Travelog - Iceland, or How I Met the Ugly American

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  • Опубліковано 29 гру 2024

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  • @BecauseICantEdit
    @BecauseICantEdit 2 місяці тому

    As a linguistics student, the idea that Icelandic is dying even when a lot of people speak it is very easy to wrap my head around. I'm not wanting to boast about it, just saying that it's interesting that one person by choosing to insist on being ignorant can't see what's obvious to even the lowest level of expretise in a field (I only had one lecture and seminar on langauge death last year). I think it made your point praticularly potent to me as it's praticularly annoying from my perspective.
    Also since your last upload I've started a module on Stylistics (linguistics litterary analysis) and having to start being able to explain more advanced litterary techniques or just use new lanaguage about them has reinforced my appreciation for your litterary critique work, you do it really well.

    • @chloeeastwood6696
      @chloeeastwood6696  2 місяці тому

      Thank you so much! Wow, that's a really cool field of study. For me, it was learning ABOUT languages that was my favorite part of learning language, whether it was English or another language in school. Between what you can learn about culture and power and so many other things, it's just such a cool lens through which to develop your understanding of the world. Can I ask you about some of the things you're learning? What kinds of analysis are you doing? I did a lit minor, so I'm far from pro but still TOTALLY curious about all things lit crit.

  • @cattievogelsong96
    @cattievogelsong96 2 місяці тому

    The story about the guy from Vancouver made me cringe so hard. Sadly i have run into tomany guys from Vancouver who are like that. Most people from Vancouver or victoria are really if, baffled by the similarities and differences and Washington’s one sided jealousy.
    I was definitely a sheltered twerp as a kid and i am sure i made similar comeback about mountains. I don’t think i said anything like galciers are boring because they are not but i sure i was not the most nice to visiting kids who had no idea how tall mountains can be. Or that the cascades and olympics are two different mountain ranges with different native plants and animals and cast two different rain shadows. I have always had that “little professor syndrome” energy. My family made sure i had some perspective before i was maybe eight so most people would brush it off as a dumb kid.
    In washington it is more common to tell your friends who are going to go travelling to remember. In other places the definition of a mountain is much shorter then over here. Some places named mountains are not tall enough to be our foot hills. So like don’t get too excited about some hyped up mountain hike.
    On the other hand i have run into European tourists in various national park gift shops or other tourist traps who probably have only heard of the Appalachian mountains and believe that us dumb Americans have nothing to compare to the danger and grandness to the Alps. It is bizarre in the other direction. I am not saying the cascades or olympics are equivalent but they are closer.
    I am sorry but i love mountains. Specially hiking in them.
    In a very different context i do relate to dealing with the egos of vacationing Americans. Letting them know that what they packed for a trip wouldn’t actually help them and they really need to pack way more water then they expected to drink. “Oh but i played high school or college sport i know how much water i need while exercising.” Not in the back country. That type of boots are a bad fit for this kind of trail. “But they are made out of leather, the grip cement well and i can walk all over park trails with them no problem.” It is a mix of the tough tread doing damage to nature as well as the structure of the boot not being suitable for the range of motion and weight. Saying that the ranger in the park is too nice to get in your face and tell you for your own safety you need to listen never goes over well. Being a naggy but whole and begging them to a least buy a packet of blister band aids. No normal band aids don’t work and can make it more painful and worse. But i still run into people on the trail who need the blister kit i packed.
    I just re read my comment and it probably doesn’t make me look the best. I don’t have the time or energy to re type it. Break is over got to go.
    I think i heard something about a fiancé. If so congratulations!!!

