oh, the tourism industry is a fine thing. not to say that´s what grabbed ahold of me necessarily and drew me towards ísland 4-5 years or so ago, but im sure it aided in someway, like most advertising does.
pure.natural.unspoiled.iceland.
yes, which, to the eye, seems to be mostly true. however, i remember this wretched article for Theories of Difference (draws blood), which dealt with the hypothetical ´regions´ of the geography of a country in regards to tourism, such as the front and back regions a country. the front regions, if i recall correctly, are made for mass capitalist appeal, as to give the tourist a perception, however much of a ´false reality´ it may be, but what nonetheless drives the market, i.e, restuarants decorated with fish and fishing nets and sailor apparel for a place like Halifax. This gives people what they want to see.
Before I came here, i felt certain there could be no such thing as a front region, because, well, how can a place like this hide whats really below the surface?
well, as my friend and I riffled through different ideas, such as how it seems that a large part of icelanders don´t recycle, due to apparently a bit of a scandal years ago, where they were separating the different materials, but it turned out it was all going to the same heap. (!!!!!), which in turn, kinda stiffled any more effort on their part to continue to try. this seems ultra bizarre for a place like this. this is not to say this is necessarily happening anymore.
also...... many people drive downtown here. and drive like montrealers at that. everything in 101 RVK and surrounding area are entirely reachable by foot, bike, or otherwise,
but then, like we discussed, you see these big effing SUV´s barreling down one lane streets, whose wide can barely contain its americana gurth. also, no one seems to take the bus, save the elderly, the foreigners, and the poor. this burns. petrol too. ive never seen a full bus load here yet. wait, who am i anyways?
dont fret. this is likely above all my sheltered world view, as it is quite evident there are places FAR worse off in terms of these factors. however, we all know globalization is alive and well, so why shouldnt islands in the north atlantic have a right to do what they want with their garbage and drive oversized gas guzzlers and get no more or no less rap for it than any other country in the world. hell, power to them. im not hating. promise. i love this place too much.
and every last neo-viking ive met that proudly inhabits it. everything is still in its right place, and of course there are many efforts in other areas to maintain the island, such as the hydrogen bus(es) and the huge efforts towards stopping aluminum smelting, among many other things im quite likely unaware of. besides, who am i but a bloody alien, plunged here in an almost mr.bean-esque way.
pooowwweerrr.
also, might i add, im am by far the most un-put-together person here, at least in the vicinity im staying. although squeaky clean, my one of two pairs of jeans are wearing a little misshaped and thin. it also might be because i dont have any shiny gold tight pants to my name. one day! or, likely, not.
how i love thee.
above all, the arts and culture scene here is very much alive and well. and well, we all know that this is what ultimately matters most in our world!
kick it.
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