This spring break, 23 students and adults from Atherton’s community experienced the latest of Atherton’s international travel opportunities, now voyaging to the arctic island of Iceland. On Saturday April 4th, 19 students and 4 chaperones left on Icelander Airlines for Reykjavik, where they would be joined by their tour guide. the majority of their time in Iceland spanned the 7 days of April 5th to 11th.
Kairi Storms (10) signed up for the trip to expand her horizons, literally and socially.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I really love the environment of Iceland, the snow and the mountains is really incredible to me and so different from what we have here,” Storms said.
After landing in Reykjavik, where the group visited several museums, the travelers drove North to their new hotel in Akureyri. German student Lucas Tunstull (12), who had the trip personally recommended to him by Frau, explains what met them there.
“Personally, I really wanted to see the Northern Lights, and I was really happy we ended up getting to. We got up at about 12, a few of us were up on the roof and we could see them just dancing. Seeing them in person, up close like that definitely gave me a different perspective,” Tunstull said.
Ms. Nall-Crist, Atherton’s Psychology teacher, was invited to go as a chaperone for her son, a Sophomore student, and has long been interested in Icelandic history and culture. She described the midnight Northern Lights escapades from an adult chaperone perspective.
“We were watching an app that predicted cloud cover and solar flare range. Frau alerted the group by posting a beautiful picture on Whatsapp and before long, students were waking each other up to come see it,” Nall-Crist said. “The coolest part was watching it move across the sky. It isn’t as bright to the naked eye as it is in pictures, but the experience can never be captured.”
Each stop on their voyage was set up by their tour guide, Rosie. Every morning, the group would get on the bus, and Rosie would accompany them throughout the day, whether they were visiting historical landmarks, meeting with professionals, or just enjoying themselves. Storms explains how this aided their journey.
“There were a lot of great opportunities to learn new things,” Storms said. “Our tour guide told all the coolest stories; as we drove past the mountains she’d tell us all these stories about what these mountains were known for, what happened here and there. It was really cool.”
In Akureyri, the group saw Goðafoss Waterfall, a landmark of great importance to the religious legend of Iceland, and Námafjall, a collection of hot springs, boiling mud pits, and other geothermal activity from the neighboring Krafla volcano system. The group left for Siglufjörður, a small fishing village in Northern Iceland, where they visited the Herring Museum. That afternoon, they traveled to Hauganes, where a professional Icelandic fisherman presented a specially aged 300-year-old shark and demonstrated a fish dissection, leading to a memorable experience for Tunstull.
“He was filletting this fish, and when he took out the eyeball he joked “I mean I’m not gonna eat it” and I was like “well I guess I will,” Tunstull said. “I knew my mom would be mad if I didn’t, she’d ask me why I didn’t take full advantage of the experience when I had the chance. It wasn’t very good though, there was liquid in it, it kinda popped in your mouth when you bit it and after it burst you had to chew it like a gummy.”
After the fish dissection, the group got to go on a whale-watching excursion, where they saw dolphins, puffins, and even caught sight of a Minke whale, warming up with hot chocolate and cookies before going cod fishing. Their next stop was Thingvellir National Park, home to a cave important to Iceland’s religious history. After visiting this cave, they saw their second waterfall of the trip, Gullfoss Falls.
“In the early 1900s, the waterfall was almost destroyed because developers wanted to build a dam there. However, the daughter of one of the developers (Iceland’s first conservationist) legally fought Gullfoss’ destruction, and though she lost in court, she won in the end when she told her father that if he went through with this, she was going to throw herself off of the waterfall. We heard so many cool stories about strong women like that in Iceland,” Nall-Crist said.
For Tunstull, it was being 32 miles away from the Arctic Circle in Siglufjörður that really made him look at his own home through new eyes.
“Being that close made me realize how close America actually is, because the flight was only 6 hours to Iceland. It gave me a different perspective of where I come from, and also just a different view of life. Some of the towns there only have a thousand people but they all seem so much happier,” Tunstull said.
Ms. Nall-Crist reflected on the importance that experiences like this have for students at this age in building individualism, fostering confidence and independence, and exposing students to different worldviews by placing them in a situation in which their culture is not the dominant one, providing valuable perspective for young minds.
“I certainly think these trips can have a big impact on students. At this age, it is so important to expand your worldview and gain open-mindedness. Additionally, being in this situation where you are in a different culture and country and can make decisions on your own is a huge step towards being ready to leave the nest,” Nall-Crist said.
Kairi Storms, who personally experienced this with her peers and watched how it drew them all closer together, would recommend the experience to anyone.
“Being there myself was incredible. Everywhere you looked was mesmerizing and beautiful, looking at the untouched mountains and landscape was just something I’ve never experienced. I’m sure it will stick with me for the rest of my life,” Storms said. “If you have an opportunity like this, please take it, you won’t regret it, and it’ll stay with you.”
