By Erica Sager
I stepped off of the plane as my lungs filled with the icy and refreshing Icelandic air. This is what I missed my final exams and last days of junior year for and with my first inhalation of the wondrous air, I knew I had made the right decision! Rewind to January of 2016 and I was pressing “Submit” on a video upload I made to win a trip to Iceland. Fast forward to March of 2016 where I got the email that I, among 6 other strangers, had won this opportunity! From the moment I greeted them in the international terminal at Boston Logan Airport, we clicked. There is nothing like culture exchange and traveling to a foreign place that brings people together. After the 5 hours of staring out the plane window we arrived at Keflavik Reykjavik Airport where we all gathered our luggage and headed on our way to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa with warm, milky blue waters. The silica in the water has numerous skincare benefits and the entire experience is very relaxing. The next few days we spent exploring what is called The Golden Circle, a road trip of sorts to explore the natural wonders of Iceland. The first stop was at Thingvellir National Park where the rift of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates is located and where we viewed the largest natural lake in Iceland. At this point, though it was April, temperatures were below freezing and it began to snow. Looking out to the deep, blue and vast lake while having snowflakes land on my tongue was surreal. The next stop was the Gullfoss waterfall, an enormous and consuming landmark. As we approached the waterfall we were completely soaked by the mist and in combination with the low temperatures, we were all freezing, but still smiling! Here we spent moments of solitude and reflected, staring into the rushing icy water. Lastly was the geyser literally called “Geysir” The 7 of us arrived and waited 5 minutes before it erupted and released a fowl rotten egg smell from the sulfuric water. Again, we were all drenched and laughing and trying to capture the exact moment it spewed, on our cell phones. The last half of our trip was spent wandering the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, where we bought traditional Icelandic sweaters, learned some Icelandic (Hallo, Vilkomen!), and tried new foods like rotten shark and Skyr yogurt. Before returning home, we took a snowmobile to the top of the Langjokull glacier. Here we took a tour inside the glacier and got to stand in the snow at the very top. It was a cloudy day and the differentiation between snow and sky was nonexistent. All of my surroundings blended together as I heard the slow, cold winds whip by my ear. In this moment I felt very small. There I was on top of a glacier in the middle of nowhere Iceland, surrounded by 6 incredible new friends. I have never felt so humbled and grateful in my life. In the short time I spent in Iceland, I experienced a lot of personal growth. In combination of the beautiful surroundings and inspiring people I was surrounded with, I learned more in 6 days than I had in 16 years. I learned that the most valuable lessons are learned outside of the classroom and from the people around you, and if you let it, nature will be the best teacher you will ever have. I will never forget my great fortune of experiencing this trip and I will never forget the people whom I shared it with!
Image: Iceland! by Eric Sager