Family history and collective memory linked to water and nature
Twenty years ago, I visited Kulusuk, Greenland during wintertime. It has to be one of the wildest places I've ever been. One week in February with a group of exchange students from the University of Iceland—simply epic! I vividly remember standing outside in -25ºC temperatures to watch the most amazing northern lights dancing away. We spent two days inside our guesthouse due to a powerful blizzard, rode on an authentic dog sled to explore the frozen ocean and the glaciers, ate fried seal that our Inuit hosts had hunted, and...
My experience with reverse culture shock
After living 5 years in Iceland, I experienced “reverse culture shock” in my home country, Ecuador. When I first heard someone talk about this, I thought it was nonsense. How can you be shocked inside the world that first molded you? My Icelandic life could not be replicated in Quito. Getting from point A to point B takes so much longer here, mainly because of the heavy traffic. Walking alone on the street, especially at night, is a big “no” for girls. People in Ecuador aren't punctual, so having some...