For some years, Iceland has processed bauxite from the other end of the world, Australia. There is a large plant almost two kilometers long just southwest of Hafnarfjorður, Straumsvik, which receives ships. Right now they´re in the midst of a public relations campaign, wanting to enlarge the plant´s capacity. All this comes in the midst of controversial work in the east of Iceland where a huge dam is nearing completion, again, for smeltering aluminum. This project is a sore-spot among Icelanders and international organizations such as Greenpeace, etc. Reason is pollution and altering virgin territory forever. Iceland wants to corner the world market on aluminum processing which uses lots of energy, the chief advantage being an abundance of inexpensive geothermal resources. At the same time there is worry about pollution and as in the east, altering pristine landscape. How this will work out is anybody´s guess. News about that project has made international headlines and was even featured on the Discovery Channel.

Another nice day weatherwise but not as good as yesterday. Some light snow showers en route to work this morning. As for going to work in the morning, I explored an alternative route from Grafavogur through Mosfellsbæ…a bit round-about but good to know in case the two main roads are heavy with traffic.

Today begins a 5 day morning shift, weekend excluded. Next week is Holy Week which means 5 days off…i.e., Thursday through Monday. However, I voluteered to work the Monday after Easter Sunday, double time. Figure on visiting my friend and his family in Westmanæyar for the holiday. That´ll be about my 7th trip there. Right now we´re experiencing a mini-Christmas as one worker put it: certainly not as bad as that holiday but packages of chocolate going abroad. Icelanders have special fondness for chocolate Easter eggs and send to friends and relatives abroad. There is a drug-sniffing dog which make the rounds of the post building. He´s always happy and energetic but heard for the third time bit his handler.

In the near future I´ll be changing from snow to summer tires. There´s a legal cut-off day for this though quite a few people already made the switch. Not a wise thing to do because yesterday in my area of Grafavogur there was a light coat of frost which really messed things up. The geothermal road system hasn´t made it here yet despite complaints to do so.

The weather today is a Top Ten which means not a cloud in the sky and hardly a breeze. I haven´t checked the thermometer but in the sun it must be around 18-20C. The sun is starting to burn as it does in these northern climes. When it´s as nice as this, there is no better place in the world to be than Iceland due to the clarity of the air.

As for the magnificent weather, after work I parked about 3K from where I live in Grafavogur and walked around a bit. At a time like this I wish I had a Thoreauvian way to describe the atmosphere. Anyway, the clarity of atmosphere allows for things to stand out with remarkable clarity, especially Esja, layered in snow. By "layered" I mean the rib-like layers of Esja's tabletop outline, typical for young rock formations. Thrown in clouds over the top and the calm waters of Reykjavik's outer bay, and you really have something special. Could stay out all day.

Had a pleasant morning yesterday of about two hours helping a theological student prepare for his Hebrew exam on Wednesday. Gunni is in charge of the youth program at Grafavogskirkja and studying to be a Lutheran priest. All theological students must take a year of Hebrew and (I believe) two of New Testament Greek. The homework assignment was relatively simple, having to identify certain verbal forms with prepositions attached to them. I found it especially interesting to translate the Hebrew into Icelandic, not your everyday language(s)…

The weather was so fine yesterday afternoon at work that they had the large doors open where trucks back in to receive and take mail. Not the slightest breeze, a welcome change here in the mid Atlantic Ocean.

'I´ve lived here all my life and still say that Reykjavik is an ugly city. Period.' Words not far from the truth, unfortunately, but need to be put into perspective. Iceland´s climate isn´t conducive for building to last long nor are material at hand for durable construction, at least in earlier centuries. Hence Iceland lacks castles, etc. Reykjavik itself was always a sleepy fishing villiage and didn´t take off until after WWII. Building were put up hodge-podge without regard for beauty nor planning which reflects the highly independent Icelandic mentality. However, in the last 40 years or so buildings are very attractive and modern. As I noted several times earlier, much of Reykjavik and surrounding towns look a lot like southern California, minus palm trees. No question, it lacks that distinctive European feel. All in all, the homes and apartments are very well kept and higher in quality than the US. After all, Iceland has no poverty.

March 26th, Annunciation which here in Iceland receives no notice except for the small Catholic church. Yesterday that friend and I visited several people with whom he had business. This included two stops at people connected with the Academy of Reykjavik with which we plan to set up a scholarship pertaining to religious studies. As it stands now, a yearly scholarship would be offered in the field which for the moment is kept deliberately vague. Both Icelanders and foreigners would take advantage of it, the latter most likely pertaining to guest scholars. Mid afternoon we decided to drive to nearby Kopavogur, the new IKEA superstore which has a nice cafeteria and inexpensive, limited though good menu. A fine day which we topped with the weekly Grafavogskirkja meeting. A half hour beforehand I received a message over my cell phone saying that it’d be held instead at one of the particpant’s homes in nearby Grafaholt. Turned out quite nice though lacked the atmosphere you get in a church.

A delightful day after over a week of stormy weather.

Fifth Sunday of Lent. Today would have been the Annunciation but is transferred to tomorrow due to a Sunday in Lent. The first impression from the Gospel (Jn 8.1-11), about the woman caught in adultery, is that she was about to be stoned as opposed to the unknown man. After all, it takes two commit adultery. In light of today’s politics and sensitivities, this brings to mind the way woman have been treated and still are in certain parts of the world. Actually, I’d like to jot down a few more comments including the first reading but have an overnight guest. Therefore I’m limited. His wife dropped him off, in Reykjavik for business, and staying yet another night before returning to Westman Island.

