Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Intro




"There once was a man named Jorsh, son of Rogar the Angry, who held land in the hills of Mohawk.  When he came of age, Jorsh traveled southward to the valley of Hudson to seek his own legacy....."

You can say that I have dedicated my life to learning about, fostering, and spreading information regarding the old religions and customs of Scandinavia.  It's my dream to one day have a phd on the subject, but it's equally a dream for me to be able to get the MA in Old Norse Religion so that, even if I don't pursue a phd for a while, I can write about the topic, lecture on it, etc.  I want to do everything I can to help spread knowledge and understanding of those old cultures.

I made this blog because I have just received an email from Terry Gunnell, renowned scholar of Old Norse Religion and the sole head of the Old Norse Religion department at University of Iceland.  He congratulated me and informed me I was accepted.  The hard part, however, had only just begun.

American Student's are not eligible for Student Loans for studying at the University of Iceland, nor can they defer previous loans while studying there.  According to the Icelandic Immigration Directorate, roughly 12,000 USD are required in order to stay and study in Iceland for 1 year.  In addition, the actual process of getting everything that you need together IN TIME, and ready so that you can make it there to study is quite confusing and imposing for American Students.  The University's website is less than helpful.  I've been harassing countless victims on the faculty board just to learn what I have thus far.  A lot of the knowledge I now have...I sure as hell could have used 1 or 2 years earlier.

I want to document the process I have gone through thus far, in detail, with the hopes that future students might be able to use this as a helpful guide.  I also want to use this blog to try and get the University of Iceland to add and revamp some of their site, making life just a little bit easier for those of us who want to travel across the endless ocean to enjoy their beautiful Island and learn about the ancient Norse who conquered it.

Obviously, I will add posts as I write them.  Enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. Looking forward to following your journey! You are so fortunate to have such a passion for something in life. Louis and I will help support you anyway we can.

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  2. The best of luck to you. I hope that one day more people will have an understanding of PreChistian European Religions. We lost much when the desert religions enfluenced, stole and corrupted the beliefs of our ancestors.

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  3. As an American who is hoping to go to school in Iceland, I hope all goes well for you. Ill certainly follow your blog

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  4. Hailsa!

    Congratulations on this opportunity... I am completely jealous of course, but, 100% in support of your efforts! I really want to donate $20 dollars to your fund, but the funding site does not accept paypal:( So, if you have a paypal account, please send me the details to sukie.kuhn@gmail.com and i will transfer.

    I know it is not much, but i live in South Africa, so my own currency is VERY weak in comparison.

    MAKE US PROUD!

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