My first official day in Iceland! (To be quite transparent though, my concept of days is extremely blurred right now as I approach 48 hours of concioiusness) I arrived at 9am to KEF and met my new manager at the BSI where he picked me up in a 2000s-nostalgic 4runner that smelled lightly like horse and faint cigarette (good grief Charlie B). Everything was moving so fast — mentally and physically. We went over my entire riding history, his horse ownership, his part of the company, the other girls nationalities and levels, and my expectations for the job. When we arrived it was about 11 (? Yo I have no idea actually) and Elisa was the first to greet me and show me my room—well, truthfully our room, as we’d be roommates for the summer. Her curls were all over the place and poking out of her headband, and she was so excited. Something about her energy feels so safe and contagious. Its so funny though, she grabbed my one backpack to help me bring bags in and when she realized that was all I had her facial reaction is one that will make me laugh for years to come. I think I get bragging rights for low maintenance for life…who else goes to a horse farm for the summer with only one bag? Maybe that was me being naive, but I will stand by the theory that packing for 3 weeks is the same as packing for 2 months until the day I die. I got a few minutes to drop my things, change, then meet the other resident rider & summer coworker, Sabira, to tack for my first tour a mere hour after I arrived. I rode Krona, who was kind of awful—during the tölts she just trotted, and tried to get ahead of the group at that. Thinking about it now I probably should not have been put on a tour mere hours after arriving…having been traveling since 6am on the 21st. Oh well, as the boss says “young girls don’t get tired.”
I helped Elisa prep for her tour after Sabira and I got back, and then we did the stables. Holy MOLY it was hard—I’d forgotten how physical barn chores are. Def looking forward to turning them into a solid workout regime in the next few weeks. After we finished everything we went grocery shopping and I got to experience the glory the was Kronan before rushing home to pack for the hot spring. The manager had encouraged, or more like instructed haha, that I accompany the girls at my location (Ölfus) and the Reykjavik barn in a ride up the mountain to the hot spring right on the edge of town. It sounded very *saddle club* so I figured I may as well take-the-adventure. I really only remember two things from the 30m time window between grocery store and leaving for the ride—making myself a PB&J banana sandwich (which should have been my first red flag because when tf have I ever eaten that) and Axelle bursting into the house yelling “allez allez lets go.”
That being said:
~intro reykjavik girls~
Quick interlude for first impressions: Lisa was super approachable and kind, like the type of calm that makes you feel like she’d always keep your interest at heart. Axelle was loud & wildly hilarious, and kept chatting about the “Santy Claus” in Lapovia or wherever she said the North Pole village was. Her French accent was so funny and cool—just like in the movies. Iti--beyond intimidating. Maybe its a height thing, but I'm calling it now: she will definitely either be one of the coolest people I have ever met, or scare the shit out of me for the next couple months. HAHA stay tuned. At one point in the car ride to the drop point they asked me to spell a word for them as the token “native speaker” and I thought that was super cute. Overall, one of the most welcoming group of coworkers yet.
When we got on to ride, of course the immediate first thing that happens to me is Zorro. TAKES. OFF. One moment Axelle is yelling “ok enjoy!” and the next I’m fully on the ground. Not hurt in the slightest, but then the boss insisted I switch to ride Naglí (against Axelle and Elisa’s protests), and of course he takes off again. At that point I wasn’t even embarrassed (Lowkey wish I had been so I would’ve felt like I needed to try a third time, but oh well), just exhausted and way too tired to fight with a strong horse the entire way so I called it quits. The boss drove me home, gave me a hug (? Is this the start of kind workplaces for Martin?) and I took my new quiet time to unpack and shower. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to have the house to myself for that. It gave me the chance to get settled into my new home :). On that note, between my beautifully hot shower and writing this novel, it’s time to go to bed.
My last night sky for a while :)
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