East London in the News

Greetings,

Today I spotted two articles that give you a good idea of the place I've learned to call home, East London. This multicultural neighborhood is a humorous conglomeration of Universities, Street Markets, Hospitals, pubs and of course many, many kebab stands. Queen Mary University is a clean, modern campus embedded in this ruff and tumble immigrant dominated neighborhood.

This area is however going through a revival to get ready for the 2012 Olympics. The Herald Tribune had a short article on the transformation occurring in the neighborhood.

As for the kebab stands, I just couldn't understand how they all stay in business... I mean is the demand for kebab really all that significant? Well it turns out BBC news caught on to their secret, and this also explains why I spent last Monday night awake with a sour stomach until the very early hours of the morning. When I finally got to sleep, I was awoken at 8 a.m with a nice fire drill courtesy of the University's fire brigade.

So if you find yourself hungry for a snack in East London, grab a bag of crisps instead. The mystery meat isn't worth it.

Thanks for reading.

~Rossco

Mystery car

I saw this car earlier today, does anyone know what it is??

If you know, just post it in the comment section.

Don't worry, I'm still alive

I know what everyone was thinking, Ross hasn't updated his blog in ages... he must be in trouble! But rest assured, I am just fine and have just been too busy to update the London Log.

Last Saturday I ventured to the Camden Market. Every Saturday and Sunday this area draws over 100,000 visitors. This was by far the largest market I've ever visited. After shoving through the crowded tube station I worked my way down the main avenue past perhaps 50 different souvenir shops that pretty much sold all the same stuff. Finally I made it to the market. Assembled alongside the train tracks, the market was a maze of different vendors from across the world. You could literally purchase anything from original paintings to electronics or even shisha pipes. At one point I even got lost in the narrow corridors of the market, I eventually regained my bearings though.

Before I left I sampled some mulled wine. This is essentially red wine, cinnamon sticks, cloves and apple slices boiled together and served hot. I didn't much care for it but if you enjoy hot apple cider you would probably enjoy this as well.





Last Monday I went to Avenue Q the musical with Michael, Rachel and Neilli. It was essentially a grown up version of Seseme street. It was absolutely hilarious! Afterward we stopped in Gordon's Wine Bar for a quick Pinot Grigio. Gordon's is the oldest wine bar in London. On the outside it looks like the place closed in the early 1900's, once you descend the star case you realize that it's still open but certainly has not been remodeled since the 1880's. Nevertheless, it's places like this that remind you at one point in time there were businesses that didn't need to complicate life with cash registers, printers, Internet connections, fire exits, electric lighting, level floors or cleaning products.




Take note of the ceilings, we were sitting in a cave. Half of the bar was only lit by candles.





Last Tuesday in case you haven't heard the U.S.A. inaugurated the new president, and as a show of goodwill Madam Tussauds opened their doors free of charge to all U.S. citizens. I met several great celebs that day.

Me and Lance took a quick ride together.




Tom Cruise attempted to convert me.


Oh and me and Christina have recently started dating.


Later on inauguration day, our school's bar (yes our University has their own student run drinking establishment), hosted an inauguration party. The bar was packed with Americans and Brits, to witness our beloved Aretha Franklin show off her horrendous hat. Oh and also the whole first black president thing, that was important too.


Last night I ventured over to Hillel for the Friday night dinner. It was a bit too Jewish for my liking but the dinner was delicious and I got to meet a lot of different students around the London area.

Again comments are always welcome. I will do my best to post more often. Also if you have any London "must see" suggestions I am all ears.

Love,

-Ross

London Jews, Funny Brits, Live-Standup

I am unsure how many are actually reading this fine publication (I would estimate around 50,000 daily readers), but my apologies for not posting in quite a while.

It has been a busy week for me here on the east end of London. Earlier this week I journeyed to our local street market at Watergate. Here you can find exciting bargains on mediocre fruit, and your basic Florida flea market merchandise (minus the fake watches). Quite disappointing really, I did manage to pick up a pair of cheap knives for my kitchen!

My classes are few and far between. My favorite so far is Managerial Accounting. Led by Alan Parkinson, this mid 50's professor has spent a couple years teaching at St. Cloud State. Prof Parkison is a fast talking, entertaining professor, and does a heck-of-a-job making Full Costing method seem interesting by throwing a few jokes and teasing just about every student he can. Something I've noticed here at Queen Mary University is that the professors and administrators are much more frank and not afraid to "take the piss" out of their students. For example Harry Gibney, the study abroad admin, upon arrival told everyone on our shuttle bus from the airport that if we failed to attend orientation he would kill us, so if we didn't want to "wake up dead," Sunday morning we best attend orientation. Unlike the states where such a remark would warrant a story in the paper and potentially a lawsuit, statements like this are generally laughed at.

Last night I met up once again with Michael Glotter and special guest Rachel Glotter for dinner at a West End pub. Later that night we visited London Hillel House for the term opening party. After hunting around the University City College of London for the centre, we eventually arrived at a subtle entrance with a small UJS (Union of Jewish Students) plate along the door frame. I was impressed by the security measures at the center. After a total of 3 security doors and a bag check they eventually let us enter the union. Compared to Minnesota's Hillel, with their large SHALOM letters in the window and "Everyone Welcome" door sign, it was quite different. The London UJS was very nice, 4 plasma screen tvs with video game systems, a kosher cafe and plenty of comfy seating. At the party I met a lot of nice Jews, drank a couple Stella Artois Lagers and noshed on some pastries. UJS was certainly a welcomed change of pace from the pro-Hamas environment around London.

