16 November 2010

Nýr þáttur fjölskyldu okkar (A New Part of our Family)

Shauna Hoj is the mother of Taylor Hoj. Taylor is in his last few weeks of MTC training and will very soon be off to the land of the Icelanders. Shauna sent me an email a few days ago with a link to the Danish Mission Newsletter. The link is http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?aeojpo41sn3viio. It just so happened that in this particular newsletter, pictures of her son, Taylor, and his two companions in the MTC were shown. So the newest three elders about to arrive on the scene are:

Taylor Hoj from Salt Lake City.


















Skyler Wilden from Henderson, Nevada.











Samuel Whitworth from Idaho.



















The newsletter also included the picture of another senior couple who I had not heard about yet:
Öldungur & Systir Callaway, who I assume are recently arrived in Iceland. Don't know anything about them. Will need to start asking some questions!


15 November 2010

Önnur hjón! (Another couple)

A colleague just came into my office with some happy news. He said that a couple from his home town in Nevada just got their mission call to serve in Iceland. They are Nick & Bonnie Bowler from Logandale, Nevada. At first they were going to Denmark. Brother Bowler served his mission there. But then they were asked to go to Iceland. They enter the MTC in March 2011. Here is their picture. And hallelujah for willing servants to go to a land they know nothing about!

28 June 2010

Íslandsdagar (Iceland Days)

Spanish Fork, Utah was the place to be this week if you have the blood of an Icelander or two in your veins. I've never found my one or two Icelandic ancestors (yet) but spent parts of Friday and Saturday in Spanish Fork just the same.

On Friday night I gave a lecture on the history of the settlement of Iceland and the development of religion there since the settlement. Basic summary of the lecture:

870 - 930 A.D. - Settlement period in Iceland
870 - 999/1000 A.D. - Paganism ruled in the land
999/1000 A.D. - Catholicism replaced Paganism as the religion of the land at the "request" of the King of Norway who was a Christian convert
1551 - Lutheranism becomes the state religion after the beheading of a few Iceland Catholic leaders who were against the idea.
1551 - present - Lutheranism is the State religion
1850 - Two Icelanders hear of the restored gospel while in Denmark in school and are converted
1851 - First two baptized Icelanders return to Iceland as missionaries
1854 - 1914 - Four hundred and ten Icelanders emigrate to the U.S. after joining the Church.
1914 - 1974 - All formal LDS missionary work and immigration of Saints halted
1975 - Formal missionary work begins again in Iceland through Byron & Melva Geslison

From 1851 to 1914, a total of 22 Icelanders were called to return to their home countries after having emigrated to serve missions in Iceland. Since the missionary work resumed in 1975, a total of 167 young missionaries have served missions in Iceland, along with 24 senior couples.

On Saturday in the city park in Spanish Fork, all the western Icelanders and a smattering of returned missionaries showed up for the festivities. I got to eat a few Icelandic hot dogs, thanks to Rick Mathews. I took pictures of all the returned missionaries who were there for your viewing pleasure:

Shirl and Mary Holt served in 04-05. They are standing with one of their missionaries, Craig Holdaway who served from 03-05. Ray and Sally Anderson who served from 99-01. They are standing with one of their missionaries, Travis Hoban.
From L to R: Tyler Shepherd served from 96-98; Travis Hoban from 98-00; Curt Hutchings, one of my MTC teachers, served from 78-80; me, from 84-86; and David and Bonnie Ashby who just returned from their mission in Iceland.
A final shot of Bro. & Sis. Ashby. They returned home early from their mission three weeks ago because of health problems that Bro. Ashby was experiencing. Many have asked how he is doing since his return. I am happy to report that he has been seeing his doctor and is doing much better. Brother Ashby is of Icelandic descent and he and Bonnie were sad to return home earlier than planned.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. So many good people living in Utah who are of Icelandic descent and who love their Icelandic heritage. Happy to be a part.

13 May 2010

Ég þekki einhvern sem þjónaði á Íslandi! Hann heitir… (I know someone who served in Iceland! His name is...)

Two weeks ago I was invited to help host some university leaders at BYU from the University of Tikrit in Iraq. Four leaders from this university were visiting the U of U and BYU to get a feel for the "best practices" at these schools and to see what it would take to get some of their students into BYU. I was invited to be a part of the hosting group because of my responsibilities over International Admissions at BYU. I met a lot of new people that day, some of whom were from Iraq, but others who were part of the hosting group who I had never met or heard of before.

