A new family member

My cousin María Rós just had a tiny baby girl. Although her grandmother says she looks like a tiny sumo wrestler. I don't agree, she looks quite tiny. With very black hair.
Congratulation Baldur og Ásthildur with your granddaughter and congratulations María and Haraldur with your new baby girl.
Welcome to the world little cousin.

Look forward to seeing you when I come home.

Burns Night and a wee dram

Gie 's a wee haggis, lad?

In celebration of the birthday of Robert Burns, Scotlands national bard, we went to a Burns night on the 25th. The History Society of the University of Glasgow was hosting the party at the aptly named bar on Woodlands Road, Uisge Beatha (Gaelic = whiskey). There weren't very many that came but it was nice and fun. We got our haggis, neeps and tatties (which is basically: slátur, rófur og kartöflur). Everything was quite nice and it tasted very differently from the Icelandic haggis / slátur, much more spicy. But I do know where you can get a very Icelandic haggis in Glasgow. But of course I couldn't end the night without having a wee dram of whiskey. And the Uisge Beatha's speciality is naturally whiskey. This is a place I definitely need to bring my friend Gumma to sometime when he comes next to Glasgow. On the other hand I shouldn't, as he would probably take up permanent residence there. We like our whiskeys you see. But my favorite is Glengonye 10 years old, that's a drink for me. Very smooth.

It really happened ... again

Oooh, it's still snowing now, and now it shows. I even took pictures. I would never have beliefed it otherwise. See not even I belief that it is snowing. Ooooh, this sooo reminds me of home. I like it. But I don't think I should be voicing my opinions here, might make me a social outcast.
Anyway, check the photos if you still don't belief me.

It really happened ... honest

It snowed in Glasgow, I witnessed it. It was mostly sleet at the beginning but then you got to see these really huge snowflakes. That only means snow. But unfortunately since everything was wet from the previous rain we had been having, none of the snowflakes would cooperate with making a white pile of snow on the streets.
The taxi driver I had taken home from the store told me he was expecting snow to begin falling any minute, but I didn't beliefe him. But as soon as I came up the stairs and entered the kitchen I saw the snow from the window. Brrrrr, now I just want to crawl under my covers and come back out in the summer.

Ljóska dagsins huh...

My adventure of the day!

You will never beliefe what happened to me just now. I got locked outside my flat. My friend Árdís came by to borrow some stuff from me that she needed for her essay and because the doorbell isn't working I had to run downstairs to let her in. And we stayed downstairs chatting for a wee bit, because she was going out again, to do a few errands. So when she left, and I wanted to go back into my warm room, the door to the flat was closed and locked. Nooooooo!
I knew that Dee had gone off to work, because he said goodbye to me as he walked out the door this afternoon. Emily and Ruth I had no idea where they were so my only hope left was Lisa, but no matter how I knocked on the door no one answered. I knew she hadn't gone out while I was downstairs so I tried flat D if there was anyone of them there. There wasn't but this really helpful girl phoned her up and she was still ensconed in her room with her cousin (and from the noises I hear coming from her room are playing computer games) anyway, she finally opened the door and let me in. She was really sorry she had locked me out, but I was just thankful I got inside again. Now I can continue not studying for my final exam and everything is as it should be again.

nr. 2 down

Second exam was this morning and went ok. Won't go farther than that because the first question was very unfair and I think everyone of us felt that way. Most of the people I know, answered it last trying to think of something to write. Baaaaad exam! What was the exam about; Celtic Civilisation or basically Celtic History. And what is the Celtic history you might ask, well it goes something like this. Wales was screwed, Ireland was screwed over and Scotland was already fucked up. Unfortunately you can't give such short direct answeres during an exam so I had to exercise my penmanship a bit in the exam.
Now, I have six whole days before my next and last exam of this term, so I took the day off and went to do some shopping, which turned out to be more of a window shopping though. Came home eventually and had the nices shower I have had in a long while, not that I haven't taken a shower for a long time but this one was just ssooooooo nice.

One down, one to go

The Gaelic exam was this morning, and it went rather well ... I think so anyway. But I also promised myself that I wouldn't think to much about it since it only counts for about 10% of my final score this year, but I still hope it was ok. I will need to get like a transcript of my courses for LÍN although so that's mainly why I am hoping I at least got a C. Right now I should be going over my Celtic notes, and I promise I will in a few moments, but I just needed a bit of a break. Me and Clare are trying to figure out what exactly it is that we need to know, but it turns out to be a lot more than we want to know so I think we will pray this one out as well.
Well, all will come clear tomorrow and when I finish it, I am going to allow myself to go shopping and go to a cinema, pending on if there is anything in cinema that I want to see.

soon to be GONE WITH THE WIND

Yup, they are predicting a very severe weather here in Scotland, worse than the one that hit the British Isles on Friday, thank God on Monday it was actually possible to go outside without imitating Mary Poppins. The weather hasn't started quite yet, it's mainly bluster right now, but you can still see what is to come if this continues. I am seeing the trees in the yard in front of my window do a good immitation of a break-dance. It has also started to rain, which really isn't that much of a news since we are here in Scotland but I thought I should mention it to give full image to the picture.
Right now I am just being bored at home trying to study for my Gaelic exam on Thursday and praying that I will at least get a C (really praying, like for real). Also have a bit of a stomach upset and crazy head, running to the bathroom, well taking two steps actually it's not that far to go, and then to the bed to try to get my head leveled out and then to the chair to get my spine straight and try to put as much Gaelic vocabulary into my head and back to the bathroom.
So I guess you know where I am going after this.
Write to you later, got to run ...

