Updates!

So I have been away from Atlanta one week! Over one week, actually. For starters, you can keep up with my journeys and etcetera in these ways:

 For photos, flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/agutierrezray/

For miscellany: http://twitter.com/#!/a_gutierrezray

My new UK number: 011 44 7531429649

I left Atlanta at 7:22am on Thursday, September 1st. From there, I spent a few hours in Boston, then took Icelandair Flight 634 to Reykjavik. The airport was really small, minimally designed, and beautiful, even though I arrived around 11pm. The bus from the Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik City Hostel, where I'd booked 2 nights stay, was actually about 75 minutes, a surprise to me. I suppose that since I knew nothing about Iceland geography, I shouldn't have expected anything, but I assumed it was closer than it was. I wrestled my suitcases into a 6-bed shared room, and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, the group of hikers staying in the room woke me up when they all left, and I woke up, too, extremely pleased with myself for getting a chance to see an Icelandic dawn. I was pleased with myself a lot that day - as if it were a great feat to decide to spend a day there! Anyway, I leisured over breakfast and then decided not to go to the Blue Lagoon because 1. it was far away, 2. the bus ticket was supremely pricy, 3. I was pretty tired, 4. I wanted to see Reykjavik and not get stuck somewhere else, and 5. it's the first vacation I've ever had by myself so why not do exactly what I wanted? I finished the book I'd started on the plane the day before while I sat on the deck between the 2 wings and the 2 kitchens for hostel guests. I faced the campground behind the hostel -- it felt extremely comforting to know that all those hikers getting ready to run up humongous Icelandic mountains were going to be doing those exhausting things while I sat there and read.

After a lunchtime nap, I walked into Reykjavik along Sundlaugavegur (the road my hostel was on) and then took a little road called Saebraut to walk along the ocean on my way into town. I think my hostel was about 30-40 minutes away from town, I don't know how long that it, but the sky was overcast in splotchy places and it was very pretty to see the seagulls just kindof hovering in space because of the winds, and so I took my time getting into town. The main street in town was adorable, it felt like downtown Burlington, Vermont. Except everybody was Nordic and beautiful (excluding a group of old English people). I found a beautiful church or monument thing to Leif Ericsson (Leifur Ericcson to them). I took photos mainly with my disposable camera because I was afraid of my phone's battery dying before I could charge it since I hadn't brought any European plug things with me, only British ones. I got the feeling that the city was very small, and on the edge of an uncountable sea, and the whole of Iceland wasn't anything like this. The maps I saw on the little touchscreen on the plane indicated that Iceland didn't have many cities, and the natural resources were really the heart of the country. Seeing more than the city would be nice to do someday. The air was very clear and it made you want to go on a sea voyage or something. In any case, I was feeling energetic and glorious the whole time, and I blame it on the air!

After my walk, I ate a little snack in the kitchen of the hostel, and then, while drinking tea, I read another book cover to cover, and was surprised when I finished because I hadn't really anticipated finishing it right then. I went back to my room and found two German boys and one French boy sitting on the empty beds and they were surprised to see me. I think they thought the hostel was boys-only or something, but I assured them I was not the one mistaken! :) The next morning I left on Icelandair Flight 454 to London, which was a treat because I randomly got upgraded to Saga class because they didn't have anyone sitting in those seats, and I slept amazingly. It's horrible that you have to pay more for luxury, but awesome when it falls in your lap for free. The last part of my journey was the worst -- getting from Heathrow to Kacey's train station was absolutely misery. I had to wrestle 2 huge suitcases, a carry-on, a purse, and a jacket through 3 underground tube transfers to get there. At one point, I couldn't find how where the lines switched in one station and a helpful young guy helped me carry all my stuff up 3 staircases because that's where he thought I needed to be, and turns out he took me in the opposite direction. Misery. It took me 3 hours to make it from the airport to Kacey, and I only just got on the second to last train out to her station. My arms were throbbing the next morning and I felt like I had never carried anything anywhere ever before and my neck muscles were mad at me. Needless to say, I was so unbelievably happy to see her!

 The next morning I left on a bus to get to Leeds and I've been here ever since. I'm staying with my friends Leander and Nick, who live in a refurbished stone mill from 1857! Unbelievably cool. They live in a part of Leeds called Meanwood that I only visited once while I was here last time, so it's been fun exploring the area. I bought a weeklong bus pas, because it's like an hour walk into town. Mobility ahoy! It feels absolutely amazing to be in a place with reliable public transportation, and knowing how easy it is to get around makes me happy to get out of the house and run around. The weather hasn't been too bad -- there's been some drizzling here and there, but it's not too cold yet, just cool. And I already know that London is a lot warmer, generally, than the North, so I'm pleased that my winter won't be as bad as it was last time I was here. I do get a twinge of impatience when I think about London and how I could be exploring that city since it's actually where I'll be come October, but I have to keep telling myself that there will be plenty of time for that. I won't have anywhere to really live until October, anyway, and I might as well hold my horses until I have a place to call my own. I'll be moving in with a friend, Aimee, who needs a place to live, too. Until then, I'll be couchsurfing up here and with Kacey, who is an angel and who actually lives in London.

 So far, I've been to the Hyde Park Picture House, into Leeds City Centre a lot, Leander and I visited the Leeds Art Gallery (which has an exhibit going on by Damien Hirst!) we've had documentary night last night, Leander has cooked me Cambodian food, and I've spent the night with my friend Katie. I'm so happy to be here. Tonight I'm cooking quesadillas for Nick, Leander, and Lauren, and tomorrow night is girls night. I've been trying to keep track of what I'm doing, but I suspect that I'll mostly be taking photos, kind of like a photo diary of sorts. I will update as often as possible, because I know its easier to write a lot here instead of e-mailing everyone individually, but of course I like to do that because I miss you all and want to tell you all specific things I know you'd like to hear. :)