The Icelandic connection - 01.09.2010, Page 29

Vol. 63 #2
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
79
Alberta to become a journalist. At some
point, I began to realize that my curious
first name had its advantages. For one
thing, it was a great conversation starter.
The next question—“What nationality is
that?”— was almost guaranteed to lead to
detailed quizzing. Where was Iceland?
Was it as cold as it sounded? Even my
explanations that I had never been there
failed to dim the intense curiosity my first
name evoked.
As I settled into life in Alberta, estab-
lishing bank accounts and buying a
house, 1 soon came to appreciate another
benefit of my unusual first name. It pro-
vided a way to distinguish myself from
the two other Gail Helgasons, married to
two cousins, who lived within the metro-
politan Edmonton area (one the same age
and even the same height as me). Even
then, at least two banks managed to mix
up our accounts.
At that point, my name game moved
into another phase: I decided on occasion
to adopt my husband’s last name as a
hyphenated addition to Helgason. I was
certain there could be no other Gudrun
Gail Helgason-Dodd on the planet. (The
thought of adopting Gail Dodd had never
for an instant occurred to me.) This
proved to be both a good idea—and a bad
one. It made financial institutions happy,
but caused puzzlement when I went about
simple chores such as picking up dry-
cleaning. Was I picking up for Helgason
or Dodd? Or Helgason-Dodd?
When computer technology became
widespread, I began to have more second
thoughts. Fitting Gudrun Gail Helgason-
Dodd into a required “fields” in online
reservation and shopping forms was akin
to trying to squeeze a sheep into a shoe.
When did I decide to stop feeling
irritated about my name (or, more accu-
rately, names)? I can give you the precise
date: September 4, 2005.
On that date, I arrived for the first
time at Reykjavik airport. Shortly after
deplaning, as my husband and I stepped
onto an escalator, I noticed a huge banner
hanging from the ceiling. It showed the
face of an attractive young woman. The
banner identified the woman as
“Gudrun.” It explained that Gudrun was
an ancient Icelandic name meaning
“Eternal Mystery.”
Suddenly I saw in a different light
the name that had tripped me up most of
my life. Here, within my first few minutes
on this rocky island, a gift had been
bestowed upon me.
Gudrun, the banner signalled, was a
strong, revered, ageless—and even “nor-
mal”— name. Yes, I knew all these things
before I ever set foot on Iceland, but only
then did that visceral knowledge truly set-
tle into my bones.
From that moment on, it no longer
mattered to me if my unusual first name
caused curiosity, confusion or inconve-
nience. The honour of bearing such a
name is worth a little trouble.
I»j6draeknisfelag Islendinga f Vesturheimi
PRESIDENT: Gail Einarson McCleery
Support Icelandic culture and heritage
by joining your local chapter, or contact:
The Icelandic National League
#103-94 First Ave. Gimli, MB ROC 1B1
Tel: (204) 642-5897 • Fax: (204) 642-7151
inl@mts.net