Man oh man, it's been busy!

Well quite a bit has happened over the last few days, I haven't had the time to provide a big update so this'll be a post covering a number of topics.

So over the weekend I was attending the Arctic Circle Conference in Reykjavik at the Harpa conference centre (a big glass building which is very nice). And it's safe to say that it was excellent and I learned more than I was expecting to, I had thought prior to the conference that it would have been very scientific based, while there was a number of scientific studies shown (the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment was very interesting) the conference actually boasted a very high number of oil/gas/mining/investment companies and a bunch of political figures.
The Hero of The Russian Federation gave a speech which the head of Greenpeace decided to burst in and demand the release of the 30 protesters in Russia, the Russian guy gave a very long winded no.
But the real lesson that was learnt was that before this weekend as a biologist I had only ever seen the Arctic as a biologist and a romantic. Whereas now I have a more wide view, I have seen how so many different companies and countries want to use and exploit the Arctic without shame and they will not be running opposed. I have seen the future of the Arctic, and the news could be a lot better.

But enough with the doomsday talk!

Two nights ago I had the best aurora experience I have had in my time here, and I was in the city surrounded by lights. But it was still the brightest and most vibrant I have seen it. I was genuinely running around screaming (though people who know me will not be surprised). And last night there was supposed to be a special event where the city lights in Reykjavik were to be turned off in order for the whole city to see the lights, but sudden cloud cover cancelled that event. Also England won their football match that night, so it was a good night overall!

Yeah I love this. Posy but frankly sums up my feelings for the lights. God I love them so much.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. A few thanks, I've been doing a lot more independent activities and with that I've come across quite a few excellent people. To the Latvian woman who I spent the conference with when I couldn't find my colleagues thank for giving me someone to talk to!

To the couple in the pub who forgave me for blocking their view during the football match and bought me a drink, thank you!

To the couple of the evening boat trip where we saw nothing, thank you for giving me insight and tips into life after an environmental degree!