The Eastsloper

2009-12-04T14:44:00.006Z

A taste of my life

Not my pic as cameras are not allowed in the House galleries, but her speech was really good, about the almost improbable story of growing up in East Germany and becoming Chancellor of Germany.

Christer Fuglesang, first Swedish astronaut, came to visit me...or the Congressman, but was pleasantly suprised when he heard a friendly voice in Swedish.

Secretary Clinton after her testimony on US policy (and the new surge) in Afghanistan to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

2009-11-06T22:40:00.007Z

Life in DC

I have now been in DC for almost two months and I have started to settle in. I have a nice house near downtown DC, a 15 min walk from the White House.

3 weeks ago the Congressman I work for invited me on a tour of the White House gardens, this picture is taken just outside the Oval Office.

The Office
I actually work in one of the Cannon House Office Building, most people except the Speaker, Majority, Minority leaders, and a few very powerful Chairmen have their offices in one of the three House Office Buildings.

We had a Halloween-Housewarming party at our house, it got a bit wild:)

My flatmate (on the right) and a friend. You wouldnt think so when you see this pic but my flatmate just passed the Connecticut and New York bar.

2009-10-02T02:15:00.003+01:00

Sort of how it works...but not really

2009-09-24T01:54:00.002+01:00

W.D.C.

Little more than two weeks ago I started working/interning on the Hill. I work for the Congressman from northern New Mexico. The work is fun at times and boring sometimes. I get to do a lot. At first it was mainly opening constituent mail, taking phone calls, other small tasks around the office. More recently Ive been allowed to go to hearings, write reports on these hearings, and letters to constituents on various issues (as Im the only economist in the office I do a lot of finance related issues, say budget 09 and 10 or go to hearings on derivatives which has been interesting and definitively useful to whatever Im going to do in the future).

Life in DC at the moment is dominated by health care, health care this health care that. While it is interesting to follow, working on the Hill it gets very tiring. Ive received several phone calls with constituents worried about what might happen if everyone has access to quality affordable health care. Some call shouting down the phone at us, that we are turning the US into a communist state (Im guessing they dont actually know what communism is), that we are the devil taking down the US from the inside etc etc.
The most fun call Ive gotten so far was one today from a lady in New Mexico, she whispers on the phone to me "I have a confession...Im a Republican...but Im in favor of government run health care...and I voted for Obama...what do I do?" I go "Thats perfectly ok, why are you whispering?"

There are times when it hits you that you where you are working. The other day I was allowed to go on the floor of the House (which is rather rare if you arent an elected member). I got to sit in the chairs where the Representatives sit (very comfortable chairs), and see everything from up close. Today I went to a hearing with where there Treasury Secretary (Tim Geithner) was outlining the G20 and administrations plan to overhaul the financial system. I was sitting no more than 2 meters away. All in all quite an impressive internship I think.

My first Saturday in DC there was a huge protest outside the Capitol building (against everything the Democratic party is doing). I found this somewhat comical video of it.

Thats all for now, and Shana Tova!

2009-09-07T21:22:00.002+01:00

Just a small update

Soon two weeks ago I was offered a position in the House of Representatives. I have now moved to DC and am starting tomorrow. Wish me luck!

2009-08-11T14:16:00.008+01:00

Graduation

The Chancellor, Steph, and I

Library crew, without these people I would not have passed my exams

My 92 year old grandmother came, all the way from New York

With one of our favorite teachers, who later gave me the department prize for best dressed guy:)

2009-08-08T21:06:00.008+01:00

The Royal Brighton Pavilion

So today, after three years of living in Brighton, me and my flatmates decide to visit the Royal Pavilion of Brighton. It was built as a summer house for Prince George/George IV.
George liked to entertain and had this house/palace mainly to entertain guests over the summer. The exterior is built in Indian/Islamic style while the inside is designed in a European take on Chinese architecture. The most impressive room is probably the Banquet hall which has 5 chandeliers, the middle one is held up by a silver dragon and weighs over 1 ton (the other 4 were only held up by golden phoenixes). The middle chandelier which has many other dragons sticking out of it was light by oil lamps (coming out of the dragons) so it would look like the dragons were breathing fire.

Quite impressive.

However, Vicky, more commonly referred to as Queen Victoria didn't like the palace, and stated that "The Pavilion is a strange, odd, Chinese looking place, both outside and inside. Most of the rooms are low, and I can only see a morsel of the sea, from one of my sitting room windows" And went on to say that Brighton was very vain and full of dandies.

How very Victorian of her.

So she sold it to the City of Brighton, however before she sold it she stripped the palace of all the luxuries items in it.

Her mother obviously never taught her good manners.

Anyway, the palace is worth a visit if you are in Brighton. There is a lovely terrace on the top that has Afternoon teas and other things of goodness.

