Arttu in Iceland

Listen to Arttu´s diary in English, read by Nicole, our exchange student from Australia:

Arttu in Iceland (feb 2010)

(from Arttu´s diary february-march 2010)

Arttu arrived in the country of ice and fire in early february when the nature had slowly started to wake up after the long and dark winter. Unlike people usually think, Iceland is not fully covered with ice and snow and it doesn´t get too cold even during the winter, though it tends to rain a lot and get quite windy since we´re surrounded by the ocean.

Valentine´s day walk. Arttu, Håvard og Mira.

During the first week I took Arttu for a Valentine´s Day walk together with my Norwegian friends who are also working in the village. We walked to a nearby glacier river and further on through the yellow, muddy fields. The weather was rather clear and war, but in the open fields the wind can be surprisingly sharp, making +5 feel more like -15 celsius.

Iceland has population of 300 000, being one of the smallest countries in the world. Culturally it´s very similar to Finland and other Nordic countries, but its nature is something very special. The landscape is very rough and rocky, big mountains standing in every direction, sometimes white glaciers behind them, and between nothing but endless fields, usually inhabited by numbers of horses and sheep.

Arttu og hestar. Arttus road trip to the south coast of Iceland.

Arttu ended up to a spontanious road trip to the south coast of Iceland. We drove from Reykjavik towards the town of  Vik. On the way we stopped to greet some ponys (the national proud of Icelanders, these small but strong animals are everywhere in the countryside) and visited an abandoned swimming pool in a remote valley. Swimming is a national hobby in Iceland, every little town and community has their own pool, usually outdoors. Thanks to the geotherminal energy it isn´t too expensive to keep them warm all year around!

Arttu in Reykjavik. Icelandic sweaters.

Arttu tried on ”lopapeysas”, traditional Icelandic woollen sweaters that everyone is wearing here.

Arttu wearing Lopapeysa an Icelandic sweater.

Just before returning to Finland Arttu made one more trip to Reykjavik to look around some popular places. During the day we visited for example a vintage flea market in the basement of the National Theatre; people in Reykjavik are known to be very fashionable and the town is full of little vintage and designer shops.

Arttu and friends in Reykjavik.

We took a little tour to see the most famous landmarks: ´the big Hallgrimskirkja church, the Music House which was never finished cos of the financial crises that hit the country, the Old Harbour and some beautiful, colorful streets in the old town.

Hallgrimskirkja

Music house

Harbour of Reykjavik.

We ended the tour in ”Baejarins beztu”, a famous hot dog stand (Icelanders love fast food!) where Bill Clinton, the former president of the USA is said to be visited.

Famous hot dog stand and Arttu

Arttu enjoying Reykjavik Nightlife.

On the weekend Arttu experienced the world famous Reykjavik nightlife. The numerous cosy cafe´s in downtown Reykjavik turn into clubs and bars after midnight. Icelanders certainly know how to party!

Arttu survived Iceland very well and got to see many interesting and typical Icelandic places. Now it´s time for him to return back to Finland and later continue his adventures in another exotic country.

Best regards/ Með kveðju, Mira (Arttu´s host in Iceland), student of Raahen lukio 2004-2007, knitting and weaving in Iceland since 2008.


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Artun lähdettyä Islannista, purkautui siellä tulivuori, josta kerroin blogissa maaliskuussa 2010:

Raahen lukion kuviksen ARTTU-nalle on parasta aikaa matkalla Islannista kotiin postipaketissa. Mukanaan Arttu tuo terveisiä ja valokuvia lomaltaan.  Arttu vei terveisiä ja lukiolaisten ottamia valokuvia raahelaisten nuorten elämästä Islantiin, Selfossin kaupunkin ja se vieraili mm. kehitysvammaisten kudontapajassa. Arttu ehti lähteä Islannista juuri ennen Eyjafjallajokull-jäätiköllä tapahtunutta tulivuoren purkausta.  Artusta Islannissa huolehtinut Mira ei ollut kuitenkaan huomannut mitään tavallisuudesta poikkeavaa vaikka oli vain n.200km päässä purkauspaikasta.
Artun seuraava matka suuntautuu Saksaan, sikäläisten lukiolaisten mediakurssin vieraaksi.
Tavoitteena on harjoitella EU:n koulujen yhteisten eTwinning– työkalujen käyttöä ja lisätä opiskelijoiden ja opettajan kansainvälisiä yhteyksiä taiteen parissa.  Arttu-valokuvaprojektin avulla tutustutaan vieraisiin kulttuureihin ja opetellaan kertomaan omasta (paikallis)kulttuurista kuvallis-kirjallisesti. Mistä meidän suomalaisten, raahelaisten identiteetti koostuu? Mikä eroja ja samankaltaisuuksia eri kulttuurien nuorten kuvissa näkyy nuorten arjesta kerrottaessa?