Downtown Reykjavik
My husband is busy at his conference today and I am sitting in a little cafe in downtown Reykjavik finishing my final project. As there is nothing like procrastination, I'm writing a blog post to say how amazing Iceland is.
I've been on the look out for health promotion behaviours and programs since arriving at Keflavik airport on Monday but they aren't overly evident (I did see a billboard for a fluoride rinse - the only dental think I've seen since arriving!) Icelanders are said to be among the happiest people in the world and I believe it entirely. Icelanders are incredibly intelligent, well educated and socially connected. They have strong family units and seem to spend a lot of time socializing with friends and family. I've seen more men pushing prams alone than women.
I commented to a tour guide we had about the strange working hours here (Grocery stores are open from 12-6:30, most restaurants that serve dinner are closed by 7:30 or 8pm, nothing opens for breakfast before 8am) and wondered if Icelanders work more or less than the average Canadian. He stated that Icelanders work long hours - 8 or 9 hours a day. When work is over, they go to pubs and cafes to socialize and chat. Families seem to all go together (in fact, they leave their infants in prams outside cafes while they sip their coffee inside!) and there is a real mix of ages in all the places we've been.
The tour guide also told us a bit about their health and education systems. They have a yearly cap of 15,000 kronur for prescription drugs (about $120 CAD) so when you've paid that much, the rest is free no matter what. All their medical costs for surgery and such are paid for except for a doctors visit fee of 300 kronur ($2.50 CAD). As for education, primary education is free. After primary school, they have a choice to enter a trade or continue with secondary school. Secondary school costs ~2,000 kronur per semester ($16 CAD). When they continue to university, it costs between 7,000-8,000 kronur per semester. (~$55-65 CAD). All Icelanders learn to speak English starting at age 8 and Danish starting at age 9. They have to choose between 3 more languages in secondary school (French, Italian and German I think?) and most choose all three. All the Icelanders I've met speak fluent English without any problems.
I haven't seen one overweight local, yet I don't see any 'traditional' exercise either. There are no runners, very few gyms (I've only seen one - a crossfit gym!) and the public swimming pools are used as social gathering spots (and are hot springs so essentially big hot tubs!) The portions are smaller but the food is amazing. They eat a lot of lamb and fish.
Overall, it has been a hugely different experience visiting Iceland but I would come back in a heartbeat. It's a stunningly beautiful place!
