Our series of why our readers love Iceland continues with this entry from Amy Beaulisch:
Finding reasons why I love Iceland is difficult, because everything hangs so much together. Most people come to Iceland as tourists. Some of them move here. I came to Iceland as an AFS exchange student and kind of moved here… but not 100%.
Iceland for me… Home. It means growing up. It means becoming an adult. I moved here as an exchange student. It’s a big step, though it looks small now. I arrived here as an 18 year old teenager. Stuck in what society wanted. Being brain-dead. But 10 months later I moved back to Belgium as a young woman. With an active mind. With a new view on things. The idea that not all hope his lost. That the world is beautiful. I looked with new eyes to the Belgian society and didn’t like it. So the moment I got the chance to move back to Iceland for a scholarship/internship. I didn’t hesitate one moment. And where I became a total different person during my exchange year. I had to become an adult now. Living alone, running your household, going to work and school (which are basically the same). Iceland taught and showed me the values in life.
Vestamannaeyjar – Westman Islands. Photo: Amy Beaulisch
Iceland showed me what it is to love. What a family is. What school is. What it is to be successful in your life. What it is to miss something and not being able to go to it because there are 2000 km in-between.
Iceland calms me down and makes me happy. I can watch the mountains around Reykjavík for hours. I can go crazy in the new lava in Vestmannaeyjar and ending with sitting on one of the bigger rocks, watching over the sea. I had the chance to drive the ring road and fall in love with every aspect of Iceland. The people, the mentality, the country itself. I’ve met the most awesome people here in Iceland. People who will be friends for life. Life here is simple (not totally but better then in Belgium). People are less stressed and are more connected to nature.
It is hard to put the feeling on paper. Because there are so many personal memories. Typical things that might be right for Vestmannaeyjar, but maybe not for Reykjavik. But see it like this: If I could take up Iceland and give it a huge hug, I’d do it. Because Iceland gave me so much and means so much to me.
Amy Beaulisch
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