Last evening around 9 I noticed that it was twilight. I’ve been aware of brightening days, sometimes in large gulps, but last evening took the cake. Suddenly it was dark and suddenly it was light, hard to believe it was happening. Now there’s a few minutes of more light than darkness, into the summer-directed swing of things.

“And she (Rahab) dwelt in Israel to this day” [Josh 6.25]. Simple enough but loaded in Hebrew. The preposition “in” reads “qerev” or in the heart (midst) of.” Note that at this time still the Israelites were migrating, not having yet settled down permanently. And so Rahab was qerev both this constant motion as well as later. Rahab also reminds me of the prophetess Anna who never left the temple day and night but was there constantly prayer and giving thanks to God.

When I work Friday afternoons, there’s a real push for everyone to finish at 9pm (other days during the pm shift we finish 10.30, sometimes 10). After all, it’s the weekend and people want to get out asap…and Icelanders take their weekends very seriously. There are two young men who work for me, Atli and Geir, good friends. Geir is planning a party Saturday night at his house because his parents will be out of town. “Going to trash the place” is what he said literally. However, Geir isn’t that sort of person, just fond of using English expressions like some many Icelanders. As I move along here I find the parallels between Icelanders and Americans virtually indistinguishable. There are differences, to be sure, yet at the core the parallels are remarkably similar which makes for Iceland not once being a "foreign" experience for me.

We all have defensive mechanisms in play at all times, even among those dearest. Not that these people are threats, but that constantly we are monitoring ourselves vis-à-vis everyone we encounter. Gradually they assemble a way of life from which we find it difficult to extract ourselves. That’s when the value of solitude comes into play, yet even there we have to decompress from these defense mechanism or societal constraints. Of all people I know, Icelanders in general prize moments of solitude and use it wisely. They love to get outdoors and be alone in the countryside, even for a day or part of a day. That’s why when driving in remote areas you see cars parked alongside the road in unsuspecting places. People simply get out and walk around, often spontaneously. Often in this blog and the one of last year I mentioned the Icelandic tendency to leap before they look, i.e., their child-like spontaneity. This has a way of swinging from intense sociability to equally intense solitude.

More wind and rain with occasional sleet showers. Mixed in are these wonderful tiny marble-like pellets not quite like hail but approaching it.

Yesterday afternoon it rained and blew just about the fiercest I’ve experienced. Then typically it stopped as soon as it had started somewhere in the middle of the night.

In England there’s some kind of football (soccer) playoff going on which has captured the attention of a lot of people here. I think it includes larger areas, something in the news about such-and-such a team playing in Israel. Earlier I had noted that English football is huge in Iceland, something that came as a surprise to me. Until recently I never heard of these teams which actually have their own Icelandic fan clubs. When a certain match comes up, as many as 50 to 80 Icelanders travel en masse to places like Liverpool.

At work there’s a large loading dock area for trucks, some of which are tandems which bring mail around the country during the night. People aren’t allowed to smoke there but do, only out of view of the two security cameras. They do this by ducking into certain corners and smoke away. Those in charge don’t like to find cigarette butts on the ground, but there’s a way to avoid this: stuff the butts into stanchions used by the trucks. Each stanchion has a tiny cigarette-but size hole used as an ashtray. I can imagine that when these moveable stanchions are removed or hit by a truck, thousands of butts will fly all over the place.

Although I write this from Iceland, barely a day goes by without someone saying something negative about President Bush. Even here there’s a sense of gloom as a backdrop to life because of what he has done and is continuing to do.

Sometimes I watch documentaries on tv such as the Discovery Channel, etc. Often they deal with the origins of the universe and hit you with staggering statistics now familiar to us all. For example, supposedly there are more stars in the universe than all the grains of sand on the world’s beaches. The purpose for saying this? That life elsewhere, even intelligent life, is commonplace, but the huge distances prevent contact. Scientists delight in putting forth such information which boils down to we humans are less than insignificant. All right, suppose there is life out there, especially intelligent life. Further, let’s suppose we contacted that life and discovered it was more or less similar to our own and that it led to more civilizations. Despite the wondrous nature of this discovery, we’d find out that it the universal laws of physics pertain there even if some bizarre differences exist. The point? More of the same stuff exists there as it is here…and it’s everywhere, no real surprise. If the laws of physics are universal, chances are the laws of spirituality are universal. That is, there’d be more or less stages of development. Even higher stages, already intuited on earth, would follow the same map. Such an observation appears to dampen the spirit of discovery, far from my intent. There seems something inbuilt within us that would never be satisfied. Period.

Another favorite theme of science…evolution. It’s triumphed with varying degrees of delight more to rub dirt in the noses of those against it than to state a fact. Evolution appears a genuine obstacle when it comes to things spiritual but really isn’t. The real problem is that in general the West has a stunted appreciation of contemplation.

More snow squalls last evening into the night with a kind of fog hanging over Reykjavik as I can see from my apartment. Here in the second half of March we seem to be making up for February’s lovely weather.

Yesterday was the wettest I’ve experienced in a long time: beating rain, so much that standing outside for under a minutes soaked my jacket. However, it melted most of the snow and warmed temps up. Such driving rain always comes from the east; similar weather, though less intense, comes from the southwest. People here are keenly away of global warming. More specifically, if the Gulf Stream alters its course by just a few degrees, we’d end up like nearby Greenland, land-locked in ice.

