I feel like blogging tonight. That doesn’t happen often…perhaps it’s this new book I’m reading by Joni Earckson Tada that’s inspiring me to write.
For those of you who don’t know, we’re spending the summer in Iceland. We’ve been here for a month, and will leave in three weeks. I actually made a “VLOG” announcing the news, but never took the time to actually post it! Oh, the shame…
Being here in Iceland the past month has been pretty wild. In the first three weeks, I taught at the women’s retreat, I helped lead worship, I led an English camp, I lost my voice…The kids have all been doing great, with the exception of Gracie’s pinkie finger getting slammed in the door and turning blue.
The kids really love it here…They love all the pools, the people at our church, and the playgrounds that have zip lines. We have been so active hiking and exploring. Darcy’s favorite thing to do is find a lava field, jump on the springy moss and then lay down on it. It feels like memory foam…so cool.
My Icelandic is so rusty, I’m so glad most people speak English. Yesterday I was with my friend from church and her five year old daughter (who doesn’t speak English yet). I was pushing her on the swing and I thought she was asking to go higher (“Haerra!!”). It was only after her mother returned that I realized she was asking for me to SLOW DOWN (“Haegur!”) Poor kid.
Miscommunications are so frequent and comical around here.
Tonight I said goodbye to Colby so that I could give my friend a ride back home. She got into the car and said, “Oh, I see you have Hjónabandssaela,” which she went on to explain meant “wedded bliss.”
I smiled, happy that she noticed the sparks still in Colby and I’s marriage. “What made you say that?” I asked, curious as to what prompted her statement. Was it the way he had looked at me when we had said goodbye? Was it the way I had hugged him? She pointed down at the plate of leftover pastries that were left on the passenger car seat. “No, I see that you have some Hjónabandssaela…. Hjónabandssaela literally means “wedded bliss cake.” That’s the name of these pastries.”
So, yeah…I wish I would have spent a few months brushing up my Icelandic prior to coming here!