2009-07-17T17:31:00.002+01:00

Some Swedish Fun

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Stockholm Syndrome Pt. 1

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Stockholm Syndrome Pt. 2

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

2009-01-26T13:58:00.014Z

More from Israel

The group and our bus:)

Independence Hall

Market in Tel Aviv

A Roman column with a Mosque in the background, in Jerusalem

Volunteering in a Jerusalem soup kitchen

The Temple Mount

HOOOOONK!
We rode camels at the Bedouin tent, I named my camel Kami

We didn't just travel all the time, we socialized a lot as well. We were a rather small group compared to others, we all became very good friends

A granary at Masada where they found 2000 year old date seeds. They have since successfully grown these seeds into date trees

The Sea of Galilee

The Jordan river
The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River are the main water supply of around 7-10 million people in the region

2009-01-18T21:11:00.019Z

Better late than never: Reuben tells the Eastsloper all about Israel!

I spent almost two weeks in Israel late December-early January. I went on Birthright with 21 other students from the UK, half way through the trip we were joined by 7 soldiers from the IDF, 5 from the infantry, the other two from the Artillery and Air force.

Our first day (New Years eve, or Sylvester as they call it in Israel) we spent in Yafo, an ancient city, just to the south of Tel Aviv. Yafo/Jaffa (as in Jaffa oranges) has been inhabitated since 7 500 BC, many of the ancient powers, Egypt, Persia, Rome, the Crusaders, the Ottoman Empire, as well as Napoleon conquered it, so there is a lot of history and ruins there.

Our second and last day in Tel Aviv we went to shuk Ha'Carmel, the largest market in Tel Aviv, where they sell food (read falafel and lots of hummus aka Reubie heaven) and a variety of other items. We also saw Independence Hall, where the state of Israel was created.
In the evening we went to Jerusalem to go to the "Mega Event". I (and many others on my trip) thought this was the low point of the trip. While it sounds fun, almost all winter Birthright participants from all over the world in one place, with famous Israeli artist performing, it was really not well done, with an extreme American dominance, and very very cheesy. I could have done without.

The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock behind it, the Al-Aqsa mosque is just above the wall, to the right of the trees

We spent several days in Jerusalem, touring the old city, learning about the current/recent crisis with Hamas in Gaza. Our first day in Jerusalem we were joined by the soldiers. We were originally going to have a group of seven soldiers, 4 guys, 3 girls, however, most of the male soldiers had to report for duty because of the situation in Gaza. A real reminder of that we were in a country at war, but also shows a part of Israeli life.
Our first night we saw the shabbat celebrations at the Western Wall. During our stay in Jerusalem we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, and Mount Hertzl where the leaders of Israel are buried as well as those who died in combat. We also saw what is supposedly King Davids grave, and the room where the Last Supper is supposed to have been held. We also volunteered in a soup kitchen where we helped prepare food.

On Monday the 8th we left Jerusalem for the Negev (the desert in which covers south of Israel). We spent a night at a Bedouin tent, where we ate Beduin food, and rode camels. Before we went to sleep the soldiers held a military bootcamp light for us in the desert. Although it was apparently not even close to as humiliating the real training process is in the military.

The Bedouin are a semi-nomadic muslim group of people who live in parts of Arabia, the Negev,and in the Sahara. During our trip we met with several minorities in Israel, later in the trip we met spent an afternoon in a Druze village in the north of Israel. We also spent time at a Kibbutz in the north of Israel which was run by both Jews and Arabs.

We got up early the next morning to climb Mount Masada to see the sunrise. Masada is a fortress built by King Herod on top of a mountain in the Negev, close to the Dead Sea. Herod, who was a bit koo-koo in the head, built it as a refuge because he thought that everyone (the Jews as well as the leaders in Rome) was after him. Herod kept huge reserves of water on Masada, as well as many granary's with food. A 100 years later it was used by a group of Jews, during the first Jewish-Roman war, who managed to withstand the Roman army for several years (because of Herods water supply and food that had been well preserved in the dry desert climate) before the Romans managed to break into the fort. When the Romans finally did seize the fort they discovered that most of the inhabitants had committed mass suicide as they preferred that to surrender.

Our soldiers

After touring Masada we drove to the Dead Sea where we spent a few hours floating around. This is also when the soldiers left us, although two of them joined us our last night. Having the soldiers around for half the trip was definitely the best part of the Birthright trip. Usually when you're a visiting another country you are on the outside looking, or trying to look it. Having Israelis around us, especially from the military in a time of war, we got more of an insiders view of what life is like for people our age in Israel.

The last leg of the trip we spent at Sea of Galilee and in the Golan Heights. As I said before we spent half a day at a kibbutz in an Arab area in the north of Israel, which is run by both Jews and Arabs. The Arab muslims where telling us about what it is like being an Arab in Israel, feeling loyal to both the muslim population in Palestine and to the state of Israel, while neither extends the same loyalty to you. There was also a Christian Arab telling us about what it is like being a minority in a minority. All very interesting. That same afternoon we travelled to the Druze village of Peki'in. Im telling you now, if you have not tried Druze food, YOU MUST! It was divine! Peki'in is also the place where the Kabbalah and other major works in Jewish mysticism were written.

Eating in a Druze house

The Druze are a group of people who live in the North of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Not much is known about their religion as it is kept very secret. The Druze religion comes from Islam but differs in many respects, such as that they believe in reincarnation, their main prophet is Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. At a certain point in a Druzes lives they are allowed to chose, if they want to live a religious life or not (which roughly 20% do). Religious Druze men dress differently than others, they cary a big pouch inbetween their legs, as they believe that their prophet will be reborn to a man.

