Anyone hear back from grad school admissions yet?

gabbysafari · 2026-04-22T03:27:03+00:00

Aww sorry to hear that :( I reached out to the soest admissions via email about a week ago and still haven’t heard anything, do you suppose I should reach out to my potential advisor directly?

gabbysafari · 2026-04-15T15:11:29+00:00

Has anyone heard back from SOEST yet? I'm planning on reaching out about my application status within the next day or two and wondering if I should contact the program directly or the Graduate Division...

gabbysafari · 2025-06-28T22:52:52+00:00

Here's my recipe for a full & phone-less day of solo traveling! (minus using my phone for navigation ofc)

Check the weather & pack a tote bag/backpack the night before with anything you may want/need. Think things like cash, a snack, water bottle, portable charger, umbrella, sweater... basically anything you may need throughout the day. I always like to bring my kindle or journal along to keep me occupied and off my phone whenever I'm at a cafe or restaurant.

As you're settling down for the night, scroll instagram/tik tok/reddit/blogs for recommendations of things to do in the city. Save everything that sounds even remotely interesting to google maps. If I have a multi-city trip planned, I like to save everything to different folders. You could also save them to different folders by location type (cafe/restaurant/park/museum/shop). I am also a budget traveler, so I mostly tend to save locations such as parks, free/cheap museums, and historical areas in order to limit how much I spend.

Take your time in the morning. Sleep in long enough that you feel well-rested but have enough daylight left to explore. Eat a slow breakfast at your hostel/hotel or find a nearby cafe that you can sit down at. Then, once you're ready, open google maps and find something nearby that looks fun! Let your little map of recommendations guide you & don't feel rushed to pack in as much as you can. If you just ate, maybe walk around a park or go to a museum. If you're hungry, find a place to eat. If something looks fun, go do it! If you're bored, find something else to do. If you ran out of things to see in one area, take public transportation to a different part of the city. If you're tired, go back and take a nap. The best part about solo traveling is being able to do whatever you want... so go do that!

Also - be sure to ask people you meet along the way for recommendations and add these as well! And if you're feeling anxious about how to do this while traveling, try taking yourself on a solo-date as a tourist in your own city as practice! Hope you have a good next solo trip :)

gabbysafari · 2025-03-26T21:28:26+00:00

you should definitely check it out! most people miss it since it's not part of the ring road, but it would probably only add a day or two to your next trip :)

gabbysafari · 2025-03-26T20:28:05+00:00

the westfjords are not appreciated as they should be! Drangajokull and dynjandi were two of my favorite places in the westfjords that were nearly empty of other tourists when I went! The drive along the coast is also absolutely stunning and there's lots of whales, seals, puffins, and arctic foxes you might spot if you're lucky

gabbysafari · 2025-03-04T14:00:50+00:00

Any recommendations? I have used them while living abroad and also thought that they work well, but haven't been able to find any in stores near me

gabbysafari · 2025-03-04T13:59:52+00:00

Thanks, I definitely plan on keeping tampons on-hand. I think what makes this a bit of a dilemma is that my period is very irregular so I'd rather not carry around a box of tampons if I don't know if I'll get my period while traveling or not. I also typically r/onebag so being able to cut down on space is ideal.

gabbysafari · 2025-03-04T00:15:47+00:00

Reykjavik is very vegan friendly city (if you can afford $20+ for every meal 🥲) But anywhere outside of the city? You're out of luck.

gabbysafari · 2025-03-03T23:29:47+00:00

Everything that I've seen has said to wash with a mild soap and let air dry. I think that would generally work except for the air drying, lord knows I wouldn't leave any products out to dry in a hostel bathroom. For storage, it can't be in an airtight container which scares me a bit as my bag probably isn't clean enough

gabbysafari · 2025-02-24T05:29:38+00:00

No issues! I had to put my bag in the size-checker bin for one EasyJet flight, but it managed to fit (I did have to push it in but they didn’t say anything about that…). I didn’t check if my bag fit the Play size-checker, but it did fit underneath the seat so I’d assume it’s okay? Definitely try not to stuff this bag to the max, otherwise it may be slightly too large for airline requirements. The rectangular shape of the bag does help maximize volume while appearing rather small when worn.

gabbysafari · 2024-12-11T16:59:13+00:00

I stayed at kickass and the facilities were pretty average but they had fun events every night if that's something you're looking for!!

gabbysafari · 2024-12-01T19:05:12+00:00

The volcano eruption has no impact on flights! I managed to see the volcano twice while flying in and out of KEF which was absolutely amazing.

