missing iceland

Dear Soulmate,

I am sitting at my desk at my new office where I have begun my first week as an intern for the company’s communications and marketing department. Although my office lacks windows, I have received two bouquets from the company on behalf of my first week that seem to make my desk more cheerful.

It is interesting for me to sit here and write to you when I think about where I was last weekend. I am convinced that wherever you go, you take a part of that place with you on your journey.

Iceland is no exception.

I have found myself missing the evocative landscape, stormy skies, and of course the people. Though I was there for only a weekend I was able to take in every minute, every moment as if to call them each my own.

I find myself glowing everytime I have the opportunity to write or speak about Iceland. There is simply so much to say and not enough words to describe it.

I did meet a nice Icelander during my time there. We shared some drinks and talked and laughed for a few hours at a bar in downtown Reykjavik on Saturday night. The more we learned about one another’s lives, the more I had come to realize that everything happens as it should. In other words, you meet certain people at certain times, for certain reasons.

With this in mind, I am convinced that we will meet someday.

Love, R

i found myself in iceland

Dear Soulmate,

Just yesterday I returned to Boston after a weekend in Iceland. The experience was breathtaking and left me in awe. I am certain that even the best of writers would have difficulty arranging the words to describe it. 

Iceland is stoic in its beauty and its people are as friendly as they are protective of their heritage. The weather hovered in the 40s and the wind relentlessly swept in from the angry sea and across the weathered landscape. Snow capped mountains lingered on the otherwise barren horizon.

As a journalist I came armed with questions. I had also read Vanity Fair’s recent article of Iceland, in which I learned more about the collapse of Iceland’s economy. And the effects of such a crisis are difficult to wrap your mind around.

There are signs of a stagnant economy everywhere. Hundreds of cranes are halted across the landscape beside uncompleted buildings and houses. But this is only a glimpse of what curious anthrolpologsts from around the world are flying in to the country to witness.

And in the midst of all of this, from sharing drinks with locals at Reykjavik’s world famous bar Kaffibarinn, to having an intimate lunch with Iceland’s secretary of state, I found time to take in the unaltered beauty of the country.

Yesterday I walked along the gravel path and over the wooden bridge that arcs the murky blue water of the world reknowned Blue Lagoon spa. The remoteness and obscurity of the landscape was incredibly overwhelming and left me feeling like I had developed a more personal relationship with the
nature of the country.

And while there are t-shirts inscribed “Lost in Iceland” for sale at local souvenir shops, I could not help but feel as though I found a part of myself there. 

There was something competely fascinating and intriguing about this place. Although I was only there for a few days, it captured me. On the plane ride home I began drafting ideas for the kind of story I may pitch to the Boston Globe. In the midst of the world’s most extreme economic calamity, the press has failed to accurately explore the people… and their story is worthy of being justly told.

Love, R

leaving for reykjavik

Dear Soulmate,

I am off to Reykjavik tonight! I still have a short stack of clothes on my bed that need to be packed, and of course a library of books that I am contemplating bringing. I will most likely just end up bringing my favorite journal, as I always do.

I have learned that often times when you find yourself having to search for a good story to read, you are better off just writing one instead.

And so I am off. Possibly to see you,  who knows?

There’s a line in the movie “P.S. I Love You” that has followed me  since the first time I saw it. It seems to have stayed with me. And like most things that stay with you for a long time, you begin to call them your own.

And so this next passage, a voiceover from the film, has in a way become a part of me… a part of something that has helped me to move on.

And for the purpose of it having a similar affect on you, I will share it.

And of course, it is a letter.

“Dear Gerry,

You said you wanted me to fall in love again, and maybe one day I will. But there are all kinds of love out there. This is my one and only life, And it’s a great and terrible and short and endless thing, and none of us come out of it alive. I don’t have a plan… except, it’s time my mom laughed again. She has never seen the world… she has never seen Ireland. So, I’m taking her back where we started… Maybe now she’ll understand. I don’t know how you did it, but you brought me back from the dead. I’ll write to you again soon. P.S… Guess what?”

Love, R

P.S. i love you

taking off

Dear Soulmate,

I am writing to you tonight from my bedroom where I am sitting at my desk. It is the same desk that has followed me from house to house, through each transition. Although its white paint is chipping in places, it still remains furnished with wooden sailboats, a framed picture of my grandparents dancing at my parents wedding, and some coral, seashells, and starfish from my adventures at the beach.

On Thursday I will be going to Reykjavik, Iceland for a few days. I have never been before but I hear it is a fascinating place. My grandfather traveled there a few years before his death.

Following in his footsteps is an honor as much as it is an adventure.

And although I have never been terribly thrilled about flying, I feel that leaving the ground for awhile will give me some much needed perspective.

I sometimes feel like it is still September. Despite that the spring and early summer are my favorite times of the year, it feels different this year. And in keeping with change, a much needed foreign escape may be just the ticket.

I will report to you my adventures from Reykjavik.

However many miles I travel, I am convinced I am getting closer to you always.

Love, R