Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss
This is one of those fish out of
water travel stories which I really enjoy.
I especially enjoyed this one because it’s set in, if you’ve been
reading this blog this shouldn’t be a surprise – Iceland. The author takes a year-long academic
position at an Icelandic University and moves herself, her husband and two
young boys to the capital from Great Britain.
She happens to have the strange fortune of being there when
Eyjafjallajokull erupts. (Remember when
all those flights were delayed to Europe because of the pesky volcano in
Iceland? This is the volcano.)
I learned all sorts of things that a
casual tourist wouldn’t know. Icelanders
park their prams outside restaurants and shops (with baby sleeping inside)
during the summer because the weather is nice and who would take a child? Saturdays are half price sweets day at the
supermarkets. (All those with a sweet
tooth take note!) It is considered rude
to strike up a conversation with a random stranger on line or waiting for a
bus; they are a very private people. And
the one that tripped up the author most, there are no secondhand shops in
Iceland. This has changed a little with
the kreppa (the economic collapse) but there is a real stigma with purchasing
secondhand appliances and clothes.
Getting a washing machine and other large necessary items proved to be a
challenge, as was getting an apartment since only ten percent of the population
rent.