A religious man with a pouch. Sorry about the fuzzyness, its the best pic I could get

Our last day in Israel we went to Mount Ben Tal, an old Israeli military base on built on and in the mountain on the border of Syria and Lebanon. We also visited an old crusader fort in the Jordan Valley, before we finally had a very pleasant meal and drum circle together in Tiberias joined by two of our soldiers.

2008-12-28T20:14:00.005Z

Holiday Madness!

I was Santa for the children who live downstairs. It was lots of fun dressing up, and being all ho ho ho:ie

Sexy Santa!

Honk the Dreidel!
A game Hanna invented at the dinner table tonight.

Shes the closest relative I have in the world...yeeeeeez

Tomorrow Im leaving back for the UK, and on Tuesday Im flying to Tel Aviv. Im going on a Birthright trip to Israel, 10 days around all of Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Negev, Masada and the Dead Sea, and then up to the Galilee and the Golan Heights. Ill update later with lots of photos.

Tuesday is also my birthday, so Im expecting lots of Happy Birthday messages from you people:)

2008-12-09T11:44:00.003Z

Thanksgivings tomfoolery
Hanna and me having fun stuffing the turkey on Thanksgivings
Disclaimer: Viewer Discretion is Advised

Dingle...Dingle...DINGLE!

2008-11-05T11:37:00.002Z

2008-11-05T11:11:00.008Z

W, you will be missed!

As will you Mrs Palin:

Sarah Palin 2012 anyone?

2008-10-26T00:30:00.004+01:00

About England

There are a few myths about England, some are true, some arent. I thought Id tell you what life here is like:

It doesnt rain as much as people think it does in England, at least not in Brighton.

Most people dont talk like the Queen, I do sometimes have trouble understanding people, especially from northern England, Liverpool especially. Even after 2 years in England, I have a hard time understanding them.

England is much more Americanized than the rest of Europe. Especially the middle class. Im not saying thats a bad thing, just that they are.

England isn't as expensive as I thought it would be. Transportation and housing might be a bit more expensive, but food is cheaper than in Scandinavia.

For those of you who have seen the comedy show Little Britain, the characters in it are all based on English society, especially some like Vicky Pollard.

2008-09-30T21:30:00.014+01:00

Summer '08

Yoyoyo Bitchez, Im back blogging. Ive mainly spent the summer on the beach in Sweden and this past month Ive been in the UK frolicking around.

Some pics:My flatmates band had a gig at a pub...called:

Yes! The Freebutt!
His band name is Twice the Size, and they are very good:)

Hanna was surprised when she realized what was actually in the Bible

I went to pick up my friend Claire from the airport. There where cupcakes from Selfridges to greet her.

They didnt last long

I spent time with family on the country side, it was lots of fun:)

I havent posted a pic of doggy in a long time...naw Lennon

2008-07-17T21:32:00.008+01:00

Books

After my last post I got loads of people recommending me books, so I thought that I would recommend 2 (very different) books which Ive read this summer. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (by Susanna Clarke), and Transmission (by Hari Kunzru).

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
A fantasy book set in the early 1800s in London about two magicians battling (with the English army) against Napoleon. Sort of like a Harry Potter for adults, a very entertaining book!

Transmission
Now this book was really just wow! It is about several different characters, across the world, who live misguided lives, and who are all brought to question their lifestyles as a computer virus spreads through the world. It is beautifully written, and captivating.

I dont know which book to read now though, Ive never read The Grapes of Wrath, maybe Ill give it a go.

2008-07-05T18:25:00.018+01:00

May-June Update

After a few months of inactivity on my blog I have decided to start blogging again. During the past few months Ive been very busy. In May-June I had 7 exams, they were all very hard and I was very stressed. Im now back in Sweden, lounging about at home. I'm a bit nervous about getting my results back, hopefully I did fine:)

Studying hard in one of the dullest rooms in the Sussex library. In fact the entire library is very dull.

Ive done various social activities during the past months, hanging about with doggy and friends, celebrating midsummer. Ive been to two concerts, most recently Leonard Cohen at Sofiero (Sweden). Even at the age of 74 he is one of the best live artists I will ever see, wow!

Note that the background singer looks like she could be Condi Rice twin sister, her name is Sharon Robinson, and is the co-writer of some of his most famous songs.

Everybody Knows

In May I saw Celine Dion in London, her concert (very different from Cohen's) was more of a show, with dancers and moving screens. Sorry for the shakey camera work, I wasn't chosen to film the tours DVD.

That high note
All By Myself
(Update: If you can change the settings on your computer to a live recording the sound will be much better)

Other than that I haven't done much. I hang around with friends, and play with doggy, today I was forced to help mother take down (to wash) and put up all the (newly washed) curtains in our apartment.

I think I'm going to read more this summer as I have a lot of time on my hands. Can anyone recommend any books?

Lennon loves Bubbles:)

2008-04-17T11:18:00.000+01:00

See latest stories on Yahoo! News

2008-03-29T11:31:00.012Z

My life in photos

The past month of my life, in photos!

