Svið

Are you ready for this? I ate sheep's head. 

(Pictures by Kara Woo unless otherwise noted.)

So after our trip to Gullfoss/Geysir and Rettir (which, at the time I am writing this post, has occurred ages ago), Kara, Edvardas and a few others got the brilliant idea to cook and eat a traditional Icelandic dish: Svið. Apparently we didn't see enough sheep that day. 

Nope, we had to see frozen, dead sheep too, just to round it all out. In the bus terminal down the road, as well as several restaurants downtown, you can find traditional dishes like svið, lifrarpylsa and hákarl, but from what I've heard, Icelanders don't typically eat this stuff. Only for really special occasions, like Christmas or Þorrablót, a traditional feast early in the year... I believe svið is supposed to be served with a brown sauce, or some such, but we were just in it to try it, so they only ended up being boiled and served with green onions and potatoes:

In all honesty, if you can get over the "I'm eating head" part, and can get some meat off the bone, it doesn't taste bad! I equate it to oily (or slimey) roast beef. And yes: the teeth and tongue were included, but the eyes were not (apparently they're a delicacy in and of themselves, somewhere...):

(Photo by Michelle Bethell)

In the immortal words of... whoever the marketing director of Cambell's Soup is: mm, mm, good! 

Obligatory Gratitude Post (Part II)

Part I is here.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to have "Gamli-giving," which is the Icelandicized psuedo-Thanksgiving made in the style of the poor, displaced college students living here in Gamli Gardur. We've managed to find a turkey and there will be people and food and... well, I'm sure it will be a sight to behold and I will take pictures and post about it later--you know how I do.

Back in October, around Canadian Thanksgiving, I was asked what American Thanksgiving was about in relation to the date, since American Thanksgiving is observed in November. The askee figured it had to do with a significant event, like the "first" Thanksgiving or when our ancestors first arrived at Plymouth Rock. My answer? "It marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season!"

I stand by the answer, because it is true.

...and technically we should be giving thanks every day, not just the fourth Thursday in November or the second Monday in October (but only if it's a leap year and the Queen is alive; special arrangements are made for any years ending in "5" or have born witness to a "blue moon," or you know, however the Canadians do it...) but I will admit, it is a nice thought: that everyone you know is gathering around a table that evening to gorge on turkey in gratitude.

This year I am especially grateful: I have had the amazing opportunity to come to Iceland! And if that was not enough, I was further blessed to get to know some beautiful new people who've taught me much about myself and what lies out there in the world around me. Ryan and Michelle especially--they've helped me with those typical "struggling undergrad" troubles, made this place home, and made sure that I changed clothes every once in a while so I didn't stink! I can't help but to think about everyone else here as very spirited friends, and would list them all out one-by-one and give the psychoanalytical breakdown I have filed in my noggin for them  in an effort to tell them how much I appreciate who they are and that they chose to come to Iceland, of all places, but that might get a little creepy. Feel free to ask though!

I've also had the opportunity to hear first hand about war and oppression from those who grew up with it and are now fighting against it. I get to hear stories about regimes in the Middle East, including the Taliban, which has been referred to as "the shit-group" many times now, and the policies they've enforced, especially those impacting women. All I can say is that I am so grateful that I did not have to grow up in that environment and that I do not have to return to it... But that will never feel like enough.

This year... this semester... this Thanksgiving day is one I hope I will never forget. I am not one to hold hope for humanity, but if there is any hope in me left, it will be manifested tomorrow when I can stop and stare and truly focus on all that I have been blessed with and all that I can be doing to bless the lives of those around me...

Gobble, Gobble!

I See Candy Dinosaurs...

Okay, so not every trip I've been on here in Iceland has been to see waterfalls or volcanoes, and years from now when I'm recalling memories I am sure that it's nights like last night that I will remember the most... Seriously, the ab workout I got from laughing was painful!

As you've seen before, we all share a kitchen, so eating and cooking together is a pretty normal thing, and highly encouraged! "Social interaction is good, Leah?" Yes, social interaction is very good. Social interaction leads to geology t-shirt franchises, Raptor Jesus, zombies and mummification and gummy sharks...

Candy is 50% off in Iceland on Saturdays, so yesterday, during the course of eating dinner, we decided that at midnight we were going to go get candy, since candy beats going to the bars any day. The entire night we had some pretty interesting conversations, some of which I will list here so that I don't forget, cause they're just too awesome to forget...

• Jesus is my homeboy.
• Velociraptor Awareness Day is a totally legit (internet-inspired) holiday and everyone should just recognize my genius in celebrating it.
• Jesus Rocks. 
• Raptor Jesus is totally a thing.
• Pistachio ice cream is the best/worst thing on the planet, circle one.
• Ryan is going to be the best looking zombie around now that he only eats processed meats with a nice MSG dry-rub. Oh, and ice cream. And candy. 
• I see dinosaurs... candy dinosaurs.
• When I die and it comes down to figuring out where I went wrong in this life, I will be condemned for last night.
• What is douche? Is that where douchebag comes from?
• Flicking Ryan's ear isn't nice and making him pick up cards off the floor is sexist. 
• I'm going to come into your room at night and bite you. You won't know the difference!

Okay, so they may not sound awesome to you, but they're awesome to me, and downright HIGH-larious. :| Shuddup, this is mah blog. 

Commence normal programming in 3...2...

Family Dinner

So when we first moved in and starting exploring our surroundings--that is to say we were no longer shy about putting our food in the refrigerators or using the kitchen when someone else was occupying it as well--there came the occasional murmuring of having a dinner for the residents of our floor to get to know one another. When we found out that the people on the third floor ate dinner together regularly, such murmurings congealed to form a real idea, and from that came what I lovingly refer to as the Family Dinner...

On the menu was: baked salmon with cream cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes and carrots and red wine. Michelle and Ryan acquired the ingredients and did most of the preparation and cooking and they did a FANTASTIC job, no matter what Shell says about "her standards."

The food was delicious--end of story. And beyond that, we all had a great time! Mind you, the entire floor did not participate, but those of us who did enjoyed some great conversation and companionship that brought us all closer together, a quality everyone should seek in their neighbors.

Nick more or less lives in Iceland. He proved the wine, as you can see!
Ryan is awesome, despite being from Canada!
Judy is from China and is in Iceland studying English!

It was a great deal of fun and we're planning on doing it again. In fact, I have been contracted to do Mexican food since I skipped out on cooking this time, hahaha! Dia De Los Muertos is quickly approaching as well, so stay tuned to see what kind of mess I concoct then!

Hardfiskur

I've never been one to be shy about trying new food, and I take the "when in Rome" approach to heart, so I was really looking forward to trying all the delicacies Iceland had to offer long before I arrived.

Fortunately, all of the "strange" foods are merely traditional, meaning they're only eaten at holidays or fancy parties instead of on a day-to-day basis... So things like sheep's head jam is not a common item at the dinner table.

Sheep's head jam... I'll let that sink in... Mm, mm, good!

The first food I tried is more for tourists... it's called Hardfiskur and is basically fish jerky. I love it, personally.

Fish is a major export of Iceland, of course. In fact, in one of my first lectures our guest speaker repeatedly shouted at us "to know anything about Iceland, YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT FISH!" He even went so far as to say that besides Bjork, Keiko is the most famous Icelander around the world. You know it's true...

So again, more for the tourists than the actual Icelanders, and therefore more expensive, but very yummy; I highly recommend giving it a try!