Mes impressions sur l'Islande et mon SVE
J’ai écris ce rapport à la fin du mois d’octobre pour mon organisme d’accueil en Islande, SEEDS See Beyon Borders pour son rapport annuel!
In a couple of weeks I leave Iceland and I return to France with a lot of projecst in my head but above all a lot of memories and new experiences that have helped me to grow…
It’s difficult today to give really my impression of my EVS but I want give my impression:
It’s the first time that I have stayed such a long time Abroad. I always thought that I would like to go for a long experience abroad and not only to travel but also to do something useful.
Beginning: really the worst part for me, I imagined that it would be easy for me to go to a new country and leave all my life in France. But there were so many things that changed at the same time: people, place, language, context, topics, … Finally, with the training my fears disappeared a little and when the first work camps started I felt more in my place.
The Communication, ouah! Sometimes it was really difficult just to share some information or just really funny to see that someone had just understood the opposite!
My EVS is finally Done in 4 weeks! My EVS is not only seven months in Iceland: first I gained knowledge of EVS in February 2006, had my first contact with Valérie in March 2006, called Oscar at the end of August 2006, selectedby Seeds in September 2006, definite answer in January 2007, arrived in Iceland 2nd May 2007, and finally I will leave 19th November 2007, …
English, oh my god, I was so terrified in the beginning to speak in this strange language, but now I start to understand Matthew, I think I have improved my international English!!!
The West Fjord and particulary the Vesturbyggð with Jon, the baby seal, the amazing nature, Bíldudalur, the Látrabjarg cliff, the whale, Suðureyri, the sheep head, the people, Rauðisandur, the saga, the sunset, … How is it possible not to fall in love with this place?
Giants, elves and trolls are the hidden people for Icelanders!!! It’s difficult to know if they believe or not, it’s like the others must not know, it’s the secret of Iceland!
Sheep Head, so disgusting when you discover ten sheep heads in plastic bags and Jòn says to you that in 3 days we will eat them!!! In the end it was very nice to take part in this old Icelandic tradition!
Iceland, I think now this word has a specific resonance in my head, in my life, in my heart. The experience in this country was sometimes like mountain, sometimes I have felt bad sometimes very good, but at the end it’s a really nice memory for all my life.
Jokularson: beautiful, amazing, extraordinary,… I can’t find the best word to describe this place!
Knowledge of environmental issues! I expected to learn a lot more; it was one of my EVS goals. For sure, I learnt a lot of other things and certainly some things about sustainability and environment!
Landmannalaugar, ouahhhhhhhh, such an amazing place. I had the chance to do the hiking between Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk during my holidays. Sun with a nice view of all the landscape: volcanic mountain (yellow, orange, pink, red and sometimes green), glaciers, snow, stick, stick and some more sticks, lake, rivers that we were obliged to cross (glagla …), little forest, fabulous sunset of the glacier with a dehydrated soup (miam miam), …
Environmental Messenger, this is my project during this 7 months!
Nature… nothing other to say!
When I give my impression of Iceland to someone, I said always it’s a country with a lot of Opposites! Why opposites? It starts with the nature, we can find on this island completely in excess “ice and fire” (Vatnajökull as big as the Corsica island in France and geothermal activity which can supply Reykjavik and a many areas of the country with hot water and electricity). These extremes can also be seen in the life of the population: the life in Reykjavik revolves around the high-tech technologies, the fashion style and individualist mentality; and when you go in the countryside, the villages are completely isolated, they try to survive, the principal resource is the fishing and the population have a dynamic of mutual assistance.
The work camps in Þórshöfn with a fabulous local contact Aggi! It was one of my favourite work camps, all the conditions were here to have two unforgettable weeks! The work was sometimes difficult, linked with the weather (so Icelandic) but we tried to clean this nice place and put some horse manure in holes and plant trees, this was really funny!!! I have also learnt a lot of Iceland and the life in a little town in the middle of nowhere and I think that we also gave a lot of good things back to the community! And the more I met the Icelandic people, the more I thought they are crazy, but with a big smile!!
I would like share my experience in Iceland with my friends and family and maybe organise a Quiz about Iceland, that could be really funny! Before I started my experience in Iceland, my vision of this country was really limited and I had imagined that it’s only ice and volcano! Finally it’s not so wrong!
Reykjavík Film Festival: so comical to drive so many famous directors of which I had no idea of what kind of movies they made, but it was really nice to watch 21 films in 10 days!!
SVE = EVS in French. This program is a really nice door to go abroad, to do an interesting project, to meet a lot of new people, to learn about oneself and of others, to grow up, … Too many things to say!
Hot Tub, Hot pot or also hot spot!!! For sure, I will miss this when I go back in France!
For me, realising an EVS is doing something Useful for others (associations, local communities, …) and also for oneself!
Viðey island just next Reykjavík, such a quiet place next to the city! One of my work camps!!!
Work camps? Before I arrived in Iceland I had never done a work camp, I knew approximately what the idea was!!! It’s a nice discovery! I think it’s a nice opportunity to meet people from different countries, with different cultures, different backgrounds, different interests and learn more of each other; give a hand in a community and try to do something completely different to what we do normally; and also to learn about a place, of the country and gain a vision of the population! I don’t know if I would do more work camps in other countries but maybe I would like to be an investigator of environmental work camps in my area, i’ll see about that later!!!
The word eXperience has maybe been used too much in this report! But I think it’s with a lot of different experiences in a lot of topics that it’s possible to build our personality and in this way our life!
At the beginning of September, I participated in an Youth exchange in Belgium. It was for me a good moment to have a break from Iceland and also a nice opportunity to discover the fabulous project of Charles, someone who trys to give the best of himself to built a better world .
Zut, I’m sure I forgot a lot of ideas, but it’s impossible to say all of my feelings of this 7 months!
Caroline
