The Basics

I wanted to give you prospective students some straight descriptions of what to expect in Solheimar, because I would have appreciated more details than other blogs and descriptions give you. I hope this doesn't get too technical, but I plan to answer questions about what daily life is like, what living quarters and free time we have, and all that stuff in between.

When we arrived here, I was shocked and delighted at how beautiful the home we’d be staying in was. We get basically an entire floor of this two-story house to ourselves, and of the bedrooms available we were allotted 4 single bedrooms, one double and one triple. Each person gets a large wardrobe with about 5 shelves, 4 wire drawers, and a big space for hanging coats and storing backpacks. The beds are comfy, the house is always warm, and I kind of wish I had known that before packing an extra blanket (just in case).

In place of that blanket I could’ve brought a few other shirts and normal wear. Their packing list of “2 to 3 t-shirts” was not followed by most people here. I mean, we’re here for an entire semester. Not that I’m big on fashion, but I would like to change my shirts up a little more than I’m able to.

Also, be prepared to constantly put on and take off your shoes – aka bring some good sandals or flats that you can wear with socks. All the buildings ask you to take your shoes off, and the walks between the houses are so short that it’s annoying to tie your shoes each time – which is why I don’t tie my shoes a lot of the time. But also good to know is that it’s always really warm inside (no matter how cold it is outside – geothermal, yay!)

Daily Life.. is very low-stress. We've been given a book to read that I’m very slowly making my way through, as well as some other shorter readings that we have discussions about, but other than that there is very little homework – only this blog entry and two journal entries so far. I love it. Free time may not be in excess, but there’s always some here and there. We’re busy most of the day on weekdays, but then there’s dinner prep – about an hour or two of free time if you’re not cooking – and then after dinner we might watch a documentary but not always. And then weekends have a fair amount of free time so far, time to relax, crochet, listen to music, and hang out. It’s really nice, and sometimes a little hard to remember to read my book x)

A word about food. We all make our own breakfast, usually something small. Then we have lunch with the community at noon every weekday that we’re here (which isn’t always – if we go away for the day). The lunch with the community always provides a vegetarian option and there’s a nice salad bar with lots of fruit. Then we prepare dinner ourselves, two people each day cook for the whole group, and so far it’s been delicious every single day. The food at our disposal is a rather wide range, even if there aren't many snacks other than fruit, we have all the basics.

Oh, and the hike. The four day hike that I was SUPER worried about before coming. Firstly, I would like to make it clear that it is not an overnight hike – you do not carry everything that you need with you on your back. The backpack that I brought was prepared for that, but it was a little too intense for just a day hike. I should have bought a better backpack, as some of the ones I've observed here have been; with a thick, comfy waist strap that has little pockets for holding things, a tight mesh separation between where the back pack rests on your back and where the backpack’s holding begins (if that makes sense), and a cool flap on the top that buckles down, protecting the inside. A better backpack would have been a good thing, but it wasn’t too bad with just a normal backpack. I had to keep everything in plastic bags for protection from the massive amount of rain, and I wore a lot fewer layers than I expected because I got pretty hot from the exercise of hiking (only a fleece and a rain jacket, and then on the bottom a thermal layer, hiking pants, and rain pants).

I also wish I had brought more of my yarn and maybe some knitting needles. Luckily I brought my crochet needles and a couple projects I was working on… but I've just been crocheting so much that I keep pining for the yarn I have at home. But we've had adequate chances for shopping and buying new yarn (Icelandic wool!), and now I just have to figure out fitting all the new projects in my suitcase for going home.

I hope this helps you understand what to pack and what to expect a little bit better than before! This is a wonderful community here at Solheimar and I’m excited for the next two months + 1 week we get to spend here getting to know each other and the community. When it comes down to it, it doesn't really matter what I packed, what my expectations were, or if I was a little unprepared for the hike. What matters is that I came with an open, eager mind, and that I’ll have a wonderful time if I let myself enjoy it.

~Rori