Memories that will last a lifetime

Tomorrow night, I will be back at my home in Greenville, SC. I will be in my own bed, with my own pillow and using my own bathroom instead of having to share with 20 other people. So, when people ask me how Iceland was and if it was the experience I thought it was going to be, I'm not exactly sure what I am going to tell them. Of course I absolutely loved every second of this trip, but it will never be possible to express just how true this statement is. Nobody will understand the connection that this group now shares with each other... Only we will understand this. Only we will know how it feels to completely undress in front of each other, and climb a mountain with every muscle in your body hurting, and see a wild pack of horses running right next to your bus and looking so majestic. This group of 18 students and 2 professors have been through every possible scenario with each other and I'm sure that we can all agree that every second was worth it. 

 

Was it super, super cold? Did you have to take a snowmobile to get everywhere? Did you see a volcano blow up? I'm expecting to get these questions from my friends back home and I will simply have to tell them that everything they think about Iceland is completely wrong. No, I didn't get to ride a reindeer and no, I didn't get frostbite on my fingers. But I did get to hike through a glacier cave and I was able to ski down a mountain on my rainpants after seeing the most gorgeous view of my entire life! I was also able to find amazing rocks and minerals that I have only seen in books such as zeolite and obsidian, which I am still shocked happened! I was able to climb up several different craters and peer into the bottom of it while having rock throwing contests to see who could throw the farthest. I was able to learn about a very sustainable way of using enery (geothermal power), and have a first-hand experience of the sulfur water that runs through tap water in most towns. Not only did I do things only field geologists would do, but I also had the experience of a normal tourist such as swimming in Blue Lagoon with silica on my face and finding random dogs and cats on the road that loved to visit with any human that they can find. My friends won't understand my love for these experiences and they will wonder why I had " fun" climbing up a crater, but their misunderstanding is the reason why I will always remember these adventures... Because it takes the experience to truly fall in love with events such as these. 

 

Did you make any new friends in Iceland or were you too busy with studying to socialize with people? The friends that I made were part of my family while I was in Iceland. They were the ones that stayed up with me for 48 hours straight before passing out together for the first night in Reykjavik. They were the ones that suffered through the pain of hiking with me for hours and hours everyday in order to see such beautiful sights... And then sitting in silence together in order to take in everything we have accomplished and learned as a group. They are the ones who fought me over the last Ballerina cookie, but would give me half of their lunch if something happened to mine. We danced to Adele on the bus together, sang our theme songs (Bohemian Rhapsody and Take Me Home, Country Roads), together, and heard the contagious laughter of Emily multiple times a day together. Everything we experienced and everything we did, we did as a group. We were always by each other's side and the only privacy we had was when we took a shower or used the "water closet". Without this group of people, my experience in Iceland would have been completely different and not in a good way. This group of students and professors made this trip memorable and one that I will always remember. 

 

 

 

So, when people ask me if I liked my trip in Iceland, I'm going to tell them that I loved it and that it the experience of a lifetime. I will tell them that when I had my doubts before boarding the plane for Reykjavik, that my doubts seem so pointless to me now. I will say that they will never know how I truly feel about this trip, because the 20 people that were with me will be the only ones to know. When I show my friends my rock collection that I have gathered from the different areas in Iceland, they will say, "Oh that's really cool that you found that," but, they will never know the excitement I had when I actually picked up the rock for the first time. When they see pictures of me jumping on a glacier or petting an Icelandic horse, they will be jealous, but they won't know how it feels to accomplish these things. The mystery of my feelings for this adventure is what makes it so special. It's what makes it something that only I understand. When I'm older and I look through pictures of this trip, of course I'm going to remember the places that I visited and the food that I ate, but the experiences that will be most memorable will be the ones that I shared with my Icelandic family. One day, hopefully soon, I would love to go back to Iceland with my real family and experience everything all over again. It will be just as special, but it will be different and that's what makes each trip so unique. You can go to the same place hundreds of times and have completely different feelings about it depending on the people you are with. I will remember this trip forever. Thank you Iceland.