March 30, 2011 Persuasive essay preparation...

As I am preparing the class for their persuasive research essay, I am writing down what I already know about the topic that I have written something about, Iceland. I spent my 18th year of life in Iceland as an exchange student and I know some things have changed.  That is where the research will come in to help me bring the essay up to date.

The weather is moderate. They have windy (wind that comes over the ocean- so sometimes it is very windy), rainy days and moderate snow in the winter.

Their culture is Scandinavian, similar to the Swedish and Danish, but they have their roots in their ancestors the Vikings. Their meals are somewhat bland, but consist more boiled fish and potatoes.  It varies of course depending on the family and their origin.  They have coffee breaks three times a day with Danish pastries, coffee cakes with plenty of cream. I gained 25 lbs. the first month I was there!

It was difficult to say what they did for entertainment, but most students went to night clubs on the weekends to go dancing.  There were no bowling alleys or sports arenas at that time.  You could go swimming outside in the pools that were heated by the natural hot springs.

I attended school there.  The students had to pass a test in order to attend school past the age of 11-14 yrs.  We would call it grammar school.  Basically there were no assignments that were graded. You worked in class and took notes until the end of the course, then took a test and your grade was based on the final test!  If you didn’t do well, that was it! They speak Icelandic, but many speak English, after Danish.  They begin learning Danish at the age of eleven.  English was my best subject there in school. :)

Their last names were a source of fascination for me.  A person’s name was based on their father’s first name and son or dottir added to the end.  For example:  my Icelandic father’s name was Herbert, so my last name was Herbertsdottir. Telephone books were a riot.  They were alphabetized according to first names. Unless you knew where some lived or knew their father’s first name, it was impossible to know who you were calling from my point of view! J  Unique.
When I get home, I plan to put a picture of me in Iceland then.  Hopefully it will work! It worked!!!! This is Iceland's National Costume. I borrowed it from a friend!

There’s more, but I will stop there for today!  Thanks for reading!  Happy slicing! J
One more day of slicing! L

Comments

  1. I suspect that your students will love your personal model. And you've chosen such an interesting topic. I hope in later slices you'll let us know the outcome!

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  2. I learned a lot of first hand knowledge about a country I have heard of. I also realize I know little about Iceland until today.

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  3. And so "your story" begins. Interesting to learn about a country through someone who has actually lived there. Great job downloading your picture. Once you do it, it becomes part of your blogging!!!

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