rugged nature
I've always been fond of rugged landscapes. I like to see nothing while enjoying the silence.

Costume parties
Unlike in Finland, here people actually dress up to costume parties. I love it because deep inside me is a little girl who wants to put make up on (and wear higheels).

Opeth
I'm not sure whether it's the fresh air that makes sound waves somehow different or what, but my favorite band hasn't been this good before. I <3 Åkerfeldt

Unsuccessful haircuts
I paid a visit to a hairdresser twice. Both times were disappointing. Apparently 'long' isn’t a universal concept.

I have started talking
Sometimes I might even say how I feel. It's easier in English.

People give shit
It's great to know that there are still people who give a shit about shit. For my surprise, I have found that people treasure quite conservative values. I'm like über-liberal compared to others.

My jokes are understood
Believe it or not, but I'm funny around here among people who understand sarcasm. Others usually get insulted :) It's not so hard, people! Just don't think the opposite of everything I say.

Sleep
I can sleep eternities without waking. It's new to me.

Scare tactics 101: Icelandic folklore

2009-12-24T01:44:00.001Z

Grýla at her work

The basic concept of Icelandic Christmas tradition is the same than in other western world. Little children are scared into obedience by combination of reward and punishment. But in Iceland, the methods are on a whole different level.

On December 12th, the Yuletide Lads crawl from their cave and start a journey, one per night, towards the population. These thirteen descendents of trolls each have a different fetish (mostly about stealing food) that they perform meanwhile monitoring children’s behavior and making them frightened. A well-behaving child is rewarded daily with small gifts while naughty ones get punished with a raw potato. Each Yuletide Lad stays in town for two weeks latest retrieving on 6th of January.

The ultimate prize for misbehaving brats is to get boiled alive by Grýla – a monstrous ogress and the mother of the Yuletide Lads. Icelandic children are also taught to appreciate soft presents: any child without new clothes on Christmas eve are also eaten – this time by Grýla’s gigantic cat!

Hmmm… I wonder why Iceland is so sparsely populated country?

P.S. Wouldn’t it be cool to export Grýla as a development aid to some overpopulated third-world nation?

Starting over

2009-12-23T14:56:00.000Z

For weeks I have tried to write new blog entries without any success. And frankly, there are quite many subjects I would have wanted to write. A lot has happened since November that has also affected my life in Finland and led me to make few decisions.

First of all, I resigned from my band, Backstabbing Bastard. This decision was relatively easy since I’m in Iceland while there is a desperate need for the band to practice and record new material – not to mention touring. Furthermore, I haven’t been interested in playing the guitar in a long time. I would be selfish and a terrible person to keep my friends waiting for someone who doesn’t share the same enthusiasm.

Secondly, I terminated my apartment contract in Finland. Currently, I have a sub-tenant living in my furnished apartment but by the end of December all my personal belongings move permanently out of Espoo centrum. Mark my words: I’m never going back to that part of the town.

My original intension was to come to Iceland and have a relaxing four-month vacation. According the plan I would go back to Finland after new-years eve well rested and ready to continue my studies and work. Well, after reading previous paragraphs, it should be easy to read between the lines that it’s not happening.

I decided to stay in Iceland also for the spring term. Without going into details, let’s just say that I’m happily escaping the reality and eager to continue hiding here in Iceland.

A fair judgement is served

2009-12-15T17:30:00.000Z

Although studying has been a secondary priority for me this semester, I passed all my courses with honor and surprisingly good grades. The gained 24 ECTS were worth studying even though they are not beneficial to my degree. When I eventually return to Finland I have to study all the courses I missed this semester.

As an exchange student I was privileged to study whatever I desired. I utilized this opportunity by selecting courses like Writing and Critical Thinking and Icelandic Nature. In overall, I'm very pleased of my selection. Here is a short summary of the courses.

Algorithms & Data Structures (overall grade still unknown)
"An algorithm is a clearly specified set of instructions the computer will follow to solve a problem".

