How to Find a Long-Lost Friend in Iceland
- 1). Make sure you have the correct spelling of your friend's name. Icelanders use a system called "patronymics" that gives the father's first name to the child as a surname. For example, Jan, son of Jan would be called Jan Jansson. Brindis, daughter of Jan would be called Brindis Jansdottir or Janadottir. Look through old letters or correspondences to make sure you have the first and last name spelled correctly; you're then ready to begin the search.
- 2). Visit siminn.is (see Resources), THE Icelandic phone company. This company is the gateway to communication with Icelanders and has a directory of all Icelandic people with registered phones and cell phones. If you know your friend's first and last name, you can usually find him using the directory on this website. Family names can change because of the complexity of the naming system, but personal names don't, even after marriage.
- 3). Determine the most likely physical location of your friend's home or her family's home. Most Icelandic cities and towns are located on the island's coast. As long as you have some idea of where your friend came from, you can track her relocation (if there was one) to different places on the island. Simmin.is keeps track of listed phone numbers for a period of up to three years. The website is mostly in Icelandic, but an English version is accessible from the main homepage.
- 4). Once you've found your friend, remember to dial the country code (354) and get a calling card, because calls to Iceland are expensive. If you choose to email instead, you can search for his email address at simmin.is or ice.is, which is another major email provider for Iceland.
- 5). Look on global social-networking sites. These can often be the best places to find lost friends, because each one is like a cyber-planet that doesn't have borders. It may take time and persistence, but eventually, you'll find your way back to your Icelandic friend and rekindle the spark of friendship that time and distance may have dimmed.
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