The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2007, Page 34

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 61 #1
Snorri Reflection
by Sara Loftson
While many people trace their family
tree as a favorite hobby from the comfort
of their home computer or local archives,
this summer I am one of 13 university and
young adult aged Icelandic-North
Americans who will travel to Iceland to
trace our family tree in person.
We've been selected to participate in
the six-week Snorri Program established in
1999. While we're in Iceland we will study
Icelandic language and culture at the
University of Reykjavik, stay with distant
relatives and travel the Island on an adven-
ture tour.
In preparation for this trip I have been
studying Icelandic through an online lan-
guage course. I've met people at my local
Icelandic club who've helped me with some
language lessons, lent me reading material
about the country and given me tips on
what to expect when I go over there. I've
also taken advantage of Internet social net-
working technologies such as MSN and
Facebook, helping me connect with past
and future Snorri participants.
There is no doubt that I am a quintes-
sential Canadian, a cultural fruit salad with
an ounce of Ukrainian, a pinch of Polish, a
little bit of Lebanese and inch of Icelandic.
I've never really had a cultural identity
beyond eating the odd perogy or slice of
Vlnarterta. Yet, I've always wondered
about my many cultural stripes. Perhaps as
a young person the search for self identity
is synonymous with coming of age.
I'm proud to call myself Icelandic. It's
unique and it's always impressed people, if
for no other reason than they'd never met
an Icelander before. I'm from Winnipeg,
Manitoba and even though there's a large
number Icelandic Manitobans, we are still
an anomaly to most.
Sadly, beside my grandma's Vlnarterta
and aunty's Icelandic pancakes, I know
very little about my heritage. In many ways
Iceland is as mysterious to them as it is to
me. But this summer I hope to solve this
mystery and discover my roots.
I have been asking myself what rele-
vance does learning about a culture that
doesn’t play a role in my day to day life
have for me? I think the answer is simple.
First of all, it does play a role. Iceland is
imprinted on my heart. Icelandic values
have influenced my father’s relationship
with his father and my relationship with
my father.
I don't remember much about Afi
other than he was a man of few words with
sky blue eyes, pale skin and white hair. He
died when I was in elementary school. Afi
is buried in Lundar, Manitoba where we
can trace our family roots. As the eldest of
11 children, Afi came from a poor family
and remained poor as a carpenter. While he
held on tight to his heritage partly by
socializing with other Icelanders at his local
Lutheran church, he was too poor to ever
visit his ancestoral homeland.
My trip to Iceland is a first for at least
three or four of our family’s generations.
So many details from the past are fuzzy and
it's my hope to shed some light on them to
brighten our path for the future.