Chloe Jakiela is a rising senior photojournalism major and visual storyteller passionate about conceptual narrative photography and journalistic photography, primarily working with the mediums of image making, writing and documentary video style. Jakiela thrives under pressure and is known for her adaptability to different environments that she photographs, and has a sharp eye to the various elements of journalistic photography. She worked as a staff photographer at The Globe newspaper for three semesters before becoming the features photo editor for a semester followed by the news photo editor for two semesters. Jakiela is currently in her sixth semester at The Globe. She has freelanced for The Fix Magazine, Point Park News Service and Her Campus. She works for the Tribune Review in Pittsburgh as a stringer and as a Photography Lab Technician in Point Park’s photography labs. Her dream job is to work for a photojournalistic magazine, hopefully National Geographic down the road. Her current personal projects involve narratives, starting a podcast as well as starting a revolution of sorts. You can usually find Chloe running around with a camera, in a coffee shop corner or scheming in one of her vision journals.
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Pre-trip blog: Starting again
As I watched the Manhattan skyline grow smaller and smaller out my bus window, I couldn’t help thinking of how with every visit I take to New York City, there is always something more I want to explore there. Something I wished I could have done but ran out of time for, and something that I was already longing for while still in Manhattan watching the history and numerous undiscovered lives and stories pass by, out of view. And I came to terms on that bittersweet, early March morning that traveling is meant to be that way. You experience a place for a few days, maybe a few weeks or months and then you’re on your way to somewhere new. Somewhere untouched by your mind, soul and actions.
On the bus ride back to Pittsburgh that morning, after a string of fun, busy days of this year’s Spring break, I decided to listen to a new album by an indie band called Local Natives. The first strong stuck my attention right away:
Villainy…
“I want to start again
Sunsets, new babbling man
Holding my sign
Manhattan on the rocks…”
I couldn’t help but notice how coincidental and ironic the song was in the moment (despite the whatever the “real” meaning behind it was according to the band). I wanted to start again, in NYC, but also in life. Don’t we all?
I am sitting here, writing this to all who may happen upon these words, in my new favorite space: an eclectic coffee shop that I just discovered not too far away from where I live. I see people of all ages, greeting each other, connecting again, along with people like me, working on something. Something exciting. Or intricate. Maybe something a little less exciting like emails or catching up on work. I feel less alone in this space. I hope to find more spaces like this, spaces that make me feel free and like I am starting again.
I will start again on May 13th, as my peers and I travel to Iceland, followed by Ireland (!!!); a perfect start to my summer. I am ecstatic and anxious as I finish preparing for the trip; I have been to neither of these countries yet, and have traveled out of the country once before, to various cities in France on a trip during high school in 2013. So although I have been out of the U.S. before, I still feel a bit anxious as I begin to start again.
A lot of us have the freedom of starting again every morning, from the moment we wake up. I am sure you have heard these old words before, how every day is a new opportunity, a fresh start. This trip will be full of many starts, many newfound coffee shops, museums, media networking opportunities, and a whole lot of beautiful nature (and photos!). I am absolutely looking forward to each and every day of this trip, every moment of it.
I am so very thankful for the people that have made this trip possible: The Fallon Travel Fund and my family, as well as (humbly) myself since my classmates and I all took the chance of embarking on this journey of learning new cultures and histories. You can all follow along with our blogs as we write about our experiences everyday in both Iceland and Ireland. I will be taking hundreds (okay, probably thousands) of photos, blogging and writing an article or two during this time. I hope you will join my peers and I on this amazing adventure.
Let’s do this,
Chloe
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Day 1: Landing in Reykjavik
There comes a certain point in life when you subconsciously create the habit of recognizing similarities between your home city and cities you travel to. After I started living in Pittsburgh and traveled to other cities, I often subconsciously compare those cities to the burgh. Although my classmates and I have been studying life in Iceland for a few months, I don’t think anything can truly prepare you for what your initial feelings in a new place will be like. I think that is really cool and a bit unsettling. When we landed in Iceland I felt like I was on a different planet in terms of nature; the stark landscapes are otherworldly here and strangely beautiful.
