Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.10.2017, Side 62

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02 — 2017
Hailing all the way from the Philippines,
Ma Janice Ymbong Silao has been in
Iceland for seven years now. As a nurse
working night shifts in the intensive
care unit, she’s seen quite a bit.
Working the graveyard shift in a hos-
pital isn’t as glamorous as it appears
in TV shows, especially when you’re a
newcomer to Iceland. Struggling to
find work when she first arrived was
difficult, Janice recalls, as most jobs in
her field required knowing Icelandic.
“When I first came to Iceland there
weren’t any jobs for me because at the
time I didn’t know the language,” she
explains. “Nursing is really my passion,
not being able to speak the language well
was very hard for me. I cried so many
times because I wanted to be a nurse but
needed to know the language—that’s
why I was striving to learn. I love nurs-
ing and helping people, especially sick
people. Being there for a patient is very
satisfying for me, and I love that.”
It can be exciting working nights at
Landspítali, like getting paid to be in a
haunted house. Janice recalls one par-
ticularly spooky night.
“I’m really sensitive to that stuff,” she
says. “When it’s not busy on the night
shift, we have time to take a rest. One
night I had a headache so the charge
nurse allowed me to lie down. This
was around four in the morning. I was
in a really dark room and the door was
closed. When I opened my eyes I saw a
man standing in the room with me. I
thought maybe it was the charge nurse
calling me back from my rest, but when
I asked if it was him, he said ‘No!’”
This kind of experience isn’t uncom-
mon for Janice—she claims to have seen
a lot of mysterious occurrences at the
hospital. “When I’m just in the rooms
attending to patients I see a lot of things
unexplained,” she says. “I’m not afraid of
ghosts here though…when I was in the
Philippians it was much worse! I haven’t
told anyone I work with—I don’t want
to scare them.” She concludes, “When
people tell me how creepy it is, I just say
‘I know, I live with it!’”
HOUR OF THE WOLF
CITY SHOT by Art Bicnick
Haunted Nights
At Landspítali
Seeing ghosts in the ICU
becomes the norm
Words:
Jenna
Mohammed
Photo:
Art Bicnick
DON’T ASK NANNA...
...About
Vegans & AirBnB
Words: Nanna Árnadóttir
Dear Nanna,
I'm in the throws of planning a trip to Iceland
but I may have a problem after seeing the
menus on offer at many of your restaurants.
I'm a level 5 vegan (I won't eat anything that
casts a shadow). Would it be best for me to
plan my trip for the end of December?
Regards, Nightman
Hey Nightman,
Level 5 vegan, you can take your passive
aggressive piss take and fuck right off.
If you think I'm taking the bait to make
fun of vegans you're out of your damn
mind. Oh, HA HA Vegans care! Let's shit
on them for living their values, consider-
ing the planet, caring for the welfare of
living animals, deciding not to hand over
their hard-earned money to companies
who exploit animals then profit from their
death. Shit, I'm not even vegan but I'm re-
ally tired of people making them targets of
ridicule, because for some reason it's okay
to make fun of people who give a shit. To
make fun of people who try. And for those
vegans reading this who are scared there
won't be food on offer for you in Iceland, I
promise you can find vegan alternatives
on a lot of menus plus great eats at places
like Gló, Kaffihúsið Garðurinn and des-
serts at Valdís or Joylato.
Regards, Vegetarian Nanna

Hi Nanna,
Should I stay at an AirBnB when I visit next
month or at a hotel? On the one hand hotels
are super expensive and kind of out of my
budget but on the other hand I've read a lot
about AirBnB's ruining downtown for locals
by pricing people out.
Considerate Consumer
Hi Considerate Consumer,
Everything is meaningless, your choices
are irrelevant.
lols.
Nihilist Nanna
Don't email: nanna@grapevine.is
Don't tweet at: @NannaArnadottir
West-Iceland
62 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2017
Ready for your checkup? Don’t worry about
the wandering ghosts, Janice is a natural
ghostbuster.
Moving season in Reykjavík