One of the people I met during the hosting was a BYU employee named D. Morgan Davis who is the Director of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative in the Maxwell Institute at BYU. We walked back to our offices together when the hosting was over and I asked him about his work. As we spoke, it inevitabley came up that he spoke Arabic and Persian and that I spoke Icelandic. As happens so frequently, Morgan said, "I know someone who served in Iceland!" My response is always, "what is his name? I would know him, or at least know of him." This time around he said that the missionary he knew was Spencer Dodge who was married to his sister, Esther. I told him what I knew about Spencer, that he was a graphic designer and had served in the late 90's and finished his degree a few years ago. He updated me on what I didn't know, which was interesting. Another missionary to Iceland who I knew a bit more about. In case you didn't know I keep a record of all who have served, when they served, where they are now and what they've been up to since their missions. I also have a digital photo album with mission pictures and post-mission pictures of almost every one. This is the picture of Spencer and Esther that I took when they came to our reunion in 2007.
The world--within the Church--is small. Almost every member I encounter who hears about my connection to Iceland has heard of someone who has served there. Spencer is just one person from the long list of lucky ones.

26 April 2010

Nýr U.S. sendiherra til Íslands (A New U.S. Ambassador to Iceland)

The following is the English text from a newspaper article in Iceland today declaring that President Obama has assigned a new ambassador to Iceland:

"US President Barack Obama has appointed Luis E. Arreaga as US ambassador to Iceland. Arreaga holds a doctorate degree in economics and has extensive experience in the foreign service.

"Arreaga has served in US embassies in Panama, Canada and Spain and worked for the US delegation at the United Nations in Geneva. Arreaga has also been involved in projects in Peru, El Salvador and Honduras, Frettabladid reports.

"No US ambassador has been stationed in Iceland since Carol van Voorst left the post one year ago."

It is normal for there to be a lag time between when the US ambassador to Iceland leaves the post and when a new ambassador is assigned, but this gap in ambassadors was longer than normal. I can find no information as to why this was the case. His Spanish skills won't be helpful at all, but I am sure his diplomatic skills are finely tuned.

19 April 2010

Eyjafjallajökull eða Eyjafjalladjöfull (Island Mountain Glacier or Island Mountain Devil)

While the volcano in Iceland is wreaking havoc on the flight plans of millions of people throughout Europe, and the financial loss to international airlines is over $200 million a day, a lone NASA satellite took this spectacular photo of the volcano and the associated ash spewing southward into the sky.

12 April 2010

Dönskumaður?...Hvar? (A Dane?...Where?)

Returned missionaries from Iceland always feel kind of like a much younger, adopted brother when someone from Denmark is around. The historical record states that Iceland was settled during a 60 year period starting in 874 A.D. But in the year 1262, Iceland finally gave in to pressure from Denmark and became a territory of Denmark. For the next 500 years or so, Iceland was at the whims of the Danish State and was at times, well looked after, and at others, not so much. Denmark set rules about who could trade with the Icelanders, who could stay over during the winters and who Icelanders could sell their goods to. In the late 1700's, Reykjavík was a thriving metropolis of just over 300 people. Before that time, individual farms were the rule, without a city center to be had anywhere. But eventually, trade centers became necessary for the Danish rulers and Reykjavík became the primary trade center. Of the tradesmen of that day who had set up shop in town, six of the seven (total) were Danes, only one being Icelandic. All trade was done in a half mile area in what was then and is now called "Torgið" or the town square.

Danish trade ships were larger and more advanced than Icelanders were used to. The Danish tradesmen were more traveled and used to dealing with a wide variety of international trading partners. The Icelanders had to take a set price for their fish goods, regardless of changes in the international markets. This and many other situational factors contributed to the Icelanders feeling like the less-important younger sibling in the Scandinavian family. Immature, backward, inexperienced.

On Thursday last week, the Danish Ambassador to the U.S. came to BYU for a visit as part of BYU's Ambassador Visits program. His name and title are, "His Excellency Friis Arne Petersen". On Sunday he attended the "Music and the Spoken Word" performance in the Conference Center in Salt Lake along with the morning session of General Conference right after. On Monday and Tuesday he toured the state by seeing Zions National Park, the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon with the Honorary Danish Consul, Niels Valentiner, and his wife, Char, along with other Danish hosts from BYU. On Wednesday he met with the First Presidency and toured Temple Square and the Conference Center. He also visited the U of U campus and gave a lecture at the Hinckley Institute of Politics there. Other highlights of the day were visiting the Humanitarian Center, Welfare Square and the Family History Library.

