Did you ever have to jostle at work for a project you really wanted?
Guaranteed there was jostling on my third grade team
when it came time to teach our geography unit on Europe.
Usually we team taught this unit, dividing countries among us
and teaching our chosen countries to all of our students
who rotated from teacher to teach in class groups.
That way each teacher prepared lessons for only one or two countries,
while the students got to know all the teachers, and we got to know all the students.
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First Glimpse of My Chosen Country June 11, 2014 © M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved |
My colleagues jostled over who would get to teach France, Italy,
the United Kingdom, or other popular countries.
Me? No jostling. No one ever clamored for Iceland but me.
I wanted Iceland for three big reasons, all contained in this photo:
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First, Iceland has the oldest surviving Parliament in the world, the Althing.
It dates back to 930 AD, and in 1930, on the Althing's 1000th anniversary,
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park was established on the site
where the Althing met until 1798.
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park
June 12, 2014
Photo by Terry Barbour
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
It dates back to 930 AD, and in 1930, on the Althing's 1000th anniversary,
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park was established on the site
where the Althing met until 1798.
Second, I loved the delicious irony that Iceland is not continental.
It is oceanic and straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Even if no one else in the world found humor in this (including Terry),
I took great delight in it.
It is oceanic and straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Even if no one else in the world found humor in this (including Terry),
I took great delight in it.
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The Trace of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rift Valley Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park |
Third, I'm a geologist, and the one story I remember from my grade two reader
was about an Icelandic family that went on a picnic
and boiled eggs in a hot spring near a geyser for their lunch.
I fell in love with Iceland, its marvelous landscapes, and its geology.
Right then and there, all of eight years old, I swore that I would go to Iceland.
was about an Icelandic family that went on a picnic
and boiled eggs in a hot spring near a geyser for their lunch.
I fell in love with Iceland, its marvelous landscapes, and its geology.
Right then and there, all of eight years old, I swore that I would go to Iceland.
The Calm Before an Eruption
Geysir, Iceland
June 12, 2014
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
The Geyser Erupts
Geysir, Iceland
June 12, 2014
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
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standing in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rift Valley,
with my hand on the North American tectonic plate
where the Althing met for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Am I thrilled or what?
I never had the opportunity to boil eggs in a hot spring,
but I did something even better.
I soaked in the Blue Lagoon with Terry,
a man-made pool heated by geothermal water from the Mid-Atlantic Rift.
The Blue Lagoon
Iceland
June 14, 2014
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
Terry
Blue Lagoon, Iceland
June 14, 2014
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
Me (Louise)
Blue Lagoon, Iceland
June 14, 2014
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
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I always had a blast teaching Iceland to the kiddos.
I covered everything required by our curriculum and standards,
but I squeezed in a lot of extra material, especially geological.
My goal was to awaken my students wonder about our amazing planet and how it works.
And I'm sure there's more than one kiddo who became passionate about geology
and promised himself or herself a trip to Iceland someday.
It's important to keep those early promises you make.
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Happy in Iceland ~ A Promise Kept
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Fundy Blue
Happy in Iceland ~ A Promise Kept
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved