That, as one Icelander explained to me, �fame has no value here.�

That there is virtually no violent crime in Iceland.

That Icelandic police do not carry guns.

That Iceland�s prime minister is a lesbian, legally married to another woman (same-sex marriage has been legal, with little fuss, for years). Her wife is respectfully called the First Lady.

That one�s family is of upmost importance�elderly or ailing parents or troubled older siblings are taken into one�s home�and yet definitions of family are not necessarily traditional; it isn�t uncommon for a man or woman in Iceland to have children from several different partners.

That there are swimming complexes in virtually every neighborhood. People of all ages, from babies to the elderly, come not only to swim but to socialize. In the hot tubs, neighbors and friends catch up and laugh after work as aches and pains melt away.

That Iceland�s chief form of energy and heat is geothermal.

That freeways outside cities are not cluttered with billboards and advertising. What you see when you drive is the mountains and the sea and land largely as it was before settlers arrived.

That Icelanders are proud of their language and yet also speak English with disarming style, choosing words carefully�for example, a photographer tells me that he prefers 35mm film cameras over digital because �film has more charisma.� Or, a woman says to me of her life, she is �always busy with the moment��not busy because of her job and kids and spin class but �with the moment,� as if each moment is her partner.

why iceland?