Early Adieu

People are leaving the residence one by one. Some are staying. Some are never coming back. By the end of December, most people, just as they are getting homesick (because the sun here is now rising at 11 and setting at 4), will get the chance to go home. Time has flown by. I do not know why. Time always flies by.

I've met people from all over the world (yes, surprisingly, all continents except for Antartica were covered - the majority are from Europe) and I've got to see many viewpoints of the world. A lot converge with my own, but some are different. We are only all the same along one thing: we chose Iceland to go on exchange, a place where your energy is put to the test, a place with strong sense of identity but questionable culture, and a place that seems at the edge of the world.

I realize that I've been living in a sort of different world than my own in the past few years, and until I got to share my 'favourites' with others I felt kind of isolated. For the last few years I've ditched Hollywood films and American pop music and listened to mostly European music, watched a lot of foreign films. And now I come here and get to ask, "Have you seen this movie? Have you heard of this band?" I don't know why. It's fun for me.

I think my presence here has conquered a lot of stereotypes and also my own stereotypes have been called into question. People aren't as simple as they seem. All I can end is by quoting a line from American Beauty: "Look Deeper."