Words by

Valur Grettisson

We at the Grapevine have often covered the difficulties of immigrating to Iceland, but we have never asked the children how they feel. We, therefore, decided to join up in association with the wonderful parents, teachers, and children of Landakotsskóli and ask them what they thought about moving to Iceland. How is it for them to grow up in this cold island paradise?

Landakotsskóli’s International A Group is made of children from the 2nd and 3rd grade. They come from all over the world, ranging from the USA and South America to India and a wide range of European countries. Some of the children have spoken English all their lives, but for many, it is a second or even third language.

The kids are:

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India)
Thomas (3rd grade, from UK)
James (3rd grade, from USA)
Emilien (3 rd grade, from Belgium)
Celine (3rd grade, from Germany)
Perla (3rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela)
Korallia (2nd grade, from Greece and Sweden)
Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic)
Henning (2nd grade, from USA)
Dylan (2nd grade, from USA)
Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA)
Sana (2nd grade, from India)
Adam (2nd grade, from Ukraine and Iceland
Basheer (2nd grade, from India).

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India)

1. What do you like the most about Icelandic nature?

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium): Everything except waterfalls.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): I like the Northern Lights because they are pretty

Spoorthi (3 rd grade, from India): I like the snow in Iceland because I saw snow for the first time in Iceland and I feel happy about it so I like snow.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA): I like the mountain Esja because I and my family go there to play and I have a friend called Esja.

James (3rd grade, from USA): Geysir, it’s so cool when it erupts.

Perla (3rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela): I love to go fishing because I go fishing with my dad a lot.

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I love everything because it’s so beautiful.

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): I love the Aurora Borealis because it’s beautiful.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I like the cool breeze because it cools me down.

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK)

2. What is it that you don’t like?

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium): Waterfalls of course.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): I don’t like mountains, they are just there, and they don’t do anything.

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India): I hate volcanoes in Iceland, especially because they are very dangerous when they erupt and they might hurt and destroy people’s houses so I hate them!

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK): Nothing, Iceland is great!

James (3rd grade, from USA): Flash floods, they are so dangerous

Perla (3 rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela): I don’t love the sand because it makes my feet itch!

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): Nothing, I like everything!

Henning (2nd grade, from USA): I don’t like it when hot lava falls, you can’t even get close to it.

James (3rd grade, from USA)

3. Have you ever bathed in a geothermal hot pool? How was it?

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium): Yes I have but they were a little too hot for me so I got out of it and played with my sister around it instead.

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): I went to the Blue Lagoon because my mum wanted to try it out. I liked it because it was warm and you could chase the cold currents.

James (3rd grade, from USA): Yes, it was fun, better than a swimming pool

Perla (3rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela): I went to the Blue Lagoon and it was really fun because you get a face mask and a drink in the pool

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I loved it, it was so fun.

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium)

4. Do you like swimming pools? Why do you like them?

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): Yes, I love then, they’re so warm and it’s good to go inside them when it’s cold. It’s
like being in bed, but I don’t like being freezing when you come out!

James (3rd grade, from USA): Yes, some have very fun slides and you can also play games.

Henning (2nd grade, from USA): I hate swimming, it’s too cold when you get out and you freeze to death.

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India): I like swimming the most because I like water and it’s so fun. We can do many types of swimming too and sit in the hot tubs when it’s cold.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): I like going to pools because they’re fun, that’s all!

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA): Yes, because they are warm when it’s cold outside.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I like them because it is fun.

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany)

5. How about skiing?

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I love skiing and being in the snow.

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium): I fell a lot but it was alright and I liked it because I like snow.

Perla (3rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela)

6. Is snow fun?

Henning (2nd grade, from USA): I do not like snow because it’s too cold and it is boring, just like frozen water.

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India): I love snow mostly kids love snow and I am a kid so I love snow. We can also make snowmen, snow castles and many other things.

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK): Yes, I love it and I also like snowball fights.

James (3rd grade, from USA): Yes, it’s so soft and fluffy and fun to make very big snowballs.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): Snow is fun, we can build snowmen and play snowball fights, we can also make snow
angels.

Korallia (2nd grade, from Greece and Sweden)

7. How do you find the wind and coldness?

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): Fun, because one time I almost flew and one time I could lean back into the wind
without falling down.

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India): I actually don’t like it when it’s windy and cold and I feel like every part of my body is freezing. Because of the wind, I might fall down and get hurt.

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I think it’s fun outside when it’s cold but it’s also sometimes too cold to go outside

Sana (2nd grade, from India): Sometimes it’s very cold when I go outside for recess, I don’t like it.

