i'm in iceland!

i arrived in iceland on friday morning at 6:30, very tired since i didn't sleep on the plane (but i sat next to two recent carleton grads...). maria's mother, hildur, kindly picked me up at the airport and drove me the 45 minutes to reykjavik. on the flight over i saw the full moon rise out the east side of the plane and the perma sunset/sunrise to the west and we flew over the apostle islands! i arrived on what i’ve been told is one of the nicest days of the year—totally sunny, no wind, and 18C (65F)—i’m hoping the nice weather will continue. the landscape reminds me of hawaii—barren, flat, not many trees (an icelandic saying says that when you’re lost in a forest in iceland, just stand up...), and volcanic looking. on the drive from the airport we could see the steam from the blue lagoon, a geothermal spa next to a geothermal power plant. the air is cool and crisp here and the hot water smells of sulfur. so far i have gotten: cash (icelandic kroner), a bus pass, and a cell phone (thanks to maria’s sister, stina). i ran into a fellow 2000 carleton grad nate stewart and his girlfriend in downtown! my brain has been foggy due to lack of sleep so converting from kroner to dollars has been difficult (~65 ISK = 1 USD)--everything is more expensive. i took a nap in the late afternoon and was able to wake up for a bbq at stina’s husband’s parent’s house. right now it doesn’t get dark until midnight and starts getting light again at 2. i'll start posting pictures soon.