Reykjavík Grapevine - 31.07.2009, Blaðsíða 4

Sour grape of the month
A case of POLAR BEER for your thoughts.
We're not gonna lie to you: we really love us some beers. Some folks
would call it a problem, but beer never gave us any problems. In fact,
over the years, it's solved most of 'em. A frosty glass of cold, frothy,
bubblicious, golden-tinted beer has consistently failed to let us down.
In the immortal words of Homer J. Simpson: "Mmm... Beer..."
Now, since we're real pleasant and giving folks here at the Grapevine,
we thought we'd share some of that wonderful POLAR BEER with
you, our readers. Henceforth, until the end of days (or our Polar Beer-
sponsorship program, whichever comes first), we will reward one
MOST EXCELLENT LETTER with a case of the Polar Beer. You read
right. A full case of beer. At your disposal.
Give us your worst: letters@grapevine.is
(light)
Say your piece, voice your opinion,
send your letters to
letters@grapevine.is
4
Letters
MOST AWESOME LETTER:
Sour grapes
and stuff
Answer to Hanna’s letter in Sourgrapes of
GV issue 10
Dear hanna,
You definitely have been unlucky and met
a bunch of assholes! As a foreigner estab-
lished in iceland since january 2008, i can
give you a feedback on my experience: yes,
some icelanders enter the category "rac-
ist" quite well. But they are few. (well, a bit
more since last september it seems...)
In general, i found the icelanders quite
open, and (once you've broken the ice)
warm towards me, and the other foreign-
ers that i know. I have worked hard to learn
icelandic, and though i am far away from
speaking it properly, i manage to hold a
small conversation with an icelander. And
this has changed a lot for me socially. It
seems that for most icelanders, to hear a
foreigner speak icelandic (try at least) is the
proof that we love the country, more than
anything else. And from what i saw, it can
be THE thing that makes a doubtfull and
cold icelander change totally their attitude
toward you.
Speaking of this, i would like to bring
back to memories a letter that the Grape-
vine printed last year in the first issue
of august i think. Mr. Robert Zartarian
exposes his disappointment at hearing
icelanders greeting foreigners in english,
and vice-versa. He encourages us, foreign-
ers, to learn at least a few words, as a start.
And i now add
my voice to his.
So hanna, to come back to your issue:
be happy that the guy didn't rent you the
flat, he obviously was an asshole. And...
Have you considered changing your job?
Obviously it's not the best of time to do so,
but to work in such an atmosphere is really
not the best thing...
Anyway. I hope my letter is of any use
to you, and i hope that you get loads of posi-
tive testimonies on icelanders. All the best,
Fanný
Dear Fanný,
alright! Thank you, Fanný! It seems like
we got a dialogue going here! That’s awe-
some – that’s what this paper is for, really.
So, guys – send in more stories of Iceland-
ers racism (or lack thereof). Let’s talk about
stuff and maybe try and reach a conclu-
sion. It’ll be fun!

