A
s my children advanced in
their schooling and their
love of learning became
ever more apparent, I
decided to plan an educational trip of
my own, and to Iceland we went.
I chose Iceland because I wanted
my daughters to know a place that was
far from Hong Kong in a variety of
ways. There were the environmental
and geographical aspects: clean, cool
air, fresh water, and a low-rise, crowd-
free, wide-open landscape, in addition
to the novelties of a volcanic setting
and the summertime midnight sun.
But there were also important
social aspects I wanted them to
experience: to be immersed, if only
for a summer, in a society that was
historically geared towards notions of
equality. By the time we touched
down at Keflavik International
Airport, my children knew that
Iceland was the “birthplace of
democracy”. They knew that Vigdís
Finnbogad´ottir was the world’s
first democratically elected female
head of state. They knew that her
surname – Finnbogad´ottir – was
not just a coincidence; it meant that
she was “the daughter of Finnbogi”.
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender) rights, too, are enshrined
in many ways: same-sex union was
made legal in 1996, and same-sex
couples are eligible for adoption and
surrogacy, as well as IVF treatments.
And what about economic equality?
My daughters knew the terms “income
disparity” and even “Gini coefficient”.
In all of these matters, Hong Kong
and Iceland are worlds apart.
Karmel Schreyer
recounts the summer she
took her family on a field trip to the
Land of Fire and Ice.
Walking
Iceland
on
January 2014
47
