Realities of Life in Iceland: Part 1

I have no idea if there will be a Part 2. Bear with me.

1. You can go jogging past Björk's house and think nothing of it. In fact, you as a jogger—outside in the elements—are more of an oddity than Björk, and people in cars will stare at you with looks of pity, scorn or confusion.
2. You want to punch people who ask if you know Björk upon hearing you live in Iceland.
3. You have a new appreciation for trees (if you didn't already). 
4. After a while, you just give up on weather forecasts. Today might start out sunny but bring gale-force winds and bitch-slap-you-across-the-face horizontal rain guaranteed to obliterate your pores. Tomorrow is likely the same. And the weekend. And next month.
5. You make fun of people who comment about the weather on Facebook, doubly so if they live in Iceland and should be accustomed to #4 by now.
6. Umbrellas are futile.
7. The expat community is a revolving door; friends come and friends go.
8. You may be told "no" but the answer may magically change to "yes" if you bring an Icelandic friend or partner.
9. If you didn't know how to cook before you moved here, you learn quickly. And then you learn how to get creative with ingredients.
10. You discover that Sriracha sauce is the best thing ever for bland traditional meals.
11. You reminisce about customer service in other countries.
12. It's hard to walk down the main shopping street in Reykjavik without running into at least one person you know, even if you've lived here only a short time.
13. You often wonder how humans have survived on this island for over 1,000 years, especially before electricity and the internet.
14. You go for a 2nd or 3rd or 4th university degree—just for something to do—and because it's cheap. You may not finish, but you won't care if you don't.
15. If your main form of daily transportation is bicycle, people will regard you as either a saint or a crazed hippy. Or as someone just too fucking cheap to just buy a car like everyone else.
16. No one seems to know proper sidewalk or biking/walking path etiquette.
17. Pedestrians and jeeps are mortal enemies.
18. Trips to grocery store veggie/fruit sections are morbid adventures.
19. You are astounded by how many people at your workplace are related to each other.
20. You don't try to have a conversation with someone at a party until they/you are drunk.
21. Thinking of excuses to get out of attending confirmation parties becomes a hobby.
22. You don't tell many people other than close friends or family (or your boss) that you're going on holiday in the U.S. because you don't want everyone and their cousin asking you to bring things back for them, like shoes, ipads, phones, laptops, odd food products, makeup, etc.
23. You have sandals or open-toe shoes in your closet that get about 3 uses per year.
24. A new fad hits the island, and you watch the chaos ensue in bemusement as you patiently wait for the craze to die down.
25. You go to a shopping mall just to be able to do some walking in bad weather, not to actually buy anything.
26. You know how to pick out Icelanders from other tourists at airports.
27. You watch a lot of foreign TV shows on your laptop.
28. You start to hoard your old clothes because you never know when something will randomly be in style again.
29. Few people go to the gym for a proper workout; it's more about meeting people and looking nice in your new gear. Sweating will totally ruin the 30 minutes you spent on your hair and makeup.
30. If some asshole answers their cell phone during a movie at the cinema, no one wants to be the meanie who scolds the asshole. Because maybe the asshole is a friend of a relative, etc.