My flatmates peaking thru my door

Chinese New Year decorations on Oxford Circus

My mother just before being installed as a professor in Lund

View while taking a walk in Central Park

My grandmother with her grandchildren in New York, TriBeCa

We celebrated my grandmothers 90th birthday at a very nice French restaurant downtown

After our birthday celebration we left for Union Square, to participate in a pillow fight with 12000 other people, it was WOW!

Now Im back in Sweden, Ill be here until the 11th of April, and then Ill be going back to Brighton for the last few weeks of 2nd year:)

2008-02-21T11:29:00.006Z

A sunny day on the London Eye

The London Eye is a huge ferris wheel on the south bank of the river Thames in London. Last Sunday my mother and I took a ride on it.

Video looking north

The Gherkin and east London, look at the smog

On top of the world

Big Ben, not so big anymore!

2008-02-10T16:52:00.002Z

In and around Brighton

Pics from around Brighton

Claire at Old Steine, one of the main squares

The Sea front, with the west pier. It burnt down a few years ago.

Evil seagull

The Black Lion, the oldest pub in Brighton

The Lanes, the old part of Brighton

A part of the North Laine, shopping area

Brighton High street

2008-01-27T23:07:00.001Z

Mhmm!

2008-01-24T19:31:00.000Z

More of South Africa

So I am a bit lazy and I didnt make another video from South Africa, but here are a few photos and videos I shot while in South Africa.

Lions in Thornybush private game reserve

View of Cape Town from Table Mountain

On the road to Kruger

Male Elephant

Female warthog and child

Cape Town city hall, Nelson Mandela held his first speech after he was released on the balcony

Desmond Tutus church

The Malay quarters in Cape Town

Who's the cutest Crocodile? Who's the cutest Crocodile? Im the cutest Crocodile!

View (from our hotel room) over the Knysna lagoon

Christmas with 30 degrees heat!

Ahh the beaches!

2008-01-01T12:14:00.000Z

South Africa

As some of you know I went to

South Africa

for two weeks in December with my mother and sister. Instead of posting all the pics I have from the vacation (there are more than 1300 from my camera alone) I thought Id make a few videos with music. This video is mainly of landscape and the animals we saw on safari in Kruger national park and the private game reserves around Kruger. I will post another video in the coming days.

We started our South Africa trip in mid December. We flew into Johannesburg, and then we went from Johannesburg to Kruger national park (approx a 5-6 hour drive) which is just west of Mozambique and approx the size of Israel or Wales. After spending two days in Kruger we went to Thornybush private game reserve. The private game reserves are different to Kruger. In Kruger tourists are only allowed to drive on paved roads, in the private parks there are hardly any paved roads. The private parks also know more of how the animals move and where they are, meaning that you can get closer to the animals in the private parks. In fact we came very close, less than 2 meter away from a fully grown male lion and his two soon-to-be grown up sons, as well as a family of elephants. The safari was absolutely amazing!

After the safari we traveled back to Johannesburg, then we flew to Cape Town and spent 3 days in the Cape (Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, and False Bay which is the bay just behind Cape Town and Table Mountain). Then we traveled south east, to Oudtshoorn, and along the Garden Route (the southern coast).

South Africa as a country is very diverse. Both geographically, but also between the different groups of people. In the north of the country they have a different flora and animal kingdom (Lions, Giraffes, Rhinos). In the south they have Penguins, Seals, and Sharks.

There are a lot of differences between the white population and the black/colored population. I found that even though the apartheid system is gone the way of thinking very much remains. Talking to some of the white people I got the impression that they view the black population as less worth, sometimes as not human. I had expected it to be a very segregated country, but not to this extent.

All in all our South Africa trip was very different and exciting trip. The safari was clearly the best part of the trip, and after that Cape Town. The garden route was beautiful, but if you go to South Africa and miss it, it ain't the end of the world (even though the beaches were amazing).

And on another note:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2007-12-04T12:03:00.000Z

Brighton and Paris randomness

Over the past few weeks Ive been hanging around with my flatmates. A few weeks back I made falafel for my flatmates and some friends. Two weeks ago I made a huge Thanksgivings dinner for 12 people. We had turkey, apple pie, pumpkin pie, roast vegetables, potato-parsnip mash, gravy, dinner rolls, stuffing. Everything made by yours truly with a little help from a Canadian friend and a flatmate (ok, they did help quite a lot).
I also went to Paris a few weeks back to visit my sister and mother. We did the usual, eating crepes, walking down Champs Elysees. We also visited the Rodin museum and I saw my sisters workplace. She works at a wonderful aquarium, by the name of Cineaqua.
On Saturday Ill be leaving back for Sweden, and in less than two weeks I will be going to South Africa on a safari, yeeey!

My flatmates and I dressed up in wigs and decided to be silly one night

Falafel night

Me and Panini:)

Admiring the fish at Cineaqua

Hmmm?

2007-10-27T11:15:00.000+01:00

Welcome back to Brighton!

Im now back in Brighton, and university has started. This year is considerably harder than last year. I live in a big house, with 8 others, and we get along great. That said, the house is so big that I dont often see the people on the ground floor. Ive painted my room, white and red. Ill put up pics of the house later, now just some random ones from from my first few days here.

