From Volcanoes to Reducing Food Waste – Part 2

What did you do in your free time?

Looots of things, I never get bored. Especially not this time, since I was carrying out research and writing my bachelor’s thesis. It was all veeery interesting (some would say tedious). I would write until four o’clock in the morning and then start work at eight. I had lots of unexpected adventures. From hitchhiking, going for walks with my new friends and visiting a farm of my Icelandic friend in the south, underneath the largest glaciers, to visiting friends and spontaneous trips to area I would never have reached otherwise. I drove a jeep for the first time! And learned how to cross a river by car. As already mentioned, I also helped out at free food markets. We went dancing in the clubs a few times when those were still open (by the way, Reykjavik is a real party city – if you go out for a walk in the evening, the streets were booming with the music coming from the clubs, which lined up one after another). I also cycled and swam in the ocean (at ten degrees), which was my favourite activity! I picked blueberries, learned Icelandic, networked and learned about the culture through my Icelandic friends.

The first time I visited a pool was after two months. Which was a mistake! I should’ve gone the first day! But I did go to the pool three times a day after that. Plus, I had a free ticket and the nearest pool was basically my neighbour. I often met with my dear Svava, my external mentor. An Icelandic musician who speaks Slovenian. We had lunch together, I met her family and she gifted me two tickets to a symphonic orchestra concert.

Describe an adventure that is particularly memorable to you.

I went to a volcano the very first week, right after a five-day quarantine. I found a local literally an hour after my “release” who said he was going for a hike and I could come with him. I took a taxi to my new home, left everything in my room, quickly ate up my welcome lunch and there he was, waiting for me at the entrance. Finally, some exercise and hiking after the quarantine! I did all that again one evening, alone, a few days later. There was no one around. I was there for over an hour, I think, and felt the power of the volcano (all of this is described in one of my articles). And I experienced everything, from the sun and wind to the rain and snow, in five minutes. The real Icelandic weather. When I turned around, I saw and heard the volcano erupting and the rain falling down on liquid lava. A rainbow and a sunset flared up above all this. It’s something I’ll never forget.

Iceland is a wonderful country. Where did you travel to in your free time?

My first completely unexpected trip was the one to Seyðisfjörður. It was Þóra who first took me there and it was the hostel manager who introduced me to her. Þóra needed some company on her way from Reykjavik to Seyðisfjörður in the eastern fjords. On the day of departure, I came to the hostel’s reception carrying a small backpack, but was soon sent back. They told me I needed a larger backpack and a swimsuit. I heard there were hills there, so I also took my hiking shoes. I thought I was going to stay there over the weekend, but I ended up staying for ten days. You can read more about my adventures in that place in my article. But the story about my way back was even crazier. I asked a guest at the hostel in Seyðisfjörður if he was by any chance going to Akureyri and he told me he was, so I joined him. And so, we set off with a Toyota Yaris equipped with summer tyres. We hadn’t been driving for long when it started to snow, and then it got even worse and windy at the high mountain pass. We also went on a trip to the majestic Dettifoss waterfall. My driver, an American, didn’t want to walk for eight minutes to get to the waterfall, but I told him why not walk for eight more minutes, since we came that far. And we walked. We were covered in snow, but got a wonderful experience, after which we got back in the car and drove off. In Akureyri, I contacted a guest who left Seyðisfjörður the day before, and he came and picked me up in the morning, and then we went to Reykjavik together. I made a whole circle around Iceland in the first month.

You really experienced a lot. Now I’m curious, what have you learned from all this?

I could divide the main lessons I’ve learned into multiple groups. But the main three are: personal growth, sustainability in tourism and communication on various levels in life (from business to personal level). I realised it’s not simple to maintain sustainable tourism at a certain level, but perseverance pays off. Especially when I saw the faces of the guests with whom I talked and among whom I was raising awareness, the faces at events and the realisation of the people about how important the circulation of clothes is. I realised people seem to quickly become aware of the problems once you face them with an issue. They want to find a solution and have a more sustainable lifestyle, which is quite a challenge in the modern times, what with all the consumerism pressure. Especially for someone in whom you’re barely able to ignite the spark of awareness. Communicating scientific findings and eye opening through awareness raising are extremely important! And it’s much easier to show that to people through tourism. Despite having worked on large projects and research before, I learned even more about the awareness in various cultures here in practice, as I’ve already mentioned. And I also got many ideas for projects, innovative solutions and raising awareness.

Another aspect was seeing the deeper and broader meaning of communication. Especially when working with an international team and when working with people from various world cultures, from the USA, Japan and Australia to India and Europe... Then there’s communication in the hostel team, communication with customers, communication with external stakeholders, communication through promotion and social networks as well as through bulletin boards, designated recycling spots... I also realised how important networking and connecting various sustainable projects are. Each area needs special attention and a specific approach. I really mastered my skills, but of course I also have a whole life ahead for improvement. Every situation has led me to learn to go with the flow and stop expecting things. Expecting something, especially during the pandemic, can be quite “painful”. I learned how to be prepared for never knowing what the new day will bring and that I need to make do with the current situation and make something positive out of it.

What have you learned about yourself?

There was only a 14-day difference between my project application and the arrival in Iceland. I suddenly flew out of my comfort zone. And that was a huge thing in itself. I went out into the wide world all by myself, just like that. I learned that it’s important to listen to yourself and what you feel, and then act on it. Even when it’s hard. That’s when we know why we’re doing what we’re doing, and it makes it easier to go through such stages. Because you really follow what could sometimes be called your mission. Despite the pandemic, you can travel to the other side of the world with some testing and certificates. Regardless of the situation in the world and the chaos, it’s easy to find happiness and genuine hearty laugh because it originates from within. This is when I finally decided to always listen to myself, to my inner voice, my heart and the guidance coming from my intuition, which is something we often forget about in this modern world. I learned to stand firmly by my beliefs. Alcohol is one such example, and there’s a lot of it here. But I was strong and didn’t start drinking, despite the many attempts at trying to convince me otherwise. Despite many who said: “Oh yeah, we’ll teach you how to drink.” Despite being the only sober person at each party and beach bonfire, and despite not having to pay not even a cent for alcohol because I was constantly being offered it (alcohol is extremely expensive in Iceland and the prices are much higher than the ones in Slovenia, plus you can’t buy it in normal shops, only in special alcohol-selling ones). I learned to be what I am and stand by my own values. I connected with nature, the ocean and the planet’s elements even more. But there were also lots of things I did for the first time, such as swimming in the ocean whose water had four degrees, spending time in sauna on the coast of a fjord, driving many kilometres, changing eight different cars (I used to drive only family cars before), driving on an icy road, seeing a volcano, touching a glacier and visiting glacier caves, going on a road trip alone and renting a car for ten days, getting my first job (after volunteering), crossing a river with a super jeep... You can read more about it in my articles!

Would you recommend applying as a volunteer abroad to others?

Yes, definitely, it’s an unforgettable experience. And one of a kind, too. It brings you so much knowledge and makes for a great leap of thought. But it’s true that you have to pick the project that calls to you. The project you really feel and one you know you’ll be working on with your heart and with joy. The quick decision I made maybe isn’t for everyone, so it’s probably best for the majority if they read all about it first to decide whether it’s what they want.

I say, whatever it is, if you really want it and feel it... go! Live the precious life that has been given to you the way you want it! Everyone lives their own life and everyone can make their own dreams come true!