Follow the jump links to learn more about Iceland:
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts Lifestyle and Family Living
Icelandic families tend to be close-knit. The family is important, but there is great diversity of family structures and types. In most families, both parents work outside home, and everyone shares in the housework.
Icelanders place great value on everyone gathering for dinner; sometimes this is the only time the whole family is together. It is considered impolite not to show up for dinner. Children are expected to call home if they cannot be there.
In the warmer months, Icelandic families often travel together.
Students may be placed anywhere in Iceland. Some will be placed in Reykjavik, many in small communities and towns in the countryside, but most placements will be along the coastline, where the majority of Icelandic people live.
People live in a very close relation with nature. This is because of the peculiarity of Iceland’s environment and is reflected in both the culture—via the ancient and still-practiced Norse religion Ásatrú—and the attitude (earthquakes are not cause for excitement).
Icelandic host families, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.Teen Life
Teenagers have considerable independence.
Besides the many activities offered by schools, most communities offer music lessons, drama clubs, choir and sports.
Like most teens around the world, Icelandic teens enjoy getting together with friends on weekends to talk, go to parties or see a movie.
Due to the strong influence of the natural environment, Icelanders enjoy fishing, swimming in hot springs, soccer, skiing and horseback riding. Camping and hiking are popular pastimes as well.
Watching TV and playing chess are common non-athletic activities.Dress and Appearance
Icelandic teenagers follow the same styles of teens in Europe. They mostly dress casually. Jeans, T-shirts and sneakers are appropriate.
Be sure to bring a warm overcoat, heavy jacket, heavy sweaters, warm socks, good walking shoes and raincoat since it rains a lot.
On special occasions, more formal dress is expected.Diet and Meals
The basic Icelandic diet includes a lot of fish and sea products, lamb and dairy foods like cheese.
Fresh fish is plentiful and is eaten in many ways. This reflects the environment, but potatoes and bread are also served with almost every meal.
Pasta and pizza are becoming more common. Coffee is very popular drink.
Dinner is considered an important social activity, and it is impolite to prepare your own food.
Vegetarianism is extremely rare.Educational System
The Icelandic school system is organized in four different levels before university. AFS exchange students attend the last year of grunnskóli (for students between 6 and 16) or framhaldsskóli (for students between 16 and 20).
There are three main types of framhaldsskóli (secondary school). Menntaskóli is a traditional school whose function is to prepare students for university. The curriculum is based on defined objectives and includes compulsory subjects, elective subjects and majors that are studied for a full year. Subjects include modern and ancient languages, physics, natural sciences, social sciences and music.
Fjölbrautaskóli is a comprehensive secondary school with different types of specialization preparing students for university or training them for diplomas in various professions.
Iðnskóli is a technical school which trains students in the chartered trades and for industrial work.
AFS requires that you to take 26-28 hours of classes a week in the fall; in the spring term you may take a heavier schedule.
Students are expected to be self-motivated and independent. School starts at the end of August and goes through late May, Monday through Friday.
Icelandic school offers a lot of extracurricular after-school activities as there is “competition” between schools. You may join a variety of clubs such as photography, cinema, radio and choir or do activities like mountaineering, modeling and cooking. Many of your Icelandic friends will probably also work.
All instruction, with the exception of foreign languages, is done in Icelandic. In the beginning, you may find it hard to follow, but as you learn more of the language, school will become less challenging, so be patient, work hard, and keep at it!
While it may be possible to obtain academic credit for the coursework you successfully complete abroad, AFS cannot guarantee this. Please discuss your plans with your school before you go abroad.
Geography and Climate
Iceland is the second-largest island in Europe and is surrounded by many smaller islands.
As the western part of Europe, Iceland is located atop the volcanic area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; in fact the island was created by numerous volcanoes, many if which are still active.
Iceland is a land of extremes and active natural attractions including glaciers and vast lava deserts, hot springs, geysers and volcanoes.
Despite its northerly location, the climate is much milder than one would expect because of the warming effects of the Gulf Stream that surrounds the island. The average annual temperature is 7°C (41°F). The summer daytime temperature ranges between 10-15°C (in the 50’s°F), while the windy winters have quite mild temperatures (0-10°C/30-40°F).
The weather can be erratic with sudden appearances of rain or drizzle. Due to the northern setting, summer has two to three months of continuous daylight, while in winter, daylight is brief. The northern lights are often seen, especially in autumn and early winter.
Population
The population numbers about 304,000. Most Icelanders are descendants of Vikings: a mixture of Norse and Celts.
Language
Icelandic is the language of Iceland; English, other Nordic languages and German are widely spoken as well.
Unlike other Nordic countries, there are no dialects in Iceland. Interestingly, Icelandic has changed very little in the past 11 centuries. In fact, it retains an inflection system from the Viking age.
After you arrive, language lessons will be organized for those of you that do not have lessons in your school.
Government
Iceland is a republic. The president is elected every four years by popular vote. Executive power resides in the prime minister and his cabinet. The Parliament (Althing) is composed of 63 members.
Religion
More than 82% of Icelanders belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The biggest religious minorities are Protestant 4.1% and Roman Catholic 1.7%.
Spending Money
The krona is the official currency in Iceland.
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about US$100-US$300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- Iceland is famous for its outdoor swimming pools, its natural hot springs and the Blue Lagoon near Keflavik airport.
- One of the golden ages in Icelandic history is between 930 and 1262 A.D., when Iceland enjoyed freedom as an independent republic. Its parliament, the Althing, is the oldest in the world.
- Iceland is getting to be well known for music. The Iceland Airwaves music festival, for instance, attracts many people from the international music industry and fans of Icelandic bands and singers, such as Sigur Rós and Björk. International bands and DJ´s perform as well at the festival.
- Much of Iceland’s power and heat is generated naturally as Iceland is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and waterfalls that provide hydroelectric power. 90% of Icelandic houses are heated by hot springs, which are also used for the greenhouses where Icelandic bananas are grown.