    • @chloeeastwood6696
      @chloeeastwood6696  2 місяці тому

      hahaha, yeah, it sounds like you've done your fair share of tourist activities and maybe even worked in tourism? You're absolutely right that us East Coasters have no idea how big mountains are. I like to go skiing and stuff in WV, and all that, but then I see the Colorado or Washington mountains and it's like WOAH! Flying into Seattle and seeing Reinier for the first time, my sister and I were like "Okay, that mountain is way bigger than the others, there's got to be some lore there," and sure enough, he's everyone's favorite!
      yeeeah, I did do the ol' engage. XD

    • @cattievogelsong96
      @cattievogelsong96 2 місяці тому

      @@chloeeastwood6696 Rainier is so pretty! most of the “lore” is from the indigenous. And luckily many of the mountains have gotten to keep their indigenous names. Baker being one of the more embarrassing exceptions.
      I have done lots of volunteering. I have been lucky enough to give a few lectures on local plants and i try to give my friends hiking advice even though none of them hike.
      I loved volunteering for the north cascades institute which does all manor of education even pairing with local public school districts to send fifth graders up for three to five days of learning. Even some private schools participate. The institute is desperate to get people interested in conservation and stuardship.
      As a volunteer i most did trail maintenance. Putting up “do not walk off trail” signs. Picking up garbage because some people just cannot carry out their beer cans or apple cores. “It is trash it is contaminate the stuff in my back pack” “it is called a trash bag. Bring a trash bag with you and cary all your stuff out!” And i have participated in a lot of projects to remove invasive species. And sometimes we get to plant native ones!
      I would have loved doing more education work but a combination of not a lot of scholastic diplomas and being a young adult capable of cary a sixty five pound back pack for a a few days mean that i was sent out to the front lines of the war on the Himalayan black berries. I joke but they are a huge menace to native plants and animals. And they are really challenging to fully remove no matter how many shovels and clippers you bring.
      I found out at a young age that it is possible to know more than your tour guide. Mandatory field trips and what not. Class mates would be all “what plant is that it has such a cute flower” and guide would be like “I don’t know. Stop touching it.” And i would cut in and say. “That plant is not going to hurt you. It is called minor’s lettuce and the entire plant is eddible. Flowers leaves stems and roots. It was an important food for earlier settlers in the west and is vary common in low land nature preserves and parks.” Yes there are poisonous plants here but you usually have to do something like eat it first.
      I think i was like nine so i lost my faith in tour guides rather young….
      Not everyone needs to know everything about all of tue plants here. But i feel a tour guide doing nature hikes should know, of the plants without thorns or spines or bristles. Really non of them can hurt you just by touching them. Really most plants with thorns and spines can’t hurt you (beyond the sharp point) if you touch it.
      Is that unreasonable to ask a tour guide to know that any plant not visibly dangerous looks cannot hurt you if you poke it. I need a reality check. Rangaling families or a class of kids into keeping their hands at their side during an hour long nature hike seems unrealistic. No need to panic thr group because someone touched a fern.
      Anyway thank you so much for your comment. It made my day. Hopefully someday i can ski on the east coast. Sounds pretty and like less of a long drive? If the mountain is not as tall?

    • @chloeeastwood6696
      @chloeeastwood6696  2 місяці тому

      That's so cool! I loved doing things like this as a student and as a girl scout thanks to people like you.
      There can be some nice skiing. I'd say more trips on the lift, but they don't take as long!

    • @cattievogelsong96
      @cattievogelsong96 2 місяці тому

      @@chloeeastwood6696 awe!!!
      It sucks to get insnared in black berries or pick up trash in the otherwise majestic mountains. But i tell myself it is worth it for the next person.

    • @chloeeastwood6696
      @chloeeastwood6696  2 місяці тому

      We have Japanese red wine berries here, but I like to make jam out of them, as long as they're not in the national forests. Obviously, we're not allowed to take from there. But when they're wild, I love them!

  • @leptonsoup337
    @leptonsoup337 2 місяці тому

    As an American living in Iceland, I´m sorry.

    • @chloeeastwood6696
      @chloeeastwood6696  2 місяці тому

      I'm sure you don't have to be sorry. Lots of people are expats or immigrants.