Thursday was the day he came to BYU and I was able to interact with him. He met with the Governor of Utah in the morning, but then came down to BYU to meet with President Samuelson and then give a lecture. His lecture was on the Danish-American relationship and its challenges. He did not use notes but spoke about the issues from long practice. Danish students had been invited as well as any other interested students. Notable Danes from the area were also invited along with a number of those with Danish ancestry or connections within the Danish community. I was invited because I am the Director of the BYU International Admissions office, but also because I teach Icelandic on campus. A previous Honorary Consul to Iceland, Clark Thorstenson, and his wife, Colleen, were there. I had met them at Þorrablót a few months before. Dee and Kay Jacobs were there. Dee was a mission president and temple president in Denmark just a few years back. Even my old Danish supervising teacher from my days of teaching Icelandic at the MTC back in the 80's was there, Sonja Despain. I had difficulty grasping the full import of the lecture, but then, what do you expect from an immature, backward and inexperienced younger brother in the Scandinavian family.

After the lecture about 60 people were invited to the luncheon with the ambassador. I got to sit with his U.S. and campus security detail, learning a lot about the rules for protecting important people. Everyone introducted themselves to the ambassador as we entered the room for the luncheon. As always, when an RM who served in Iceland introduces himself to a Dane or other Scandinavian, the Dane will act very surprised to meet someone who had lived there and spoke the language. Their surprise still surprises me since we are really part of the same family.

The luncheon eventually wound down with a smaller version of BYU's jazz band, Synthesis, performing two numbers. They will be touring Denmark and a number of other countries next year, so that was fitting. Eventually, His Excellency was off to the MTC to visit a Danish district of missionaries and to tour the facility. He later met with Scandinavian language instructors at BYU, toured our campus museum, had dinner and was on his way.

The most interesting thing he said during his lecture was when he said that as the ambassador of a small country, he had to always remember that being deferential at the right times was an important part of the job, since his country was a small one with little military and comparative clout in the world. I thought that interesting, especially since I am connected with Iceland, an even smaller country with no military. Remembering his place seemed to be an important part of being effective.

One other thing he said was quite interesting. He said that, in all the years he had been in this position, this visit to Utah had been the most memorable. He said that the kindness and genuine interest that had been shown to him while in Utah had dwarfed anything he had experienced elsewhere. Quite a compliment. So even though Icelanders and Western Icelanders in America are many fewer than the Danes in the world, we can hold our heads up that we took care of the Danish representative who came calling, just like Icelanders have done for over 6 centuries.

07 April 2010

Sagnir á Íslensku (Verbs in Icelandic)

When I was in the MTC in 1984, our non-Icelandic returned missionary teachers taught us about verbs at one point. I remember being very confused about this (and most other) parts of the lanuage. Að telja (to count) was a weak 1 type of verb. Að kenna (to teach) was a weak 2 type. Að þola (to endure) a weak 3 and að elska (to love) a weak 4. Important verbs, each, when preaching the gospel. Unfortunately, I, and many other missionaries, were never able to really use this framework to our advantage. I just ended up having to memorize how each verb worked and how to use it in present, past and on occasion, subjunctive and future.

I am now teaching this semester of the Icelandic 102 class out of a series of books that were published by Námsflokkar Reykjavíkur or the Educational Association of Reykjavík. The book series is called "Íslenska sem erlent mál – stig 1, 2, 3 og 4" or "Icelandic as a Foreign Language, levels 1, 2, 3 and 4". The students, and I, have been introduced to an entirely new classification system for verbs. In this system there are 5 verb classes, with no mention of weak or strong types. Each verb is classed based on how it conjugates in the ég, þú and hann (I, you, he) positions. Regla 1 verbs (Rule 1) all appear in the ég position as they do in the infinitive. For example, a Rule one verb, að elska (to love) is conjugated the same in the infinite form as it is in the ég (I) form. Then in both the þú and hann postions, you just add an r:

að elska (to love)

ég elska
þú elskar
hann elskar

Rule 2 verbs all end in "i" in the ég postition and then add an r in the þú og hann positions:

að læra (to learn)

ég læri
þú lærir
hann lærir

Rules 3, 4 and 5 have some vowel changes in the stem in the ég, þú and hann postions.

