I haven't updated this for two weeks and it's not because I have nothing to write about, but because my laptop is broken. It's been messing me around for several months now and of course it decided that the time to die was during my first week of university in a foreign country. So I've been spending time travelling out of the city centre to the 'Epli' store (the Icelandic word for a certain type of fruit) but I'm still without a repaired or replacement laptop. My poor Dad has been ringing people in the UK for the last two weeks trying to get me a new one so fingers crossed I will have a computer again soon.
But of course, life can never be simple and I've now got a new technology problem. This weekend I went on a trip to see 'Rettir', an event during which the farmers round up their sheep for the winter, and the The Golden Circle, a tour of three of the biggest tourist sights in Iceland. I took loads of photos of the Icelanders rounding up their sheep and I realised that most of my photos are still on one of my memory cards for my camera (I'd been worried that I might lose all my photos with my broken computer). However, when I turned on my camera to take some more photos it came up with an error message saying there was a problem with my memory card and I would need to wipe all the pictures from it before I could use it again. Obviously I didn't want to do this but it meant I could not take any more photos that day. It also means that I may have lost all the photos on that memory card.
So now I have no computer, I think I've lost all the photos of Iceland that I've stored on my computer and I've probably lost all the photos on my camera. And that explains the title of this post: I hate technology.
If I'm able to recover my sheep photos I will write about that soon: I know a post about sheep doesn't sound that exciting but it was a really great day. I also have an exciting couple of weeks coming up as my parents are coming to visit and I have some trips planned. Hopefully my next post will be more positive, written on my own laptop (I'm currently using a university computer and the Icelandic keyboard is very confusing) and will include some photos! Fingers crossed.
Monday 16 September 2013
Monday 2 September 2013
Settling in
I arrived back in Reykjavik nine days ago and it's been an absolutely manic week. I've finally found some time to write about what I've been doing, other than Culture Night and going to a certain museum.
I've been to the university several times, at first for introduction meetings and today for my first lecture. I haven't been in university lectures since April and I'd kind of forgotten that the reason I've come to Iceland is to study. I only have six lessons a week but I think it will take a while to get back into the university routine again. The campus is a really nice place to be and most of the buildings I'll be in seem very modern; the most impressive part for me is the university cinema which shows the latest blockbuster films as well as serving as several lecture halls!
As well as starting my studies, I've been out and about in Reykjavik a lot during the day and night. On Monday night a group of us went out for someone's birthday and on Friday night there was a huge welcome party for all the exchange students. It's a really nice feeling that whenever I go out I meet dozens of people I know; even just walking to the supermarket I always seem to bump in to four or five other exchange students!
On Saturday night a huge group of us went to see a free outdoor concert for the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. They've had huge success around the world and their song Little Talks has been played endlessly in the UK. This was the last concert of their tour and it was a huge homecoming gig for their Icelandic fans. Around 15,000 people showed up and despite the endless rain the atmosphere was fantastic. They were great live performers and it was pretty special to see them at home and speaking Icelandic the whole way through.
One of the most exciting things that has happened for me this week is finally moving out of the fourteen bed dormitory and into my own room! I have a great room but the whole situation is just a little bit strange. My landlord, Fridrik, is very friendly but the most disorganised person I have ever met. I had to wait for six or seven hours to move in to the flat and lots of things still need to be fixed but I'm not convinced that will happen any time soon. Fridrik is getting married next week then going off on his honeymoon for a fortnight so won't be around much. Normally his brother would step in but after Fridrik's stag do, he ended up with two broken ribs and a collapsed lung!
The strangest thing is that one of the guys I'm living with currently doesn't have a room - as in, it doesn't exist! The old living room is currently being turned into a bedroom and until then Sebastian has to sleep in the landlord's guesthouse down the road. The other very weird thing is the number of beds in the flat; my room has a double bed, a single bed and a set of bunk beds. Between five of use we have 14 beds! However, despite all of this I feel I can't complain. My room is huge, clean and modern. The flat is in a good part of town and close to the city centre. And most of all, I finally have a room to myself!
I've been to the university several times, at first for introduction meetings and today for my first lecture. I haven't been in university lectures since April and I'd kind of forgotten that the reason I've come to Iceland is to study. I only have six lessons a week but I think it will take a while to get back into the university routine again. The campus is a really nice place to be and most of the buildings I'll be in seem very modern; the most impressive part for me is the university cinema which shows the latest blockbuster films as well as serving as several lecture halls!
As well as starting my studies, I've been out and about in Reykjavik a lot during the day and night. On Monday night a group of us went out for someone's birthday and on Friday night there was a huge welcome party for all the exchange students. It's a really nice feeling that whenever I go out I meet dozens of people I know; even just walking to the supermarket I always seem to bump in to four or five other exchange students!
On Saturday night a huge group of us went to see a free outdoor concert for the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. They've had huge success around the world and their song Little Talks has been played endlessly in the UK. This was the last concert of their tour and it was a huge homecoming gig for their Icelandic fans. Around 15,000 people showed up and despite the endless rain the atmosphere was fantastic. They were great live performers and it was pretty special to see them at home and speaking Icelandic the whole way through.
One of the most exciting things that has happened for me this week is finally moving out of the fourteen bed dormitory and into my own room! I have a great room but the whole situation is just a little bit strange. My landlord, Fridrik, is very friendly but the most disorganised person I have ever met. I had to wait for six or seven hours to move in to the flat and lots of things still need to be fixed but I'm not convinced that will happen any time soon. Fridrik is getting married next week then going off on his honeymoon for a fortnight so won't be around much. Normally his brother would step in but after Fridrik's stag do, he ended up with two broken ribs and a collapsed lung!
The strangest thing is that one of the guys I'm living with currently doesn't have a room - as in, it doesn't exist! The old living room is currently being turned into a bedroom and until then Sebastian has to sleep in the landlord's guesthouse down the road. The other very weird thing is the number of beds in the flat; my room has a double bed, a single bed and a set of bunk beds. Between five of use we have 14 beds! However, despite all of this I feel I can't complain. My room is huge, clean and modern. The flat is in a good part of town and close to the city centre. And most of all, I finally have a room to myself!
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