We had lots of house warming partys to go to, not that I am complaining, at this one my flatmates and friends discoverd that Im very ticklish, and since then Ive walked around in fear of people tickle-attacking me

Kev (flatmate) with one of his strange hairdos

Sunny Brighton

Seagulls are evil animals, and they deserve to die! Well, not really. But they are ferocious animals. On campus I’ve seen people eating sandwiches and seagulls swooping down, grabbing the sandwich from their hands and flying off! How rude!

2007-10-25T11:37:00.000+01:00

Last days in London

My last days in London (29th, 30th of September) I did a few exciting things. Finished work, bought my colleges a big chocolate cake that we enjoyed. The Saturday before I moved down to Brighton Erica (flatmate and co-economics student) came to London, and I showed her Borough Market, Covent Garden, and the other central parts of London. I was invited to the opening of an Italian chocolate and ice cream place thru work, we went there, and the ice cream was some of the best I’ve ever had. On Sunday, just before I moved down to Brighton two friends and I had afternoon tea at the Savoy. Afternoon tea is something very British. It consists of small sandwiches (with cucumber, ham, tuna etc), then small cakes (which where delicious) and last but not least scones, with clotted cream, and strawberry jam. With all this we had tea.

Erica riding one of the lions at Trafalgar square

Känner du igen denna bilden Anders? My father has the same picture of me, taken approx 10½ years ago

Erica talking to Churchill and FDR about the military-industrial complex

Those who've read my Facebook quotes will know where this pic originates

What person in their right mind moves away from London?

2007-09-21T09:59:00.000+01:00

Today I celebrate the one year anniversary of my blog. As a celebratory act I thought Id put up pics from work and around London

Working hard

The BritishAmerican Business crusader

Maya's birthday lunch at Gordon Ramsey's Claridge's restaurant
From left, Niki, me, Maya, Jennifer

Sepi (another intern) and I at an event

Me, Savannah, and David

Me, Savannah, Luke, and another David

Ice bar with Claire

2007-08-29T09:47:00.000+01:00

Yesterday while reading the International Herald Tribune I came across this ad for Louis Vuitton. First I just thought, oh it is just an ad and went on to the next page. But, then I looked closer, the man sitting in it is Mikhail Gorbachev, the former leader of the Soviet Union...I am not that easily surprised, but when the former leader of a communist country is the new face for one of the most luxurious brands on earth, that does surprise me!

2007-08-23T22:33:00.000+01:00

Häckeberga in photos

The Family

cake, yum!

Nora and Max, our cousins from Belgium, came

What?! No, we weren't secretly making out in the hallway, nooo!

Birthday girl

A baby that crashed the party

2007-08-17T11:53:00.000+01:00

Ice Ice baby

Last night some friends and I had reservations for the Absolut Ice Bar in London. As I told you in my previous post the ice bar is a bar were everything except the floor is made out of ice. As I said to a friend, instead of having drinks on the rocks, you have them in the rocks. Inside they have a London telephone booth made out of ice. They also have a map of the tube (underground, subway, whatever you want to call it) made of ice. We hung about inside, chilling and being cool. All my friends seemed to think that it was freezing cold inside I personally didn’t think it was that cold (my Viking heritage keeping me warm perhaps?), although 40 min inside was more than enough. It was an interesting experience, Id recommend it. They have bars in several other places around the world; you don’t have to come to London to enjoy it. If anyone ever goes I recommend their chocolate orange cocktail, called "Absolut below zero London" or something like that.

Ill try putting some pics up within the next week.

After the ice bar we went strolling around Soho, and ended up in a bar/club (the O bar) eating, enjoying drinks, and dancing all night long (I went to bed approx 3.30 this morning, how I ever managed to get up at 6.45 and get ready for work is beyond me).

Ive also kept up my habit of randomly meeting interesting people around London. Last night waiting for the bus home I met a Bolivian guy, who was a trained architect but currently working as dancer here in London. He had lived what seems like all over the world, Bolivia, India, New York, Texas, Sweden, and the UK. Very interesting.
This weekend Im going to go to Borough market again, Ive heard that they have fantastic cheese toasties there, then the Tate modern. On Sunday I'll be visiting some family friends living just a bit north of London. So much to do, so many people to meet!

2007-08-09T14:29:00.000+01:00

In London, Londoning around...

Ok, Ive been getting some questions.
1) People have been asking if I am going to change the name of my blog seeing as I am not living in my campus residence Eastslope longer. The answer is no. Mainly because the road Ill be living on in Brighton is called Coombe road, and "The Coombe roader" is nowhere as cool as "The Eastsloper". Once an Eastsloper always an Eastsloper!

2) Another question I’ve been getting is what specific duties I have at the chamber of commerce. My official position is external communications intern. I answer phone calls and emails. But I mainly do research for the policy and membership staff. Currently I am doing research on potential members, in my first few weeks I did corporate taxation, and finding out the name of legal counsels for some of our members. I go to events, help out at some of them and meet cool people.
There isn’t that much to do in August, because most businesses are on summer holidays (even though you wouldn’t believe it looking at the stock market). In September there will be a lot more to do and until then we have a lot of preparatory work.

