More Iceland Stuff.

Today, whilst I was in the midst of wallowing in the self-pity of having not received a single email that was not an automated notification, I received suddenly a fabulous email.

It was from Iceland. (No, really, it was!)

You can imagine my excitement. Granted, the email was kind of sort of also sent by automata, but guys, the subject of the email?

A little email to Amalia, from Iceland, with love. 

How could I not be excited? How could I not immediately switch into Icelandic mode? How could I not follow it's directions to klikk, and visit Inspired By Iceland, a website which, among other things, streams video 24/7 of three different Icelandic sites. You guys, I watched the sun set over Jökulsárlón at like 11pm at night, Iceland time. It was incredible. It was beautiful. It was blue ice, and tiny little tourists in blue jackets walking along the melting glacier. It was birds flying by, diving and wheeling, and water rushing past rocks. It was, simply, amazing. (I also watched some kids playing hacky-sack in the park at Austorvöllur, and some waterfall action at Gullfoss. But it was the glacier that really struck me.)

I left the livecam feed up in the background and shrunk my word document to less than full screen, so I could see the water and the birds and the itty bitty people getting in and out of their cars and walking up and down the embankment. And then I went back to writing Helen (2500 words today, baby!), feeling much lighter of spirit, and wishing that I could travel there tomorrow.

And then I started thinking, surely Iceland has an MA program in Norse studies of some kind? And what a fabulous excuse that would be to go there! I looked up the University of Iceland, through which I also am learning Icelandic for free, and clicked around. While their program is not as comprehensive as the University of Aarhus in Denmark, they do have a program in Old Norse religion, and Medieval Norse Studies. What's especially awesome is that they accept credits from the University of Aarhus toward their MA program, and the courses are, for the most part, offered in English. I could learn Icelandic before I applied, then join the program and be taught to read Old Norse and the Sagas in their original language. 

But wait, I thought. How much is tuition? I did some more of that which they call Klikk.

Guys, it is ZERO dollars. The University of Iceland does not charge Tuition. Period.

 Iceland, I'm glad you want to be my friend. And I totally love you too! I promise I'll be in touch!

And if you made it through all this, my fabulous followers-- I have a question for you! An Informal Poll, if you will. In light of the birthday request I made of the universe, I was wondering: 

If a god* showed up on your doorstep in the flesh, and assuming that you knew you weren't hallucinating, would you tell anyone about your encounter afterward? Also, which god would you WANT it to be?

*by god, for the sake of argument, I mean one that is not the Judeo-Christian-Islamic All Star. I will however accept one of the many aspects of Hinduism's supreme being(s).

Also, man, if you guys had read the fine print on my awesome email from Iceland, you would be cracking up right now. It was hilarious. Whoever runs that email/letter/IcelandWantsToBeYourFriend site has a great sense of humor.