Today I am writing about my trip to Iceland which i consider by far to be my oddest this year.

I went to Iceland this june because it was my friend Sunna's birthday and also because i had the once in a lifetime opportunity to see Bjork for free...well, sort of as the plane ticket was quite expensive.
The first thing that stroke me when i landed was the air. i felt as if i were on the top of a mountain..some 2000 years ago when green was much cooler than grey...My friend came to pick me up from the airport and we stopped first at her workplace which is the Reikjavik Zoo. It was slightly different to what i would consider to be a proper zoo as many of the animals there would just be considered pets in Romania. I made friends though with the seals..they were sunbathing in the solitary ray of lights that i witnessed only the first day while being there. I just couldn't believe how cold i felt...
The feelings i experienced during my stay there have been very intense. I kind of reminded me of my troubled teenage years when everything i felt was intensified and interpreted using Bjork's lyrics. I was very excited about seeing her the next day and my expectations were really high. I had seen Bjork before in Paris but i knew that being in Iceland changed everything. My ideas during my wait could have very well been part of Bjork's video "Who is it?". A wide frozen landscape, husky dogs and a smiling girl who occasionally gets mistaken for a lunatic. I don't know why but for some early from childhood reason I felt atrcted to open spaces, snow and an icy blue sky. I am not nordic and my eyes are brown...my skin is not too bright either , especially during summer, yet i feel so rooted in that far away land.
The inevitable happened..I was very disappointed with the concert and I actually liked Sigur Ross better( they opened the show). Many poeple say that meeting your idol may leave yiu with a slightly bitter taste as they don't live up to your expectations. I don't believe that even if i have been disappointed twice. The first time, in France, it was just too many rude people who had forgotten the basic idea about Bjork- the warm feeling of thinking- and were acting like animals while thieves were looming around and booing towards the stage.
This second time I found myself surrounded by hundreds of french people who came to be cool in front of other french people. Of course they outnumbered the icelandic population by far. The cold was worsening my health which , i should be honest to myself, has gone from bad to worse the last 3 years...still the pain didn't make me leave and it didn't infuriate me.
My relationship with Bjork implies me, her and the need that tied the connection between us.The people in concerts are destroying the balance between the fragile elements of my system. I don't listen to Bjork because i like it but because i need it and it has grown in me as part of me. It helps me enjoy my well hidden quirkiness and legitimizes my thinking.


Another thing that drew my attention in Iceland was the distance; the distance between the house the shops, between the house and all other houses and the distance between friends. Everywhere we went we had to drive..and most of the times we were the only car on the street..(.which is more of a highway in the middle of the town). This made me think about the relationships between people in Iceland. There is obviously love there..as the population still exists. However, i didn't see people laughing on the street nor holding hands. My friend is a joyful person although she doesn't speak much; unlike me. I felt overwhelmed by the silence. I felt incapable of staying silent. I met her family and they were very nice to me. We had dinner and we chat. They asked me about Romania. As usual, i tried to say good things about my country and paid great attention to any word I said fearing that any mistake may lead to them thinking bad about my home land.
Funny thing this politics. While talking i realized i was among people to whom history and politics wasn;t really important when trying to understand me. Why is it that we, the ones coming from smaller countries, countries that have struggled with ideology and not with nature, have developed this need of always explaining ourselves. Why are we obsessed with the way we look and the way we are seen. I guess this icelandic silence made me hear more things that i would have dreamed of.

I learned many other things while being in Iceland. I learned that people had a harmonius way of living and respecting laws before Christianity conquered them. This wasn't good for my thoughts as i obsesively defend my religion all the time. Most people in Iceland would rather believe in nature than in God. I guess it is a bit more pragmatic. You do need to take care of nature so that it takes care of you whre as for the other lot....i still need some answers for myself.

One day I went wimming at the public pool. It was just me and 20 old icelanders who were doing their morning workout. they were dancing in a circle and singing their national anthem. Strangely, no one made fun of them and they were actually enjoying themselves. Some nations never forget how to live untill they die. I wish I could say the same about the people in my country.

I went to see a glacier one day and it was breathtaking. I believe that this is Iceland's greatest power, to shock you and to remind you that your most precious gift is to be able to fascinated by what you see . However, from my own experience, I believe it is better when you experience on your own. At this point, i am not able to share. I am only learning how to enjoy..I am a bit frozen after coming back from Iceland.