I spent the afternoon/early evening with Pauline, who I met last night at UJS. We roamed around West London, had a very sub-mediocre (but cheap) Chinese dinner and after passing on "The Lion King Musical" settled for a stand-up comedy show. The show was hilarious, even if some of the jokes were a bit too British for me to understand.



Well that's all for now. All comments are appreciated and again if you with to contact me my Skype name is lede0042 and my email is ross.leder@gmail.com.

Cheers!

The Godfather: An Ancient Greek Myth

On Sunday I made the journey over to Harrods, which puts Macy's and Byerly's to shame. This half department store half palace is possibly one of the ritziest establishments I've been in. If you want it, they have it, but whatever it is, it will cost you.


Yesterday I managed to tour around a bit. The British Museum has so far been my favorite attraction in this jolly city. Filled with artifacts from across the globe, including the famous Rosetta stone. At the museum I was surprised to learn that the Godfather movie is actually an ancient play performed "in the round" Below is the horse head prop used in the famous wake-up scene.


I kid, however if anyone does decide to visit the museum I would highly recommend paying the 5 pounds for a guided tour (entry is free) you will have a much better visit and learn much more.
















Solid Gold Kate Moss, seriously. This is the largest gold sculpture to be made since ancient Egyptian times. Worth over 2.8 Million dollars. Mom and Dad, if your reading... I know what I want for my birthday! I'll give you a hint, it should look like me and be made of solid gold.

If you have been following the Israel protests you'll know this is not the best place to be waving any flags with a blue star on it. Despite the violence outside the embassy, this is still a safe place for Jews but certainly not the same environment as in the states.

Anyway, my courses are going quite well. There is a lot of reading involved with the classes, but certainly manageable. I hope all is well in Minnesota and elsewhere. I did look up the Minneapolis forecast... have fun with that looks terrible.

Fish, Chips & Glotter

Earlier today I had the distinct pleasure of joining my good friend Michael Glotter on the West End for some spicy Indian food and an early show. If you ever have the chance to see the "Lost & Found Orchestra" do it. From the creators of "Stomp" this show featured some great performances with some unusual instruments, and with our student tickets it only cost 9 quid!













Here's a nice picture of me in front of the London Eye!

Settled In

It has officially been one week since my arrival to this fine country, my experience so far has been wonderful.

I am happy to announce that I did manage to get all the courses I needed to take and so far the two lectures I have had have been great. In my Corporate Social Responsibility class I have a young professor from New Zealand (once he announced this, there was a humorous hiss from my British classmates). In Managerial Accounting I have an older British Professor with a whole lot of personality, and entertaining jokes to go along with class.

The course work seems to be on the same level of what I am accustomed to back at the U of Minnesota, however the facilities are not nearly as nice.

Below is a nice picture of my flat for those who were curious how my accommodations look.

Registration

[Student village of my school, I live in the brown building in the center of the picture]

So one thing I've begun to realize is that there are many things I take forgranted at the University of Minnesota, for example class registration. No longer can I rely on signing up for my courses online, rather I have to wait in a long line to receive my student ID and enrollment form and then go department to department and convince the reception desk that I deserve to be in my preferred module. From there I receive an email the night before my class indicating when and where lecture will take place.

My first class was supposed to be yesterday however upon arrival I was told lecture was cancelled due to construction. On the bright side I did finally manage to get the classes I wanted, and (cross my fingers) hopefully I will have lecture tomorrow.

Now thats enough complaining for me. Aside from the registration frustrations, everything here is wonderful. My flatmates have been helpful beyond expectation, I have established some new friendships and oriented myself quite well to the city.

So far I have visited my cousin Andrew Gruen who is studying in Cambridge (about 1 hour north of London) and today I toured some parts of the city including Tate Britain museum (really boring) and the Oxford-Circus area where all the trendy shops and bars are located.

Tonight I am joining the study abroad department for a river cruise on the Thames river.

Goldish In London

My friend Danny Golding made an appearence last night on the Queen Mary Campus. We had a great time and stole the crowd at the karoke bar.

=

Just touched Down in London Town

Just want everyone to know I made it safely to my flat at the Queen Mary Campus. Here are some first impressions.

• London is very scenic and old looking.
• Pubs are on every corner.
• The cars are driving on the wrong side of the road.
• Public transit is unbelievably clean.

My flat is a 9 bedroom facility, each room is equipped with a built in desk, spacious closet, mini-fridge, a very small bathroom/shower, some extra storage space and personal climate control. It's a little small but I am happy with it. The kitchen is new with shiny aluminum appliances, a large dining table and chic fake granite counter-tops. In the basement of my apartment is a cafeteria style restaurant with a built in STARBUCKS (how European!).

So far I have only met 2 of my roomies, both Minnesotan girls.

The campus is very nice, everything appears to be close together and much calmer than the U of Minnesota campus (however everyone is on break right now). The staff has been quite helpful with the move in process.


Alright, off to dinner I will update some more later on.