I learned a lot and made some of my favorite memories! October 24, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Overall, the academics weren't too challenging in terms of day-to-day workload. The larger assignments could be pretty broad in scope, but everything was doable in the time frames given. The lectures were mostly from guest lecturers, so there was some repetition of information between them, but I overall found them to be really interesting and I learned a lot of valuable information.

On-site administration of your program

My academic director (Brandy Anglen) was absolutely incredible. She was very organized, on top of our itinerary, always made sure we had the information we needed, and recommended tons of extra opportunities to us for our days off. She also always made sure to check in on us regularly to make sure we were all doing well.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The living arrangements weren't always the best, but they were serviceable and relatively comfortable. I think it is difficult to find places to accommodate such large groups in Iceland during tourist season, so I wouldn't count on future programs staying in the exact same places.

The food was expensive, but overall pretty good. The meal stipend does cover food costs, if you're rational with it. Where possible, plan to cook or pack food instead of eating out. I found this more difficult at the really large hostel we stayed at in Reykjavik (KEX hostel), but at all of the other hostels and guesthouses it was pretty doable. Buy food and cook in groups, if you can, it makes it way for affordable and less work!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Reykjavik is a pretty touristy area and everyone speaks English, so it was a little difficult to feel super in touch with the local culture. However, in smaller cities/towns like Akureyri especially Isafjordur, it was much easier to meet and talk to locals and explore. I highly recommend going to the fish store in Isafjordur at least once, the owner is very nice and will give great recommendations on how to cook the fish!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't personally have any health issues during the trip, and from what I've heard from other people on the trip, it was a fairly easy system to use. Iceland didn't require any special vaccines, just make sure you're up-to-date on all the standard ones.

Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world, and I felt very safe being there as a young woman. During the summer, it's an added bonus that the sun never fully sets, so even being out late at night there isn't an issue with walking home in the dark. We also experienced some earthquakes and a volcanic eruption during our program, but I always felt like our tour guides and program staff were keeping up to date with everything to keep us safe.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Food could get expensive, especially in Reykjavik, but the meal stipend was generally enough if you planned ahead. Whenever possible, I cooked or packed meals with a group of people, which saved us all a lot of money. On days off, additional activities could be expensive ($50-400, depending), but I found the ones that I did invest in to be completely worth the experience.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

We had 2 weeks of Icelandic language instruction while staying in Isafjordur. It wasn't a super intense study, but it helped with how to pronounce the Icelandic alphabet and taught us some basic phrases. It was really nice to be able to use Icelandic greetings and be polite, but generally speaking Icelandic people are very proficient English speakers, so knowing the language was not a necessity.

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