Iceland has always been one of dream trips. I am not sure whether it was the thought of vikings, the wonderful music, or the way it is shown in the movies that persuaded me to travel here, but I am here, nonetheless. Being able to study abroad not only benefits me within my studies, but brings so much more knowledge than a classroom could. I have always been a hands-on learner and studying abroad definitely allows me to learn in the way I have always wanted to.

Traveling out of the United States for the first was a little unnerving, but Iceland proved itself to be the best choice for my first adventure. Stepping off the plane at Keflavik Airport in Iceland was like stepping into a whole other world. The entire landscape was black and rocky with not a tree in sight. Reykjavik was the complete opposite, though; a fishing town booming with tourism and city life, but still no trees. If there was one thing that made me feel so comfortable in this was the fact that I could understand what people were saying, not because I speak Icelandic, but because they speak English so well.

Reykjavik near the Old Harbor.

Like most European countries, Iceland has a much different city structure than that of the U.S. The streets are narrower and there is a lot more room to walk than say in St. Louis where I am from. Another thing that is a lot different than the U.S. is that there are very few hotels and a ton of hostels. The thing about hostel life that I was most worried about was being roomed with people I did not know. While this actually wasn’t the case because I roomed with my classmates, I did enjoy hostel life more as I had the opportunity to meet with other students and people from all over the world.

So far, Iceland has been an amazing experience and along from learning about the folklore and the culture with my fellow students, I am also learning life skills and embracing a new, but still similar culture.