The Taciturn People

It's very rare if an Icelander bids you good morning. If you go into a shop, you'll be met with a distant gaze, and the same thing if you enter an elevator filled with people. If you say "Góðan daginn," most of the time people will tend to, a. keep staring at you but not respond, or b. look at the floor. People above the age of 65 are the only ones likely to return your greeting or may possibly even be the first to profer it. If an Icelander sees someone they know on the other side of the street, most of the time they'll look the other way and pretend they haven't seen the person. However, when driving in a car, Icelanders like to stare intently at passers-by, so intently that you will feel uncomfortable or think that someone wrote IDIOT on your forehead with you being the last one to know. It's the same kind of feeling you might get when walking into the only pub in a very small village in Cornwall. We don't get strangers around here y'know.

So why the sour faces ? Here's a theory: everyone knows each other, so if you say good morning to everyone you know that would be kind of depressing because you'd realise that you live in such a tiny place. Still, there's the issue of good manners and why on earth younger generations just cannot be a***d to smile and say "Góðan daginn." Try going to a supermarket or a restaurant. In ninety-percent of cases the person will try not to notice that you're there, and then when they're forced to notice you, they will look at you as if you've ruined their day by just existing. If the supermarket has a policy they may utter "good morning" in a sullen whisper between chewing mouthfuls of Wrigley's Extra or texting on their mobile phone. I've now explained to my shy five-year-old daughter that its rude not to greet people. She of course told me that nobody ever greets her, but this, I explained, doesn't matter. Never wait for someone else to say "Góðan daginn," to you, because they never will. Always be the first to smile and say hello. Now I just have to mind my own Icelandic ways and make sure that I do the same.

anna@reykjavik.com