Question time II
Okay, "On with the butter" as they say here in Niceland ... I asked for questions, you gave me questions, so here we go.
From Alisonl:
So my question: Is one child enough or do you wish you had more?
~ Oh, boy. I think I could probably write two volumes of memoirs on this one. Let's just put it this way: circumstances in my life have not supported me having more children. Do I wish those circumstances had been different? Yes, I do. In the meantime I try to be grateful for what I do have: a wonderful, smart, well-balanced daughter [who sometimes drives me up the wall] and three amazing stepdaughters that I adore. I would not have wanted to miss out on motherhood and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity. And by extension I have to say that I'm also grateful that my daughter and stepdaughters were spared the pain of having to take a perpetual back seat to a parent's 'legitimate' family. Because when a parent starts a new family with a new partner, the 'old' children inevitably get pushed aside. [Discuss if you like.] And that's one of the hardest things there is.
From Kathryn:
when are you coming over here to Australia for a holiday ?!
~ As soon as someone invites me!! Seriously, when I was little, Australia was THE place I wanted to go. I desperately wanted my own Kangaroo [Skippy the kangaroo was my favourite show].
From Rozanne:
Ice cream or frozen yogurt? Which do you prefer?
~ Gah! The toughest question yet. I can't decide. Sometimes one, sometimes the other. I love Haagen Dazs, for instance, but sometimes there's nothing that beats a good frozen yogurt.
From Stine:
You've probably seen the movie "101 Reykjavík". I lived in Iceland for two years (1993-1995), and when the movie came out I immediately thought "OMG THEY ARE FINALLY ADMITTING IT" - but when I was in Iceland in February I talked with people who did not recognize the way Icelanders were portrayed in the movie at all. Did I just hang with the wrong crowd in the nineties, or do you recognize it too?
~ It's been a while since I saw that movie, but I remember not liking it very much. I thought it just pulled out all the stupid clichés about Icelanders and magnified them, and I definitely did not recognize those people. It's not a world I associate with [but then I don't do the pukey Reykjavík nightlife]. So, I hate to have to be the one to tell you, but: you hung with the wrong crowd.
From Nicole:
What is the easy part of the blog?
The sunrise/sunset times. [Bet you didn't see that one coming.]
From Karen:
Any opinion on the schedule for Art Fest? www.artfest.is
~ Erm, no. I haven't even looked at it [until now] and I'm really a poor judge of these things at first glance. But EPI is going to see Wayne Shorter, if that helps.
From TheMonkeyMan:
Being half Icelandic I can't help but think the whole "happy nice icelanders" think is a crock of bullshit. From what I know of my own experiences; alcoholism is endemic, as is classism, racism and just general miserableness. Am I seeing a distorted view of Iceland or is everyone else?
~ It's the old story: you just can't generalize, can you? I can identify a bit with the 'classism' part [although to me it's more just plain old snobbery] but not the racism [as a rule] and definitely not general miserableness. Except, you know, 'some of the people, some of the time'.
From bibliotecaria:
how much of your own food do Icelanders grow? I mean, the growing season is awfully SHORT up there.
~ Actually, you would be surprised what can be done with abundant geothermal heat and a few greenhouses. Up here we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and mushrooms year-round. Plus we have all that fresh fish in the sea. From spring until late fall we also get domestically-grown bell peppers, carrots and other root veggies, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes [I don't think I'm leaving anything out]. And of course we have this amazing lamb that grazes wild in the summer. So we actually get excellent fresh food here in Iceland, with all this pristine nature. The thing we lack, of course, is fruit, which is all imported, save for maybe strawberries. And of course we can pick our own blueberries and crowberries in late summer.
From Lucy:
what's your favourite building in iceland, both sentimaentally and aesthetically?
~ Do they have to be one and the same? This is a really good question, and I gave it considerable thought today when I walked downtown. I'm really fond of the old buildings around Tjörnin, like the Fríkirkjan church and the National Gallery right next to it. I also really like the Reykjavík City Hall, particularly the side with the moss wall. However, I think my all-time favourite has to be the old Reykjavík library building on Þingholtsstræti because it's beautiful and I spent so much time there as a kid. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of it, and I didn't want to take one today when I walked by because it's undergoing renovation and is all boarded up and stuff. I also love Iðnó, which was the Reykjavík City Theatre for years, because I had such happy times there as a little girl.
From Dumdad:
Question: In all honesty, is Iceland a nice place to live. Is it, in fact, Niceland, or are you just being loyal? Are Icelanders warm and friendly to tourists or do they just put up with them because they bring in money? Um, so is Niceland a nice land?
~ Again, you can't do the sweeping generalization thing. I'd say that mostly, yes, Iceland is a good place to live. It's clean and [relatively] safe and it's easy to get things done here. There's a lot of dynamic energy. And yes, I'd say on the whole Icelanders are very friendly and open to tourists. Others may disagree [or agree] but I find Icelanders friendly in general. It may be hard to penetrate their social circles, though ... but that's another story entirely. So, I'm not really being facetious when I call Iceland Niceland. [Much.]
Okay ... I gotta go, but I'm doing pretty good, aren't I? Plowing through the questions? There are a few more to go but they'll have to wait until next post.
IN THE MEANTIME
It started out with forceful winds and rain this morning, but then it cleared up, the sun came out and it stopped raining. Then it got cloudy, then we had a shower, then it became sunny again. Temps hovered around 5°C but right now they're 2°C [36F] and sunrise was at 6.37 am, sunset at 8.26 pm.
