Humans of Iceland

​[Inspired in “Humans of New York” blog]

We believe in the interest of daily conversations and we are passionate about human stories and thoughts. That's why we have been collecting quotes and short stories from volunteers in Iceland. We have realised they have lots of amazing stories to share and interesting reflections on life, friendship, culture... And we invite you to discover them!

Weronika and Karolina (Poland) “We were in the same class in Kindergarten, primary school and high school. We are neighbours and our parents are friends. We both have sisters of the same age. We also used to spend our holidays together. Our friendship was a “must” because when you are a child you need someone who is similar and who you can speak with.”

“Now we study in different cities and rarely see each other. So we are happy to be here together.”

Madlen (Germany) “I’ve been away from home since I turned eighteen, it has been seven years. I’ve never been back. My grandparents raised me because my mother worked a lot, but I had a really nice childhood. Sometimes I feel bad about not sharing many moments with them because most of the time I’m far away. But I’m lucky I have these socks, they make me feel like home because my grandmother made them. Actually, I stole them from my mother (laughs).”

Seokwon (South Korea) “You guys don’t feel strange about talking to people from other culture and countries. I really kind of envy you. Do you know there’s a kind of private space? (laughs) At least for Asians. Because there’s literally no distance between you guys. You all have got very close in four days. If a bunch of Asians came here we wouldn’t have enough time to get close!”

Aga (Poland) “I wanted to find a challenge for myself and have some time for thinking. So I chose Iceland. Sometimes it’s hard to travel alone because you can’t talk to people or share with them your experiences like what you see and who you meet. But on the other hand, you have the possibility to meet the local people. This trip is more about people than places. I didn’t have a plan and I still haven’t got one.”

Evgeniya (Russia) “There are no words to explain how much I love my parents. They help me with everything. I don’t have brothers or sisters, so they really miss me now that I’m living in Moscow city because of my studies. They live in different houses because my mother works in the centre of Voronezh and it’s better for her to live there, while my father lives in the surroundings. They had a little dog who became their daughter, but about two months ago she died. It was awful for my mother because she is alone now. And I’m really sad about that.”

Luis and Daniel (Spain) “For me friendship is not about the number of years that we have known each other. I met this guy two months ago and I feel like he’s my real bro. In the first moment we connected, it was magical. We are in the same moment of our life: a moment of changes.”

“Maybe we don’t have to speak a lot, but we always know what the other is thinking. I remember when we were in a concert together and I just stopped to say “I’m happy to be here with you Luis”. I love our hangover mornings (hug each other).”

Emma (France) “I would never jump naked in the sea because it’s too cold and I’d feel very uncomfortable with all the volunteers there. I think some of the people here are crazy. For example, they’re planning on going camping in the nature and I don’t think I could do that. Oh, and party every night it’s also too much for me.”

Alyona (Russia) “I think I will have to go to rehab after this, it’s such an intense experience. But yesterday, around the campfire I realised that what I’m doing makes sense. It’s my first time as a camp leader in the teenage camp; we were kind of forced (laughs). I felt a little bit nervous about it, but now I’m very happy. We can learn a lot from teenagers, they get excited about everything. Unfortunately, the older you get, the more experience you have, you create some filters through which you see the world. When you communicate with younger people, they are more innocent and excited about things.”

Hazal (Turkey) “My grandparents from Iran met my father during a trip to Istanbul and both families started sending letters to each other. Some years later, my father went to Iran and finally met my mother. The volcano exploded (laughs), they got married two years later and moved to Turkey. Until then, everything was ok, but after the wedding both families started to hate each other. My father was poor, but for my mother being with him was enough, she was powerful. Four years ago my mother got cancer and her parents blame my father and his family for that. When I was a child I thought they were going to get a divorce, but they didn’t because they are strong and love each other. I’m proud!”

Andrea (Italy) “I like talking to everyone; I don’t care about religion, nationality... (stops to take a picture). My purpose is to learn all the languages in the world. After that, there would be no reason for anyone to tell me “I don’t understand you”. Sometimes people just say that because their mind is closed. People will try to stop you, but believe me, if a person tells you “don’t do this” it’s only because he or she can’t do it. [...] We are in this world not to make war, but to exchange the best that we have. Maybe I’m wrong but honestly I don’t see any difference between me and a monkey or a fish. That’s why I don’t believe in God, I believe in nature.”

Fernando (Spain) “World Youth Day is an event for young people around the world. It’s organized every two years by the Catholic Church. Millions of people take part in them, it’s a huge event. I went to the 2011 one in Madrid as a volunteer, and it really changed me. There, I met different people and discovered many cultures, nationalities and ways of living religion and faith. Before going to the WYD I was more sceptical, it really opened my mind. I returned home thinking it had been the best experience of my life. I was really moved when I saw the Pope from two meters away, during the mass they organised for volunteers. It started to rain heavily but the Pope Ratzinger decided to stay until the ceremony ended.”

Francesco (Italy) “That was a really stupid idea. I started to climb that waterfall and when it was too late I realised I couldn’t do it. Stones were falling to Clara’s and Fernando’s heads while I climbed, and the wall was too wet and steep to continue. The first thing that I thought when I arrived to the top was “I’m alive, but Clara is trying to climb!” so I turned to warn her: “Clara don’t do this please, trust me, don’t climb!”. But they both tried, so they threw their hiking sticks to me and almost hit me. Seokwon was there too, but he almost fell to the water so he quit. Luckily, in some moments you find a way to manage the situation thanks to adrenaline. We are heroes, real adventurers.”

Andrea (Spain) “I saw on the Internet that buses in Iceland are expensive, while hitch hiking is common. So even though that’s weird in Spain, Fernando and I decided to give it a try. I thought it would be easier, but we had to wait an hour and a half the first day, so I was a little bit disappointed. The advantages of doing this is the money you save and the attitude you adopt thanks to it. You never know what are you going to do next, where are you going to sleep. You have to be very patient, wait and enjoy the moment. You can meet very nice people who can explain to you their stories or help you with interesting tips about Iceland. It’s actually relaxing, I love it.”

Gemma and Clara (Spain) “We had just met and we went shopping for this trip. It was weird. Clara suggested buying chicken in cans: I thought she was crazy.”

“It was difficult for us to find the White House hostel but we finally arrived there at 3am. We had to sleep in the garage with the bikes (laughs). I think our adventures together as “strangers” have made our friendship stronger really quickly, and that’s awesome!”

“I think that Clara is the best companion I could have for this adventure in Iceland because we kind of complement each other.”

Thanks for reading!

Gemma Solé and Clara Bara