Archives for March 2014 | Unlocking Kiki

A Reason To Celebrate

March 31, 2014 by Kiki 98 Comments

In February I began an internship for Reykjavik University that was coming to an end this month. I have met some wonderful people, got to attend an awesome annual ball, and have gained valuable experience during my time here and I was really not wanting to leave this awesome workplace. So when a position opened up in the same department I was working in a few weeks ago I quickly applied for it and kept my fingers crossed.

To say this past month has been stressful is an understatement. Not knowing if you will have a job or what your future holds is such an uncomfortable place to be in. I have had nightmares about writing my cover letter, interviews gone bad, and not getting the position. It all came to an end last Friday when I found out what my future in Iceland had in store.

I am now an official full time employee of Reykjavik University. Woo hoo!!!

I was so happy to get this great news Friday afternoon and I am pretty sure a smile hasn’t left my face since. This position is something I would have been thrilled to get in America so obtaining such a great position abroad is a double win for me. I feel like my life in Iceland is finally starting now and just knowing that I have a permanent job is a wonderful feeling.

My weekend was all about celebrating my big news and it couldn’t have been better. My celebration started off with an after work happy hour where the bar came to us. I really work at the best place! They brought in bartenders and turned the lunch room into a beach party, did I mention how great my workplace is!

Even though this work party has been planned for awhile I felt like it was my own personal celebration party. Everyone was coming up and congratulating me and I had a great time with my co-workers.

After our work party ended I headed home to tell H my news. I had kept him in the dark all day since I wanted to tell him in person in some fun way. Well this plan went out the window when I just blurted it out as soon as he walked through the door. I was just too excited to keep it to myself any longer! H and I spent the rest of the evening continuing my celebration at my favorite sushi restaurant.

The weather was beautiful this weekend in Reykjavik which just added to my joy. H and I spent most of Saturday walking around the city and taking in the beautiful views by the water.

Sunday was the warmest its been in Iceland my entire 5 months here so we spent the day outside enjoying the sunshine. My weekend ended on a beautiful note with this amazing sunset.
Today is my first day on the job and I am beyond exciting for this position and can’t wait to get started. Thank you all for your supportive comments along the way! Having this weight off my shoulders is amazing and I am already thinking of trips I want to start planning.

Happy Monday everyone. This is probably one of the few Monday’s that I am beyond excited to head into work!

Question of the Day?
Whats your favorite way to celebrate big news?

Friday Facts

March 28, 2014 by Kiki 53 Comments

This week has been a bit stressful but all that stress has been more than worth it and I have some big news to share with you all on Monday!

With my mind more than preoccupied at the moment today I am bringing you a post I wrote for the photoshop master Nicole. She added these facts into a cool US People inspired layout and is making my basic typed out list look bad. Facts are facts though!

1. I have a major coffee addiction, if I don’t have a cup a day I suffer from caffeine headaches

2. During high school and college I worked as a barista at the same coffee shop, also may have been a contributing factor to my current coffee addiction

3. My favorite color is purple, I even have a tattoo of a purple hibiscus flower I love it that much

4. I am the oldest of 5, my house was never quiet

5. My first flight alone I passed out in the airplane bathroom

6. I participated in 4-H for 8 years raising steers and the money I earned from 4-H helped pay for my first two years of college

7. I played the flute all through middle school but I could probably only remember a note or two

8. I can eat almond butter every day and never get sick of it

9. I can’t fall asleep if any of the dresser drawers or closet doors are cracked open

10. I am currently studying to become a certified personal trainer

11. I have never broken a bone

12. I am terrified of snakes, big or small they all freak me out

13. My first pet was a cat named Bee Bop, pretty sure this is the only cat I have ever liked

14. I can’t stand the taste of beer, I am a wino all the way

15. I have been to Hawaii 6 times and almost went to college there

16. My numbers need to be even on everything, odd numbers drive me mad

17. Mozzarella sticks and chocolate are my weakness

18. I turn a bright red when I am embarrassed, this does not help my embarrassment at all

19. My best friend and I have been friends for 18 years

20. I have ran two half marathons and one full marathon

21. Most nights I would rather hang out with my family then go out with friends

22. I take terrible care of my phones and once broke 3 phones in one month

23. I am determined to learn how to speak Icelandic

24. Growing up I wanted to be a lawyer, my career goals couldn’t be more different now

25. I love dressing up in costumes, theme parties are my favorite

And now you have a list of useless facts about me, enjoy!

Happy Friday everyone! We have sunshine on the forecast so I am doing my happy dance!

source

Question of the Day?
What are some mindblowing facts about you?

Stand Out & Be Proud

March 27, 2014 by Kiki 60 Comments

Sometimes Azora marches to the beat of her own drum!

I saw this quote the other day and it got me thinking about my current situation. I am living in a foreign country. I don’t speak the language fluently, I am new to the city and don’t fit in. Sure I have the Nordic features, blonde hair, pale skin, but as soon as I open my mouth it is clear that I am not from here.

Does that mean I don’t fit in?

For the most part I don’t feel like an outsider and feel quite comfortable in my surroundings. There is one thing though that makes me feel like I don’t fit in and that is the language barrier I face on a daily basis.

Recently I have been feeling myself getting overwhelmed again with the Icelandic language. When I was attending language classes I was getting much more comfortable with the language spoken around me. Now I can feel myself going back to old ways where I want to avoid things that will require me to be around Icelandic.

