You have captured the spirit of living in Iceland. I would add that many of us are woefully unprepared for the many dangers of our country. Even so, the mindset of "Þetta reddast" is part of the common consciousness.
Being cool under pressure is, I believe, a trait that is part of our DNA. I have worked with people from across the world. There is no place where it is as common to find as many cool cats when everyone's hair is on fire.
Yeah I think there's an interesting contrast between the perhaps "irrational confidence" and then the cautiousness in the back of the mind.
I struggled to grasp this a bit actually. I remember every Icelandic person would always give me stern warnings about the weather and the dangers of hiking, camping, etc, but then also be willing to take on a fair bit of risk in similar activities?
Overall I think a bit of the detachment is necessary to be able to get through life. If you think about the dangers of volcanoes day-to-day you'll just be paralized. But ultimately I think there's a combination between a general awareness in the public mind that crisis might hit at any time combined with people in high places actually acting upon that to make it ok for a good chunk of the population to just be "detached".
Does this sort of make sense you think? I'm kind of reflecting as I go along.
Very well written! "We'll take care of it" is a great motto. Just yesterday I was having a discussion with a friend about the sorry state of politics in my country. As someone who hasn't lived there for 2 years now, I have come to see things from a more nuanced perspective -- and it somehow makes me hopeful about our future. Not because things will be taken care of, but because we will end up doing something about it. Bravo!
The phrase "heroic effort of the Heimaey evacuation in 1973, where an entire island was evacuated in just a few hours" is somewhat misleading because not all of Iceland was evacuated, but only one small island (population 5,300 people) https:/ /en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Eldfell#Evacuation
I thought this was clear because I said "an island" rather than "the island" (which would imply Iceland), and also because I mentioned it was Heimaey which was evacuated, which irrespective of if you know what Heimaey is, should provide context to distinguish from Iceland.
Independent People, by Haldor Laxness. Won the Nobel Prize for literature in the 50’s sometime. Shows how they got there. Excellent read.
Have another book by him laying in my bookshelf at the moment. Probably should pick it up!
You have captured the spirit of living in Iceland. I would add that many of us are woefully unprepared for the many dangers of our country. Even so, the mindset of "Þetta reddast" is part of the common consciousness.
Being cool under pressure is, I believe, a trait that is part of our DNA. I have worked with people from across the world. There is no place where it is as common to find as many cool cats when everyone's hair is on fire.
Yeah I think there's an interesting contrast between the perhaps "irrational confidence" and then the cautiousness in the back of the mind.
I struggled to grasp this a bit actually. I remember every Icelandic person would always give me stern warnings about the weather and the dangers of hiking, camping, etc, but then also be willing to take on a fair bit of risk in similar activities?
Overall I think a bit of the detachment is necessary to be able to get through life. If you think about the dangers of volcanoes day-to-day you'll just be paralized. But ultimately I think there's a combination between a general awareness in the public mind that crisis might hit at any time combined with people in high places actually acting upon that to make it ok for a good chunk of the population to just be "detached".
Does this sort of make sense you think? I'm kind of reflecting as I go along.
Very well written! "We'll take care of it" is a great motto. Just yesterday I was having a discussion with a friend about the sorry state of politics in my country. As someone who hasn't lived there for 2 years now, I have come to see things from a more nuanced perspective -- and it somehow makes me hopeful about our future. Not because things will be taken care of, but because we will end up doing something about it. Bravo!
Thank you!
Glad you've got some hope. I've actually had a similar experience recently since moving back to Brazil after 10 years.
The phrase "heroic effort of the Heimaey evacuation in 1973, where an entire island was evacuated in just a few hours" is somewhat misleading because not all of Iceland was evacuated, but only one small island (population 5,300 people) https:/ /en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Eldfell#Evacuation
Thanks for the feedback!
I thought this was clear because I said "an island" rather than "the island" (which would imply Iceland), and also because I mentioned it was Heimaey which was evacuated, which irrespective of if you know what Heimaey is, should provide context to distinguish from Iceland.
Could potentially be made more clear though.
It's was not clear for me (I am not english native). I assume that Heimaey is a name of the vulcano not a city on some small island.
Makes sense! Thanks for letting me know - let me see how I could reword this.