Now, on to my life in London. First, I few weeks back I went to one of the Harry Potter release parties here in London. There where only Americans, and I started talking to (probably) the only two English girls there. We had a long and fun talk about everything from Jane Austin’s feminist views to Aunt Petunia. I have now finished the book and it was to my likening.

I went back to Sweden soon two weeks ago. My mother had her 50th birthday party at Häckeberga Slott. If I could ever get her to send me some pics from the party I might put them up! That said it was a wonderful party.
In my free time here I hang out with my friends. Last weekend I went to a park by the Thames in Richmond with two of my flatmates and a uni friend. We picnicked and sunbathed. Next week I will be going to the Absolut Ice Bar. It is a bar where everything is made out of ice, kept at -5 C. Exciting!

2007-07-08T21:33:00.001+01:00

London by foot; The Reubie adventure

Ive now moved in to my London flat, I live with 3 others, one Polish guy (Piotr), one French guy (Morgan, but we call him Frenchy), and one Italian guy (Matteo).
Last Monday I started working at the London office of the British-American Chamber of Commerce. There I mainly work as an assistant to the External Communications staff, but I also do research for the membership and policy staff. Some of you might be wondering what the chamber of commerce does. It is a networking and lobbying organization, they/we organize events for businesses and policy makers. They also have a policy staff that work with businesses and the US, UK, and EU governments (in other words lobbying). They also help with certain legal issues, and obtaining working visas for the US (mainly the NYC office).

This past weekend Ive been exploring London by foot (and tube, cause I am rather lazy) with my friends Josephine and Daniel. Yesterday I first went to Borough Market, which is a fantastic food market right by London Bridge. Then I went up to Marble Arch to Josephines pub. A bit later I met Daniel, we went down Oxford street, I showed him where I work on Grosvenor Square and we sat there enjoying the sun for a while (there aint much of it in England!). We continued down New and Old Bond street, then passed Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Aldwych, Leicester Square, and into Soho, where we sat down at a bar and had a drink or two. Alas, the day had to end and we walked down to Embankment where I caught the tube back to Whitechapel. For those of you who don’t know London that well, look it up on a map or google earth.
Today Josephine and I met up at Liverpool Street and walked towards Brick Lane and other street markets, looked at clothes and ate, and as the British would say 'had a jolly good time'. Josephine got called into work so I went to Hyde Park with my book and listened to some man in Speakers corner who thought he was Jesus reincarnated. We then met up at her pub, and talked for a while and I went back home.

So all in all a very nice weekend:)

2007-06-11T00:50:00.000+01:00

Smithy Street

Just writting to tell you that Ive now fixed my summer accomodation. It is in the Whitechapel area, in eastern London, approx. 15-30 min from Oxford Street with the tube. It is a nice area, with families and students living there. From what Ive heard it is a peaceful area, except that Jack the Ripper used to live there. But that was more than a 100 years ago, I am not to worried.

Ill be living with 3 other guys, all working. One from Poland, one from Italy, and one from France.

(Pic from google earth, the red dot indicates my room)

2007-05-25T17:41:00.000+01:00

Massive update

Well, I thought that Id better update my blog. Right now I am revising for my exams, last Tuesday I gave in my last essay for this year, on the methods that monopolists use against consumers and other firms. Ive got 4 exams, in Economic History, Macro and Micro economics, and maths from the 5th of June to the 14th.

Yesterday we (me and my friends) signed the contract for our house that we will be living in next year. Ill be living with 8 other people, in a big 9 bedroom house, that has a massive (massive by Brighton, English, and student standards, not massive as in Hyde park) garden. It is 10 min by bus to campus, and about 10 min biking to the beach. Some pics (the outside facing the street, the kitchen, and a part of the garden):

Last week my sister came to visit, I showed her around Brighton, and she met some of my flatmates, it was all very nice. We found a hat shop, and tried on lots of hats, well, she did.

I went to London a few weeks ago to visit some friends. We had lunch in covent garden, then we went to the national gallery, we saw the "manet to picasso" exibit, it was nice, kind of like the greatest hits of the impressionists and others who were active 1860-1905 (Manet, Monet, van Gogh, Renoir, Cezanne, Pizzaro, Picasso, Gaugin).

A few weeks ago we had a toga party, lots of fun, except togas arent warm at 3 am in the morning.

I misunderstood the whole toga thing at first, as you can see:)

2007-04-26T19:41:00.000+01:00

First week back

The first day back Maya, Niki and I had fun on the hill behind our residence, drinking Pimms and being silly

Trying to workout with Niki on my back

Obviously all those hours at the gym havent done anything:P

Night out on the pier

We wanted doughnuts, alas they closed 5 min before we got there. We decided that they might give us some if we begged.

Kate, beautiful as always

Out and about at a pub in the Lanes in Brighton.

From the left, Maya, Katherine, Tom, Ella, and Sams ear

Cat and I in a club

Kiki and her twins sisters birthday. They are from Mallorca, hence the people with Spain and Mallorca on their heads. Kiki (aka Erica, the one in the red dress) will be my flatmate next year

Ive let my nose hair grow. I like it natural!

