Feb 22nd. A bright, brisk day with moderate wind. At the post yesterday (Wednesday) I began, as many do, a midweek shift. That is to say, I started the afternoon shift at 2pm. The previous two days I had been on during the morning. I rather like this change, because it enables me to do various things in the course of a week: some things are best done in the morning whereas others in the afternoon. Furthermore, the pm shift is geared towards closing the foreign post, a clear goal in mind.

I've been in email contact with the director of a L'Arche community in the Boston area. L'Arche is a worldwide organization which has mentally handicapped people living in homes, trying to make them live as normal as possible. The director would like to get one such community going here in Iceland and contacted me. Actually, I was approached over a year ago through some friends who knew my connections with Iceland. With this in mind, the director comes for a week in mid May, and I've spoken with folks in a position to help her. I did warn her that she would be welcomed warmly, go home and think she has done well. Not so. Like any other endeavor from abroad, she must work on Phase Two and work on it right now. That consists of knowing about the Icelandic tendency to be enthusiastic and not follow through. If one is aware of this, then plans to initiate the project have a greater chance of success. In this case it means planning a second (and so forth) visit to Iceland even before you've come for the first time. I.e., take the enthusiasm in stride but don't bank on it. But if you do return...and this obviously means relying on your initial contacts...you'll fare much better. Besides, you've proved to Icelanders that you mean business. This is stuff you don't find in tour books.