Church

Unfortunately I didn't go here for church (this is the Lutheran Hallgrímskirkja, which can be seen from most of Reykjavik). I went to an LDS (Mormon) service instead.
Church got off to a good start after just a slight mishap on my part. Sylvia asked me to play the organ, which was fine, and I got to wear translation headphones for the first time, which was wild. See any potential for problems with that combination? Well, I didn't, and happily turned to the opening hymn the translator said was on page 83. I had an Icelandic hymnbook and was about 4 bars in before I realized I was playing "Away in an Manger"! One of my actual split-second thoughts at that moment was "Do Icelanders celebrate Christmas in June??" Well, obviously not. I stopped dead, said "that can't be right" (everybody had a good laugh), and quickly found the correct hymn (not, as it turns out, on the same page as the English hymnbook!).
The members of the branch (maybe 40 in total) were extremely welcoming and friendly. I received an interesting gift from the senior missionaries: a DVD called Fire on Ice, the story of the Saints in Iceland. Did you know that approximately 400 Icelandic Saints heeded the call to Zion and emigrated to Spanish Fork, Utah in the 1800s? (Apparently there's also a small group of Icelanders in Winnipeg, Manitoba!) And who knew that President Hinckley visited Iceland in 2002?

Some notes on the language. The elders got on our bus on the way to church and one of the questions I asked was how difficult was it to learn Icelandic. The wise guy of the group replied, "Oh, it's easy. It's as easy as brushing your teeth...on acid!"
A disconcerting Icelandic habit is what they say when they want you to repeat something. It's "hah", said in a flat tone with no facial expression. When I first heard it, I thought it was a completely humourless way to laugh at a joke, or a way to tell someone you think they're an idiot. Try it sometime soon, like the next time you ask someone for directions.
A: Which way to the library?
B: Walk down the street, go left at the first set of lights and you're there.
A: Hah.
B: ???
I have found a very simple word I love: /yow/ (spelled já). Say it out loud and enjoy the glorious mix of slippy, slidey consonants and vowel. It means: yes!