Edited and published by: Clubhouse Geysir, 105 Reykjvavík, Iceland. Tel: (354)-5515166. e-mail: geysir@heimsnet.is. Website: www.kgeysir.is

1st. edition October 2009

The Geysir Chronicle

The fourth ELECT meeting was

held in London from the 21st to the

22nd of April 2009. The meeting was

hosted by the Mosaic Clubhouse which

really put an effort into making the

meeting a successful one. The ELECT

project sets out to strengthen Clubhous-

es as learning communities and to pro-

mote access to education and the labor

market for people recovering from

mental illness. It also enhances co–

operation and awareness raising be-

tween Clubhouses and various educa-

tional institutions.

Before the Elect meeting a one week

pilot training course was held in

Mosaic Clubhouse for Clubhouses par-

ticipating in the Elect project. The pro-

ject is divided into several work pack-

ages. Geysir Clubhouse participates in

the WP3 which main focus is to collect

material to prepare a manual for sup-

ported education. The supported educa-

tion pilot training course was organized

by WP4 and Geysir Clubhouse signed

up for the course, which turned out to

be quite intensive, but informative.

This has been demanding work but also

a rewarding one, and has brought valu-

able experience to the Clubhouse.

The final meeting of the Elect project

will take place in Copenhagen in Sep-

tember this year.

Fourth ELECT-Project meeting in London

From the Elect project

meeting in London

From the Elect project supported educa-

tion pilot training course.

2

Editor´s note

We have been busy at Geysir Club-

house. We have traveled a lot in the au-

tumn of 2008 and early spring 2009. Elin

and Trausti went for a one week training

in employment and education in Septem-

ber 2008 to Fountain house New York.

Kristinn, Sigga, Björk, Magga and Kjar-

tan went for one week visit to Kildehuset

in Aarhus Denmark in October 2008.

Benni and Odinn went to an Elect meet-

ing in Munich in November 2008. Kris-

tinn and Jón went to the European Semi-

nar in Glasgow in the beginning of De-

cember. Then the traveling started again

in March 2009. Tóta and Trausti went to

Elect training in Mosaic clubhouse Lon-

don on the 23rd to the 27th of March.

Benni and Odinn went to another Elect

meeting in London in March from 22nd

to April 1st. Kristinn and Kjartan went to

an advisory Council meeting in New

York on March 30th to April the 3rd. It is

very important for a small and “isolated”

clubhouse like Geysir to participate in

international collaborations and visit oth-

er clubhouses around the world. We have

also been working on our certification for

the most part of 2008 and the beginning

of 2009 with self study meetings and

translations. We had our certification visit

from the 2nd of February until the 6th of

February 2009. Connie Mayer and Brian

Gumma joined us in the work-ordered

day and talked to members and staff

about the inner workings of the club-

house. We are looking forward to spring

in Geysir after the long winter and have

started cleaning up outside the clubhouse

to prepare for summer.

Elin Sigurdardottir

Staff, Employment and Education Unit

ELECT: Training of Trainers

During the week of 23rd and 27th of March 2009 the pilot course on best practices for supporting members to seek education was held in London.

The course was called ‘ELECT Pilot Course’ and is a part of the Training of Trainers work package. The course was based on results from the ELECT

project and experiences of various clubhouses around the globe. A lot of new information came forward so we

all learned a quite deal about sup-porting members who seek education.

The course was divided into three main subjects; discussion of various topics, visits and lecture, and action plan for an edu-

cation unit. In the first part we read materials about topics such as Why Education?, Adult Learning

Styles, Disclosure and so on, all to-gether five topics. The discussions

were very informative and lively. Through them we learned a lot about the experiences of other clubhouses. On Wednesday we visited Lambeth College and had a discussion with the

staff of Learner Support Services. It was impressive to see how much work was done there and how keen the

staff was on solving issues that came up. The cooperation between the Col-lege and Mosaic was well planned and

active. Both parties intend to increase this cooperation. We can learn a lot from this work as can other countries and clubhouses.