Hanging out with some spanish and italian friends on the beach:)

2007-04-17T12:25:00.000+01:00

NYC

Ahh...Bethesda

The obligatory shopping trip to Victorias Secret and the wild fashion show that followed

Me being very New York. Note the dubble chin:)

Hanna and I picnicing in Central Park, by strawberry fields

Rowing in Central Park

Hanna and I after shopping

Me and Dini at JFK, leaving New York

2007-03-30T10:54:00.000+01:00

Random pics

Daniel, Barbara, and me

Alex fell asleep on me on the busride home one night

Olive and I

Is that Reuben hiding underneath the table, or the evil bathrobe monster?

Tomorrow I will be going to New York, Yeah baby!

2007-03-05T16:56:00.000Z

Stonehenge and Bath

This weekend I went on a trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Both were impressive to say the least. In Bath we saw the roman baths, which are still working as they did 2000 years ago. We also went to a place called Sally Lunns, which is a 400 year old cafe for cream teas.

Thanks to Michael (my flatmate) for the pics.

I will be coming back to Sweden on the 19th of March, at the end of March Ill be going to NYC for a week. I hope to see ya all soon:)

2007-01-20T16:58:00.000Z

Hillary 2008!
Hillary Clinton has announced her candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.

Good Luck!

2007-01-20T16:18:00.000Z

Im back!
Ive been back in England, approx 2 weeks. Last week the people in my flat organized a b-day party for me:) we also went out a couple other times, and stayed in, taking artistic photos with Maya (a flatmates) new digital camera.

Not really sure what we were trying to do in this pic. The building in the background is the Royal Pavillion, which used to be the summerhome of the British Royal family in the 1700-1800s (mainly King George IV and Queen Victoria).

A drunken Keith trying to kiss a reluctant Sam, Im laughing

Show me those moves!

One of our very artistic photos, shot by me

We had a Sexy Glamour theme for my party

Me and Sam walking home

2006-12-24T11:11:00.000Z

A couple of things Ive learnt this past semester (with a few observations)

* My girl friends are better than my guy friends in keeping intouch (ni vet vem ni är, känn er träffade!)

* By girl friends I mean friends who are girls (jag har inte många flickvänner Maria)

* Rubbish is a good English word meaning crap

* Parental visits, while dreaded by some, can be quite nice, especially by ones father, Anders.

* M∙V=P∙Q
Thats right, and dont you say anything else!

* Only 179 days until the Summer Solstice (those in Sweden will know what Im talking about)

Happy Holidays:)
/Reubie

2006-11-22T22:19:00.000Z

Paris
Ahh...Paris, here are some pics (Ill put up more later)

Me and my fellow travellers on Place de la Concorde

Incase you don't know what it looks like (Im talking about my thumb ontop of course, dont know what the big metal thing in the picture is)...very dry humor I know

Abby eating a snail. On Saturday evening we went out for a french dinner in quartier latin, we had snails, onion soup, mussles, froglegs, steaks, diffrent fruit tarts, and chocolate mouse.

Underneath the Eiffel Tower

Abby, Victor, Niki, Emily, and Billy

We had a very nice time, walking around Paris, we saw Sacre Coeur, ate tons of crepes and croissants. On Sunday morning I went to listen to the mass in Notre Dame, incredibly beautiful.

2006-11-14T23:34:00.000Z

Random pics

The "Pink Party" (some people wore purple...my tie was pink/black)

Me and some guys at the pub in Falmer

Another pic from London

Evil Reubie will eat your head if you're not nice to him, mohahaha

Me and Olive (a flatmate, shes acctually from the opposite flat) decided to have some fun with her webcam and put diffrent effects on pics:)

2006-11-12T10:52:00.000Z

Justin or Paris?

So, me and some flatmates had plans to go see Justin Timberlake in London next July, however, we didn't get any good tickets (we got like in row x) so we decided not to go. Then we sat around, google earthed a bit, and ended up looking at the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame, and one of us said "we should go to Paris". So we booked a trip (by bus) and accommodation for this coming weekend (17-19 of November). It cost us less than £60 each. Kinda amazing:) Probably the most impulsive thing Ive ever done...
Au revoir!

2006-10-29T09:37:00.000Z

Pics from London

Me and Rebecka infront of the Tower of London

With the Royal Guard

Not really sure what this place is called, it's between Downing Street and St James park

Me an Josefin posing

In London they have strange ads in the subway

In the tube going back to campus

2006-10-19T15:45:00.000+01:00

London and other things of interest

Last weekend I visited some Swedish friends in London. We walked around London, and had a nice time. We saw the sights (London Eye, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Buckingham Palace). We went to the Dali exhibit, very interesting, although a bit of a let down as I would have wanted to see some of his most famous paintings which they didn’t have.We went to the movies, we saw History Boys, which I recommend. On Sunday afternoon we had teatime on Trafalgar Square. Apparently they dont pronounce it scones here but scaans (not all, some pronounce it the normal way). There is a cafe in the crypt of Saint Dennis on the Fields, if you are ever in London, you should go there, it’s a very nice cafe.