From Alisonl:
So my question: Is one child enough or do you wish you had more?
~ Oh, boy. I think I could probably write two volumes of memoirs on this one. Let's just put it this way: circumstances in my life have not supported me having more children. Do I wish those circumstances had been different? Yes, I do. In the meantime I try to be grateful for what I do have: a wonderful, smart, well-balanced daughter [who sometimes drives me up the wall] and three amazing stepdaughters that I adore. I would not have wanted to miss out on motherhood and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity. And by extension I have to say that I'm also grateful that my daughter and stepdaughters were spared the pain of having to take a perpetual back seat to a parent's 'legitimate' family. Because when a parent starts a new family with a new partner, the 'old' children inevitably get pushed aside. [Discuss if you like.] And that's one of the hardest things there is.
From Kathryn:
when are you coming over here to Australia for a holiday ?!
~ As soon as someone invites me!! Seriously, when I was little, Australia was THE place I wanted to go. I desperately wanted my own Kangaroo [Skippy the kangaroo was my favourite show].
From Rozanne:
Ice cream or frozen yogurt? Which do you prefer?
~ Gah! The toughest question yet. I can't decide. Sometimes one, sometimes the other. I love Haagen Dazs, for instance, but sometimes there's nothing that beats a good frozen yogurt.
From Stine:
You've probably seen the movie "101 Reykjavík". I lived in Iceland for two years (1993-1995), and when the movie came out I immediately thought "OMG THEY ARE FINALLY ADMITTING IT" - but when I was in Iceland in February I talked with people who did not recognize the way Icelanders were portrayed in the movie at all. Did I just hang with the wrong crowd in the nineties, or do you recognize it too?
~ It's been a while since I saw that movie, but I remember not liking it very much. I thought it just pulled out all the stupid clichés about Icelanders and magnified them, and I definitely did not recognize those people. It's not a world I associate with [but then I don't do the pukey Reykjavík nightlife]. So, I hate to have to be the one to tell you, but: you hung with the wrong crowd.
From Nicole:
What is the easy part of the blog?
The sunrise/sunset times. [Bet you didn't see that one coming.]
From Karen:
Any opinion on the schedule for Art Fest? www.artfest.is
~ Erm, no. I haven't even looked at it [until now] and I'm really a poor judge of these things at first glance. But EPI is going to see Wayne Shorter, if that helps.
From TheMonkeyMan:
Being half Icelandic I can't help but think the whole "happy nice icelanders" think is a crock of bullshit. From what I know of my own experiences; alcoholism is endemic, as is classism, racism and just general miserableness. Am I seeing a distorted view of Iceland or is everyone else?
~ It's the old story: you just can't generalize, can you? I can identify a bit with the 'classism' part [although to me it's more just plain old snobbery] but not the racism [as a rule] and definitely not general miserableness. Except, you know, 'some of the people, some of the time'.
From bibliotecaria:
how much of your own food do Icelanders grow? I mean, the growing season is awfully SHORT up there.
~ Actually, you would be surprised what can be done with abundant geothermal heat and a few greenhouses. Up here we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and mushrooms year-round. Plus we have all that fresh fish in the sea. From spring until late fall we also get domestically-grown bell peppers, carrots and other root veggies, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes [I don't think I'm leaving anything out]. And of course we have this amazing lamb that grazes wild in the summer. So we actually get excellent fresh food here in Iceland, with all this pristine nature. The thing we lack, of course, is fruit, which is all imported, save for maybe strawberries. And of course we can pick our own blueberries and crowberries in late summer.
From Lucy:
what's your favourite building in iceland, both sentimaentally and aesthetically?
~ Do they have to be one and the same? This is a really good question, and I gave it considerable thought today when I walked downtown. I'm really fond of the old buildings around Tjörnin, like the Fríkirkjan church and the National Gallery right next to it. I also really like the Reykjavík City Hall, particularly the side with the moss wall. However, I think my all-time favourite has to be the old Reykjavík library building on Þingholtsstræti because it's beautiful and I spent so much time there as a kid. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of it, and I didn't want to take one today when I walked by because it's undergoing renovation and is all boarded up and stuff. I also love Iðnó, which was the Reykjavík City Theatre for years, because I had such happy times there as a little girl.
From Dumdad:
Question: In all honesty, is Iceland a nice place to live. Is it, in fact, Niceland, or are you just being loyal? Are Icelanders warm and friendly to tourists or do they just put up with them because they bring in money? Um, so is Niceland a nice land?
~ Again, you can't do the sweeping generalization thing. I'd say that mostly, yes, Iceland is a good place to live. It's clean and [relatively] safe and it's easy to get things done here. There's a lot of dynamic energy. And yes, I'd say on the whole Icelanders are very friendly and open to tourists. Others may disagree [or agree] but I find Icelanders friendly in general. It may be hard to penetrate their social circles, though ... but that's another story entirely. So, I'm not really being facetious when I call Iceland Niceland. [Much.]
Okay ... I gotta go, but I'm doing pretty good, aren't I? Plowing through the questions? There are a few more to go but they'll have to wait until next post.
IN THE MEANTIME
It started out with forceful winds and rain this morning, but then it cleared up, the sun came out and it stopped raining. Then it got cloudy, then we had a shower, then it became sunny again. Temps hovered around 5°C but right now they're 2°C [36F] and sunrise was at 6.37 am, sunset at 8.26 pm.
Labels: Reflections
posted by Alda at 9:23 PM
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