today was a great day to explore. most people think that because Ólafsfjörður is such a small town, that there is nothing here. that nothing is going on. well, they would be mistaken. is the pace different, than say new york city, los angeles, san francisco? certainly, you stand a very low chance of being stuck in any kind of traffic for an hour and half, and you certainly would not consider it normal. you are unlikely to find homeless on the street corner with sign asking for money. you are unlikely to be turned away at your favorite restaurant because they’re full. you are also unlikely find stray dogs, or for that matter stray people. all those things however, do not mean that nothing is going on. there is plenty.

at any time of day you can find people hard at work many of them in very creative endeavors. there are people here who maintain museums, who create folk art with lava rocks, who paint, who teach, who practice as part of the local rescue team, who are eager to show you the area. many of them may have more than one task during the day itself such as the volunteer rescue team. people are now coming from all over the world to share their creative spirit, to introspect, and to create. that is the wonder of this little town, that in such a far away place there are so many people so ready and willing to take the leap into creativity.

today i met a young man who plays the accordion. his grandfather taught him to play and he plays on the weekends at the home where his grandfather lives. he plays with his grandfather and as i saw a video of them playing together i could see the admiration in this young man’s eyes for this old man who had taught him so much. he had never heard northern mexican accordion music, so i introduced him to ‘Flaco Jiménez’. he loved it! about an hour later i saw him again and he was still listening to Flaco Jiménez, and smiling wonderfully.

which reminds me, i decided not to take pictures of people today. i wanted simply to introduce myself in the school, to be seen. to find my place. i wandered a lot, and i will likely be doing that more these days, but i also decided on a course to pursue for a photo/poetry project when i am here. we will see tomorrow if things can take better shape.