twolands

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

"its a land of confusion..."

..who sang that song, does anybody remember cos its just signifies where we are all upto at the moment?
On Friday T and I had a lovely night out-we had a very posh (and very long-and-drawn-out) meal at Hotal Nordica and then we went to see Sixties play. And not only did T get up on stage with his old band ("this song is written by one of the founding members, Þórarinn Freysson, who can´t actually remember how to play it!") but he also danced the night away with his wife..much to the amusement of his former band members. And we didn´t to bed until 3am and even managed to squeeze in a lie-in and a walk up half a mountain the next day, before doing more family stuff with our 2 Best Boys (phew!).
And then we all started with varying degrees of colds, coughs and throat/chest infections :-(
J went to his friends house after school on Friday and brought Sebastian and Robert home yesterday which was good and he met his friend from Greenland too, who lives nearby so J was feeling much more positive yesterday. E is growing up, loves his new red boots (Mummy rescued him from the boring navy blue ones that Daddy had chosen!) and loved hanging out with the big boys yesterday.
And as for yours truly?Well..I just want to go home and be with family and friends and go to work on a regular basis and go to the gym and have a more demanding and fulfilling lifestyle in general...as much as I love my boys (all 3 of them) I also love meeeting friends, working-out and doing things of my own chosing. At the moment all I do is fill the day until everyone comes home :-(
T feels bad about this as he is enjoying being around friends..J is up and down about the whole thing (on Sunday he said "I'm just fed-up of the whole thing" but is preferring life in RVK compared to Garður) and E is a happy and jolly little soul :-)
We still don't know wehere we are upto with residence permits..according to the website we need to provide copies of a custody agreement but we have never had one and never needed one..and the icelandic authorities tend to interpret things in a very black-and-white fashion...so just watch this space...
And so from this land of confusion to everyone we know and love, we send you all our very best wishes...lots of love J,T,J and E xxxxxx
PS have a click on the mother tongue link and you will see me under 'teachers'.xx

Friday, August 25, 2006

''...3 easy stages to sure and certain insanity..''

1) Icelandic bureaucracy
2) Icelandic bureaucracy
3) Icelandic bureaucracy...

Its not easy going here in the land of black-and-white..sorry, that should read fire-and-ice...J and i continue to be regarded as almost-illegal aliens and most-definitely foreign ones..you can read on toti's blog the palaver with the icelandic authorities..it is getting too much and we have just about had enough..we may have kennitalas now but we are still only on the 'pending' list so if anyone actually searches for us we will still not be found..
...on a happier note, the mother tongue association stuff is really good and we all enjoyed a positive and productive board and teachers meeting yesterday. I'm really looking forward to getting on with the actual teaching but feel like I still need at least 23 years to prepare my 12 weeks programme!
..and T and I are actually going out tonight..to dance..and stay up late..no! really! we are off to see Sixties play...I have asked for a special request..please start playing before 3am!!!!
Still no phone, maybe no childminder after september, no residence permits..but hey! we still have each other :-)
Love to one and all...and please will somebody tell me if Ali has had her baby yet-the suspense is almost driving me to insanity..(oh no! I forgot..its icelandic bureaucracy thats doing that;-).
Take care and much love from J and boys (of all ages and all legal status!) xxxx

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

'' ..loneliness is a crowded room..''

...things we like (and loathe) about Iceland...
... we love the fantastic scenery, the chance of exploring a whole new country, the fact that the rush-hour is a 6-car strong queue at a set of traffic-lights in Gardbær, Toti realising how great it is to have friends around and his being able to play music again, Elijah growing up in a bilingual environment...
...we loathe the feeling of sadness and isolation, being unable to see friends without taking a plane journey, being regarded with suspicion because we are foreign especially for J who is surrounded by kids in our new area who won't even say hi, being unable to use my skills and knowledge in my chosen field when there is a shortage of nurses...
Its not a great time at the moment and we don´t currently know how things will turn out in the end. J is back at school today and is pleased because he will actually have friends to play with...but he may not get the extra icelandic teaching he is entitled to because of bl***y icelandic bureaucracy. And he so needs to learn the language..the key to integration apparently??
So not a positive entry I'm afraid...tell me good news...has Ali's baby arrived yet???
Stay in touch dear friends and family.
Love to all from J and boys xxxx

Monday, August 21, 2006

Sorry for lack of entries ... again

Vodafone have seriously messed things up for us so we haven't had a phone or access to the internet since approx the 1st August and we have no idea when this will get sorted, if ever, as Tóti sent them a not-so-friendly e-mail telling them where they could stick their ideas of customer service ...

Other than that, Joanna and Jolyon are finding life tough at the moment, very emotional regarding friends and lack of ... Jolyon starts school tomorrow so hopefully things will be looking up for him which should make it easier for everyone.

More later ... again, sorry TwoLand fans. Tóti tries to keep his page updated with whats going on and you can read that by clicking here. Joanna will blog anytime she can ...

Love to you all,

Tóti, Joanna, Jolyon and Elijah

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

..'' we are coooll.. and that's official...''

..and the reason being?..our new trendy abode in trendy 101...photo to follow once phone thingy reconnected...
yep! just to let you know we are shattered but happy in our new house..all worked hard over the weekend-thanks to all family and friends who helped out in their own different ways..it was good to have an extra day at home yesterday (it was bank holiday) and we used it to explore vesturbae ('west-town'), enjoy some culture and company and generally have a lovely day together...
more info soon when internet set up at home (found the list of boxes, found the box, found the phone-point, found the PC...couldn´t get the connection from vodaphone)..well, I guess even the best systems break down at some point..
love to one and all from J,T,J and E xxxx
Ps check the comments left on our blogsite-we had a lovely one from a lady who came across us by accident..in a similar position...made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside..! ;-)