What I'm up to

So if you're looking at this blog, you probably know that I'm currently in Iceland and will be here for a total of nine months, which will take me up to June. I'm here on a Fulbright grant to make work based on individual and social interactions with the Landscape in Iceland, or the roles that the landscape plays in Icelandic culture and society (I started using both those phrases).

So I am basically exactly one month in and I spent the first month in the capital city of Reykjavik, where basically 60% of Icelanders live. It was a little difficult because in many ways it just felt like I moved to a new city, but because I don't speak the language, it was a new city that I obviously didn't belong in. But it's all good. Now, as of yesterday, I live in a northern town with about 500 residents called Skagastrond. It will be great to get a new perspective on life in Iceland. My goal for the first few months is basically to move all over the country in an attempt to understand as much as possible about life here.

If you know me well, then you know that making art is only a part of my goals for my time here. Nine months is a long time. I don't just want to be here. I want to live here. I have been in contact with the coach of a big premier league team thanks to some lucky contacts from this summer, and have made arrangements to train with the team when I return to Reykjavik. I am also trying hard to learn Icelandic which seems pretty much impossible. Even if I'm reading something no one has a clue what the hell I'm talking about.

So I'm hoping that this blog will be a nice mixture of what I'm thinking about concerning my project and the crazy other stuff that's going on, which in Reykjavik mostly consisted of staying out till 7 on the weekends and finishing the night with a dip in the ocean. Of course, now that I'm in a small town, the craziness will likely be of a different brand. Should be fun.