There comes a time when you realize life is linear ... not a circle. As students we were slowly realizing this truth. As is tradition in Icelandic colleges students on their third year of study take a trip together for two weeks into the unknown to experience “Life” These “graduation” trips have often been mythified, scandalous and heavily opposed by respectable members of society who haven’t taken the ride or chose not to go. No one forgets their own graduation trip in Iceland and I knew there was a reason. I saw a vague oppurtunity to make an assignment out of this, but what I came back with was not what I had originally in mind. There were 60 of us about to head to a nightlife city on the coast of the mediterranian; Benidorm, Spain.
We were more than ready ... The words of Hunter S. Thompson “Buy the ticket, Take the ride” was our motto. I was naive about people in general before, coming from a rural urban center in Iceland, after the first night, now I understood.
we departed on the 4th of august 2011 and returned two weeks later. I had developed all ten films two months later, I had no idea what i would talk about so it had been postponed and procrastinated for a long time now. since its february 2012 I thought it was about time I got my shit together. This is for you my fellow filmwasters. People are represented by letters.College students drink a lot, on most weekends in Iceland as a matter of fact. Letting a bunch of 18 year olds from a country where the legal age is 20 and they are provided for (illegaly) into a country where it is 18 and they can provide for themselves was a spectacle by itself.
When we stepped out of the plane the heat and moisture hit us like a wall. Most of us had been to hot climates before including me and the consensus was that situations had changed and adaptation had begun. We landed in Alicante at midnight and lounged around with our bags as we waited for the bus. An hour went by on the bus and we saw our hotel: The Maeva, two thirty story towers in the middle of the city with us split relatively even between them.
Me and most of my friends landed in the same tower and our group of five landed at the ninth floor (aptly named cloud nine after that) apartment number four. The bags had been saved and the beds made, it was now well into the night and most people figured that we would wait till morning to go outside and look around for things to do. But then the housewarming visits started we checked out each others apartments and realized they were carbon copies of one another with no real interest between them
"Let's party" was the first and only suggestion after this. We realized bars were open 24/7 and it was on. Looking back we must have looked like a bunch of hooligans. Most people dont travel in groups of 30 to a bar but there we were going to our rumored first "sex show" you are most likely laughing now but for people who had no idea that this was the shit that it was experienced a bit of a culture shock and ofcourse adapted to this alien premise. People being offered drugs, prostitution, endless catcalls and the promise of a free shot. The next morning was a literal haze, a small toxic cloud of alcohol and marijuana hugged the ceiling with nowhere to go until we unlocked the balcony door, the balcony was a travesty akin to skid row on a friday night after a millionaire decides to buy everyone a drink. We realized things were going to end up dirty every night so we set shifts and did our own cleaning duty and laundry. Afterwards we decided on breakfast and spent the day sipping beer and browsing spanish channel tv with their own fun set of telemarketers.
The first few days after the first night went in a similar cloud of haze, all scrambled in my memory. We tried keeping a journal but it ended up as a book of drunken and high scribbles. A certain highlight is on the evening of the third or fifth night we held a party at cloud nine when one of our friends “H” managed to close a faulty bathroom lock and we had to have security bust the door. Things were everywhere and there were about 20 people of both sexes in the apartment crowding everything. He had gone without alcohol for 30 mins before we got him out. An hour later he went again and trapped himself. By that time security decided to take the entire lock mechanism with them. Later in the week I remember going home early with E from the fourth floor, sipping dry whisky and smoking cigs with him until 5 am. I decided to head to bed only to be woken up 10 mins later with all my friends back trying to split 5 grams of “charlie” between themselves.
I was offered and I accepted but was so drunk I fell asleep before it was my turn. Another highlight is waiting for A until 7 am busting my liver with a bottle of whiskey and 2 packs of cigarettes. That stands out as one of my most remembered sunrises as I had to take a sip of whiskey everytime I felt sleep crawling up my neck. I ended up continually drunk for 9 hours that day just to stave off the crash. A came back drunk as fuck, made sure he was okay, watched the sunrise and went to bed. A next morning we went for a british breakfast at one of the steakhouses. I was severly dehydrated, sweating and hearing sounds until I had the coldest can of pepsi that brought me back to sanity within 20 mins. Now that was a scary moment, One of many... I remember a story of another school in Reykjavík that was staying in a hotel near us, one guy had been coked up and swinging on the balcony rails twenty-three story's high. He was sent home the next morning.
Divulging all the details of the two weeks would fill a book and recounting the entire first week would reach the post limit on this forum so i'll keep it short now and let you get to the photographs.
This essay is really about the impact of lavish debauchery and irresponsibilty. Not saying we were irresponsible, heck some of us had been saving for a year before so we could live like kings and queens for these two weeks but the general consensus was that we could do whatever we wanted to when we wanted to.
The pictures are bleak, no question. There were some dark moments with illicit drugs, prostitutes, muggers, temporary alcaholism and withdrawals but we came back feeling richer for it and unscathed, knowing what was out there in the realm of possibilities. I kept my camera in the hotel room for fear of damaging it and not wanting anything holding me back from being in attendance to the feeling. When we got back to the hotel I became the observer and started collecting photographs. I shot 240 exposures and it came down to 40. One roll was fried by x-ray on the way home and many were blurred and others were reshoots. (dont do drunk pictures on film kids!) On our way home we got held up at the airport for a technical failure. 24hrs of waiting, dont fly Iceland Express unless you are lucky.
Ultimately we are planning on going again in 2014 ... One ride is never enough.
Captions under the slides.
Arrival at the airport in Alicante^
On the bus to Benidorm
Benidorm, Skyscrapers
On A walk, from left S, A, E with G behind him and R
Our first day of grocery shopping, Empty by the next morning.
Me sleeping on the balcony hungover, G wanted to keep the thermostat at 19C while sleeping, I was getting sick so I opted for the 30C outside.
From left, D,G,R Watching telly while G snores.
"A" Sunbathing aka whogivesafuckabouttheclothesdrying.
Old Benidorm, I like the architecture and cornershops.
Pool and bowling with R and A
Heading to the mall for a look around.
Old Benidorm, hanging outside a counterfeit electronics store.
Found this suit at the mall
Starting to pile up here.
Winds could get pretty fast up high, threw our plastic chairs and bottles around.
My whisky on the right, 9 hour stretch sunrise
A hungover, while R had occupied his side of the bed, solution was on the balcony.
From left D,G portrait.
A smoking
A,R smoking
Burger night by yours truly.
Heading down, heading out
Sirloin dinner by the beach with wine.
The streets
Store's open late into the night
Card games at am
Night skyline
Crossing
Caballo de Oro, Brits be here
Waiting for the lift.
Withdrawal
Cloud Nine
Hate
The long sleep
We listen to espaniol in the mornings.
Morning duty's
Are we gonna take it easy today?. Haha, no!
Selfportrait, my state of perception
Heading home, and hungry
The flight to Iceland has been delayed 24hours, sorry!