The learning outcome for this course was to construct, apply and analyze time complexities of different algorithms and to understand basic concepts and operations relating to data structures. We mainly focused on sorting algorithms but also studied how various graph algorithms function. It was extremely fascinating. This was by far the best course I've taken in years.

On top of lectures and lab exercises we had two major assignments. I scored maximum points for both of them. First one, Optimizing Quicksort, was an experimental assignment where students tried to find the optimal local settings for Quicksort algorithm (assignment instructions). Second assignment was a 15-minute presentation of a predetermined subject. For me it was Policy Based Email Encryption Service (assignment instructions).

This Computer Science course got me thinking why on Earth am I studying at the Kindergarten (aka Metropolia) in Finland if I have an opportunity to take courses like this somewhere else?

Writing and Critical Thinking (grade 8,5)
A writing course for law students taught by a fast-speaking, young Scottish lady that had a mocking smile and a feminist ideology... Sounds terrible (and felt like it in the beginning) but turned out to be quite interesting.

The main topics in this course were OSCOLA citation style, academic writing and reading skills, critical thinking and how to improve performance on exams and oral presentations. Many of the subjects seemed familiar to me (for some unknown reason) but I still learned a lot of stuff particularly about critical thinking.

The overall grade derived from attendance, exam and two OSCOLA-styled referencing exercises that took a lot of effort to complete. I actually had to make the first exercise twice because we had identical papers with my friend (we did it together). My good grade came as a surprise since this isn't my field of expertise and I didn't buy or read the course books.

Icelandic as a Foreign Language (grade 8,5)
Since I'm in Iceland and (apparently) look like an Icelandic man, I'd like to be able to communicate even partly in the local language. However, it's still a wet dream of mine because this course was a disaster from the start.

The main focus was to learn dozens of words but not how to build sentences from them. We bypassed the grammar entirely! If it wasn't for Google translator, I wouldn't have been able to finish my essay and presentation.

I know some basic things such as greetings, introducing myself, the clock etc. but nothing really worth mentioning. I'm still not willing to give up. I will continue learning the language in some way.

Icelandic Nature (grade 6)
6 ECTS of amusement :) Two cheerful professors taught a lot about fisheries, plants, animals and the history of Iceland. We made excursions to a whale-watching safari, a poet's house and to an experimental farm in Möðruvellir.

The course was graded from essay results. I wrote papers about Volcanism in Iceland, Global Warming and its Impact on Iceland and Imported Wild Mammals in Iceland but didn't return a paper about fisheries (hence the low grade).

Lilja

2009-11-22T22:29:00.000Z

Volodja and Lilja

Yesterday, a Spanish friend of mine invited me to see Lilja, an Icelandic theatre play. The play was about a sixteen year-old Russian girl, Lilja, who is abandoned by her mother. She is trying to survive in poor conditions with her friends Natasha (16) and Volodja (12). Soon she ends up selling her ass for money until she meets a nice man offering a better future in Sweden. Naturally, the man was bullshitting. Lilja and Natasha were sold as prostitutes to a Swedish pimp. In the end, Natasha gets killed and Lilja commits a suicide. Meanwhile, Volodja dies of cold in Russia. All good guys died, awesome!

The play was spectacular. I didn't have any expectations, but if I have had them, they would have been highly exceeded. All six actors were really, really good. I especially liked the character and performance of Volodja. Obviously, I didn't fully understand the dialogs but actresses body language was sufficient enough to know what was going on.

Natasha

In addition to great actors, the special effects were outstanding. Many magnificent scenes were created with only lights and sound. The ending scene with Rammstein music and reflected pictures of human trafficking victims caused severe goose bumps for me.

Locals seemed to like Lilja as well. The play ended to staggering applause with three bowing encores. This was the 30th show and still it was sold out. I'm not surprised at all.

Pictures are stolen from Leikfélag Akureyrar.

