Snorri Alumni Internship 2016

I'm not claiming to know a ton about life, but I do know this much; a bum wheel on a suitcase and a hefty overweight baggage fee is enough to put a scowl on the face of even the most enthusiastic traveler. Exhibit A: Mallory Swanson, MSP Airport, right this very minute.

Before I even made it to the check-in counter I was sweating and swearing, my two enormous suitcases dragging and scrapping behind me as if they had peg legs instead of wheels. Good thing I've got the distance in Terminal 2 from security to the bar down to a science. A table in the back and a cold beverage, please. I've got blogging to do.

Post baggage fee fiasco. Deep breathing and a cold drink. Re-centered. 

I'm about to leave on one of my more exciting adventures; an entire summer in Iceland, where I will get to work at the Emigration Center in Hofsos, among other things. I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate in the Snorri Alumni Internship program this year. This program began only last summer, and was developed by the Snorri Program and the United States and Canadian Embassies. As the American intern, I will be working with the US Embassy (makes sense) on a project over the course of the summer. Though I'm currently short on the details, I'll be meeting with the Embassy on Wednesday and getting the skinny on how this whole thing will work. I believe it will be related to social media posting (blogging, perhaps??). For a little more information about my internship, here's the website http://www.snorri.is/snorri-alumni-internship.html

Though I'm still sitting in the airport, this trip is already a dream come true. Since returning from my Snorri trip in 2011, I've been wishing and hoping for a chance to return to Iceland for an extended trip. Truth be told, I've been feeling more than a little stuck in a rut lately and have been longing for something outside of my ordinary routine. I've just been so antsy, and need to do something a little outside the box for awhile. I'm hoping this experience gives me that fix. I'm already dreading leaving at the end of the summer, which might not be a good sign. This might be a good test run to see how I like living elsewhere. Don't panic, Mom. I'm just looking at my options.

I've just been told that my plane is now running a full hour late, which is more than fine with me. Ups my odds of being able to sleep on the plane, and gives me time for an extra leisurely dinner.  Soon enough I'll be there; hiking, and horseback riding and soaking in the seemingly infinite daylight. Oh adventure, how I've missed you.


*On an added note, I don't think I've ever used semicolons so many times in one sitting in my entire life. Did I use it correctly, grammar friends? Fingers crossed that I didn't tick anyone off with improper usage.