Work and real life are seriously eating into my blogging time, it seems. As I don't have internet yet (bureaucracy, the reason you should never consider an international move) and spend my days off with boring things like opening bank accounts, buying cars (oh yes, I am the proud owner of an 18-year old Honda Civic), chasing plumbers and the like, there is not a lot of time and energy left to feed hungry readers, even though there is soooo much to tell.
I'll start with my apartment, after about 2 weeks of sharing a room with four colleagues, I was able to move into Frankenspouse's and my new apartment in the little town nearby. As Frankenspouse is still on the continent, I have neither fridge nor washing machine nor any furniture worth mentioning. I do have ample storage and wardrobe space, a matress, a sleeping bag and my own bathroom though, the combination of which made it absolutely worth to move early. The apartment is nice, airy and light and will be very comfortable, once it holds some furniture. On the downside, it has very large windows, so we will have to make sure to be extra tidy, as everyone walking by will be able to assess our level of commitment to housework. When coming home around 10 last night, a friendly elderly gentleman from next door asked if I needed anything; he had seen through the backdoor that the living room is empty and probably thought I couldn't afford any furtniture. Welcome to small town life, where neighbours look out for each other... both in the good and the bad way.
The home-to-work distance is about 2.5 km, eminently walkable, especially in the sun-lit evenings after a couple of beers. Alas, in the mornings, not so much. Leaving home around 6:20 am for a 2.5 km walk to be at work in time for breakfast (no fridge at home, remember?) was much less fun that the leisurely late-night strolls in the other direction. Clearly, I needed a car. I tried a colleague's car at a very comfortable price, but discovered it had automatic air conditioning (read: holes in the doors etc.), so I decided against that. On my next day off, I ventured into the next bigger town around 15 km away to check out car dealers there, but the one car they had in my price range had multiple problems to be fixed within the next two weeks. Having no idea of the system, not speaking the language, not knowing anyone who could help and having fairly rigid work hours, this wasn't such a good idea either. However, the nice sales man gave me a website where all cars for sale in Iceland are listed and I found one that fitted my needs (cheap, drives). I contacted the seller in Reykjavik and we agreed that I would pop by on my next day off. When I did go to Reykjavik on my next day off and phoned the seller, he had gone on holiday and his colleague informed me that the car had been sold three days prior. Along with all the other cheap cars the company had. Apparently, this happens every year on a Friday at the start of high season, car rentals circle car sellers like vultures and buy up all the cheap cars to rent out to tourists over summer. Bummer! Apparently, at the end of summer, you get really good deals when these rentals try to get rid of all the old, cheap cars again, but obviously, that didn't help at all at that particular moment. Anyway, seeing the chagrin on my face in view of having to walk to work for another week and having to shlep to Reykjavik again, the guy took pity on me, made some calls and managed to hook me up with my new ride, FrÃda.
So, I have a house, a car and a job, what else do I need?
Internet. Not because I cannot live without it, but because I cannot blog without it. Also, Frankenspouse is stubbornly insisting that he needs it for work. The internet is being equally stubborn and is somehow finding ways to evade me and seing that I spend most of my days without cell phone reception or time to call, I find it hard to apply the necessary stalking/nagging techniques that usually get me what I want in these circumstances. The current status quo is that they will call me back. Hmpf.
These are just some of the obstacles Iceland is throwing my way, don't even get me started on kennitalas, bank accounts and the like, I'll save that for another post. But aside from these minor blips on the radar, life is wonderful here and I'm really enjoying my time with people and horses. I get to make someone's day special, every day. That, in turn, makes my day special. I get hugs and thanks and beaming smiles while getting to show off this beautiful country. Life is good.
I'll start with my apartment, after about 2 weeks of sharing a room with four colleagues, I was able to move into Frankenspouse's and my new apartment in the little town nearby. As Frankenspouse is still on the continent, I have neither fridge nor washing machine nor any furniture worth mentioning. I do have ample storage and wardrobe space, a matress, a sleeping bag and my own bathroom though, the combination of which made it absolutely worth to move early. The apartment is nice, airy and light and will be very comfortable, once it holds some furniture. On the downside, it has very large windows, so we will have to make sure to be extra tidy, as everyone walking by will be able to assess our level of commitment to housework. When coming home around 10 last night, a friendly elderly gentleman from next door asked if I needed anything; he had seen through the backdoor that the living room is empty and probably thought I couldn't afford any furtniture. Welcome to small town life, where neighbours look out for each other... both in the good and the bad way.
The home-to-work distance is about 2.5 km, eminently walkable, especially in the sun-lit evenings after a couple of beers. Alas, in the mornings, not so much. Leaving home around 6:20 am for a 2.5 km walk to be at work in time for breakfast (no fridge at home, remember?) was much less fun that the leisurely late-night strolls in the other direction. Clearly, I needed a car. I tried a colleague's car at a very comfortable price, but discovered it had automatic air conditioning (read: holes in the doors etc.), so I decided against that. On my next day off, I ventured into the next bigger town around 15 km away to check out car dealers there, but the one car they had in my price range had multiple problems to be fixed within the next two weeks. Having no idea of the system, not speaking the language, not knowing anyone who could help and having fairly rigid work hours, this wasn't such a good idea either. However, the nice sales man gave me a website where all cars for sale in Iceland are listed and I found one that fitted my needs (cheap, drives). I contacted the seller in Reykjavik and we agreed that I would pop by on my next day off. When I did go to Reykjavik on my next day off and phoned the seller, he had gone on holiday and his colleague informed me that the car had been sold three days prior. Along with all the other cheap cars the company had. Apparently, this happens every year on a Friday at the start of high season, car rentals circle car sellers like vultures and buy up all the cheap cars to rent out to tourists over summer. Bummer! Apparently, at the end of summer, you get really good deals when these rentals try to get rid of all the old, cheap cars again, but obviously, that didn't help at all at that particular moment. Anyway, seeing the chagrin on my face in view of having to walk to work for another week and having to shlep to Reykjavik again, the guy took pity on me, made some calls and managed to hook me up with my new ride, FrÃda.
So, I have a house, a car and a job, what else do I need?
Internet. Not because I cannot live without it, but because I cannot blog without it. Also, Frankenspouse is stubbornly insisting that he needs it for work. The internet is being equally stubborn and is somehow finding ways to evade me and seing that I spend most of my days without cell phone reception or time to call, I find it hard to apply the necessary stalking/nagging techniques that usually get me what I want in these circumstances. The current status quo is that they will call me back. Hmpf.
These are just some of the obstacles Iceland is throwing my way, don't even get me started on kennitalas, bank accounts and the like, I'll save that for another post. But aside from these minor blips on the radar, life is wonderful here and I'm really enjoying my time with people and horses. I get to make someone's day special, every day. That, in turn, makes my day special. I get hugs and thanks and beaming smiles while getting to show off this beautiful country. Life is good.