Rest of my life

2009-11-08T16:23:00.000Z

As long as I can remember, I've suffered from continuous waking while sleeping. It's completely normal for me to wake 5–10 times in a night. I have to be physically exhausted in order to sleep well. As time has passed by I've gotten used to the fact that I'm not able to be perky right out of the bed.

Somehow nothing above-mentioned applies here.

I have never slept as good as in Iceland. Usually I have 8–10 hours night's rest and don't mind even if a bomb would go off right next to me. I'm still gloriously snoring. On the other day, I had 14 hours night's rest and took a nap few hours later :) Other Gula Villains are amazed by my capabilities and surprised if I'm awake before noon.

I've been trying to figure out the reason for this. My way of life really hasn't changed so much. Maybe it's the decreased amount of coffee consumed, reduced stress or the environment. Who knows?

I'm happy about things as they are.

The art of life

2009-11-06T20:22:00.002Z

Howdy. Sorry for not updating.

A week ago, a Finnish friend of mine came for a visit. He stayed for four days which we used effectively sleeping only 15–20 hours in between. We sure did not do any tourist stuff. We didn't step a foot outside Akureyri but familiarized ourselves with different liquids and restaurants :)

I ate whale for the first time in my life. I was bit confused when the waitress served the plates. The meat was red! (red meat, not rare). I was almost certain that they had a mix-up with the plates. I expected to get something fish-like but on a second though whale isn't a fish even it swims and looks like one.

----

Early in the week I worked on my first big assignment 'Optimizing Quicksort' for Algorithms and Data Structures course. I encountered a number of problems while doing that. Maybe I'm stupid, blind or both but programming with Java really isn't for me. Thankfully, I completed the assignment on time and (partly by accident) did the bonus task as well.

Previous Monday was the last day off for me in a long time. On Tuesday, I started a new course called Writing and Critical Thinking. I expected it to be something exciting but it turned out to be a writing course for law students.

At the moment we're studying Oscola, The Oxford Standard of Citation of Legal Authorities, which is completely useless for any other than law students. Luckily, we don't need to write any law papers. The course is more about plagiarism, the correct way of referencing and arguing. We have 16 hours of lectures per week. That's more than all of my other classes together. The worst part is that from now on I have to transport my ass to the University from Monday to Thursday at 8 AM :(

I've realized one major difference between University of Akureyri and Metropolia: the level of the teachers. Here they are highly motivated professionals who prepare their classes and exercises carefully. Everything starting from PowerPoint slides are like a textbook example of how things should be taught. Not even once I've had the feeling that they don't fully understand what they are babbling about. I shared this feeling with few others and they seem to agree with me.

There is still good things about Metropolia. Today the principal lecturer contacted me and told that I've earned a scholarship for a project well done. I'll receive a small financial reward.

The project was a website which we started doing last February. It was done on Joomla content management system which is – fairly speaking – a good reason to turn into alcoholism. Yeah, I should get a reward for that.

P.S. My bank refunded the money I lost in the debit card scam. OP rules ass! (or how do they say)

Celebrating Finland

2009-10-23T17:39:00.000Z

I'm eagerly waiting for tomorrow's Finland party. Us Finnishmen decided to throw a dedicated party since majority of exchange students know nothing about our country (besides Santa and Nokia).

Our program for the evening consists of Finland related quiz and watching movies 'Perkele' and 'Uuno Turhapuro goes to the army'. Both movies are with English subtitles, naturally.

Our cuisine is going to be minimalistic but authentic. We are going to serve home-made Karelian pasties, Fazer chocolate, salty liquorice, Salmiakki Koskenkorva and Koskenkorva with Tyrkish Peppers. Too bad we didn't find malt flour anywhere. We would have wanted to serve mämmi as well.

