Lizzy Stone

Unlike Liaskouskaya, who was born in a foreign country and has a direct connection to Belarus’ culture, freshman Lizzy Stone is linked to the Nordic island of Iceland through her father’s side of the family.

“My grandmother is from Iceland, but [she] doesn’t live there as she became a citizen here about 15 years ago,” Stone said. “Although my grandma and grandpa do visit for for weeks at a time to see family and their favorite sites.”

Because of Stone’s Icelandic heritage, her father, Woody Stone, and family take great pride in the country and its achievements.

“We take great pride in Iceland, which is a small country of only a few hundred thousand people but has done some big things; they played a big role in the Cold War, made major contributions to genetic testing and research, and this year qualified for the World Cup, just to name a few,” Woody said. “Anything Iceland-related gets us fired up!”

Along with their patriotism for the country, Stone and her family cook and eat many traditional Icelandic foods.

“We express our culture through my dad cooking a lot of foods my Amma cooked for him when he was a kid, like smoked lamb, fish, skyr, kleinur, and Icelandic pancakes,” Stone said.

Not only the cuisine of Iceland influenced Stone, but also how she addresses her grandparents; Amma and Afi.

“Instead of grandma and grandpa, my sister and I call them Amma and Afi, the Icelandic names,” Stone said.

Although Stone addresses her grandmother as Amma, her first name is Gudny, which is a traditional Nordic name.

“My mom has a thick accent, so my friends often could not understand her,” Woody said. “Also, her name is Gudny, definitely not normal in the U.S., but not as different as my brother’s name which is Sverrir, a common name in Iceland.”  

First names are not the only difference between Iceland and America, as they have a system to determine last names as well.

“Last names are constructed with the first name of the father and either ‘son’ or ‘dottir’ added to it,” Woody said. “My mom’s last name was Bjornsdottir and if we lived in Iceland today, Lizzy’s last name would be Lizzy Woodysdottir.”

Because Stone and her family do not speak with an accent or look any different than an average American, their heritage often goes unnoticed.

“People [in Frisco] always assume I am fully American,” Woody said. “I laugh to myself every time I have to fill out a form that asks for ethnicity because Icelandic American is not an option!”

Although Stone’s family is proud to be of Icelandic heritage, her grandmother is glad to be living in America now.

“My grandma always speaks highly of Iceland and she misses it a lot, but she is glad she came to America,” Stone said. “Her dad and most of her whole family, 13 siblings in total, had to work in the fishing industry and she’s thankful she doesn’t have to do that here.”

While Stone’s grandmother is happy to be living in America, Stone wishes she could connect with her Icelandic culture more.

“I wish I could go to Iceland because it’s a lot different seeing and being there than just looking at pictures,” Stone said. “Everyone lives a lot simpler and isn’t super interested in having a lot of stuff or certain brands like we are in Frisco.”