Rule 3 verbs all end in a consonant in the ég position with just the stem of the verb and then add a ur in the þú and hann positions:

að gefa (to give)

ég gef
þú gefur
hann gefur

Rule 4 verbs all end with just the stem of the verb with a vowel change in the stem and without a consonant. Then they add an "rð" in the þú position and just an "r" in the hann position:

að sjá (to see)

ég sé
þú sérð
hann sér

að búa (to live)

ég bý
þú býrð
hann býr

And finally the Rule 5 verbs all end in a consonant with the stem of the verb (and a vowel shift sometimes) in the ég position and then add either an "ð" or an "s" to the stem for the þú position and then take it back for the hann position.

að fara

ég fer
þú ferð
hann fer

að lesa

ég les
þú lest
hann les

These are the five rules for verbs in Icelandic. Once you've got them down, the rest is easy. Okay, that is far from true, but knowing what kind of verb each is makes it much easier to know how to use.

In the we, you (plural) and they positions, the verbs are all the same (something easy in Icelandic? Unheard of):

Við (we) - add "um" to the stem.
Þið (you plural) - add "ið" to the stem
Þeir (they) - use the infinitive of the verb

What could be easier.

16 March 2010

Nýir Trúboðar...Aftur (New Missionaries...Again)

Whether I pay attention or not. Whether I get busy in my regular life or not, new missionaries continue to go to Iceland to help the great people there understand who they are in the Great Plan of Happiness. The newest additions to the missionary group in Iceland are ones who have been married many years. They are David and Bonnie Ashby. David is of Icelandic descent, but I don't know if Bonnie has any Icelandic blood. She may be like me, adopted into the family because I was blessed to associate with people like David and others in Iceland.

David and Bonnie had their farewell in Orem, Utah a few weeks ago in their ward. I was able to attend and saw a number of faithful Western Icelanders in attendance. I could tell from their talks that each would have a very specific impact on those they served in Iceland because of their individual talents. The Ashbys have been a steady and active part of the Icelandic Association of Utah for many years. For a long time I thought they actually lived in Spanish Fork since I saw them all the time there.

David has started a blog to allow us all to be vicarious participants in their adventures. It is at http://davidogbonnie.blogspot.com/. If we can't be there, this just might be the next best thing!

16 July 2009

Sérstakur dagur…í gær (A special day...yesterday).

Two months ago a 19 year old young man named Eric Ellsworth went into the MTC to begin his mission. He arrived in Iceland this month, July, having not had a companion in the MTC who was also learning Icelandic. This is one of my pictures of Eric. I discussed his family and history a bit in a previous post.

Yesterday, another missionary went into the MTC who was called to Iceland. His name is Peter Christensen. I am glad that he will have another missionary who is going to Iceland to practice the language with while in the MTC. His name is Peter Christensen from Salt Lake City. This is a picture of Peter and his family in my office. Peter's dad is a lawyer in Salt Lake and his mother used to work at BYU in the Admissions Office like I do, but before I ever arrived on the scene as an employee. He seems eager and excited about his call to Iceland, though he did seem shocked when he found out he was going to that little spot in the ocean. He and his companion to be are in for a unique and wonderful experience there. Guð blessi þá.

And for those of you who are interested in knowing what grammar texts the University of Iceland is using to teach foreigners Icelandic, you can go to http://www.icelandreview.com/ and click on the "Ask Eyglo" icon at the top. Foreigners can ask questions there about Icelandic life and travel and, if the questions aren't too hard to answer or wouldn't take too much space to answer, they'll be answered. I submitted three related questions about six months ago and the answers finally came up today, July 16th. Both the grammar texts and the best Icelandic-English dictionaries (hard copy and online) are mentioned. This will help me at BYU as I choose which books to use as I teach Icelandic, but might also help others who are interested in learning Icelandic at home from a text or online. Hope these resources help.

And finally, the Icelandic Parliament (the Althing) votes today on whether or not to "begin discussions" about applying for EU membership. Many Icelanders want the benefits which come from EU membership, including a more stable currency, but many do not. Icelanders have always been fiercely independent and a large percentage of the people want to stay that way, in part by staying out of the EU. Two years ago NATO closed its military base in Iceland, last year Iceland's banks collapse and now Iceland is discussing EU membership. A lot can happen in a very short time.