Get Up and Go to Iceland

I love to travel. Looking back on my childhood, some of my fondest memories are while traveling with my family. So when the opportunity to go to Iceland opened up, I was immediately compelled to go and experience Icelandic culture as well as take in what the country had to offer scenically. I had been to Iceland once before, but only for a ten hour layover. This time I was with a group of peers, and I stayed for 10 days. The Communications Department at Andrews University organized this trip from start to finish—and while I was looking forward to connecting with the people I went with, I was also excited for the new places we would visit and the new types of food I would have the opportunity to experience. I knew some of the group members already, but there were others I was not familiar with at all. This was something that worried me a bit, as during my last trip to Iceland, I remembered its overall lack of ethnic diversity. When looking around at my peers, I noticed that I was the only African American going to Iceland. Although I looked forward to the challenge of immersing myself into a different culture, I was also a little sad to see the lack of cultural diversity within the group I was traveling with. This would end up playing a role in many situations to come.

While in Iceland, one of the hardest things to get used to was the [four hour] time difference. I was exhausted for the first three days and had just started to get in sync with local time by the time we were getting ready to return. Once I got over the time difference, I was finally able to enjoy all of the things Iceland had to offer. We saw different natural wonders like waterfalls and mountain ranges; we bonded with each other and got used to the dynamics of the group. Traveling with a group is much different than traveling by yourself, or even traveling with your family. Everyone has their own way of handling themselves and everyone has different habits and perspectives about how to manage different situations. Although people might think this was a hard thing to handle, I believe it's what made this trip fun. We were tasked with helping out Hope Channel Iceland. They needed us to take pictures and interview leaders such as the Hope Channel president. We also had to help revitalize their website as well as generally find ways to bring a young person's perspective to Hope Channel Iceland. When we started shooting B-Roll and conducting the interviews, that's when I believe we really came together as a unit. Many of the locations we were doing the interviews in were cold and windy; it took a lot of time, energy and focus to get things right. In the first run-through, we were like deer caught in the headlights. Although we had the technical knowledge from classes, we did not have the experience of shooting in the field. This was a challenge for all of us, but when we banded together and started designating different jobs to each individual on the team, shooting began to go a lot smoother. This experience opened my eyes, and I realized that I could see myself doing this as a job. The routine of traveling to different locations and talking to people of different backgrounds as well as being able to capture beautiful landscapes is something that I don't think I could ever get tired of doing.

There were lots of memorable moments on this trip, whether it was playing music loudly as we drove through the Icelandic tundra or stopping to eat at a traditional Icelandic restaurant. Unfortunately, among those good experiences were also challenging ones. One that sticks out to me was my experience in an Icelandic supermarket in downtown Reykjavík. We were tasked with shooting B-Roll that day, and we were hungry after a few hours of filming. A group of us (students) went into a supermarket and picked up a few snacks. Now, as a result of growing up in America as an African American, I have developed different habits that protect me from the reality of racism: things like never leaving a store without buying something, making sure my hands are visible at all times, or always getting a receipt from the store before I leave. Although I was no longer in America, I still, out of habit, did these things. On our way out of the store we got to the edge of the street and I heard a voice screaming “Sir, Stop!” I immediately stopped in my tracks and looked back. One of the cashiers was standing at the door and he said I did not pay. I knew I had paid and I was taken aback because he is the same one who was looking at me the entire time I paid. I complied and went back into the store only for him to realize it wasn’t me—it had been some other person who stole from the store. All he saw was that someone had not paid and went running after the ‘Black guy.’ This was particularly annoying because it wasn't like I was alone, either. I was with a group of my peers, and as mentioned before, they were all Caucasian. Out of a group of five students and various other customers that walked out when we did, he singled me out. Although the situation was quickly resolved and I was not arrested, there are far too many instances of Black people being wrongfully arrested and incarcerated.

Being Black, male and being wrongfully accused of stealing while I'm not even in America, showed me that the issue of racism has been spread all over the world. The media specifically  has had an  influence across cultures and national borders. The reality is that the population of Black people who live in or travel to Iceland is very low, so most native Icelandic people have little to no contact with Black people. This means that their only exposure to African Americans is through mass media and social media. All the imagery of African American males engaging in criminal activities spreads stereotypes around the world and impacts individuals perceptions. As a person who loves to travel and interact with different cultures, I am saddened by this reality, but I remain committed to trying to change stereotypical perceptions through positive interactions.

All in all, this trip was an awesome opportunity to experience Iceland culturally and expand my skills in the art of cinematography and photography. I also got the opportunity to connect with some very talented peers. As I move through my undergraduate years of college, questions arise such as ‘What do you hope to do in the future?’, ‘What jobs do you see yourself doing?’, and How do you hope to grow as an individual while developing your career, as well as your purpose in life?’ It is my belief that trips like this help in this process. Being able to move outside of your comfort zone both with the use of different techniques and technology helps expand your perspective. Additionally, getting more cultural exposure helps build character and develops you into a person who can live God’s purpose among diverse people and in diverse populations. If you’re interested in seeing a music video I shot abroad while in Iceland, click this link.

The Communications Department plans on doing this trip again this summer. For more information about this trip and others like it, look out for the announcements from the Communications Department.