After work yesterday I decided to check out the Bonus supermarket close to the post. They’re all the same, not unlike American markets, and despite the apartment-like neighborhood, was not as crowded as my local Bonus. By the way, you can always check out what’s up at www.bonus.is That one is situated close to the local Coca Cola bottling plant which long has claimed to produced the best Coke in the world due to the purity of Iceland’s water.

Wednesday is transition at work for many of us. That is to say, I come up a five day morning shift and start a five day afternoon/evening one today, coming in at 2pm. In many ways I like the pm shift: ample time to use the morning hours, fresh for study, etc. Also, in the morning work is generally slower, and I do more general helping out as opposed to focusing upon foreign post in the afternoon.

St Joseph´s Day. Quite cold this morning (-6C) but bright and sunny. At least the wind has died down, but who knows. As I heard each day, ‘Don´t forget, this is Iceland.’ Icelanders seems not to have much tolerance for the cold; they like to keep their geothermally heated homes toasty.

Last evening (Sunday) at 8 I attended the regular prayer meeting in the basement of Grafavogskirkja. A quick note on this group which is part n´ parcel of my life here. About 15 years ago two women decided to get together to pray about every other week. Not long afterwards they were joined by several others until the group too big for a home. Then one particpant approached the pastor of Grafavogskirkja to use the church, but he was hesitant. However, not long afterwards he relented, knowing that the prayer group was serious and had grown in a relatively short time. And so the group—and it has remained informal until this day—but now has an average of 15 core particpants. Some people come for a while and then leave, so on occasion 20 plus may attend. The only time a meeting isn´t held is during July and part of August or on Sundays of a major holiday.

The phrase ‘prayer group´is open to many interpretations. I´d say the Grafavogskirkja one tends towards contemplative prayer, and many are quite advanced, given that they lead normal family lives along with that involves. The process is simple. First they sit in a semi-circle before an altar in the church´s basement. One chair is in the center used by someone who starts off with very quite, slow words of prayer after which there´s a long interval of silence. After about an hour, someone else sits there and reads off names of people with their requests for prayer which taks about 20 minutes. Again, this is done slowly and very quietly. Upon conclusion, everyone sits down at a table for about 30 minutes for a peculiarly Icelandic custom. A small glass container has small tags on which are written scriptural references. Each person picks one at random and reads the brief passage. I understand that practice has pagan roots and has been taken over by Christianity from the very beginning. And so ends the prayer group, this about 10pm.

My informal political poll over the past few days has Barak Obamah clearly in the lead. Surprised at the low support for Hillary Clinton. No one has anything good to say about Republican candidates, probably because of Bush. Icelanders are keen followers of the American political scene, quite informed.

Fourth Sunday of Lent. As with last week, I found both Year C and A, so opted for the former. Today’s Gospel is the famous prodigal son (Lk 15.1-3 & 11.32)…so famous that it deters me from making any comments. We’ve heard countless of sermons on it, so much that we’ve become inured to the message. One such hardening to its message is that okay, the prodigal son’s return might be fine up to around a few thousand people. However, for the past 2,000 years there have been millions of them. So, does it work? Same applies for comments on the obedient son who didn’t leave his father’s side, the parable’s real culprit. By the way, that’s a favorite theme of some preachers who think they’re sharper than others by pointing it out. With this impediment in mind I turned to the first reading (Jos 5.9-12) simply because at this time I was reading the book of Joshua as part of my daily “piano practice.” By that I mean my ongoing reading of Hebrew of about 20 minutes daily more to keep in shape as opposed to doing it for lectio purposes.

As for the first reading, it takes place just before the capture of Jericho and after the male Israelites had been circumcised. “And the manna ceased on the morrow” [vs. 12]. No word of divine intervention here, just a simple cessation. This terse observation must have contained a world of relief because that’s all the Israelites had to eat for 40 years! Now they could eat of the land’s produce which connected them more intimately with the place they were about to capture. Chances are they could not have taken Jericho and other towns subsisting on manna.

Yesterday and last night were full of more of those passing snow squalls. They were fine but now getting to be a nuisance. As for snow in Iceland, you have to move inland to see real accumulation, the coastal region (where most people live) being subject to the Gulf Stream’s warm current.

For some years now we’ve heard much about Islamic radicalism, and many people have come to the conclusion that Islam is a religion of violence. More thoughtful people might see beyond the surface, yet there seems to be a kernel of truth to this controversial observation. When I heard of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, automatically I think of Islam; the latter makes the former pale in comparison.

Yesterday I saw some people wearing-the-green for St Patrick’s Day which isn’t surprising. Recently genetic studies have shown that Icelanders are more Celtic than Scandinavian, a fact I’ve noted this in earlier entries. First time visitors might think of Iceland as a kind of northern Valhalla but are disconcerted when they see so many people with red and black hair along with freckled skin typical of the Irish. Hitler considered Iceland as a mythical though real Valhalla and because of this never invaded it. He also said accurately that “whoever controls Iceland holds a pistol to the head of America” by reason of its strategic position.