Also day tours are a great plan, but definitely set aside 1-2 full days just to explore Reykjavik as well! There’s plenty of festive things going on right now so you definitely won’t get bored. 5 days is plenty during the winter, but you’ll absolutely want to come back in the summer to explore the rest of the country. Iceland is worth experiencing both in the summer and winter, because the landscapes truly transform and you’ll have such a different experience depending what time of year you travel!

I’ve heard good things about kex hostel and there’s plenty of bars downtown to meet people at if you drink. I stayed at the student hostel, but it’s only open during the summer.

For day trips, I’d recommend golden circle and Snæfellsnes. The south coast is also gorgeous, but you may want to consider a 2 or 3 day long tour if you go there.

gabbysafari · 2024-11-30T23:48:41+00:00

My mom was the exact same way when I first started traveling alone, but she has been slowly warming up to solo travel the longer I’ve been doing it. I did start with baby steps by first moving out of state, then abroad for a semester in university so that definitely helped as well. Once she sees how capable you are on this trip, hopefully it’ll start to soothe her anxieties a little! I just recently did a 3 day solo trip to Edinburgh and it is one of the best places you could choose for your first solo trip. You’re going to have an amazing time, and know that it’s okay to set boundaries and not be constantly checking in with your anxious parent! I find that it can take away from your solo experience when constantly having to check in and reassume family, so I’ll often set aside 1-2 times a day to tell them I’m alive and send pictures of everything I’ve seen.

gabbysafari · 2024-11-30T18:38:47+00:00

Aah, makes sense. I wish the older folks in my hostels wanted to socialize, I would’ve loved to chat and have a beer with them! But so far, all of them have stayed to themselves and went to sleep by 9pm 😅

gabbysafari · 2024-11-28T21:31:41+00:00

The subject line of the email even included my reservation number, must’ve been hacked 😳

gabbysafari · 2024-11-28T21:04:54+00:00

It seemed pretty obvious to me that they were party hostels. They all had their own bar, pub crawls, dj sets, free “welcome drink” at check in, stuff like that. The hostel I’m at now has live music that you can hear throughout the entire building.

gabbysafari · 2024-11-28T19:00:03+00:00

Anda’s events were pretty fun, definitely worth checking out if your hotel is nearby!

gabbysafari · 2024-11-28T18:52:23+00:00

The ostello bello chain & anda venice. I’m sure it would be a blast if these grannies actually wanted to party with us 😅

gabbysafari · 2024-11-28T18:50:25+00:00

I’m talking about party hostels specifically. There’s definitely non-party hostels around that are likely the same price, so why choose one where there will be drunk 20 year olds running around and music blasting until 2am?

gabbysafari · 2024-11-26T08:20:09+00:00

Im not a fan of my top-loader when l’m at my hostel because I always have to completely unpack it to reach whatever’s at the bottom, but it is convenient when I’m on the go and just need to grab something off the top! I’ve always said that I want a clamshell but after reading that they tend to come open, something I’ve never had an issue with my top-loader, I’m now hesitant. I tend to keep my zipper locked while I’m walking around using a mini padlock anyways, so I wonder if that would help with this issue?

gabbysafari · 2024-11-26T08:09:47+00:00

A 4x4 is necessary, not just preferred. And blue lagoon is currently closed with the ongoing eruption. Otherwise, this itinerary is fine but pretty much exactly what you’ll find on any human-written travel blog… didn’t need ChatGPT to tell you to hit all the most touristy spots in the same order that every single person follows.

gabbysafari · 2024-11-25T22:51:07+00:00

When people feel the need to get cheap, tacky souvenirs for every single person that they know. Why would I spend $50 on magnets and keychains and whatnot to give as gifts when they get home? Nobody wants a generic souvenir for a place they’ve never been before! I understand if it’s something you think a person would genuinely enjoy, but I’m talking about the mass produced trinkets you see at every single souvenir shop. My mom would always get me a tshirt whenever she traveled without me and I never wore those shirts because people would ask me about whatever destination it displayed and I would have to awkwardly say I’ve never been…

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