Finally we evaluated the course and agreed that it was well organized and

the staff and members of Mosaic de-

serve an applause. Trausti Traustason

3

Geysir clubhouse is the only Fountain House Club in Iceland. We must go abroad to see what others are doing. Fountain House conferences are therefore of prime importance for us. A European Club-house Conference was held in Glasgow – Scotland last year. I and Kristinn the club´s director attend-ed the seminar on behalf of Geysir It began on Sunday afternoon and ended on Wednesday morning. First day was registration and the last day was open mic for the participants. The other two days began with speeches and afterward there where many workgroups for the participants to choose from. After lunch the same routine took place – first speeches and then workgroups until 16:30 hours. I decided to go to a Clubhouse tour instead of taking part in a work group. The house had been a small church. On the ground floor there was kitchen, dining room and a hall with the reception desk. On the first floor was an office and place to study all in one open space. It was a very tidy house and I met very nice people there and learned a lot about how this clubhouse was run. It was a very tidy place and warm atmosphere inside. In one workgroup a person from Mosa-ic House in London told us about how

they communicated with the environ-ment. I got many in-teresting ideas e.g. they have garden parties for people working in the neigh-borhood. They also have meetings with the police and ambu-lance men to inform about mental illness-es. One workgroup was about certifica-tions of clubhouses. Geysir is one of only ca 150 houses which have been certified

for three years (less than half of the houses have been certified). The speak-ers put emphasis on the fact that certifi-cations are for the clubhouses. The team gives advice which help the houses to improve. When we first came to the conference and registered we learned that we could -not take part in everything. One evening was a Scottish dance show and it was booked in advance long before it was decided who would attend the seminar from Geysir. Many where disappointed with this arrangement. But my luck was with me. Alan who is head of the training for clubhouses in New York is writing a book about Fountain House movement and asked us to comment on some notes he had made about the fundamentals of the fountain house ideology. It was very interesting and we had a very good time with him and people from Sweden at the

European seminar in Glasgow 2008 By Jón Sigurgeirsson

Jón Sigurgeirsson

4

„ I don´t think time is running away from me“, says Ólöf Rut Fjeldsted

„I haven´t begun my studies and do not

exactly know how it´s going to turn out

in the nearest future. In the beginning

educational matters were on a two years

plan at least, on the other hand I wanted

to start concentrating on getting to know

Denmark thoroughly and learn the lan-

guage“ says Ólöf Rut, optimistic as usual.

Although Denmark actually isn´t far from

Iceland many things are different here and

in order to be able to feel well here, I found

it important to place emphasis on under-

standing the Danish society and adjust to it.

I set it out as a priority issue before I would

decide what or when I would study. It has

gone beyond all hopes and I´m becoming

more and more Danish each day and I´m

taking an active part in Danish society. Be-

sides the language is not a problem, as I was

quick to learn it and understand it and now I

can comment on most things in Danish.

I spit in the palms

When I first came to Denmark I had no

work and I therefore knew that I had to spit

in my palms and be hard, both concerning

getting a job and to learn the language. I

started on getting a temp job on taking care

of old people in the little town where I

lived at that time. This was only a part-time

work but was nevertheless helpful. When I

had stayed here for four months I applied

for work in another place and began to work

in the claims department of the Danish post-

al service. This was nevertheless also a

temp job and I knew in advance that I

would only keep that job for six months.

Shortly before last Christmas I learned that

an advertising-office was searching for an

employee with a good knowledge of Ice-

landic. I decided to examine this a bit fur-

ther, then I finally applied for the job and I

work there today as a program manager in

the Icelandic department. This is a challeng-

ing and amusing job, offering continually

new challenges and new tasks and that suits

me well. The new job also makes it possible

for me to travel due to the work, now in-

cluding Iceland.

Isak Daði begins school attendance next

autumn

My six years old son, Isak Daði, attends

kindergarten here in the town where we

live. He likes it there and is popular with the

other kids, he has come up strong with the

things he has undertaken here in Denmark.

5

This was of course a hard task for him in

the beginning. Suddenly there were only

new faces to see everywhere and all day

long there was a language spoken which

he didn´t understand at all. He has man-

aged to come through this and has been

very hard working and I„m very proud of

him. I think he is the most efficient of all

and he is a complete hero. He will start

elementary school next autumn and then

yet new challenges to conquer, both exit-

ing and exacting challenges. This new part

of our lives has, understandably, created

some instability within him and in the be-

ginning it was easily noticeable. He was

restless and restive and missed his family

in Iceland. This though has changed and

the more he has got adjusted to the chang-

es the more calmness he finds within him-

self. He is a different child today since this

has maturated him a lot. He is not the only

one who has been through a certain matu-

ration process in connection with this, as I

have also partaken in the changes and

learned many things this way.

