Subject: Postcard #8

Hi all,

Well it is yet another instalment of the continuing saga, Kent in Iceland with a quick visit to Canada. I must admit I was a bit excited about heading to the Grey Cup in Montreal. Things have changed so much since Sept.11th and everyone is a bit more nervous about travel. Needless to say I woke up early on the 22nd, and went to work a little early as well. There was not too much to do in the morning and then I guess everyone realized I was going so they came out of the woodwork with stuff for me to do before I could leave. I guess that is normal everywhere. I got to Keflavik ok and did some browsing. I had bought most of the things I was taking to Canada earlier. I did hit the duty free store for some Opal"candies" and a bottle of Brennivin "Black Death". The plane was delayed a bit because of a late plane coming in from Frankfurt. Could not sleep at all on the plane. There was a bit of a delay at customs so we had to wait for about 20 min. on the plane at the terminal in Boston. Customs went fairly smoothly after that delay. My bag was soaked, it must have gotten wet in Iceland because it was not raining in Boston. I got my rental car alright and got on the highway. It was already dark so I didn't see much of Boston. I was pretty tired so I pulled off the highway for a nap in Lebanon New Hampshire.

I got to Montreal at 5:30 in the morning, after another nap the festivities began with Touchdown Manitoba. Sat. morning was the Spirit of Edmonton breakfast so that was a blast. It poured rain all afternoon so we were forced to drink inside, too bad. The Grey Cup game was excellent. I have no regrets even though Winnipeg did not win.

I left Montreal at about 11am and got to Boston at 4pm. I didn't have much time so I snuck off the highway into East Boston, wow, maybe that was a mistake. It was a pretty rough area, I did some shopping though. The staff in the stores barely spoke any English. Fog rolled in while I was shopping and I couldn't figure out how to get to the airport. I was right next to it but there is only one road into the airport and I kept running into dead ends and fences. I finally saw a policeman and asked him, it was actually quite easy but I might still be driving around there if I didn't ask.I dropped off the car and got to the terminal in lots of time. There sure was allot of security around, but there was no problem. It reminds me a bit of Europe in the early 80's when they had their bout with terrorism. The plane was again a little delayed but not bad. I was amazed at how early they shut down everything at the airport. There was no place to have a coffee or a drink after 8pm. I did manage to get a 1 hour nap on the plane.

Customs went well in Iceland and I caught the bus to Reykjavik. The weather was horrible, blowing snow and poor visibility. I sure was glad I didn't have to drive. I went straight to work and everyone sure was happy to see me. Especially the machines. There were all broken down and the first thing I had to do was call the repairman.Needless to say I was ready for bed when I was done work, I actually snuck off 1/2 hour early. I think I maybe slept too much as I was even more tired the next day at work.

Nov 30th was the last day of teaching, and we all celebrated. "jolaglogg" was the means. We had a staff get together, jolaglogg is actually a concoction of wine, hard liquor,nut, raisins and a few other things. It is served warm and it is quite intoxicating. They also had beer and regular wine available. There was singing and dancing and a good time was had by all, some had too good a time I guess as usual. Some of us even ended up at a bar later on in the evening.

Dec 1st is "flag day" here, it used to be their national day many years ago before they had June 17th. Now especially University students celebrate the day. It has actually become a kind of "Equality and Anti-discrimination" day. The snow is still around and piling up. They have had more snow in the end of November and first part of December than they had all last winter. Towards the end of last week it started raining and getting milder so all the snow finally disappeared. Actually last weekend the weather really got nasty and high winds played havoc on the country. A few boats were sunk and a few seaman lost and building were damaged. One of the largest barns in the country even lost its roof. I was a real couch potato on the weekend. Except from a quick visit to Kolaport the flea market I stayed at home and watched videos.

Work has been quite busy and the days sure go fast when there is lots to do. I was introduced to a new teacher the other day, by the vice-principle of the school as the school's "prize" from Canada. I thought that was kind of a neat compliment. I have most of the exams printed up so it should be slowing down soon. I am still working on my connections here. I met with the manager of a smaller car rental agency today to see if there is some business we could do together. I am still looking at getting a car and maybe instead of buying one I will just rent one. I got soaked on the way to work this morning so I feel that I should get some form of transportation.

Well I hope to be able to write you once more before Christmas but if you don't hear from me I hope you have a nice Holiday Season and you will hear from me in the New Year.

Gledileg Jol og Farsaelt Komandi Ar.....

  Kent Lárus Björnsson