From Homeland to Iceland

A good part of the fun in studying abroad seems to be in telling people where you will be going. The reactions I have garnered from a simple answer to the question, “What are you doing this summer?” assures me that I have made a solid choice. Of course, a couple sentences really offer no explanation of the weeks of planning and preparation that have produced the statement or give any indication of what the experience will truly hold, but the excitement is palpable!

So, what am I doing this summer? Funny you should ask! For the next six weeks, I will be backpacking around the land of fire and ice, gaining experience with field research as I study the environment and culture of Iceland. The program uses the outdoors as a classroom — standing in the ecosystem that is the focus of the lecture, assignments completed in your tent with a headlamp, reading a peer-reviewed article about glacier movement while you sit overlooking a glacier. There is nothing comparable to the first-hand experience I hope to gain studying abroad in this way.

As an avid outdoors enthusiast, I am pretty comfortable with roughing it. Days of my youth growing up in the midwest were spent exploring the extensive woods behind the house, playing in the murmuring creeks and streams bordered by the rumbling railroad tracks. In recent years this upbringing has evolved into a love of travel, hiking, and backpacking. It should come as no surprise, then, that upon finding a program for study abroad that scratched that itch, I was immediately interested. 

When it comes to travel, my family has a rule of thumb: bring half as much stuff and twice as much money. This has served me well for many years – on principle, I do my best to travel light. But not in this case! The weather in Iceland is notoriously unstable. Situated on the edge of the arctic circle, the country is swept by cold winds from the North Pole and tempered by the mild Gulf Stream bringing oceanic warmth from the east, which makes the forecast capricious and unpredictable! As such, I need to be well-prepared, bringing all the essentials like good rain gear, several pairs of wool socks, and other necessary accoutrements.

Assembling my small mountain of equipment has probably been the most challenging aspect of my preparation – unearthing old gear from storage, figuring out what all still works, replacing items where appropriate, and investing in areas in which I lacked. Many decisions were made about what was needed, and the end result was a rather impressive pile.

Have you ever tried to put a Jenga set back in the box after a game? If not, just know it takes a bit of consideration in how to place each piece so that they all fit. That’s how it felt when I first tried to load my backpack. It’s like Tetris, except 3D and you can just tack on all the stuff that doesn’t fit on the outside!

Hawk's up!

With a couple hikes under my belt to break things in, I am ready for anything that the world’s 18th largest island can send my way. Except for erupting volcanoes, probably. Even still, that would be an incredible way to die, although I am not sure the people of Pompeii would agree with me.

The date of departure is now just a couple weeks away. For any new destination there is bound to be a certain degree of ambiguity and uncertainty as you wonder if where you are going is as good as where you have been, but I suspect there is a lot more fun to be had in studying abroad than just telling people where you will be going. With Iceland on the horizon, the only feeling I get is that this will be a highlight of my college experience.

Takk fyrir að lesa,

Owen

Non-SU Program - Wildland Studies-Artic Ecosystems - Iceland - Summer 2022