I knew I wanted to live in Denmark

I moved as a single mother to Denmark,

unemployed, with only household invento-

ry and little money in the bank. This was

hard in the beginning. There were days

when I was considering if I had converted

rightly and if I could keep on staying here

without family and friends. Deep inside I

knew anyway that living here was what I

wanted and intended and that I would

manage to come through that by being

hard-working, focusing on not giving up. I

said to myself that I was the one who was

in charge of whether I could do this or not

and that despite some days became diffi-

cult, this would become easier with time.

One reaps as one sows and after a hard

period in settling down properly, I began

to look at Denmark as my home. Now I

want to be nowhere else and I´m happy to

live here. I got to know a wonderful Ice-

landic man in Denmark, and we live to-

gether today. We found a beautiful home

in a nearby town and we are going to

move there in the end of June and Isak will

start his school there. I don´t know when

I´m going to attend school, but as the situ-

ation is today I´m very pleased with my

job and I want to deal with it a little bit

longer before I decide to do something

else. Anyway I don´t find that time is run-

ning away from me and while I´m feeling

well, I don´t see a reason to change any-

thing at the moment. I´m happy where I

am and I think life is good to me and I´m

grateful for the opportunities I have had.

I learned a lot about myself in the Club-

house Geysir

I„m also grateful to the Clubhouse Geysir

for the opportunities it granted me at that

time. In the Clubhouse Geysir I learned a

lot about myself, gained self-confidence

and obtained believe in that I was able to

do all the things I wanted to do. The Club-

house Geysir marked the beginning of my

life's journey I have been healthy and

strong since the autumn 2004, where al-

most all things have been a success and

made me happy, mostly because I believe

in myself. I want to send all my thanks,

warm regards and wishes for prosperity

and wellbeing to all members and staff in

the Clubhouse Geysir.

6

Geysir´s travel to Benedorm Excerpts from

Þórunn Ósk Sölva-

dóttir journal in

May 2008.

May 22nd: A group of 14

people travelled from the Club

Geysir in Iceland to Benedorm

in Spain. The group met at the

club at 09.00 AM. The bus to

the airport came to the club-

house and immediately there

was a festive spirit and people

started to sing and talk togeth-

er. The flight took four hours

and 20 minutes. We were wel-

comed at the airport and

brought directly to the hotel where we

were staying during the trip. The hotel was

splendid, we stayed 2 or 3 in each flat.

After settling in we went out to dine and

were joined by two members of the Geysir

Clubhouse that were staying in Albir, an

hours driver from where we were staying.

We constantly got news from Iceland re-

garding our score in the European song

contest and we were all very happy to hear

that Iceland had made it to the main event

from the preliminaries. Most of us went to

bed around midnight but some of us

stayed up and chatted.

May 23rd: Everybody was rather weary

after the journey from Iceland and slept in.

In the afternoon some of us went directly

to the beach to get some tan, while others

took a look at the facilities at the hotel. At

the fifth floor of the hotel there was a

swimming pool and sunbathing facilities.

Some of us got some chairs and started to

sunbathe while others dove into the pool,

which was very cold. People chatted a lot

and everybody was happy to be in the sun.

In the evening most of us were tired, so

people either went to their flats to have a

snack or went out for dinner and entertain-

ment.

May 24th: As had been previously decid-

ed Tóta and Sigga were at the hotel´s cafe-

teria at 10 o´clock in the morning. That

was our “rendez vous” place to plan the

rest of the day. It was decided to take an

hour´s walk on the beach and six of us

participated in that walk. The beach was

lively, sunbathers were working out, sing-

ing, and there were a lot of happy faces

everywhere. Late in the afternoon we

walked in the old city center and got to

experience Spanish culture.

The European song contest was held that

day, and as Iceland had a band in the com-

petition we decided to stay at the hotel and

watch the contest. At the beginning the

servants were not too happy to see us and

were rather sulky. We asked if we were

not welcome and after a brief discussion

with the manager all was made right and

we could smile for the rest of the evening.

Halla, Tryggvi, Viðar, Marteinn og Sigga

enjoy some refreshments.

7

We were sure that Iceland would be among the top ten nations in the contest. Although

that didn´t happen we were happy talking

and listening to the music. After the contest

was over, most of us went to bed, but some

of the more energetic members of the group

went out for a night on the town.

