ICELAND I

In the first few days in Reykjavik, I noticed that people on the street don't really look each other in the eye. Everyone keeps to himself and goes his own way. Somehow this made me feel a bit strange and not so welcome. But I soon realized that this is the culture here and I focused on respecting it as it is. I flew into a new country with an open mind and found it very fascinating how almost 250 exchange students met each other. Different languages, customs, cultures, values and norms, different mentalities and so much more. Unfortunately, I didn't have the privilege of meeting many Icelanders. I learned more from other cultures and countries. Spaniards like to come to class later. The French don't always like the deadline and the Americans are very good at presenting.

But in the beginning I had other worries. For example, on the first day I stood in the supermarket and didn't know whether I had to buy drinking water or whether we could drink water from the tap. I was also very fascinated by the supermarket and Google translator was my savior when looking for milk. I have to say, I got used to living here pretty quickly and since my flat mate is also from Switzerland, I never felt homesick because I always had a piece of home with me. This definitely enhanced my process of settling into life in a foreign country. I am very lucky with my flat mates, with whom I spend a lot of time. An already predefined cleaning schedule has also made our lives much easier. Because there are never any discussions, but everyone knows when they must do what. Since I have a washing machine in my flat, the whole issue of washing clothes was also very simple. My Roomies and I, we make life easy and just like to cook, eat, and spend time together. Have done road trips together and explore the new fascinating country together. As for the university: The University of Reykjavik is very modern, be it technologically or in the way it is taught. In all lectures we had guest lecturers from all over the world to get different world views. In short, the university here throws all kinds of knowledge at you (structured of course) and your mission is to make the most of it and specialize where your interest lies. There is no learning bulimia here, so to speak.

After doing a big road trip, once around the whole island, I fell in love with the country more and more. There are no real trees in Iceland, only bushes and small plants. Although the vegetation is very limited, you see the vitality of nature more than ever before. Fire - watching volcano erupt at night. Air - Being almost carried away by the wind. Water - Beautiful black beaches with huge waves all around the island. Earth - Snorkel between two earth plates (North America and Eurasia) and be fascinated. As I mentioned before, I fall in love with this fascinating country more and more every day! I can only say that doing this semester abroad has been the best decision of my life so far. I can see for myself how much my spectrum is broadening and how much I'm developing. Both at university and in terms of my knowledge, as well as my personality. Let's see where else this country will and can lead me. I'm looking forward to exploring new things and I'm open to it all.

Arani Jeyakumar in Reykjavik, December 2021