Several members of the weekly Grafavogur prayer group and I were discussing how we try to carry on a spirit of recollection throughout the week, using the Sunday evening meetings as anchor points. Most members are very edifying: they have a daily routine of prayer and spiritual reading (lectio divina). They agreed that this is crucial to start the day off. However, once they go to work or get involved with the normal affairs of family life, that special time of being with God quickly evaporates. Some try to re-establish their connection with the morning late evening which certainly helps. I get the impression that you can bring this recollection to the work place for a limited period but must accept the reality that it doesn’t last…nor should you expect it to last. Still, the memory of that morning’s special time lingers which is as good as one can expect. The person doing it may not feel the results, but those around him or her notice something different they don’t see in other people.

Another bout of snow last evening made more pleasant by reason of the lack of wind. Virtually every Icelander I’ve spoken with doesn’t mind the variable weather as long as it isn’t windy, and wind is part of life in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

One evening I saw a tv program on a memory experiment. Subjects were taken on a nature walk and were equipped with video cams on their hats which recorded everything they saw. The walk started out ordinarily enough but later passed a staged crash site. The area was roped off and even had an armed military guard. One month later the subjects were interviewed and came up with various stories about the crash site. Some said there were many soldiers and gave various interpretations as to what the site might be, even an alien crash landing. The point? That human memory, even after the lapse of one month, is unreliable. People insert their interpretations and take them as fact not because they wish to lie nor to impress, but that’s how things work. They actually believe they are telling the truth. In fact, it isn’t a matter of truth versus lying at all. I was considering this in light of earlier centuries when so much of cultural transmission depended upon memory, and that gets into the sensitive area of religious tradition. If we were to view earlier uses of memory in light of the experiment I just cited, then everything is thrown open to misinterpretation. I don’t think so because that’s a modern temptation which reveals ignorance of the past in light of so-called advanced means of recording events. People are more careful to preserve accurate observations for future transmission, especially when it comes to things vital to their culture and religion. Their capacity for recalling events was much sharper than today. Indeed, we view that capacity as completely foreign. In the back of my mind I was thinking about the ancient sense of anamnesis or recollection, but that’s another matter though certainly related.

‘The Lord said to Joshua saying’ (Josh 4.1). Sentences like this are frequent in the Bible, containing two forms of the same common verb ámar. One is present and the other is past, yet they take place simultaneously, as though the Lord wants the present ´saying´ to abide in one´s memory.

Another strong snow squall blew through overnight but with little or no wind. Such events are typical as we move towards spring; can get more snow now in little bits and pieces than the entire winter. I left for work the usual time, now the morning shift, around 7.35am, thinking I´d have plenty of time to make the 4 kilometer trek. When I got lest than one kilometer from home, a traffic snarl either due to the weather or an accident, couldn´t tell which. So I decided to turn around and take the other road, arriving just 2 minutes late. From Grafavogur there are two access roads only which can tie things up as was the case today. There´s talk about constructing a tunnel under Sunderhafn, the inner harbor, but that´s years away.

The husband of a co-worker will do my taxes, so gathered the pertinent info and brought to her. Though the deadline is the 21st, Iceland has a very long extension period...compensates for that infamous trait of doing things at the last minute!

Another heavy snow squall early this morning, causing white-out here and there but quickly passed. It was replaced by puffy clouds tinged with pink and later became dead-calm. Over the years I’ve noticed that except for during the most violent storms—and these are pretty much similar to Massachusetts—you have constant breaks in the overcast which give the atmosphere that odd domestic feel to it.

Joshua 3.7: “That they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Words addressed to Joshua just after he and Israel had crossed the Jordan River and not long before the assault upon Jericho. To have God be with Israel as he was with Moses is quite a claim, given the intimacy Moses had throughout his career. Nevertheless, it is a step down because there are no accounts of this divine intimacy with Joshua He picked up a lot by being an attendant to Moses as opposed being the direct recipient of divine favor. Also, Joshua was more a military leader compared with Moses who was a lawgiver.

Next Wednesday is the day taxes are due, a first for me in Iceland. Since I know next to nothing, I asked around. The husband of a co-worker does this, so will bring her the necessary documents. They say it’s easy to get an extension, something I don’t think will be necessary.

I did drive my friend to þorkakshafn last evening and enjoyed the conversation en route. During the 50 minute trip and some coffee later we discussed envy, of how pervasive and dangerous it is. In many ways envy is the vice we admit to least because it’s so embarrassing. Yet there seems to be a positive envy. One can be envious of someone in another status of life. The problem is when you want to usurp it which can take the form of anger and acts of deprivation. That’s where jealousy comes in which seems to lack a positive counterpart.

Each and every day without fail a small, yellow oil tanker-like ship goes out into the middle of Reykjavik´s harbor and kind of hangs around there. I don´t know what it does but is a constant presence. Perhaps in the course of a day it goes across to Akranes.

A very heavy snow squall came across this morning but nothing lasting as is normally the case here. However, it was enough to cause a mini white-out en route to work which for me is a short 4 kilometer drive. I noticed that the wind kicked up quite a lot of surf in the outer harbor.

When I arose around 6am today I heard the usual distant sound of car tires on wet pavement. This is one of my earliest recollections of being in Iceland. Don´t know exactly why since it´s a universal sound.

Tax day is one week from today, similar to April 15th in the USA. A friend at Landsbanki said he would connect me with someone but no word yet. My tax situation is easy, but still need someone to do it. Haven´t the slightest idea otherwise.

