Chapter 5 - Attack of the trolls!

I have great news... I got a job and I start tomorrow! The job is working in an ´after school program´ (for children aged 6 years) and it´s literally just around the corner from Birna´s house – less than a 10 minute walk. The job is from 1-5pm each day, which works in perfectly with my Icelandic language course (which starts next Monday and is four mornings a week). Hopefully the children are just as cute as the kids I had the pleasure of working with when I did a little stint as a teacher aide in London. My fondest memory of that job was when I asked a 6 year old boy to do something and he politely declined by telling me to “f### off... suck my d###!” ....Oh how utterly adorable... His parents must be so proud! Although if an Icelandic kid told me something similar, I wouldn´t have a clue anyway and I would just smile, nod and tell them “good on ya mate! Keep up the good work!”

So anyway... Birna and I just went away for the past two nights. We visited a place in the South East of Iceland where we saw some awesome geysers and a spectacular waterfall called Gullfoss (The Golden Waterfall) ...check out the pics.

We stayed in a cosy little wooden cabin – it was very remote and isolated. And before I go on... a special mention, and full compliments, to the chef! Birna did a superb job on the barbie!! Not your typical aussie barbie where the ´chef´would wear shorts, shirt and thongs... but more the Icelandic style involving full clothing from head to toe. But never mind that... the food was absolutely awesome! (I would highly recommend the Icelandic Lamb!) So whilst Birna braved the cold and cooked for both of us... yes I did my bit and offered moral support from behind closed doors and next to the heater whilst sipping wine and listening to music... and you thought I left all the hard work to Birna – shame on you!

The weather was not so great whilst we were away – it kind of drizzled most of the time, although it was generally quite mild and calm... except for the first night which was rainy and windy. At one point during that first night we started to hear strange noises and were a little startled as we were in the middle of nowhere and were all alone... or so we thought. (The Joanne Lees / Peter Falconio case flashed through my mind!) So I did what any brave, fearless and intelligent woman would do... I kicked hubby out of bed to go and investigate, then pulled the doona cover over my head, sucked my thumb and rocked back and forth whilst in the foetal position. Birna found nothing and then suggested it might have been mice or something in the roof. Mice??!!?? What kind of species of mice do they have here then??!!?? It sounded more like a herd of cows to me! ...Or maybe it was the “hidden people” or the “trolls”... Many Icelanders believe that there are other “beings” that live here... “beings” that humans cannot see… There are stories of hidden people, elves and trolls...

Trolls are hideous, greedy creatures said to have erupted from the rotting corpse of a giant, and banished to the deep underworld. If they are caught above ground at daylight they turn into stone. This explains many of the unusual rock formations throughout the country. (Sure scientists call them lava eruptions… but what would they know!)

Then there are the Elves… They are usually benevolent and live between heaven and earth. Iceland claims to have five varieties including gnomes, winged creatures and the Hidden People. The tale of the origin about the Hidden People concerns Eve, the mother of human creation. Eve had many children, and when God announced he was about to pay a visit to her, she worked hard to clean them up so they would be presentable to Him. Alas, time was short, and a certain number of her children remained unwashed. Rather than present them to God, she hid them. God arrived, inspected the children present with approval, and then asked Eve if she had any other children. Fearful, Eve denied their existence. As a result these hidden children were destined forever to remain hidden. That is, until they wish to make themselves seen. Of all the spirit world, the Hidden People are the most like humans, except they are inevitably more beautiful, talented, and charming. They interact with humans when and where they wish to. They are generally benign, but terrible things have occurred to those who have disturbed or destroyed their dwellings, from huge cost overruns on construction sites to accidents and even death.

So boys and girls… that was your first Icelandic history lesson. Hope you were paying attention because I´ll be testing you on it later.