Whether I'm trying my best to not fall off an Icelandic glacier, or standing in an ice-cold stream in Austria, or watching a lioness snack on a zebra on the African plains, or (more often) just sitting at my desk overhearing 16-year-old girl gossip, every day's a holly-day for me.

Friday, June 6, 2014

You're Going to Iceland?? WHY?

That's the question I've been asked most since I first started telling people I am going to Iceland for two weeks. Of course, a few people have responded with "awesome!" or "that's so cool...that's where Game of Thrones is filmed!," but for the most part, I get quizzical looks when I tell people where I'm going.

Honestly, when my friend/travel partner/co-teacher Cathy Bottoms asked me way back in September if I'd like to go to Iceland, my initial response was probably also a quizzical look. Within 10-15 seconds, however, I heard myself saying, "SURE!" I then immediately began wondering how I was going to stay warm. I love mountains and snow, but I mostly like seeing them through a window while I'm sitting by a fireplace, under a blanket, preferably drinking something that warms me from the inside out. Instead, for at least two nights of the trip, I will be looking at mountains and snow from the plastic window of a tent. On the ground. In a sleeping bag.  I guess the saving grace is that we'll have only four hours of darkness each night, so it will only be in the 30s or 40s instead of the 20s. Luckily, I'm only sleeping outside two out of 14 nights, so I think I can manage. I slept outside and didn't shower for a WEEK in Africa...this should be a piece of (very cold) cake!

Of course, I've spent more money preparing for this trip than the actual trip costs (not really...but close), but you can be sure, I'm going to be warm! Layers, layers and more layers are the theme of the trip. I will be traveling with Cathy, 16 photography students, two National Geographic Leaders, and a Nat Geo photographer. We will be gone two weeks and will cover the entire county of Iceland, which is only as big as Kentucky.

I've started packing, and of course, as is always the case, I have way too much stuff. I'll be paring down my packing list this weekend, praying that I can somehow survive two weeks of trekking around Iceland with only 50 pounds of stuff.

Wish me luck and please pray for unusually warm temps in Iceland for the next two weeks! Stay tuned.

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