Iceland has its share of radio and television stations. Many of the latter come through cable from both the US and Europe. You can get various packages all the way from basic to several hundred channels, and all packages involve Internet access. I believe that per capita Icelanders have the highest amount of home Internet connections in the world, almost 100%. Nice part is that if I run into a technical problem, there are a number of younger people at work to consult.

There’s a storm a-brewing here with the upcoming confirmations by the Lutheran church. It has to do with a large (native) chain of clothing stores advertising clothes for the youngster getting confirmed. In other words, the store has been sending flyers to households with a girl in a rather sexually explicit position with skimpy clothes for the event. Earlier I noted that confirmation is a rite-of-passage in Iceland which has become commercialized. No one pays attention to its meaning, just who can throw the biggest party and get the most gifts. As for parties, the highest goal one can achieve is to have it at the Hotel Borg, Iceland’s oldest hotel, quite small yet considered the best.

Earlier I reported that a Lutheran priest publicly called for the National Church of Iceland to join the Catholic Church. Dropped like a hot potato, not because of the subject but because people simply aren’t interested. At least that’s what I have picked up this past week. On the larger scale of things, this indifference to things religious is everywhere and can be worse than any outright persecution. Nothing new, of course, but interesting to see from the Icelandic perspective.

Not even the slightest breeze at 8am, a very special atmosphere reminiscent of what you’d find in a monastery or church. I just noted indifference concerning religion…on the other hand, Icelanders are very sensitive to this natural quietude and seek refuge in it as much as they can. They’re fond of taking long walks and extended trips into the countryside.

Studied selfishness. That’s a phrase a friend used in an email from the US concerning the way people live nowadays. When something is studied, it requires close attention and imitation. The object here is selfishness, admittedly appealing. However “studied” in this case gets close to addition.

From my apartment I get a good view of Reykjavik’s inner harbor, Sundahofn. Eimskip and Samskip are the two chief carriers of Iceland (the former being more established and larger). However, from time to time other boats will dock, often making the short trip from Greenland. Then way out on the horizon…don’t forget, the air is much clearer here and you can see further…an occasional container ship will pass heading north. That’s probably towards Akureyri or ports along Greenland’s east coast. As for Greenland, at work we receive mail for there which, despite its proximity, is forwarded to Denmark. And the names! Most begin with the letter Q and are virtually unpronounceable.

Yesterday I was driving around Grafavogur, the suburb of Reykjavik (actually part of the city) where I live. It's strikingly modern with lots of buildings going up everywhere. In fact, I recall Grafavogur, a peninsula with only two connecting roads, as completely barren. The nice part is that Grafavogur is built not to become old-looking in about 10 years. At the same time, it's very middle-America with the requisite schools, parks, malls and of course, vans in which mothers transport their kids to various activities. If it weren't for the signs in Icelandic, you might as well be in central Ohio or the like.

Someone at work told me a bizarre story. She was driving along and got hit by a Christmas tree someone had thrown off a porch; did a lot of damage to the engine. Only in Iceland...

March 11th, Third Sunday of Lent. Okay, here I am in Iceland about to go to work yet desirous of checking out the readings. I went to well-know site for them and came up with two options: Year C and Year A! I took a gamble and went for the former, so here goes; figure the Gospel message transcends gambling. The first reading is Ex 3.1-8, 13-15 and the Gospel is Lk 13.1-9.

I like the Exodus text, for that book in many ways symbolizes the spirit of Lent, our living in the wilderness for the extended period of 40 years. I’ve picked up that sense of exile just from talking with a wide variety of people. Culture makes no difference in this matter; seems a widespread phenomenon yet hard to pin down. It seems to derive from a human desire for something better than what we have, even if we’re well off. Iceland is a good place to observe this. Here there’s no poverty, almost unheard of, and everyone has enough of everything to make life work.

The Exodus reading touches upon a fundamental revelation of God’s nature in his name, “I am who am” (‘ehyeh ‘asher’ ehyeh). The Hebrew language lacks both present and future tenses, everything being expressed in varying degrees of pastness. Sounds strange but true. The basic idea seems to be that as soon as a sound or word is uttered, it has passed, regardless of how close the source to the receiver. So we could translate the divine name given as a sentence into “I was who was.” That keeps in step with divine revelation in general. No matter what we know, it is secondary and imperfect. To me, the most interesting part of this is the relative pronoun ‘asher (who). In other places I’ve discussed this, but it can be summed up through the verbal root (important in any Hebrew word), namely, straightness. By its very nature a preposition is transitional in that it points to something else as opposed to focusing upon itself. With this in mind, we could say that the first “I am” (or I was) moves to the second “I am” (I was) which points not so much to God’s being but to his activity. A bit later (vs. 14) when Moses addresses the Israelites’ request to know his name, he doesn’t mention the rest of this name (‘asher ‘ehyeh).

Last evening we had some snow which later gave way to whipping rain. Around dawn (that’s now after 8 o’clock) the wind really picked up sounding like a jet engine , but with patches of blue here and there. No untypical for Iceland’s oceanic climate, to be sure.

A very calm…dead calm…day yesterday followed by a covering of snow during the night. We’re in the midst of Lent, but you would never know it, given the secular nature of society (Icelandic or otherwise). To keep the value of this season alive you must rely upon two things: memory in the sense of anamnesis and commonality of sentiment. By that I mean people who share the same anamnesis.