I'm going to continue teaching Finnish to my fellow students. Some already know important expressions such as kuivana kakkoseen, pannaanko, nussitaan etc. It's good that our language is so rich. There are dozens of different ways to express the same thing :)

Minor setback

2009-10-21T20:07:00.002Z

I got "robbed" last weekend. I wasn't mugged in the streets or anything but apparently some nasty bastard copied my debit card. At first, I noticed several hundred euros missing from my account. I couldn't tell why because transactions weren't visible in my account statement. On Monday, I saw three different purchases made with US dollars at Macy's in Illinois, USA.

I acted immediately. I closed my card and informed my bank about possible card duplicate running around. The bank clerk asked me to write a report: how and when I lost the money. If my story checks out, I'll be refunded. There shouldn't be any problem: The purchases in The States were made few hours later than my previous purchase here. I should have a private jet or something to travel so fast between these continents.

I'm still amazed that my account wasn't entirely wiped out. If I was a bad guy I'd withdraw every single penny. Luckily this bastard wasn't that clever.

Reykjavík and it's surroundings

2009-10-15T14:31:00.004Z

Friday: "storm" & "navigating"

It's important to travel in style. Photo by Katka.

Main topic on Friday was the upcoming storm but it turned out be a load of bullshit. We came across only few spots of ice and snow whilst driving on the mountains, otherwise it was just really windy. I mean REALLY windy. I've never pissed as far as during our break.

Hours of driving in the "stormy" weather wasn't enough for us. We decided to seek our apartment hotel in Reykjavík for one hour more. People in my car got really frustrated following the "navigating" car. Navigating in this context means a guessing game.

At destination, we found the keys to our rooms left on a table in the main lobby. Icelandic reliance is amazing.

Saturday: Geysir, Gullfoss and the capital

Gullfoss

I'm glad we went to see Geysir and Gullfoss – now I know not to visit them again. I'm getting tired of visiting popular sights. Not just because they are very commercial but because they have nothing to do with the real Iceland.

Yeah, and we aren't tourists... Alberto, Katka, Bianca, Eetu and Aiga.

After spending seven weeks in Akureyri, I've already gotten used to small town atmosphere. All the noise, traffic and quantity of people in Reykjavík was shocking. I felt like we had accidentally driven to a another country – partly because the streets were full of people speaking any other language besides Icelandic.

Even though Reykjavík is a big city, the city centre is on one street, Laugardagur. The street is quite long (~2 km) and full of shops, restaurants and bars side by side. Still, it seems that no matter how many bars they build they are always full. No chance getting a seat.

Going on a quest

2009-10-09T15:47:00.000Z

The first map of Iceland (circa 1000)

Today we're leaving on a weekend trip to Reykjavík. There's 10 of us going so we fit perfectly into two cars. It's amazing that renting cars for three days (including gas) is actually cheaper than going by bus or a plane. And the price gap is huge!

Our intension is to travel popular tourist route called Golden Circle. The three main stops are national park þinvellir, the waterfall Gullfoss and geysers Geysir (dah) and Strokkur which are both in the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur. Naturally we're also going to familiarize ourselfs with the capital city and it's nightlife.

The latest weather report shows that there is a storm coming into western parts of Iceland. When I look at the map I think the storm is the least of our concerns :)

Money hasn't vanished from Iceland

2009-10-07T00:07:00.000Z

One thing has been bothering me a long time: Icelandic coins. They consist of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 krona coins. OK, that doesn't sound bad – there are actually fever coins than in the euro system. But the problem is their value. Even small things cost hundreds of kronas which means that you always get shitloads of coins in return. After few purchases all your bills have magically disappeared and your wallet's coin pocket is bursting out worthless pieces of metal. They really should get rid of the smallest coins – they are a pain in the ass, literally ;)

Góðan daginn. There's 108 coins worth of 722 ISK (~3,9 €).

Finding Moby-Dick

2009-10-02T00:40:00.007Z

I attented a whale-watching trip at Hauganes. Our boat full of cheering tourists got their money's worth: We saw one minke and few humpback whales. It was quite fascinating to see huge wild mammals in their natural environment. The whales weren't on a playful mood – they just made a quick appearance on the surface before diving. I didn't get any pictures but luckily managed to shoot some video.

