ICELAND!

These are some of the thoughts that occurred to me when trudging through Iceland at 8:00 this morning:

1. Where am I? 

2. WHO am I?

3. Why did I decide to come here? 4. How can I be in both suburbia and a tundra at the same time? 

5. Is this REALLY the city center? 

6. Is it possible to literally be BLOWN into a snowbank? 

7. I THINK IT MIGHT BE!

8. Leggings and cowboy boots were a bad choice. 

9. If/when I AM blown into a snowbank, will it ever be light enough so that anyone will notice?

10. WHERE AM I??!

11. I probably shouldn't walk alone through this park in pitch darkness. 

12. You idiot, NO ONE is hanging out in a park in ICELAND in snow drifts and 20 degree weather, no matter how creepy they are! 

13. GOOD GOD, MY FACE IS FREEZING OFF. 

And so on, and so forth.

Here's some pictures of your fearless heroine and the progression of her journey from the bus station on the outskirts of town to... REJOICE! The city center. 

Post-coffee and sandwich rejuvenation.

There IS a town, and an awesome one at that!

It's OFFICIAL!!

The name of this blog is now legitimate because after 3 years on the ground, I am finally wandering again! I told myself I wouldn't travel until I finished college, and would focus on my internal journey instead. Which turned out to be one hell of a ride on its own! But anyhoo, the yearning and simultaneous fear of travel has been building and building, to the point where I was having dreams about planes by night, and moments of panic by day... even though I used to fly so frequently, it now suddenly seemed inconceivable. 

The only way I got through my last flight from California to home was thanks to my dear friend "Barbara," who took me to a bar beforehand, and dropped me off at the terminal many black Russians later. I vaguely remember staggering on board and making instant friends with the people sitting on either side of me, a thirty-something women and middle-aged man. The latter was consoling me by comparing turbulence to the waves on an ocean as I drifted off to sleep on the former's shoulder. Best flight ever! 

So tonight, I tried to re-connect with that emotion, chanting mantras of safety and smoothness to drown out the chatter of anxiety. "The Proposal" and a mini-bottle of vodka helped as well, and before I knew it, we were touching down in the darkness of Iceland! I am now sitting happily and sleep deprivatedly in an internet cafe watching the sun come up, and how I got here was an adventure all on its own. To wandering!

A Female Fauve!

Behold: The work of Emilie Charmy, an artist whose work I came across when reading Women Artists and the Parisian Avant-Garde. Exciting! This is probably the closest I've ever come to wanting to go on to graduate school in art history- to write a thesis about a little known artist and in doing so, bring knowledge about them into the world. Check out this website to see what knowledge there already is, as well as more of her work. 

So, as you can see below, I've been getting really into collage lately. I've also been playing a lot of guitar again, so that makes me happy. I never feel creative enough no matter how much I'm doing... I can't wait to take painting, photography, print-making....

And I am finished with classes in two days! This semester has been so busy, full, hard, enriching, and I am going to feel fully deserving of my college degree once it is officially over!