Early this morning I had taken a quick drink of water...so good here in Iceland that it should be exported (and is)...and ended up with a mouthful of sulfur tasting stuff. I.e., a few minutes before I had on the hot water tap. The hot water is exactly that, scalding hot, and has the minutest content of sulfur, enough to give a strong taste but supposedly therapeutic when taking a bath or shower.

Fridays at work often can be a bit trying, and yesterday was no exception. A touch of the flu has been making its rounds, hence short of help. While many at the post can leave their work at the right time, I in the foreign post must bring my work to a close, else it won’t go out. So there’s that added pressure of not running into problems which rarely if ever happen. Still, the sense of urgency is there compounded by the fact that it’s Friday evening. As for the partying, not everyone subscribes to this. However, Icelanders are known for their wild celebrations over the weekend, a constant marvel to foreigners. This has been going on since time immemorial, and I spoke about it at some length in last year’s blog. I’ve been downtown to see it but not impressed, really.

Someone at work said that February had the most amount of sunshine in recent memory. Whether that’s due to global warming or not wasn’t said. I have to admit that here in “icy” Iceland it’s been great. I’m in touch with folks in Massachusetts who’ve been experienced really cold temps. By reason of the country’s name, they think I’m suffering ten times worse. I’ve given up explaining because they think I’m maintaining a stiff upper lip trying to disguise the really awful weather here. Might as well leave it as that.

I’ve remarked that the floor bosses at work are a great bunch of people. A month ago we had a new one who falls into that category. They have to be a special breed because each moment of their waking lives people come up to them complaining or asking about this or that.

When I returned to work yesterday it was with sense of renewal and refreshment after four days off. This is as it should be, not returning to work as to a burden. Actually, I’ve never felt this way but had in many instances (and I refer to earlier years) allowed myself to be influenced by the opinions of other people. More often than not they aren’t directed at you but are means of venting frustrations, etc. If you lay this aside and pay attention to your own needs…easier said than done…things work out much better than anticipated.

Also at work I set about compiling a poll, that is, I asked six people if they’ve been to Westman. The answer was no which doesn’t surprise me. Often local people don’t visit local sites, regardless of where they live. Same applies to me: until a few years ago I had never seen Paul Revere’s house in Boston.

I asked two people at work about that Lutheran priest who proposed the National Church unite with the Catholic Church. Yes, but typical of most people, couldn’t care less which isn’t surprising. Very little interest in formal religion here but great interest in things spiritual. This isn’t peculiar to Iceland but is found everywhere and has been prevalent for many years and acknowledged as such by official religious people. At the same time, I’ve yet heard a solution to this. However, one thing comes to mind. Iceland broadcasts programs in English of AA visitors around the clock, very inspiring to hear. That program seems to be very successful worldwide because it’s based upon religious principles. At the same time, AA’s focus remains constant throughout. Often I’ve wondered if the Church could set itself up as such where emphasis is upon results, not preservation of itself. AA ls selfless in that regard, the key to its success.

More outstanding weather with noticeable increase in sunshine. Actually it has been increasing as I had noted earlier, but every once in a while there seems to be a quantum leap.

The other day I was driving along Miklabraut, a main feed to downtown Reykjavik, when suddenly a Fokker 50 shot overhead, so close that I could see the passengers. It was headed for nearby...very nearby...Reykjavik Airport originally constructed by the British at the start of WW II. Since then the city has grown up around the airport, and it’s supposed to move either to the international one at Keflavik some 50 kilometers away or to a site just outside town. The modest building is home to Flugfelag Islands which serves Iceland, the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, rather crumby, barely altered in all the years since I’ve been coming to Iceland. By reason of the airport’s current location, the city and nearby University of Iceland will grab the property asap.

Today I return to work at 2pm, having had 4 days off as I do once every six weeks or so. The only problem is that I must work through the weekend into the next week but never found it that difficult.

While driving to Þorthakshofn to get the ferry I took the road which branches off the southern route to the eastern part of the country. Like all roads in Iceland, it’s in fine shape but elevated as high as two meters. Reason: to allow snow to blow over without accumulating. Volcanic material is much easier to handle compared to other soil, hence no problem at creating these mounds. Nevertheless, I find such roads a bit scary, especially when a vehicle comes the other way and even more so when it’s windy. I have the feeling that I’m going to drive off the edge and hit jagged rocks and boulders.

Several days ago a Lutheran priest gave some interviews on tv and radio saying that the National Church of Iceland join the Catholic Church. Too early to get a response, but that seems a bit much to say it outright! One thing I know: Icelanders and many clergy here always have had sympathy towards things Catholic. I hope this priest’s statement doesn’t upset that. By the way, the priest hails from þorlaukshofn where you get the Westmann ferry, one of the most God-forsaken places around. Hope living there didn’t inform his statements!

I returned from Westmann Island 7.30pm, having taken taken the afternoon ferry on a brilliant, calm day. Yesterday I decided to take the car on the ferry so I could drive around the island with my friend, Monday having been equally beautiful, so I hit the jackpot. I'm fortunate in that he as a resident can get a substantial discount. The entry to the harbor never fails to take your breath away, the cake-like mountains rising abruptly from the sea with thousands of birds nesting in the cliffs. I estiamate the height from water's edge to the top about 350 meters. About half this goes straight up whereas the other half slopes at a dizzying 75 degree angle where it comes to a sharp peak. And this on three of those cake-like mountains. What's truly amazing, this the first time I saw it, were the sheep grazing on that incredible slope. How did they get there? What prevents them from sliding off and plunging into the sea? Surely a special breed! What adds to this unique place are smaller islands in the vicinity, each rising with the same abruptness from the ocean.

