Emil was born in Linköping, in the east of Sweden. However, then he moved to Karlstad to study, a city in the western part of Sweden. Karlstad is the biggest city in the district of Värmland. Emil describes Värmland as a very rural area, and that Karlstad is famous for its “EPA” culture which is a subculture. Emil explains that because the area is so rural, many people use their cars a lot. Children from 15 years are allowed to drive cars at a slow pace and they have made a culture around cars. Many people in Sweden connect the subculture with Värmland.

Apart from being in Linköping and Karlstad, Emil also likes visiting other Swedish cities and islands, such as Stockholm, Jönköping, and Visby on the island Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

Visby was built in the 12th century. However, there are archaeological discoveries proving that humans have lived on the island since 2000 B.C. Gotland also played an important role during the viking period. During the medieval ages, Visby was one of the biggest Swedish cities. Additionally, the island is famous for being the host of the political week “Almedalsveckan” where politicians from all parties in the Swedish parliament have their events and seminars.

In Karlstad, Emil studies geographical information systems, which will make him an engineer. Emil explains that his tasks include making 3D models to calculate coordination systems or calculate network analysis. However if he doesn’t want to work as an engineer, Emil could see himself as a politician in the future.

Emil is also Latvian. His mother is from the capital, Riga. Emil has many folk dresses from Latvia at his parents house in Linköping. The folk dresses are for special occasions and celebrations and could be used for the independence day and other cultural celebrations. Furthermore, Emil explains that because Latvia was a part of the Soviet Union, they are also a bit more patriotic since their independence. Since the soviet union suppressed national identity for the Latvian people, people are more patriotic than people in western Europe. Latvian people and east European countries are generally more patriotic and traditional than the western countries, which can be seen in cultural traditions and celebrations such as cultural holidays, flags and folk dresses.

Emil loves sharing candy from the Swedish candy industry with other people. He explains that in his hometown Linköping they have a famous candy company called Cloetta, which produces typical Swedish candy such as “Kexchoklad” and “Polly”. The candy “Kexchoklad” consists of biscuits and chocolate. “Polly” is a buttercup toffee with chocolate around.

Additionally, Emil loves fika and he says that his second hometown, Karlstad, is famous for the Swedish coffee “Löfbergs lila”. When it comes to food, Emil’s favorite dish is hamburgers with his own-made hamburger sauce. In his free time, Emil likes playing floorball, which he describes as hockey without ice and a plastic ball. He is playing in a team with his university, called “Puzzles”. When he was younger, he used to play soccer. His dream back then was to become a football player in the Spanish team Real Madrid.

Emil’s favorite book, “The intelligent investor” can also be connected with his biggest role model, Warren Buffet. The book is about the famous investor Warren Buffet and strategies and ideas of investing in stocks. Warren Buffet had a teacher named Benjamin Graham who is the author of the book. Graham explains how to achieve financial accomplishments, with the help of Buffet’s strategies and other financial methods. Emil says he believes that many students interested in personal finance would get some useful help from the advice of Buffet and Graham.