The name of Iceland is really confusing. Before I left, my mom and all my friends had asked me to bring winter clothes as much as I can. However, guys who have experienced Iowa winter, you don't need to worry about the winter temperature in Iceland.

This country is definitely not in the “most popular study abroad countries” list in our study abroad office, and the last student who adventured in Iceland has already graduated. But, if you are a Geoscience student or a music lover, Iceland can be ranked No.1 in your own list.

Mark Norris, originally from Ames, IA, graduated from the University of Iowa in 2007 with a degree in linguistics. While at the UI, Mark studied abroad in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the University of Iceland exchange program. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma, and resides in the city of Norman. Read on to learn how Mark's study abroad experience benefited his college career and current endeavors.

I don’t know how to answer the questions you’ll ask me about being abroad for four months. You’ll ask if it was amazing, and then you will ask me if I miss it. And I will say there are a few things that I miss in particular – getting to see mountains every day, and I honestly miss hearing the Icelandic language. The landscape is surreal, so I miss that, too. What I could do without is missing my friends and family in the United States. But now I just miss the friends that I made abroad.