James (3rd grade, from USA): I think it’s totally boring when it’s cold but there’s no snow. There’s nothing to do except freezing to death.

Perla (3rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela): I like when it blows you away.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic)

8. What’s the best food you have eaten in Iceland?

Korallia (2nd grade, from Greece and Sweden): If I had to choose what’s my favourite food in Iceland it would be a fish, because fish come from the sea and I like the sea.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I like the fish because it is tasty.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA): Ysa because it’s very tasty and I can eat it with melted butter.

James (3rd grade, from USA): Dried seaweed because it is crumbly, delicious and tasty and it can be made into sushi.

Photo by Art Bicnick

9. What’s your favourite restaurant and why?

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): It’s called Bioborgari and I like it because I love burgers.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I like the Gandhi restaurant because there is food from India and I was born in India.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): Iceland Fries, it has robots and they make the food you order from tablets. I love it because no other restaurants have that.

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA)

10. Any restaurants or food in Iceland you don’t like? And why don’t you like it?

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I don’t like beef because I don’t eat it.

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium): I don’t like shark, I mean I really, really, really don’t like shark, its taste is so strong I can barely put it in my mouth, that’s why I don’t like it.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA): I don’t like eggs because they’re slimy.

James (3rd grade, from USA): Shark, it’s just disgusting.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA)

11. What’s your favourite animal in Iceland and why?

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I like whales because they can go underwater and I wish I could breathe underwater and see them

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): My favourite animal is the arctic fox because it’s cool and can blend into the snow

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India): My favourite animal is a sheep, I also liked them in India, I missed the sheep when I came here but after a few days I saw there were sheep here too and they were cuter than Indian sheep so now I only love Icelandic sheep.

Korallia (2nd grade, from Greece and Sweden): My favourite animal in Iceland is a cat because cats are adorable and I have one.

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK): A mink because I’ve seen one before at the harbour and they have red eyes.

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I love horses because I think they’re really fun to ride.

Henning (2nd grade, from USA): I love puffins, they have cute beaks, carry lots of fish and are adorable! Most
adorable birds ever!

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): Ducks, they have cute beaks and go quack.

Sana (2nd grade, from India)

12. If you could rule Iceland for a day, what would you do?

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK): I would ban fish and replace it with chicken nuggets.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I would help everyone and be kind to them.

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium): I would ban waterfalls

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I would make aeroplanes and cars that didn’t pollute the world.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): I would make banks illegal so I would get all the money and be rich, rich, rich! I would give some money to poor people.

13. If you had to live somewhere else than in Reykjavík, but you still had to live in Iceland, where would you like to live?

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): Akureyri, because one time when I went there there was a snowstorm and it was
cool.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): Westman Islands because there’s a speedboat and I love it!

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK): Near a volcano crater because when it erupts over water.

James (3rd grade, from USA): I would live in Akureyri because my favourite waterslide is there and it’s fun and I really really like it when you go around a lot of times and then through the hole in the middle.

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): Akureyri, I love the skiing places near there and I love the pool too.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic): In a volcano city, it would never erupt so I could live there forever.

Henning (2nd grade, from USA): I want to live in a geyser to watch it shoot out hot water and ride the geyser.

14. What do you think about the darkness over the winter?

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): I love it, it’s so cool and you can see every star.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA): I like the dark so I can use my flashlight

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I like it when the sky is dark because that’s when we can see the Northern Lights.

James (3rd grade, from USA): I don’t like the dark because when it’s so dark we can’t see anything and it can be very cold when it’s dark. But it is cool when you can see constellations or the Northern Lights

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India): I actually don’t like the dark because if it is dark you cannot see anything and you might hit something

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I think it’s beautiful and I love to see the stars.

Henning (2nd grade, from USA): I love the darkness, it’s so dark and mysterious.

15. What do you think about the brightness over the summer?

(and 16 Is it hard to go sleep while the sun is still up in the evening?)

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany): I think it’s ok but it’s very bright when you sleep so I think when you’re trying to sleep it’s quite annoying.

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA): I like it because you never have to go to bed.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA): I like it in the mornings because it’s easy to get out of bed and I’m very afraid of the
dark because there are monsters.

Sana (2nd grade, from India): I don’t like it because it’s hard to sleep because the sun is too bright and my little baby sister might cry when it’s light.

Any other thoughts?