Crazy woman in Scotland

Brain donors apply now! I swear I feel like my brain has erected a buffer zone so that no knowledge can be downloaded into it. Not even for the next few days, just for the exams and then it can go away forever and leave me alone. Nope, nada chance. It's like it refuses to go over stuff that I already have gone over and there is this really small devilish voice telling me, "you know all this, you know all this" yeah, right who is it kidding? Obviuosly, my brain! It doesn't want to understand that it isn't just the matter of knowing things, but understanding them as well. I know what the story is about, but I don't know that much about the content, I can't tell you what every word in it means (because it is in Gaelic, tuig thu?).

I NEED A BRAIN (that is functioning brain).

(Until the 20th I am not going to be responsible for things printed here.)

Crazy weather in Scotland

Ooof, it is horrible to look out the window and cold as well, especially when the wind blows through my almost fully closed window. Brrrrrr. I miss the -7°c back home, at least it was warm there. It took me about ten hours to get warm yesterday, because the boiler in our flat wasn't working. Fun! But I guess I have to go outside to day, no matter the weather. I have to buy a lot of stuff, stuff like FOOD, need that to survive and not just the cold but the exams as well. Yup, have to continue getting ready for my exams. I so can't wait until the 20th of Jan. when I finish and have whole four days before the school starts again.

Phenomenon ... duduruduru phenomenon

I heard this at the airport at home on my way here. There was this American woman who met someone she knew, and she was telling him all about how she loved Iceland and yadayadayada. She dragged him along with her into a Icelandica shop where she showed him a small dall of Skyr and she was decribing it is such details that I have never heard anything like it, and she finished her praising and admirational speech about Skyr with the words, "it's just phenomenon". I kinda have to agree with her on that, Skyr is great and I already miss it. I want Skyr. I wish Baugur and these guys would negotiate with the British government of being allowed to import Skyr and Súrmjólk and Icelandic water and lamb into Scotland (at least). And at least to the Iceland shop on Byres Road in Glasgow, I would like that very much.

So much has happened

I don't know where to start.
I came home on the 17th and as soon as I walked in the door I was busy, cleaning, cooking, washing. But it was sooooo goood to be home. All the preparation before Christmas was really good. And Aðfangadagur was wonderful. My brother and I helped with the cooking with moms instructions of course and it went all really well. Even though my brother got the Möndlugjöf in the end. I got heaps of presants even though I hadn't been expecting it and every one of them was wonderful. But I must say that we all felt that there was one person missing this Christmas. I felt I really really missed my grandfather who passed away just before easter, I still do.
My grandmother was with us this Christmasday though and Júlíus, Svala and Katrín Lilja were there as well and also on Christmas day and the Second day of Christmas.
On Wednesday I went with my brother and sister-in-law to a Christmas ball for my niece, and she absolutely refused to dance around the Christmas tree, even though just recently she was dragging her grandfather around the Christmas tree back home. But when the Santa Clauses came she was in such awe of them. One even patted her head and she found that to be quite the highlight of the year.
New Years Eve, was great, I shopped for food and found beautiful pork steak with wonderful crackling and we enjoyed ourselves immensely, even though my brother and family were at home that night, because Katrin was ill. But the fireworks were wonderful and I had soo much fun and I didn't even go to bed until half past four in the morning.
But the highlight of my year, happened in the new year. On January 1st, my friends held a sort of Indian night, where we all dressed up in Asian clothing, my two friends wore their sarees and I wore my salwar-kameese and even my friends boyfriend borrowed my turban and the whole evening he looked like a sultan with his harem. It was wonderful, it was soooo successful and great. I have pictures!
Then I tried to study, didn't go tooo well, could have used a few more hours in the day I must say. Also another group of friends invited me for a dinner party, and wow did they make delicious dinner. Ummmm, I still remember how great it tasted. And afterwards we played Scotland Yard, an old board game from when we were little, and I was mr. x the second time, and I must say it really gets on your nerves being hunted like that. OOOOOh, I was shaking all over when it finished, but I eluded them, so I won, hehehehehe.
But all good things come to an end, I am afraid, baaaaaahaaaaaaaaa. So here I am now sitting, in my room in Glasgow, almost sick, but refusing to give in to mr. bug and really wanting to go back home. But only two months and I am back home for Easter.
Write soon again, so much to tell.