CELL Iceland Program Fall 2008

CELL offers life-changing study abroad programs for students who believe that they can make a difference in the world and who aren't afraid to try! During a Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL) Iceland program, students explore a semester theme of sustainability through community in one of the most remote, geologically unique, and environmentally friendly countries in the world. During the course of the semester, students experience Iceland's breath-taking beauty, live in one of the world’s unique ecovillages, learn experientially and through service to others; and are inspired by an island nation leading the world toward a path of sustainability. Our Iceland study abroad program is an educational adventure where we learn about imaginative solutions to global problems and what is being done today to solve these problems. CELL is more than a study abroad program, it is an opportunity to join a global community of people who are committed to making our world more sustainable. Below are reflections from students participating in CELL's 2008 Iceland program.

Allison: Solheimar means "the home of the sun", a warm and inviting place that provides comfort and nourishment. Each day I wake up and walk down to morning meeting I feel this meaning. We all hold hands in a circle, sing together and then give a squeeze of energy. As we go our separate ways we begin our day with a reminder that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.

And what a wonderful something bigger to be a part of! Every person is fully embraced for who they are. The love that you feel here is freeing. I feel it the most in the workshops. There is nothing like exchanging funny faces with home people at coffee break in the wood and candle workshops, or picking tomatoes in Sunna with Reynir yodeling in the background.

We are all a part of something bigger than ourselves; whether that be the community of our friends, our town, our country or our world. Embracing these communities is beneficial not only for ourselves but for everyone involved because we are social beings and everything is connected. Solheimar has been a wonderful place to not only realize this but experience it, live it.


Ana: We joked on our Landmanalaugar hike that we were a clan of Icelandic foster-brothers and sisters making our way to the Althing. The Althing, we learned in our classes with Begga, was the annual gathering at Thingvellir, which brought together the widely dispersed chieftans under the huge black cliffs. During the Commonwealth period, the Althing was as much a cultural festival as a place to settle disputes and hear the lawspeaker recite the new laws. Marriages were arranged, alliances made, and ale was consumed at the Teutonic plates of Thingvellir. Our trip to Thingvellir with Begga and Mamma Sue fulfilled that vision of us trekking through the barren highlands towards the law rock and the Tectonic plates.

We crammed into the silver Traffic (the name of our Icelandic chariot) as the sun was still beginning to rise at 8:00 and followed the blue and yellow highway sign that read “Thingvellir.” Similar to the excitement that is felt when a GPS says “north,” the sign that read “thingvellir” has a similar effect in the pit of your stomach: you know it’s an intense place.

Upon our arrival, we met our guide at the visitor’s center, who gave us an introduction to the history of Thingvellir and the significance of it’s location, at the divide between the North American and European plates. Then we headed out into the wind and rain with our guide, who wryly compared the weather to the state of the Icelandic economy. We saw a theme as we were lead through the path between the steep black plates, in our guide’s commentary. He was constantly poking fun at the failing economy. We thought his dry humor was remarkable considering the gravity of the situation. He managed to cover the period of the Settlement (AD 870 - 930) and Commonwealth (AD 930 - 1262), the brutal weather, and the Icelandic economy in the same sentence, and tie them all together wonderfully.

We also saw a chilling aspect to Thingvellir. Our guide started covering the period of the Reformation (AD 1500s) when we reached a pool of glacial water which was roped off and had signs which read: “do not swim.” This, we learned, was the drowning pool where women who were suspected of witchcraft were put to death. The fifteenth century was a time when a visit to Thingvellir could be fatal. It was transformed into a place of punishment rather than a cultural festival, and hundreds of men and women were burned, hung, beheaded, and drowned, for minor crimes. Standing beside the drowning pool was something that we won’t easily forget.

Something else that we won’t easily forget is the heavy wind and rain on our faces as we hiked up to a roaring waterfall through the rock formations. And as we walked by the river, we witnessed firsthand - trout spawning. Mason, our trout expert, was ecstatic! It was like Planet Earth, but up close and real! While Mamma Sue, Begga, and the girls went to see the prime minister’s house, the boys (Chance, Josh, and Mason) observed the trout spawning, and met us with a glow of incredible happiness. Under the massive black cliffs and near the bright white Prime Minister’s summer home, was a hidden treasure of spawning trout that would entice any naturalist into buying a plane ticket to Iceland to come witness.

Speaking of treasure, we passed on the way to Mosfell (a nearby town) the archaeological site where a Viking longhouse was discovered. It was in a dairy and sheep farmer’s backyard, however he let us look at the site, which was covered up for the winter. We had read Egils' Saga with Begga in our history and language class, and the Viking hero Egill Skallagrimson was said to have spent the last years of his life at a farmstead in Mosfell. This particular archaeological site was where some historians think he may have lived, which adds a whole new dimension to the place. Before he died, according to the saga, Egill hid treasure somewhere in the area, either up in the hills or in a nearby marsh. The great mystery of it is that nobody really knows. However, after the black plates of Thingvellir, looking at Egill’s possible home in Mosfell was "mjor, mjor, gott." In the words of Chancery Perks, “you can’t touch that!” We were actually standing where Egill could have lived, and under the mountain where he could have hid his treasure (his final act of reckless roguishness) while a herd of sheep were baah-ing rudely in the background. Then the Icelandic cappuccino at the Mosfell bakery made the experience as a whole extremely hardcore and Icelandic….Egill would be proud!