A recent example of my struggle with letting this language barrier make me feel like I don’t fit in was this past weekend. H and I were at Ikea in the check out line. The check out line is always hectic so as we were being rushed along I pulled out my new Icelandic bank card to use on the debit machine for the first time. I asked for H to help explain it to me and of course I couldn’t remember my pin number.

Feeling even more stressed now I panicked and turned to H. The cashier began speaking in Icelandic to H about my card and I felt myself just wanting to run and hide. Having others talk about you and you not know what is going on is such an uncomfortable feeling. H usually will speak English but I just wanted to be out of that check out line as fast as possible and for them to communicate quickly so I could get away from the stares (pretty sure no one was paying attention but I felt like they were).

After we got my card issue all sorted out and we were headed back home H asked me why those situations made me uncomfortable. It got me thinking, why do they make me uncomfortable? If I was back at home I would not have felt any stress in a situation like that. Was it just because of the language barrier?

Then I realized, it is the language barrier but it is more than just not understanding Icelandic. When I have to speak English I am worried of what others are thinking of me.

Before I open my mouth I blend in just fine. Once I start speaking English though I am worried that others are thinking I am disrespectful for living in their country and not speaking their language. Or I worry that they think I don’t belong here and that I will never fit it.

After voicing these concerns to H I began to realize this is a bit ridiculous of me. Most every one I have met in Iceland have been nothing but welcoming to me and are more than accommodating in speaking English to me. The majority of Icelanders speak excellent English and I appreciate their willingness to speak English to me. I know it is not their native language and I know what a struggle it can be to speak a foreign language, hence my current battle with Icelandic.

Back to the quote.

After all this was talked about I realized, sure I don’t fit exactly in since I am not from here and don’t speak the language yet, but is there anything wrong with this? I don’t think so. I think I am doing exactly the right thing.

The fact that I don’t fit in just means that I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone and giving myself daily challenges. While these challenges at times are beyond frustrating they are making me grow into a person I am proud of.

My goal for myself is to be just fine with not fitting in and own the fact that I am a foreigner living here in Iceland and that is just fine. No one is looking down on me and one day I will surprise myself and be able to work my way through the language barrier with ease. I guess I should get on with my other goal of studying more Icelandic to make this possible!

So if your feeling like you don’t quite fit in, whatever area of your life this may be, just think your exactly where you are suppose to be. And remember feeling uncomfortable means your challenging yourself and when your outside of your comfort zone that’s when the magic happens!

Now I need to remind myself of my own advice and embrace the uncomfortable feelings!

Question of the Day?
Do you ever feel like you don’t fit in? How do you handle it?

Linking up with Treasure Tromp and Her&Nicole

Playing Detective in Venice

March 26, 2014 by Kiki 53 Comments

When we were planning our trip to Italy the place I was most looking forward to was Venice. When we got off the train that first day H and I didn’t even care that it was 7 in the morning, we were so excited to finally be in Venice and were ready to start exploring.
Like how H shoes are tied to his backpack strap, we traveled classy.

On our ferry to our hostel I instantly fell in love with all the little canals we passed by, and the fact that we were taking a ferry (or boat not sure what to call them) to our hostel. Traveling by water is one of the best forms of transportation if you ask me!

We were staying on the other side of the canal so it was a bit of a pain traveling back and forth to the main part of Venice. We thought it would be a great budget friendly option but when you take into account the high costs of the ferry fees it didn’t really end up being that budget friendly. Just a tip to future travels to Venice be sure to know the location of your hostel and take into account the cost of traveling on the ferries.
Our side of the canal

Once we got to the other side we headed off in search of some food before we began exploring the city. We sat down at a restaurant right next to the water looking forward to some good Italian food. Instead we got one of the worst meals of our trip, rotten salad for me and some tiny portion of microwave pizza for H.

Venice redeemed itself with its charm and delicious gelato. Exploring the little streets and the beautiful canals was exactly how I pictured Venice. Just don’t take a picture with any of the Masquerade masks, they will charge you!
After hours of exploring those little streets and getting completely lost more times than we can count we were more than ready for dinner. As we were at the ATM though H realized he had left his debit card at one of the shops we went into when we very first started walking around the city. I am pretty sure Venice is the worst place to lose something with all those confusing streets!

As we were on week one of a four week trip finding this debit card was crucial so we began our detective work to retrace our steps of the day. I have no idea how we did it but somehow we managed to find the tiny corner shop and H found his card. I am pretty sure this was a travel miracle and I am so glad we paid attention to all those details in the tiny charming streets of Venice!

Our reward for some awesome detective work, a delicious meal with a beautiful view of the Venice canals.
After all that excitement we called it a night and headed back to our side of the canal. Our next day in Venice included a flood, churches, and my first taste of the disgusting Campari. Tune in next week for more Venice adventures and what I really thought about Venice by the end of our trip!

Question of the Day?
Have you ever lost something while traveling?

A Reason To Celebrate

Like this:

Friday Facts

Like this:

Stand Out & Be Proud

Like this:

Playing Detective in Venice

Like this:

Disclaimer

Recent Comments

Share this:

Like this:

You may also like:

Share this:

Like this:

You may also like:

Share this:

Like this:

You may also like:

Share this:

Like this:

You may also like:

Disclaimer

Recent Comments