Greetings cont.

So longish story short we traveled back to the old country as often as my parents could afford to, and I grew a strong attachment to the place. I wasn't actually fluent in Icelandic until about eight years ago (I had a dread of saying the wrong things when I was a kid and so avoided speaking the language) but its been sort of stored up in my head for all of my life, waiting to be released. I got my Masters in Comparative Literature from the University of Iceland last spring, and though I was able to turn in my work in English, I was proud of myself for having kept up with both my readings and class discussions in my "native tongue." Wrote my thesis on The White Goddess by Robert Graves, though that's a whole 'nother ball of wax...!)

I am then a thirty-something re-patriot to the Old Country with a six year-old daughter and no more on the way just now, thank you. I'm just about as California as you can get when I'm out there, with sun-blonded hair and blue eyes, cheerleader, surf-baby, tan, a little new age (University of California, Santa Cruz, thank you) and a ton of smiles and charm. People here get a kick out of how stereotypically Hollywood-movie my life was out west (Did you date the football star? they always ask. Answer's no...the soccer star! ha ha). The irony is that I fit in very well here, too. Only my accent gives me away, but on good days even that I can pass off as Faeroe Islands-ish. Makes sense. I'm both nations and always will be. I have dual citizenship, I dream in both languages and I could never deny the one country fully for the other. This site is about that duality; it's my insider/outsider perspective of life on this island I now call home.

Now that the introduction's done, I'll be writing each day about what's going on here: top news, local gossip, etc. I live in the heart of the city (101 Reykjavik) so I have a very central vantage point; the city kind of pulses from this core and we'd like to assume that the rest of the country follows the beat (though that might be a little egotistical!) I'll mention good restaurants and hotels, insider tips for visitors and the best "touristy" things to buy and do while here. Mostly though, this will be a Day in the Life kind of spot that I hope you will enjoy!