The Lessons We Have Learned

When I first found out that I had been accepted to the CELL Iceland program I was extremely excited. However, that was quickly followed by a wave of nervousness and doubt.  I knew the majority of the program would focus on environmental science and sustainably, both of which I had never studied before. Hard sciences make me nervous and I couldn’t even begin to tell you what sustainability meant. I was first interested in the program when I saw I would look in depth at the Icelandic culture and study its history. As an anthropology student, this was fascinating to me, but hearing about all the science made me a little hesitant. 

Another aspect that made me a bit nervous was the possibility of all the new East coast people in the program I was going to meet. I had had a bad experience on a previous program with some East Coasters and was afraid I would have trouble fitting in and making friends. This fear came to be non-existent when I finally met all the lovely people who, over the next three months, would come to be my crazy, funny, slightly odd, and extremely loving Icelandic family.

 My fear of the science appeared to be silly as well. With my friends and teachers supporting me, I embraced the challenging aspects of the class and opened my mind to the new ideas all around me. I have learned about the challenges our world faces including Hydro-Fracking, social rights issues, poor agricultural practices, environmental exploitation, global warming, and the list goes on. However, we have also learned a lot about how small groups and communities around the world are joining together to try and solve many of these issues. We are learning a lot about the bad in the world, but also coming away with knowledge of the good things that are happening and how we can help.

CELL brought us together with the common goal of learning more about our world, but in the end, it taught us so much more than that. We have learned about communities and the ties that bring people together. We have learned so much more about each other and ourselves. We have formed a bond that, even after we part ways and even after time passes, I don’t think any of us will forget.

We have learned that the future is in us and that we have the power to make great change together. This is a lesson I will never forget and these are the people that helped me learn it in a beautiful country I never thought I would find myself in. So thank you guys for helping me along this crazy, beautiful journey and for teaching me things I will never forget. I love all of you so, so much.
Jordin Muller