We also tried fishing. It turned out be as easy as in a grocery store. The fishes were almost voluntarily jumping onboard :) Our catch was mostly cod but we also got herring and red fish.

This trip was a part of Icelandic Nature course. It's pretty nice to get school credits for trips like this :)

General info & observations

2009-09-27T20:08:00.000Z

Nature

Rainbows are a common sight. You can see them on a daily basis, usually on the mountains.
Weather forecasts are accurate only about the temperature. The weather changes constantly: usually it's sunny, rainy, cloudy and windy every day.

Transportation & traffic

Public transportation is free for anyone.
Parking is free.
Internal flights are cheap. One-way ticket from Akureyri to Reykjavik costs 4990 ISK (27 €) at the lowest. Same trip by bus is 9000 ISK (49 €).
Drivers respect pedestrians. Usually you only get a nice smile (instead of serious honking) when crossing a street at the wrong time.

Food & drink

Opening hours for grocery stores are weird. Usually they open between 10–12 AM and close at 6–7.30 PM. 1011 is open 24/7 and Samkaup Strax until 11 PM but their selection is narrower and pricing is outrageous.
There are no fresh meat counters. Fresh fish can be bought from fish stores.
Cow meat in Icelandic is 'nauta' which is the same in Finnish.
There are no scales at vegetable compartments. Cashiers weight them.
Non-fat milk tastes like white-colored water.
Icelandic drink sour milk too.
There are a lot of products with Finnish labels. Some are only in Swedish and Finnish.
Grocery stores sell only low-alcohol beer < 2,25 %.
Liquor store Vinbuðin has only one cider (apple flavoured Kopparberg) in their selection. Tap ciders are unknown concept at bars. Local women drink beer.

Misc

Hearts are all over Akureyri. Even the red light in traffic lights is heart-shaped.
A pack of tobacco costs normally 700 ISK (3,8 €) but on "night sale" (after 9 PM) 900 ISK (4,9 €). All tobacco products are hidden under the counter by law.
Local operator Siminn censors sites. For example, I cannot drool on recent celebrity nipple-slips at egotastic.com.

First snow

2009-09-27T11:59:00.000Z

This is weird. Leaves haven't fallen and it's SEPTEMBER.

River rafting

2009-09-16T02:11:00.001Z

Our student union president Jóhanna arranged a chance to get to an river rafting adventure. Twelve UNAK students – local and exchange – got excited and the adventure awaited.

Yesterday we met at 11:15 AM at Solborg and took off to Varmahlið where local travel services company Bakkaflöt is based. Varmahlið is ~100 km from Akureyri towards Reykjavik. I haven't travelled west from Akureyri before so the scenery (=mountains) was new to me.

At Bakkaflöt we got instructions regarding clothing. Recommendable garment was (in dressing order):

swimsuit
water-proof overall
"water-proof" shoes
fleece jacket
water-proof jacket
life vest
helmet

I'm always sweating so I settled for less and replaced the fleece with a t-shirt.

Globally all raftable rivers are starred from 1 to 5. I've been told (don't take this for granted) that there are only three rivers in Europe which have more than 4 stars. One of them was the river we were heading to, Austari. All participants have to be at least 18 years old and have to understand that accidents really happen. Everyone goes at his/her own risk and have to sign a paper for that. I got a mental boner!

"Row, row, row your boat..."

We got briefly instructed how to act in different situations: the raft could flip over, passangers could be underwater for several seconds etc. The main thing was not to panic at any point. The weather conditions were coldish: heavy wind, air 9°C, water temperature a little lower. Comfy! We divided into two groups. One raft contained six amateurs and a guide.