Since I had the car, on both days we drove around the island, like no other in the world. The southwest part leads to another cake-like mountain where the 12 million puffin live. However, they're not home this time of year, spending many months at sea. We visited the beach where the Moroccans landed behind the town, thereby taking the locals by surprise.

My friend and his family have rented the house in which they live but intend to buy it. No small wonder: their location is one of the best on the island with a panoramic view. I asked about the owner's name on the mailbox but was told it wasn't his. Westmann Islanders have the custom of attaching the builder's name on mailboxes with the residents' name alongside. So that was it, a fine adventure, this having been my 5th visit to Westmann.

Today I head off to Westman Island via the ferry, this time bringing my car on board. My friend and his family who reside there are able to get a discount. Earlier he and I were discussing over the phone his work which is quite interesting, namely, digging into the manuscripts proper to Westman going back to the Settlement which is approximately the year 1,000. Westman, being an island, was site of a monastic settlement and later was raided by "Turks" who came from Morocco. They slaughtered most of the population and enslaved the rest. Later the survivors were randomed, including a Lutheran priest (this was shortly after the Reformation) while another was killed on another raid. Both left a bunch of poems dedicated to the Virgin Mary who always retained a special place despite the country having become Lutheran.

The key to my friend's success is not just his training in Icelandic manuscripts but his ability to read them in a spirit of lectio divina. In other words, he reads them as prayer which takes a longer time than usual for publication, hence their success: one small book came out late last year. This fellow admitted to a certain pressure to crank out material but has resisted it. We both noted that reading such mss in a spirit of lectio is essential nowadays. However, those in charge want to rush through things, and lectio divina is far from their minds. Such texts require thoughtfulness, to be sure, and my friend's ultimate goal is to make the Marian poems part of both the Lutheran and Catholic liturgy here in Iceland.

Yesterday, Sunday, I was driving into Reykjavik and on the radio got a Lutheran priest delivering a homily. Most people agree that priests drone on and on when preaching. One friend suggested it had something to do with the Icelandic language, conducive for this. As for preaching in general, those who do it often get a satisfaction of identifying with the Word of God and therefore with its authority. It produces a balance of sorts, not always desireable, but at least for the deliverer.

The Iraq war is tragic, to be sure, but seemed even more so by recent news that some Sunnis were slaughtered for having begun a dialogue with their Shiite neighbors. This inability to dialogue, not just in those extreme conditions but elsewhere, appears a commodity in short supply.

March 4th. Yesterday morning I was speaking with a friend over the phone about his work in Westman Island, that is, arranging early manuscripts from that area with a view to publishing them. He had plenty of experience in this field and with time, will be recognized as a leading authority. The key to his success? Not just the ability to `lift` the original text into meaningful form for others to read but his spending time to get a sense of what the text actually says. That involves lectio divina as he readily admitted. However, to do this in a secular setting invites trouble. By that I mean he won`t get fired but is under indirect pressure to produce, to crank it out. This sad state of affairs applies to any endeavor which requires time and leisure to grasp deeper realities, and that is in short supply. All this rushing around, going no place. It`s a type of insanity, repeating the same behavior while expecting different results.

The Iraq war is tragic, no doubt about that. Though I`m familiar with the daily dose of bombings, a particularly gruesome event happened the other day when a group of Sunnis was murdered for participating in a fellowship meeting with Shiites.

On Sunday morning I was listening in the car radio to a sermon by a Lutheran priest broadcast live. Icelandic clergy can be very wordy and blab on, more so than if English were used. This made me reflect on a phenomenon, of how people take joy in citing religious texts (Bible, first and foremost) as authoritative and content themselves with that. Hiding behind it is a sense of joy at participating in the text’s authority and usurping it, albeit indirectly. Quoting such texts also imparts a sense of balance which you wouldn’t find through a spirit of inquiry, and inquiry doesn’t have to equal criticism.

I write this early next morning, having spent the bulk of the afternoon in the Krysuvik area. Unfortunately it rained off-again, on-again, and at one time started to sleet. Because of this I turned around and decided on the western approach to Blafjell. Reason: weather lifted and looked okay. About 10 kilometers along I encountered a spectacular rainbow whose base was relatively close. This was as good as it gets and was surprised to see it moving along the ground (to keep people from getting the pot of gold, of course). Then the road started to ascent into snowy mountains. When it started to sleet, I turned around, knowing that I’d have to ascend further and afraid of conditions ahead. This road, like many in Iceland, are unpaved though in fine condition. You have to be careful in either wet or dry conditions, however: the loose volcanic gravel makes for tricky braking.

2nd Sunday of Lent. Last week began the traditional Lenten season with Jesus in the wilderness followed by his transfiguration (Lk 9.28-36), a second step of preparation for what we happen the next few weeks. `Not knowing what he said` [vs. 33]. Words of Peter when he wanted to make three booths (skene, Greek for tent) for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Such ignorance, in part because of the sudden transfiguration of Jesus, comes from Peter not having paid attention to the sentiment expressed in vs. 28, `Now about eight days after these sayings (logos).` Such logoi were expressed starting in vs. 23, the need for renunciation and the coming of Jesus in glory. Now on the mountain Peter has witnessed Jesus` glory but with forgetfulness of his logoi. Mention of eight days can suggest a certain fullness of time, the `first day of the week` [24.1] when Christ rose from the dead. And this rising is, with a play on words, pre-figured by the transfiguration. In the case at hand, Peter should have remembered Jesus` logoi but did not. I.e., the curative power of memory or anamnesis had no effect on him.

