Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.02.2008, Síða 4

04 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 02 2008 | Letters
Dear Editor,
I moved to Iceland around 6 months ago from Birmingham,
England. I moved here to be with my long distance boyfriend
of almost 3 years, and after 2 and a half years of waiting i
finally made the choice by myself to move here. Anyway,
at first i loved it, i loved going out and seeing the beautiful
landscapes and taking drives into the middle of nowhere to
find solace, the kind of thing you couldn´t do in a big city
like Birmingham. But when i started work things changed, i
started noticing people staring at me out of the blue for no
reason, which made me uncomfortable, but what could i ex-
pect being a coloured girl i guess, but still, things seemed to
get worse for me, the more i thought about the stares and
the comments about me not being able to speak Icelandic
after even 2 to 3 months the more it started to anger me, how
could people be so ignorant? I regard myself as a very polite
and friendly person, who gives everybody a first and sec-
ond chance, whereas i feel like nobody gives me a chance
to show them who i am before they make their judgement
about me and where i´m from. I know that it is an isolated
island and that people are not used to immigration, I of all
people know that in England there is also racism and pred-
judice but nowadays there is such a variation of people that
colour or race or religion doesnt seem to matter as much as it
used to in England. I dont expect things will change anytime
soon, but it kinda depresses me in a way that i cant comuni-
cate on any level with some people, even if they speak good
english, it seems like they are miles away when i talk to them.
Infact i find that when i speak english in a public place or at
work, i get stared at, which is kind of humourous but can be
annoying if you ŕe having a bad day. I know some Iceland-
ers do try really hard to accomodate immigrants, and not all
icelanders are ignorant or rude, but i feel that it is a long way
before iceland truly accepts immigrants the way other more
integrated countries like america or england, which kinda
makes me sad, as i would have loved to have stayed here for
longer but now i have plans to move back to england in 6
months. I have tried to learn the language, but resources are
hard to find, my boyfriend is icelandic and he tries to help
the best he can but he can only do so much..
I also think it would be more helpful if Icelanders advertised
jobs in english as well as icelandic, because learning icelan-
dic takes some time, and for an english speaker like myself,
its extremely hard to find a job when you dont understand
any of the advertisements.
thanks for reading,
Jessica x
Dear Jessica,
It always makes me sad to read letters from people who move
to Iceland, only to be confronted with Icelander’s prejudges
and lack of manner. Your story is hardly more than a variation
of a story I’ve heard many, many times before. But, you and
me, we are on the right track here. The only way to uproot pre-
judges and lack of cultural understanding is to open discus-
sion. Ignorance, pure and simple, is the root of all prejudges,
and we need to get to that root, through the only means we
have. Open discussion is the only effective method to educate
those who are still in the dark. I hope that your letter will be
put this issue in new light for somebody. That would be a
good start.
Thank you for writing,
Editor
Hello,
I would like to ask, through your paper, about the possibility
finding penfriend, an Icelandic woman between the age of
45 and
60. I live in north Queensland, Australia, and I am a family
person. I would prefer the old fashioned method of
correspondence. My address: 18 Cedarbrook Terrace, IDA-
LIA,
TOWNSVILLE 4811, North Queensland, Australia.
Thanks.
Denise Moore
Phone 4722 0304
denise@townsvilleofficefurniture.com.au
Denise,
I expect that by old-fashioned mode of correspondence you
are referring to carrier pigeons. You can expect my letter in a
few weeks, oh, and I need that pigeon back.
Editor
Editor: Barker Bjornsson

I would like to offer my commemorative poem to be pub-
lished in your English language daily newspaper. Of course,
I was inspired to write this poem on hearing about the death
of the great chess player, Bobby Fischer, who was able to find
shelter and comfort in your wonderful country, for the last
few years of his life.

Thank you Iceland!
Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer’s gone and died,
He’s famous cause he once defied,
The Ruskies at their favourite game,
And he American by name!
It’s hard for us to quite assess,
How good he was at playing chess;
He took poor Spaskky, rook and all,
And trapped his bishop at the wall.
And with his poisoned pawn approach,
His queen in danger, did encroach,
And snatch a piece without exchange,
Left the white Sicilian strange.
But too outspoken was his curse,
And like a pawn he felt it worse;
They threw him in a Japanese cell,
With both his knights captured as well.
And now he’s had his final fling,
For God has moved to take his King;
In Iceland’s womb he met his fate,
He’s now received his own checkmate!
Written by: Michael J Monteith, January 19, 2008
Sour Grapes
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