As a frequent American visitor to your
shores, I must say "Bravo!" to you, Hau-
kur. We in the USA pride ourselves on our
independent streak - why then should we
attempt to stifle it in Iceland? And sure,
when I travel to Iceland, I spend my dol-
lars. I don't do it, however, to "save" Iceland
from the kreppa.... I do it to experience a
fascinating, vibrant, progressive society.
I certainly expect no undying gratitude
from Althingi.... in fact, since when I'm
visiting I am experiencing YOUR county,
I must say "tak" to YOU, Iceland! Bravo,
Haukur - your countrymen and women
should be proud of your stance - and
Americans should reject the stance of
the writer [of last issue’s “editorial letter”].
Bless...
Bill Haigh
Greetings Reykjavik Grapevine,
It has been a while since we've
corresponded. We have been quite busy
with our art and with our new baby girl.
It was a very special occasion for our
family on Monday. It was our daughter
Annika’s first birthday. We have been
blessed with a beautiful and happy baby
girl and we wanted to show her how much
she means to us. For her birthday gift,
we thought about many things that we could have given her, but we knew we wanted
to create something spectacular for her. Since we are both profoundly grounded in our
Scandinavian roots, we decided to create a Viking Ship wagon. It was true collaboration,
Angel did all the detail carving, painting, and the sewing of sail, pillows and blankets and
I designed and constructed the wagon.
In the weeks and days leading up to Annika’s birthday, we kept the wagon out of her
sight. Finally the big day arrived, and we did not know who was more excited. After she
opened her other gifts and had cake, we took everyone outside to present her with her
final gift. Annika catches a glimpse to what she sees rolling around the corner, points
and she shrieks with delight! She hops in the wagon with a smile from ear to ear. After
her party, we took Annika and her best friend, Gidget, for a long ride. Both can fit in
comfortably with plenty of room to grow. We begin our voyage and Annika loves as we
gather momentum, picking up speed going down hills.
We travel along Lake Superior, breathing in the sweet air and listening to the waves.
Annika loves the attention that she receives in her wagon. She watches for people and
blows kisses to them. When her eyes start to get tired from all the waving, she settles in
for a little nap, dreaming of her next voyage. We hope that Annika will enjoy her Viking
Ship wagon. It was a labor of love and we hope that she gets many years of enjoyment
from it.
Have a great day!
Andy, Angel & Annika Saur
www.justcoffeeart.com
Dearest Andy, Angel and Annika,
we’ve missed you! Thanks for keeping us up to date. It certainly put a shine on our day.
You folks are certainly some of what makes life worth living.
PS – how did your campaign to get the Minnesota Vikings to adopt Immigrant Song
as their theme song go? Any success?
[Long-time readers of Grapevine will remember Andy and Angel Saur from his
correspondence to the paper some years back. The rest of you need only know that they
are awesome, warm people].
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09
Dear Bill,
wow. Sheesh. Thank you so much for your
kind and encouraging words. It is assuring
to hear that not all visitors to our country
feel they are somehow entitled to force
their ways or opinions on us because they
are “contributing to our failed economy.”
So, thank you, sir.
Góðan daginn og Hello from Germany,

we have had such a nice time in Reykjavik
in march 2009.
We loved the town, the people and Ice-
land. It was great.
My problem for today is: I have sawn a
shop on Laugavegur. In the window were
crystal art, jewellery with crystal and im-
ages formed from glass for the wall. We
coudn't buy anything because the shop
was closed. I saw a www. site, but i can not
remember. perhaps you can help me? Per-
haps I can buy online.
And I have another question, we will
come back some time. We like the people
there, so I want to have some mail contact.
Do you know in wich paper I can set a
question to get friends or where I can write
to find someone?
Takk fehir. Thank you so much for
your help.
Vertu blessaður og Bestu kveðjur.
Ingrid Schwerdtfeger
schwerdtfeger@stadtwerke-malchow.de
Dear Ingrid,
it’s good to hear you had a great time in
March; it’s good to hear you loved the town,
the people and Iceland. It is good to hear it
was great. Thanks for sending in positive
and kind word. It made us feel good. And
everyone always needs more of that stuff,
right?
(I digress: actually, as I type this, we
are listening to SLAYER. Maybe not the
most positive, loving, good time music you
can get. But still. Every feeling in the emo-
tional spectrum is important, right? Even
HATE, and BRUTAL, and METAL, and
SLAYER!)
Now, I am sorry to say, I have no idea
what Laugavegur store you are referring to.
Maybe some of our readers do? They are a
helpful, loving bunch. I am sure they will
e-mail you with some helpful instructions.
I have taken the liberty of printing your
most complicated e-mail address under
your name, so the helpful and awesome
people of Iceland and their guests can re-
ply to you without me mediating and med-
dling around.
Also, hopefully they will want to write
you an e-mail to correspond and become
penpals, too. You totally deserve a penpal.
Love to you, and all.