We arrived in Iceland this morning after a 9hr layover followed by a flight just as long and tiring. This has been one giant day although we embarked on this trip more than 24 hrs ago. Today we toured Keflavik and Reykjavik by bus. We occasionally got out to take photos during this tour; it felt nice until the harsh cold winds started blowing when we got of bus to see the President of Iceland’s house (Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson). We were able to get a close up view since it was not really protected at all which was amazing and weird at the same time. I think it is pretty wild that Iceland is such a safe country to the point of no security at the President’s residence!
After bus tours, we went out to explore the city of Reykjavik. I really enjoyed a cafe called the “The Laundromat,” with Emily Bennett and Jacqueline Roberts. It was quaint and uniquely decorated, I loved it. I ordered a latte (predictable, I know) and a pretty wild avocado sandwich. I cannot wait to experience more of this otherworldly city and, soon enough, Ireland!!
Today flew by much quicker than I thought it would! While yesterday was probably the longest day of my existence, quite literally having been awake for nearly two straight days, today went by too fast. It was a day packed with the most amazing spectacles of nature I have ever seen! First was a walking tour of historical landmarks around our hotel with our tour guide Helga after breakfast. It was a satisfying start to the day to prepare us for all the adventures to come shortly after: Thingvellir National Park, Strokker, a dreamy cafe at an adorable (but smelly) farm, and finally, GULFOSS.
The wildest thing about Thingvellir National Park, because this trip if full of wildly strange and beautiful things, was walking through the Mid-Atlantic ridge. It was truly unbelievable and as much as I’d love to tell you about the history myself, here is the park’s official website to tell you all about the numerous interesting things that have happened here: http://www.thingvellir.is/nature/continental-drift.aspx Everything was immensely breathtaking there. I felt like I was in a dream. I have never been to any park like this before, and I have never been to any country like Iceland.
Day 2: Reyjkavik sights and The Golden Circle Tour
Then, at the Geysir Hot Spring Area, we watched Strokker (the main attrraction) explode/erupt!! I was with Emily and Coleen, we thankfully stood in the right place by chance and did not get drenched like a few of our classmates did from the eruption. The steam that it and the other geysirs generated felt like we were casually hanging out in a cup of tea or a latte (except it smelled like eggs but in a good way? The smell of eggs usually disgusts me so that was cool). This location, like the others today, surprisingly wasn’t cold. We were told to bundle up since the weather here is unpredictable but I was pleasantly surprised (and so thankful I didn’t layer my pants or bring an extra sweater. Never thought that would be the situation. You can read more about this amazing place here: https://www.icelandtravel.is/about-iceland/destination-guide/geysir/ I wish we could have spent more time here! It was difficult to photography Strokker because I couldn’t predict when it was going to erupt and how big of an eruption it would be. But I am okay with that because the first time we totally weren’t expecting it to erupt when it did so it was cool to genuinely experience that without a phone or camera in the way.
After Geysir, we relaxed at a smelly but adorable farm that had wonderful salted caramel ice cream. We were seated next to windows that showed us where the cows are housed. Amusing and cute although Emily has a fear for cows so I tried to suppress my laughter the best I could. There was a neat upstairs seating area with phenomenal views that I wish we had time to hangout at.
Lastly, we experienced the wondrous Gulfoss! Simply breathtaking. After I ate lunch in another sweet seating area with views, Emily and I walked all the way down to the amazing Gulfoss. I was expecting to be stunned by its beauty, but was totally still shocked to finally see it in person. This was my absolute favorite attraction and experience of the day.
Although I would love to write much more about today, it is actually 3am (looks like 9 or 10pm outside, still not used to that at all), and we’ve got another long day ahead of us for our last bit of time in this lovely city of Reykjavik. I’ll be adding photos soon at some point tomorrow. I know if I add them now I could easily stay up editing the rest of the night. Anyway, goodnight and I look forward to telling you all about our last day in Reykjavik.