Akureyri, Iceland - Week 1

Akureyri (pronounced Ah-qwew-air-ry) is the capital of northern Iceland and the second most populus place with 17,000 residents in this country (www.visitakureyri.is) roughly the size of Kentucky and the home of RES - the School for Renewable Energy Science (www.res.is).  I will here for the next year attending graduate school for a M.S. in Renewable Energy Science, specialty Geothermal Energy, issued jointly by the University of Iceland, located in the capital Reykjavik (Rake-yee-vek and roll the r if you can) and University of Akureyri.  The program has 40 students-22 men and 18 women-hailing from 14 different countries (Kazakhstan, U.S., Iceland, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Slovenia, Mexico, Chile, Hungary, Finland, Dominican Republic, Russia, France, and oh, David wants me to consider Alaska as a separate country).  We had inauguration yesterday and among the speakers at the event were the Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs & Industry, the Mayor of Akureyri (a woman!), and the Rectors of University of Iceland (a very well-spoken woman!) and University of Akureyri.  

I was the first student to arrive last Sunday and upon arriving in Akureyri, where upon there was no one waiting to pick me up as promised, I got settled at the Hotel KEA, where we'll be living for the next month until the last year's students graduate at the end of the month.  A few more U.S. students trickled in over the week and most of the students arrived en masse over the weekend.  Havent gotten everyone's names yet, but I'll get there.  

So far, it's been long stretches of boredom broken by some new and novel things to do, most of which I've done before but not in Iceland, hence the novelty.  I've been to the teensy tiny exercise room at the University, to the geothermally heated public pool, on some walks, 1 jog, to the ski area (where omigod I made it up the tow rope! I have been trying for years to do that).  Now, the ski area was sweet.  First off, they charge by the hour (like 600 ISK per hour, and 1$ ~ 100 ISK so thats freaking cheap! Pretty much the only thing here that is though) and everyone is into racing so there is powder everywhere!!! (The sound of the heavenly choir here) Its just 1 quad and some tow ropes but freaking awesome!  

It's like 5 degrees C in the day to -9 degrees C at night (41 to 16 F--pretty effing cold to me) and although it starts getting all twilight-y at roughly 930, the sun doesn't pop up to the south until like 11 and then sets at about 4 and it stays twilight-y again until like 630.  

Interesting words to note: 

Homonyms - words with more then 1 meaning

Takk Fyrir (pronounced Tauk Fear-er)- Icelandic for "Thank you, Thank you very much"