My Gap Year in The Great Outdoors of Iceland

 

 

Hello, my name is Yu-jin Lee and I am majoring in geography. I am interested in physical geography and enjoy experiencing and observing terrains, climates, and natural phenomena around the world.

I wanted to take action and help during my vacation and during that time I came across the KoreaGap Year website. Iceland was not my first choice but I wanted to meet new people, protect the environment, and travel.

I was not worried about staying abroad for a long time, I was mostly worried about having full responsibility for myself. It was my first time going abroad and having to take care of everything like my luggage and my condition. I realized how much I had been cared for back home in Korea.

With no experience in preparing a trip abroad I was very lost and worried about planning it correctly. Fortunately, Korea Gap Year has various departure procedures such as airline tickets, accommodations before and after the program, travel insurance, and packing without difficulty. If I didn’t have their help I would have been lost but thanks to them I was able to learn how to prepare for departure. Because of their help, I will be able to travel alone well as I gained much experience.

 

 

My goal was to have time to see and act with my own eyes rather than just learning about the seriousness of environmental issues theoretically. I had dreamed of becoming a person who could help the world but during college I was overwhelmed by many talented people. I questioned if I could achieve my dream. I challenged myself and had more confidence in my own goal, to assert the necessity of environmental protection. I was looking forward to living with people from around the world. I have always been curious about various cultures so I like to travel and meet new people. The idea of being able to share experiences with others was very appealing to me. I really wanted to practice my English and since I am currently learning Spanish I was looking forward to challenging myself to meet someone from a Spanish speaking country.

 

Outside of gap year activities I thought that I could become a more flexible person. I used to execute every plan but because I couldn’t do so here I was very stressed. This was something I wanted to change for awhile now which helped me overcome it coming here on my own.

Want to contribute to the world and experience Iceland as a volunteer? Contact us today for more information and a consultation to give you the best experience during your gap year! Apply now!

 

 

 

Daily Routine

Activities A and B were beach cleaning, trash sorting, recycling center, and workshop. It may seem tiring but there were continuous activities until dinner. In reality, when the activities finished early we had free time to make art with trash or play card games. Each person hadrotational tasks such as preparing meals, cleaning up after meals, and making bread. There is also a general cleaning time once a week and each person was assigned a task to do so.

 

On weekends, I had freedom meaning I could sleep in during that time. I spent time going out for bike rides with friends, making trash art indoors, baking, and even hitchhiked with friends into the city.

Encountering marine debris was very shocking to me. On the first day of beach cleanup, there were so many pieces of plastic that I was picking them up one by one. The camp leader told me it was not plastic but seaweed. As a human I can't even tell the difference between trash and seaweed so I thought it must be difficult for animals to distinguish them.

Another thing I was in awe of was nature. There were moments when I would see a person walking towards a huge waterfall or when I was attacked by a tern guarding their nest while walking along the road. I thought “wow humans are small”. A camp leader said “we are the ones who invaded nature, the ones who entered the animals' habitat. So we must respect them and be careful.” I have never thought about that but through this project I finally realized that respecting nature is not a matter of good intentions but a duty. I am the type of person who enjoys meeting new people, so I remember every encounter. After living in the same space for two weeks, I became very attached to it. When we parted ways everyone's shed tears as we said goodbye.

 

 

I will remember my life with my Korean roommate, all the camp leaders, and friends from around the world. We all shared great memories from sharing stories, to having unique and cute knocks, or coming to my room to hangout. If I travel to my friends' countries I will definitely want to meet with them again.

 

Before participating in the project, I lived with a bit of compulsion. I kept telling myself no to fall behind and become great but after this project those thoughts disappeared. In this big world, what was more important than university was people's interest. After not thinking that way anymore I felt at ease. I felt as if I had to live by the rule book in my society but through the project I gained courage to explore being more free with the things I wanted to do. This project was a turning point in my life.

 

I didn’t have any personal time to travel in Iceland but I recommend Sundhöll, a swimming pool in downtown Reykjavik. There are indoor and outdoor pools. It was a great healing experience that relieved my fatigue using the hot tub. It is also not expensive.

 

 

 

It was a special memory where I was able to experience the vast natural environment, genuine people from all over the world, and meaningful environmental protection activities. I felt and learned a lot while experiencing things that can only be done in Iceland. I want to continue telling more diverse gap year stories in the future.

 

Experience ★★★★★

There are natural environments and many volunteer and leisure activities.

 

Learning ★★★★★

Volunteering gave me the opportunity to reflex and look back on my life.

 

Environment ★★★★★

Living in a house set in a vast natural environment and interacting with different people can be an unforgettable experience.

 

Safety ★★★★★

We were given detailed instructions on precautionary measures before activities and safety equipment.

 

Leisure ★★★★★

Plenty of leisure time is provided with a variety of activities available including card games, baking, and watching movies.