As for the transfiguration, there are two parts. First Jesus` countenance `was altered,` and those with him saw his glory. Next we have a cloud overshadowing them with the paradox of Peter and those with him entering it. I.e., they entered a cloud that was already over (the epi of episkiazo, overshadow) them.

In view of all this brightness, compare the first reading (Gn 15.5-12; 17-18) where God makes a covenant with Abraham (then called Abram). I.e., it begins with Abram being outdoors at night and asked by God to number the stars. Then this dialogue makes no distinction between night and day as it continues in vs. 7 which for all intensive purposes takes place during the daylight hours. However, the small but crucial word `then` [vs. 7] can indicate the shift from night to day. Later in vs. 12 we have the `sun going down.` So all this takes place with an apparent casual transition from night to day and back to night.

One further note: Compare Abram`s `deep sleep` with that of the disciples on the mount. Tardemah is the Hebrew term, the same used in Gen 2.21 when God created woman from the man`s rib. Upon awakening, the man recognized woman, a new being taken from his side, which stands in contrast to Peter`s ignorance of Jesus noted above.

Though the forecast for today (and I heard it several days old) called for rainy weather, now shortly after 9am the clouds are breaking up. If so, it’s off to somewhere like Krysuvik for the afternoon…a unique Icelandic landscape, one you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

A week ago I took up DeCaussade’s Sacrament of the Present Moment, a book I haven’t read in years. It comes from a time (early 1700s) when a spirituality was prevalent which, despite a very different world today, is in the background making its presence felt. While the book lacks that touch of piety (to its enduring credit), it conveys a sense of Stoic resignation, of hanging on through any and all circumstances. In other words, gloomy. However, DeCaussade has a nice phrase, “instinct of faith.” An instinct means something in-born, natural and ready at hand which can’t be explained. I was comparing this spirit of resignation with the Icelandic one towards fate which I noted in a recent entry. They move easily within the path laid out for them, not bewailing the fact. And the problems Icelanders face are just the same as anyone else: work, marriage and how to handle free time. They don’t sit around and bemoan their fate but work handily within the lot marked out for them. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of guilt. This I haven’t quite figured out, given the Lutheran influence. Then again, that might stem from Celtic roots. The problem there is that normally we associate guilt with that culture. Tentatively I’ve come to the conclusion that this guiltless attitude governed by fate is a combination of the best of two worlds, the Nordic and Celtic ones.

“How are things geologically?” That was a question I put to my volcanologist friend yesterday. He said all is quite except for the usual earthquakes off the Reykjanes Peninsula. Volcanologists are like weathermen here in Iceland: people to whom you turn to get a sense of what’s going on.

More fine weather though a bit cloudy; -2C around 8am. Sign of the times…yesterday for the first time I had to lower the blinds while watching tv, this having been around 5pm. In the course of the day it warmed up to around 4C but with increasing clouds and ever stronger east wind. When the wind comes from that direction (including the sw), we're in for it. Thus for the past week-plus, the wind had been from the east to northeast: for Iceland, the fair weather direction from nearby Greenland which acts as a buffer for us.

Generally speaking, Icelanders subscribe to the idea of fate. You don´t pick this up right away but discover its important role once you´ve met a number of them in varying circumstances. Fate has played an important role in pre-Christian sagas and was adapted by Christianity as ‘God´s will.’ I also believe the changeable weather has shaped ideas about fate, especially in days when traveling was difficult. Not only that, people were more vulnerable to volcanic activity as well as surrounded by the ocean from which they made a (dangerous) living. When you hear the word ‘fate´ immediately comes to mind a passive resignation, not especially true among Icelanders. I.e., they don´t walk around with gloomy resignation but are hands-on and like to take control. Some of this can be detected through indifference as to getting things done, but when crunch time comes, Icelanders rise to the challenge (always at the last minute) and get done the task at hand. Precisely for this reason Icelanders often have been compared to Americans as opposed to Europeans.

More spectacular weather but quite cold in the morning, around -10C. It heats up quite nicely by noon, a real delight to be out in the still, bright weather. As for the cold, I´ve noticed with regularity that Icelanders aren´t tolerant of it. Even when relatively mild (to my likes), they bundle up with hats and gloves. If you took a photo on a street, you´d be mislead thinking it was Siberia.

Yesterday I noted how Icelanders get paid at the end of each month. While there´s no poverty here, more than you think live from-hand-to-mouth, and that excludes the famous extravagant spending typical of Iceland. For example, just this morning someone told me how depedent he was on the paycheck, glad it came in the middle of the week so he could pay bills. From today, beginning of a new month, this fellow will live just to get by; from what I gather, he doesn´t live high on the hog but quite modestly.

The local bus service in Reykjavik is superb with frequent service. Three lines come out to my area of Grafavogur, a peninsula of sorts, connected by just two roads. This section of Reykjavik is fairly new, the newest being nearby Grafaholt beyond which is Mosfellsbæ, already a town which had been incorporated into Reykjavik some 15 years ago. As for Grafavogur, the two roads serve some 35,000 familes, so getting out (and returning) in the morning can be hectic.