Madia, My Other Name

Our backyard in the heart of Reykjavik, all prettied with fresh snow

In the States I spelled my name Madia instead of Maria. It was a phonetic thing that my dad says he suggested to me when I was going into 8th grade. I'd been kind of a book geek up until that summer of '80 and was socially hung up on the fact that Maria was not a common name, and that my real name was pronounced with the Icelandic rolling R which no one in Cupertino seemed to be able to master.

 Even though the US boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games, the name of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who scored a perfect 10 in the 1976 Games, was being mentioned as the favorite that year. I remember making the connection between her name and mine, how similar they sounded, and how much more beautiful Madia sounded than Maria.

When Dad encouraged me to try out the new spelling, I did: at the start of each new class in 8th grade I raised my hand and explained to the teacher how I'd be spelling my name, and how to pronounce it. This took serious guts, making a spectacle of myself in front of all my peers, but I was tired of the cocoon I'd been hiding in and wanted to emerge as a butterfly, finally.  It didn't hurt that my sister, Addy, had coerced me into trying out for cheerleading that year, and had coached me so well that I'd made the squad. I was a New Person, book geek no longer, a twelve-year old reinvented to fit the social stage of Hyde Junior High, and later Cupertino High School.

The new name stuck. Out in the States I'll always be Madia Roff. I never changed my name legally, so there's been confusion when the true spelling has been found out. Friends I've known for years who see my drivers license, and the name Maria on it, suddenly get all jumbly and can't pronounce my name. Mardria, Madradia, Madiria, they flub. And then there's the boys I went to junior high with, who thought I was a snot for trying to be different. At the last high school reunion I attended in 1996, I had to chuckle at the fact that the "popular" boys, sixteen years later, still called me Maria, with childish obstinance, and in a pre-teen teasing tone. How cute.

Nowadays I can go to the States and say my name like an Icelander says it, and people say, ahh, ok, no explanation necessary. Unusual names are so common now, and in major metro areas people pride themselves on being international enough to get it the first time around.

Not a big fan of being in front of a camera, but...well here's me ~.~ 

Þorláksmessa

On the night before the night before Christmas, Þorláksmessa, or the evening of the 23rd, people flood Reykjavík's main shopping street for last minute shopping and a mass meet-and-greet. Cafes sell coffee to-go on the sidewalk and bands of Santas play holiday tunes on brass, woodwind and drum. People slip into restaurants and bars for cocoas dashed with Captain Morgan or a Christmas brew or two, and feed their kiddies chocolate cake to keep them happy. Downtown stores rake in more money this one night than they do all fall long, if the ever-fickle weather cooperates.

This year the weather was a crisp -8 celcius with only a slight breeze, making for a chilly but tolerable outdoor experience. Unfortunately we had a "red" Christmas, which means no snow, again. Some hard white ice pellets whipped out of the sky on Christmas Eve, but they blew right off the island and into the Altantic before we could properly call it snow.

It's been a long time since there's been decent snowfall in Reykjavik, believe it or not. Our one good flurry so far, in November, burned off within a week. It's snowing right now, but there's doubt that it will stick beyond the New Year. At least it's not the spooky 44 degrees fahrenheit it was last Yule, though. December in Cupertino California gets colder than that on a regular basis!

Electric Snowman

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas to All !

Bright Lights

A beautifully decorated home in Seltjarnarnes. The yard was full of pretty lights as well, and the overall effect in person was cheery and charming.

Something about the angle from which I took this shot makes the photo kind of spooky, though. Unsure why...

Hot movie tip: If you haven't seen The Corporation, be sure to rent it. Check out the web site if you can't find it in your local independent video rental, cause you won't find it at Blockbuster!

Take a Bow

Valentína's second grade class takes a bow after performing a few numbers from Dýrinn í Hálsaskógi, by Norwegian playwrite Thorbjörn Egner, the story of how all the animals in the woods stopped fighting and decided to be friends forever.

You will kindly note the many happy orbs dancing through the air above the children. They only appeared in photos of the kids taking bows to thunderous applause, as well as in a few shots of the kids laughing and dancing around the Christmas tree. Austerbæjarskóli, Valentína's school, has a long and rich history, and I'm sure some of the children's ancestors were in the theater with us, watching this very charming Christmas performance.

Christmas Kids

Girls from Valentína's internationally-represented second-grade class at the school Christmas party. Björk Alexandra, far left, speaks Russian with her mother who was raised in Latvia, Íris Björk speaks Tagalog with her mother who is Philipina and Valentína speaks English (sometimes) with her mother, yours truly. I don't know the third girl from the left, so we can make up exotic stories about her if we want.

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p.s. have you heard about the Bobby Fischer issue, and that Iceland is offering him a resident's visa and that the US is none too happy about it?