I have also gone scuba diving with some flat mates. In 2000 I got a PADI Open Water certificate, but I haven’t been diving much, so I went with the Sussex Subaqua Society. Ive also started playing pool, and Ive even won a game.

Last night I saw Volver with some friends, even though it was a good movie, it is nothing compared to All about my mother. I still recommend it.

I am working on getting pics to you, with any luck you’ll have some within the next week.

Ill be going to Lund on the 3 to the 5 of November, hopefully Ill meet some of you then:) Otherwise Ill be in Sweden in December as well.

/Reub

2006-10-08T06:48:00.000+01:00

Just a small update

This weekend one of my flatmates had her birthday. So yesterday we had a semi-suprise party for her. She likes pink (a lot) so we had a pink theme, everyone had to wear pink. We bought her pink presents (pink cake, pink wine...yeah u get it). Then after that we went into Brighton to "The Honey club" (no, it's not a stripclub) and danced all night...

Ive changed my settings so now you dont have to become members to comment on my posts, let the commenting begin!

/Reubster

ps. you can comment in whatever language as long as I understand it...

2006-10-04T16:06:00.000+01:00

Some pics of Brighton and Sussex University:)

The Student Union building (in the Spring)

The Student Union is very big at the University and most of the student life revolves around it. There are several bars and shops on campus, most owned by the union. The union also has hundreds of societies which one can join. I joined the Jewish Society, the Scuba Diving Society, and for some reason the African, Caribbean and Asian Society...dont ask me why...

The Brighton pier

The Sussex/Southern downs

The beach in Brighton

This image is of the residential area of campus. I live in one of the buildings on the upper right side. My residence is called "The East Slope" thats why my blog is called "The Eastsloper".

The area around campus is very beautiful (during the pollen season I probably wont think so). I have a great view from my dorm room, I can see the sea and the Sussex downs as well as cows, moooo.

Yesterday me and some of my flatmates went to Falmer, a small quiet village right next to campus. They have a freehouse pub which is now our pub of choice. After this I had my first serving of fish and chips since I moved to England. F&C seems to be their equivalent of kebab in Sweden (typ fyllemat).

You probably must be thinking that I dont have any school work, but no...The English school system is more demanding than what I was used to in Sweden (and I just had my first lesson, so its probably going to get tougher). Im going to be studing 75% Economics and 25% electives. This term Im doing international relations as my elective.

Today I had my first real lecture, on the teachings of Marx, Adam Smith and Ricardo. Fascinating!

I might be going to London either this or next weekend to visit friends, Ill bring you back a full report.

2006-10-01T12:50:00.000+01:00

Hello Hello

Ive now been in England for a week, and its loads of fun. I have met what seems like a billion people, very many englishmen, but also some north americans, spaniards, and swedes. I dont speak british english yet, but the other day I said tomato sauce (the british way), dont tell my mother, she'll go thru the roof.

I live with 5 others, 2 girls and 3 guys. Most of them are from England or Ireland, although there is one from Alaska and one from India. We all enjoy eachothers company a lot. Weve also become good friends with the people in the flat opposite us, infact our two flats have kind of merged into one big one. We do alot together, like make dinner or go out to pubs and stuff.

The flats are acctually very nice. The flat Im living in has two floors (three rooms on each floor), one kitchen, on dining/common room area as well as two bathrooms and one shower. My room is not big but still triple the size my room at home. Ive put up pictures (mainly of Lennon) and I bought a Salvador Dali poster the other day.

This week Ive been doing a lot. Ive had meetings with my teachers and my academic advisor (a teacher who one can go to with problems, mainly academic of course...but Ive understood that most of them have tissueboxes). The attitude on campus is very relaxed, which is nice. There have been several parties on campus, there are also other events, suchas improv comedy night, which was very fun and a lot of pool playing and pint drinking. Last friday there was the freshers ball, I didnt accutally get any tickets, but I sneaked in for free with some other guys.

Yesterday some family friends came to visit, I showed them around campus and then we went to Brighton to eat and walk on the pier. We walked on the beach and I managed to fall in to the water so I was walking around Brighton with drenched pants.

People in England dont seem very good at geography. The day I arrived I had this conversation with a girl:

Me: Im from Sweden

She: Wicked! ...Is Amsterdam in Sweden?

Me: No, thats in The Netherlands, as in Holland

She: Cool! Ive been there!

Ive gotten to know here after this and shes acctually very nice and smart, I just thought that is was a fun conversation.

Write to ya later,

Reubie

ps By the way, you have to comment on my posts

2006-09-21T15:18:00.000+01:00

Due to popular demand I have started my own blog where I will be documenting my English Experience in Sussex. So from Sunday on I will be writing to you. But first I can tell you that yesterday, I nearly became broke. The University wanted me to pay one terms rent in advance, so I called them and paid. When I later accessed my bank account I saw "-25000" (approx $3500) at first I thought, "how much did my lunch cost?" But then I realized that they had charged double the amount. So I called them, and in their british accent they said "yes, infact we have charged you twice"
Bloody English!

Well thats my life for ya, now Im gonna pack!
Happy Rosh Hashana:)