Motherfucking snakes in the motherfucking plane

Finally we got on the move. Our route length was 16 km. Most parts was just easy floating spiced with pure icelandic splashes. Just before the most dangerous part we got ashore to see what's coming. The fearful ones were suggested to skip that part. We went one raft at a time, I was in the latter. For some reason we went the free fall sideways and almost flipped our raft. Excitement, finally! After this part the river got tougher and more exciting. Our second stop was at a 7-8 meter high jumping cliff. Almost all of us jumped + one chinese girl fell :) It looked horrifying.

After four hours of shivering with cold we got back to Bakkaflöt and inside hot tubs. This time we soaked ourselves in warm water :)

In overall the trip was definately worth experiencing. I was a little disappointed about the difficulty: it could have been much rougher for me.

Short video about preparations coming soon.

I think I'm going for a walk

2009-09-14T15:02:00.000Z

My lunch.

Finnish inside joke, sorry.

Previously at Akureyri

2009-09-14T01:24:00.005Z

We throwed a "meeting" (not allowed to have parties) at our yellow house. Our landlady gave us first warning <3
I tried Canadien beer called Moosehead. The taste wasn't very special but the package was awesome.
I offered light to Alicia Keys. I didn't have a lighter so I lit her cigarette with mine.
We played around with some sheep (apparently Google videos can't be embedded :( )
Went to see Inglourious Basterds. It was mostly in German and French and subtitles were obviously in Icelandic. Great experience.
Kussasin pontti koslantilaista intti kommiä mintti. Kon häntti koottaa santti kokea luntti koman täntti, koten jontti kaamioin nontti kokstin tentti kotten entti koimaidu lentti kohvastelijaksi rentti.

One-day road trip

2009-09-09T13:13:00.007Z

I don't remember when I have voluntarily woken up before 6:00 AM on Sunday. Last Sunday this world's 8th wonder happened. Twenty exchange students met at 7:15 AM outside our house, stuffed their shit into four rental cars and left to a one-day road trip to North-East Iceland.

Our first two stops were at Guðafoss waterfall and Höfði natural park. Guðafoss was pretty lame as a waterfall but the actual water was bright and had gorgeous blue color. Höfði natural park was just a forest - perhaps it's a sight for icelanders. Lake Mývatn looked nice from Höfði.

Guðafoss

Lake Mývatn looking from Höfði

Námafjall was out of this world, literally. I've seen pictures of bubbling mud ponds and Mars-lookalike landscapes, but experiencing them personally is a whole different thing. And the smell of sulphur <3 (smells like a gentle hangover fart).

Námafjall

"The road was slippery and the tires were bad"

Fictive Mika Häkkinen quote almost fit there. The road wasn't slippery but quite bumpy when we got closer to Dettifoss waterfall. The first half an hour our average speed was 20-30 km/h. Then we realized that going faster means less bruises in our asses. Perhaps faster speed wasn't good for suspension or tires, but there's nothing what a lithuanian boy-wonder couldn't fix :) Dettifoss was definately worth of seeing.

Dettifoss

Next we were off to Ásbyrgi canyon. Before entering Jökulsárgljúfur national park we made a quick stop to a gas station where some little punk (what is kusimutteri in English?) tried to frame me for breaking a milk jug :( Ásbyrgi was outstanding. I think The Lion King was filmed there.

Ásbyrgi canyon

It was getting late so one car from our armada headed back home. They were in such a hurry that the driver Grzegorz got a 52 000 ISK fine for speeding. Running into a police is truly bad luck. There are like 10 cops in entire Iceland. Rest of our fleet drove back to Mývatn area to Jarðböðin Nature Bath.

Jarðböðin. I stole this picture from their website.

Larger pictures

P.S. Sorry for posting this so late. I haven't had time, interest or internet connection to update my blog.

Pictures

2009-09-04T16:45:00.002Z

Lots of open ground...

...FOR ME TO POOP ON!

Change of residence

2009-09-02T11:29:00.002Z

On Monday I moved to my "permanent" residence to Gula Villan guest house. At the moment I have eight flatmates from six different nations. My room is in the top (third) floor with the best view.

