A difficult start to semester two

When I started this blog I assumed it would simply be full of lots of pretty pictures of mountains and glaciers so my mum and dad would know what I'm up to, but I feel like I've also been quite honest about the lows I've had whilst on my year abroad. Even the best things in life come with big downsides and I think it's appropriate to show every side of the experience.  That's why I feel like I should write about this last week, even if it's not the easiest thing to do.

Last Tuesday, two days after I arrived back in Reykjavik, I got a call from my parents to tell me that my grandmother had passed away. It wasn't totally unexpected; she was 93 years old and when I'd seen her over Christmas, I'd realised that she really wasn't in good health. But it was still horrible news to get, and I just wished that I could have postponed my flight and been there with my family in that moment. It's horrible being so far away and feeling so helpless whilst my parents deal with the difficult aftermath of a death.

Of course I was emotional when I found out, but I have to admit that a lot of that emotion was a weird sort of happiness. My grandmother died peacefully, relatively painlessly and with my mum by her side. She had a brilliant, long life and I know that death didn't scare her at all.

The funeral won't be for another two weeks and it's hard to know that I won't be flying home until the 25th January. The thought of attending the funeral is tough; I haven't been to a funeral since my grandfather died when I was 11 and I think it will be a very different experience as an adult. However, I'm looking forward to seeing my family and I think being at home will really help me to accept what has happened.

I'm not good at writing about emotional subjects, and I'm even worse at talking about them. I don't mind my friends knowing about everything but I'm not good at bringing up the conversation and telling people. It's also tough, when I've not been feeling very sociable, to know that I can't just contact my old friends from last semester to take my mind off things. Luckily I have very nice, supportive flatmates.

Now I need to push this all to the back of my head and start enjoying being back in Iceland until I can fly home next week and say a proper goodbye.

Here's to my grandmother.

The end of semester one

I feel like I should have posted this blog entry several weeks ago, but the last month has possibly been the busiest of my life and I've only really just found the time and motivation to write this. I landed back in Iceland two days ago after two weeks at home for Christmas and New Years and I've finally had time to catch up on some sleep!

December was full of exams and saying goodbye to people who would leave Iceland for good after one semester. When I arrived in Iceland, I assumed most people would be staying for a full academic year like me, but it turns out that I'm in the minority and I had to say goodbye to most of my close friends. Luckily I have some good friends who are staying until May and I even managed to persuade three of them to move in to my flat. I have fantastic new flatmates but saying goodbye to the old ones was not easy. However, despite a few very emotional goodbyes, I had to remind myself how lucky I've been. I've been able to spend five months with people from all over the world. I hope to visit many of these people in the future (excellent excuse to travel Europe this summer) and I hope friends will come and see me in England one day. And even luckier, I'm able to repeat the whole experience again this year!

I'm going to miss my former flatmates.

December wasn't just a month of exam stress and emotional exhaustion; I was able to experience some of the fun parts of the run up to Christmas in Iceland. The Icelanders go crazy for Christmas and the whole city was decorated in lights whilst seemingly every supermarket product had a 'jóla' (Christmas) version on sale. My favourite tradition is that of the Icelandic 'Yule Lads'. These are similar to Father Christmas but there are thirteen of them who visit children over the course of December. They don't just leave presents for the children but get up to mischief/commit petty crimes such as licking the leftovers from pots and pans, sniffing people's doors, harassing sheep and even peeping through your window. There's even a cat who will eat children who don't receive any new clothes for Christmas. Both terrifying and hilarious. (For more information and amazing illustrations: http://www.buzzfeed.com/benronne/the-13-horrifying-christmas-trolls-of-iceland)

I didn't just get to experience Icelandic traditions. Me and my British friend Sam introduced the other international students to our homemade mince pies (and repeatedly explained that despite the very misleading name, they only contained dried fruit and no meat). I also went to see a friend perform in a Swedish choir for the St. Lucia's day service. I'm still not sure who exactly St. Lucia was or why the Scandinavians celebrate her so much but the main singer of the choir was a girl wearing a hat holding several candles. I'm not sure how someone can look composed for over an hour whilst trying to balance a hat made of fire on their head.

The St Lucia's Day choir

British Christmas traditions in Iceland

I went back home just before Christmas day and it was lovely to see all of my friends and family after five months away. My highlight was going to Leeds for a few days and revisiting my old life and my closest friends. It made me realise that however hard it will be when my Icelandic experience is over, I have a great place and a great set of people to return to in September. The two weeks were really hectic but I'm lucky to have seen most of my closest friends and family. I didn't take many pictures whilst at home (partly because I managed to break my camera whilst in Leeds - I hope 2014 brings me better luck in technology!) but I will share this picture taken just before I left home to catch my flight back to Iceland. I think Gloucestershire was trying to compete with some of the amazing Icelandic skies I've seen.

And finally, I'm back in Reykjavik! I may have missed the amazing fireworks on New Years Eve but the Icelanders have still been firing them off since I got back so I haven't totally missed out on the festivities. Semester one may have exhausted me, but it's been the most incredible five months and I'm so excited to do it all over again.