Asgeir Theodorsson ‘23 has a very unique background.

Born in America but raised Icelandic, he has a different perspective on the U.S. than most of us.

Life in Iceland, in some aspects is much different than in the U.S.

One of the ways Theodorsson thinks the U.S. should be more like Iceland is safety.

“I wish it was as peaceful here as it is there. People oftentimes would leave their kids out on strollers on the sidewalk while they went into stores, it’s just that safe,” Theodorsson said.

When asked about the food in Iceland, he said it’s great and very different.

“Some foods I love are liver pâté, lamb and salmon,” he said.

He thinks even though his family has a different background, he didn’t have much trouble adapting to American culture.

“I grew up around American culture, so it wasn’t too significant of a change for me, but the rest of my family definitely were affected.” The language barrier, for example, wasn’t an issue for him.

“I’m fluent in both Icelandic and English, although I learned English first,” he said.

His family moved to the U.S. after his father got a job here; his immediate family was all born in Iceland.
He says he travels there every year.

“We alternate visiting during the summer and winter every year, so we spend Christmas there every two years.” Theodorsson said.
Other than visiting with family, he sometimes goes there with family friends.

“I went with my mom and some of her friends who had never been there before. They were in awe about everything they saw,” Theodorsson said.

“Myself, I love to hike all around the country in any way I can. I’ve actually been to Mount Fagradalsfjall, which is the one that erupted very recently,” Theodorsson said.

Iceland is known for its tectonic activity, with frequent earthquakes and many well-known volcanoes.

“My grandmother lives right by Eyjafjallajökull, which is a volcano that last erupted in 2010.”

Aside from visiting, he has also lived there for a while, working at a horse stable with his aunt.

“I lived there for five weeks last year, and I did everything from helping kids with horse rides, preparing obstacle courses to the dirtier tasks necessary at a farm,” Theodorsson said.

Theodorsson said Soccer is a very important part of Icelandic culture, with a large following.

“It’s very big, it’s the most prominent sport there, much more prominent than here. There’s much more culture surrounding it,” he said.

He plays striker and attacking midfield on the varsity soccer team.

He thinks his background played a part in his decision to play soccer as his main sport, as he has done for 13 years.

Representing his country’s culture in soccer is a unique reason to play, but for someone with a background as unique as Theodorsson, it just makes sense.