“That we leave our homes, that we step through our doors to the world, that we travel our whole lives not because we want to collect exotic T-shirts, not because we want to consume foreign adventure the same Western way we consume plastic and Styrofoam and LCD TVs and iPads, but because it has the power to renew us—not the guarantee, not the promise, just the possibility. Because there are places our imaginations can never construct for us, and there are people who we will never meet but we could and we might. It reminds us that there is always reason to begin again.” - Stephen Markley, Tales of Iceland or "Running with the Huldufólk in the Permanent Daylight"
Never in a million years did I think my exchange application to the ATA would result in a visit to Bessastaðir, the home of the First Family of Iceland! To make a long, and cheeky, story short we were invited to meet the First Lady for coffee...I guess you can take the girl out of Canada but bit Canada out of the girl! You see, Ms. Reid is from the Ottawa Valley and wanted to chat with the first principals in the Iceland - Canada exchange. We arrived at Bessastaðir mid-afternoon and were treated to some Icelandic pancakes, coffee and hilarious stories of her 4 children. It was endearing to hear about their road trip playlist strategies, the tuba-player`s struggle with the long walk home and the birthday parties in the library alongside centuries old artifacts. Eliza is very down to Earth, accessible and rather funny. I appreciated her taking time out of her very busy schedule to chat with us. (Note to my Dad: no need to bail me out, I was very well behaved!) Bless Eliza, and thank you for opening your home to us! Next adventure - bláa lónið! (Blue Lagoon!) Pictures coming as soon as I figure out the Icelandic commands for "download to the desktop".... Have you ever had one of those days were you didn`t realize how tight and sore you muscles were until they weren`t anymore? That was us in the Blue Lagoon yesterday! This geothermal marvel is a spa in southwestern Iceland. The spa is located in a lava field near Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in a location favourable for geothermal power, and is supplied by water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. It is basically blue, salty, hair-tanglling luxury wrapped up in a hot bath and mud masks! Thanks to Bryn, Dadda`s principal counterpart in Reykjavik also on exchange with us, we had an amazing 6pm booking and spent the better part of 2.5 hours soaking, laughing, and relaxing. Conditioner piled high in our hair, silica mud on our faces and a whole lot to talk about we connected our lives and our work altogether amidst the mud and hot water. Hattie, Robinson, and Timperley were honourary guests as we walked through the contexts in our schools, our vision for our communities, and our professional learning journeys. It was a very lovely way to spend a Thursday evening. Check out below...thank goodness Dadda walked in and helped me with the download situation!
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AuthorAubrey: "Leader of the Elves"....that's me. Mom of two amazing guys, wife to one bigger (yet no less amazing) guy and teacher of little ones. Blogging about the adventures (usually with my rubber chicken in tow) is one of my favourite things. Archives
April 2019
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