May 25th: A few of us went for a pleasant

walk in the morning. This day it was cloudy

and not too hot outside so all of us went

downtown for a stroll in the afternoon. After

the trip most of us had a nap. We all decided

to meet later that evening and have dinner

together. When we were taking off towards

the restaurant we discovered that one of our

members was missing. After contacting her

via cell phone, we

discovered that

she was hopeless-

ly lost downtown.

It was decided

that she should

take a taxi to take

her back to the

hotel. Fortunately

she came back to

us in one peace.

May 26th: As

usual some of us

early birds met

and went for a

walk. On the way

we bought a birth-

day cake, hats and candles, because one of

our members Guðrún Jóna had her 65th

birthday that day. We went to her flat and

threw her a surprise party. During the day a

few of us went out to the supermall, La Ma-

rina. After a brief taxi ride, we were brows-

ing in the mall and window shopping. In the

mall there were a wide variety of shops, but

most of them specialized in expensive la-

bels. Fortunately we found a HM shop that

had a wide variety of affordable clothes.

Then in the evening we took Guðrún Jóna to

dinner and celebrated her birthday with

style. We went to a Scottish restaurant,

where there was a lot of singing and danc-

ing. One of our members, Vidar, upheld the

Icelandic national pride and sang a few

songs in the restaurant karaoke system in

honor of the birthday girl. The evening end-

ed with most of us returning home to the

hotel, while some of us went out on the

town.

May 27th: In the morning some of us gath-

ered for a long walk along the beach. The

group then split up, some of us spent a time

on the beach while others took a walk

downtown. In the evening we all gathered

together and went out to a Chinese restau-

rant to dine. The food was so abundantly

served that some

of us had to stop

eating even be-

fore all the dishes

were served.

Needless to say,

all of us went

home with a full

stomach.

May 28th: This

was the day be-

fore we went

home. Everybody

tried to get as

much tan as pos-

sible before re-

turning home.

We all went together and dined before we

went to our flats and started to pack for the

early flight back home.

May 29th: This was the day of our return to

Iceland. Everybody woke up early as we

had to be ready before the bus to the airport

arrived. Everyone was ready in time and

the trip to the airport went well. Our plane

was right on time and later that morning we

all boarded the plane back to Iceland. The

trip went extremely well and everyone had

great fun.

Viðar, Marteinn, Tóta Helga, Ásta og Tóta having a

good time in the sun.

8

Geysir Clubhouse is open all weekdays from 08.30 - 16.00

except fridays to 15.00

I have been volunteering for about 8

months in the clubhouse Geysir. I applied

for the European Voluntary Service after I

finished high school. First I had to find a

sending organization in my home country,

Germany, and then it was up to me to find

a project and hosting organization in any

country participating in this program. As I

was very excited about this icy country in

the very north of the world with its very

unique landscape, I turned my search to-

wards Iceland. I have always been very

interested in human relations and the psy-

chological field. I got though interested in

this clubhouse, applied and found a coordi-

nating organization called AUS and that‟s

how I got here. So far I spent a very inter-

esting and enriching time here in Geysir

and in Iceland. I got an insight in the Ice-

landic society, its difficulties these days

and its strengths. I tried to not give up

learning Icelandic, attended lessons and got

support inside the clubhouse. Even though

it‟s hard to learn Icelandic and spoken by a

very small group of people, I really like it

and would like to know it entirely some

day. Being a volunteer in Geysir, conclud-

ing is a precious experience I will always

be thankful for.

Sophia Noack

Being a volunteer in

Geysir Clubhouse

Sophia at work

Summer is upon us and

to celebrate, members

and staff of Clubhouse

Geysir went to

Heiðmörk, an outdoor

area in the outskirts of

Reykjavík. We had a

wonderful time and en-

joyed the beautiful sur-

roundings in Heiðmörk and barbequing.

Geysir´s Fishing Club has their annual

planning meeting for this summer. Those

that are interested in fishing are urged to

attend.

Summertime is here!!! At last a member takes seat on Geysir´s advisory board

It has

been on

the sched-

ule and an

ongoing

discussion

for many

years to

have a

clubhouse member on Geysir´s advisory

board. Jón Sigurgeirsson has been chosen

to sit on the board on behalf of the club-

house members. We would like to congrat-

ulate him on his new position.

Jón Sigurgeirssson

Óðinn Einsson