Volcano Eruption in Iceland

Original here.

Isn't that such a breath-taking photo??? For more volcanic-related videos, you can go here.

I've always been fascinated with Geography. It used to be my favourite subject in high school and I would look forward to having my lessons. For me, it was like an escapism to the world of the supernatural in which the movement of tectonic plates birthed something of such massive proportions that one just has to wonder at the creator of them all.

As I soaked up all this information, exams were a joy and I aced them easily. It's a pity that until now, I haven't been on any Geography trip to see Volcanos, Geysers or any of the physical formations that I have mulled through in my textbooks.

Anyway, when I was growing in Singapore, I used to think that it's so boring, earth-wise. We never experienced any earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions etc. Geography trips to Europe when I was in MGS (my high school) were way too expensive and I had to forego them.

Who would have known that a couple of years down the road, I would be living in Europe and experience first-hand the effects of having a natural disaster. Ok, volcanic eruptions are not as destructive as earthquakes or tsunamis - For that I'm very thankful. And here in Stuttgart, one can barely notice anything different in the Earth's atmosphere, save for very fine particles in the sky when the sun sets (according to one of my students in class today).

Never to be one who stares at the sun, I have hence not noticed any volcanic effects.

However, it has caused chaos to the masses of people stranded at the airports worldwide. For me personally, I'm hoping really that my Dad and brother get to fly to Europe this coming Friday. Their flight, originally planned to fly to London / Frankfurt, where they will head to Switzerland for the first part of their Europe trip, has been cancelled.

We're supposed to meet up with them in London, where we would spend a few days before heading to Paris together. I don't have to remind myself that our hotel in Paris is non-refundable in case of no-show.

So yeah, I think there's beauty in "nothingness". In retrospect, I find that its a blessing that countries like Singapore is sheltered from the storms of the Earth. One desires something and then when it does happen, one longs for "ordinariness" again. Alright.....that's enough of poetry for today.

Do you know anybody who's personally affected by the airport closures because of the volcano eruption?