Every floor has a kitchen and a bathroom of it's own. The quality of the kitchenware is poor. If I want to use oven I have to go two floors down and for microwave oven one floor. That's not good for a fat-ass like me :( And there's no coffee-maker, goddamn!

We are fortunate to have a internet connection (compared to the previous house) but the speed is very slooooooooow. I have to disable images from my browser in order to browse smoothly (smoothly = page load takes about 10 secs). Well, I didn't come all the way to Iceland to browse the internet...

The house is in a good location on Þingvallastræti. Outdoor swimming pool is right across the street and the city center just down the road. Trip to school takes 15-20 minutes depending on the wind.

Old house on Hamarstígur

Gula Villan guest house on Þingvallastræti

View from my window. It doesn't look so good in a picture.

Weekend

2009-08-31T11:24:00.001Z

I had an interesting weekend. On Friday we had another welcome party for all new UNAK students. We went to a local forrest Kjarnaskógur, played outdoor games and enjoyed lovely Icelandic weather (4°C, windy and it rained a bit). Still, few students decided to cool themselves down by jumping off from a canoe. Afterwards we were offered some free beer and the rest is history ;) I hang out the whole evening with a bunch of nice local people.

On Saturday the streets were filled with people because of Akureyri town festival. There were different cultural events all day. I listened to few bands, saw some creepy bastards performing a dance of some kind and heard traditional songs performed by some old farts at the harbour. It was fun :)

First day at the University

2009-08-27T14:28:00.001Z

Yesterday we had an orientation day at the University. First we went through all the practical matters and got a guided tour around the main building. The campus is really small (there's only two buildings), but cosy. When we headed to the "computer" rooms I had really hard time not laughing. It's was like going back in time for 10 years. The computers were slow and the screens were the same which we had at vocational school in 2001.

I also got to see my schedule for the semester. At the moment I only have 15 hours of lectures per week. The best part is that my fridays are free so I can easily do long weekend trips if I want to.

My courses are:

Data mining
Algorithms and data structures
Icelandic as a foreign language
Icelandic nature (not verified)
Writing and critical thinking (not verified)

At the evening the student union arranged a small welcome party for all new students. First we were at the school eating hot dogs and coke (yeah, very icelandic ;) and afterparty was at Cafe Amour. Tap beers cost only 500–800 ISK (about 2,7–4,3 €). I drank Tuborg a lot :) While getting drunk I got acquainted with a local fisherman Hemmi. He had just came back from a 31-day trip in the seas.

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I was thinking about going to a whale watching safari this weekend. They are arranged only during summer time (before September) so this might be my only chance to see those giant mofos.

Arrival 08/24

2009-08-25T11:33:00.005Z

Because detailed travel reports tend to be boring, I decided to make a short list of today's experiences.

Today I've:

been sitting my ass off at three different airports in three different Nordic countries
bought cigars from Norway
been wondering how the wind can blast from all directions at the same time
realized there's only two tv channels in Iceland
met three co-exchange students; two of them are from Slovakia and one from Latvia

Premium bananas

2009-08-23T21:41:00.003Z

Today I've been packing and cleaning my apartment. Fortunately, I was able to sub-lease my apartment furnished so I didn't have to figure out a place to put my furniture to. All my unnecessary private belongings (concerning my exchange) fit perfectly into eight banana boxes which I stuffed into the basement. Everything has gone according to the plan.

During the day I've received numerous calls where I've been asked if I was nervous or even excited about the upcoming trip. To be honest I'm only bored. Luckily there's only few hours before departure. After that it's "Adios, putas y bastardos!".

Ignition

2009-08-22T22:47:00.003Z

OK, here's the thing: I'm a media technology student from Espoo, Finland. Tomorrow I'm leaving on exchange for the autumn semester to Iceland. My HQ is in Akureyri, the second largest city in Iceland. I'm going to study at the local university.

I started blogging because I want to have a journal-like memory of my exchange period. I decided to write in English so I won't get tempted to write so much mambo jambo what I used to write in my previous blog.