About volcanoes

James (3rd grade, from USA)

Volcanoes are mountains that sometimes have lava flowing out of them. But only sometimes, some people think volcanoes are scary BUT I think they are so interesting because lava is molten rock. I think it might be hotter than 400° Fahrenheit. I think you should go to the Lava Show, they show you lava and they make their own lava by melting rock. You should not go whale watching, it’s so boring!

Cave Exploring

You should come to Iceland to go into a lava tube. They are so cool, you get to wear hard hats with a light on them. There are some caves that you can only do if you’re an adult. So if you come to Iceland, make sure you go to a lava tube.

Emilien (3rd grade, from Belgium)

Everyone thinks waterfalls are awesome and people travel from miles away to see waterfalls in Iceland. I think they’re boring I hate them because it’s just water falling without ever stopping. The biggest waterfall is the only one that’s fun for me, so if you want to go to a waterfall, choose Dettifoss. Instead of looking at boring waterfalls, you should go to FlyOver Iceland. It’s really fun, sometimes on the ride it really feels like you’re flying but the only problem is that sometimes it’s a little boring.

Everything except waterfalls as you may have read in my other article about stupid waterfalls, as you might know, I really don’t like waterfalls.

Sana (2nd grade, from India)

Fly Over Iceland

You should visit Fly Over Iceland, it’s a place I love to go because it’s fun. We can see what Iceland looks like. It’s in Reykjavik. When I went there it felt like I was flying! At the same time, you can visit FlyOver Canada. It is also fun!

Adam (2nd grade, from Ukraine and Iceland)

Ice Skating

Ice-skating is fun to do, it’s the best thing you can do in Iceland, I love it. You can go to an outdoor ice-skating place with your family. Your mum can push your little brother or sister on a penguin. Ice skating is a little cold, so you need to wear something to keep you warm.

Henry (2nd grade, from UK and Czech Republic)

Perlan

You should visit the planetarium in Perlan because it tells you about the Northern Lights and planets. My favourite planet is Earth because I live here and so do my friends!

Thomas (3rd grade, from UK)

I like the planetarium and the ice cave, it’s a great place to be. The ice cave is freezing and you are trapped in an ice maze. There is an illusion and a throne made of ice as you walk through.

Dylan (2nd grade, from USA)

About Saga Museum

People think that the Saga museum is interesting, but I think that it is terrifying because there are statues with Viking ears coming off and people dying. I would not go there again, I think you should go to a different museum but it is good if you like horror!

Volcanoes

I hate volcanoes and I think they are terrifying because they can erupt and you might think they are just mountains so it would take you by surprise!

Henning (2nd grade, from USA)

Puffins are birds with big beaks that are super cute. I have never seen one because they only come in spring and summer and they’re really hard to find. They lay eggs in spring. I would like to see one, so I want to go to the Westman Islands. I have seen some birds since I came to Iceland, including ravens and I want to learn the names of more.

Spoorthi (3rd grade, from India)

Christmas in Iceland is kind of different, let me tell you! The Christmas Cat is the ugly and humungous cat which lives in the mountains. It eats children if they don’t get new clothes during Christmas, especially the poor children because they don’t have money to buy new clothes so please help them. The Christmas Lads. They are funny and horrible lads which give us tiny gifts and the names of the 13 lads are things like Stekkjarstaur and Giljagaur. They also have parents, their names are Grýla and Leppaluði.

Astrid (2nd grade, from Iceland and USA)

My favourite thing about Christmas is that it snows and you can build a snowman. I love when the Yule Lads come and my favourite Yule Lad is Door Slammer.

Volcanoes

Volcanoes are cool and you can go into them but don’t go in while they are erupting!

Perla (3rd grade, from Iceland and Venezuela)

Winter in Iceland

Winter in Iceland is cold and really fun because it has SNOW! I recommend going to Iceland in the winter, but you have to bring snow pants and a snow jacket! You can make a snowman and you can have a snowball fight. To have a snowball fight you have to make a ball out of snow and to make a snowman you have to roll three balls out of snow, one big, one medium and one little.

Celine (3rd grade, from Germany)

Fly Over Iceland

Fly Over Iceland is where you can see over Iceland and I think it is very fun. It is 3D and I think they made it very good. It looks like it’s real. I went with my class and almost everybody liked it but some thought it was scary.

Horses

I love horses. I have a horse, and it is very fun to ride, it is really fun to ride in the snow. The first time I rode a horse it was an Icelandic horse.

Basheer (2nd grade, from India)

Fly Over Iceland

Fly Over Iceland is the best place, some parts are boring and some parts are really scary. People think they are flying for real! They also scream you should visit it!

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