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.