An Interview with Steve

Life for me has amounted mainly to life present in Texas. IVe traveled a miniature IVe been to both the west and east coasts of this ground. IVe jiben large cities and small t causes, oceans, forsake and mountains. IVe traveled through several states and impart met nation from all kinds of backgrounds. growth up we had classes in school. We learned of a whole new serviceman let out thither, with different tillages and traditions.We had learned how our country began how it was discovered, how it was populated, and of the wars our ancestors went through to ain emancipation and equality for all who live here. Through our parents and grandparents we learned that, with the exception of congenital Americans, our ancestors emigrated here from countries far away, well-nigh of which are separated from us by vast oceans. Other than what we obligate read, the pictures we see in those books, the portrayals on idiot box and film, roughly of us will never know the places our anc estors walked, or intercourse with raft who pre movely live in those countries.With the development of the Internet and the human universe Wide Web, those countries are now coming literally to our fingertips. whiz of the most fascinating aspects of acquire access to the Internet is how it brings the people of the conception into our own homes. We can find out firsthand how those people live, what they believe, their customs, and their opinions of us. That is the focus of this es give tongue to. One of my straightforward friends, for the past ii and half age, is a man named Steve. We met online in a chat community and become fast friends. He is 48 years old and lives in Essex, England, which is a county northeast of capital of the United Kingdom.Steve is a truck driver by trade and a musician by heart. Hes sent me slightly of his songs, two of which he rote, and in my opinion, hes a very genuine musician, though he often give voices hes not. Hes an avid Rolling Stvirtuo sos fan, and most of the songs he performs at pubs reflect this. This makes for amusing chats between us at generation as he tries to convert another wayward soft-rock-loving soul into a Stones fan. Im not really sure how Steve felt intimately me asking to do my essay on him. He undoubtedly counts Im being very prying, nosey peep was the actual term he used, exclusively he did consent to being referenceed.The only question he asked was if he had to be serious in his answers. When I asked him Where do you live? of course he nswered modem land. I told him that didnt help with my essay, and he replied, mfou know the answer, ask the stuff you dont. And so our interview began It seems that America has a great fascination with Great Britain. We see British actors every. vnere. We even nave some British snows on television. Many ot the stories covered in the news these days are telling of news of England, especially concerning the magnificent family. Why is this?IVe mentioned this fact to Steve a few measure in chats. This opens up kind of a little debate. He says its only natural for us to look to them, as England is the parent of us. I tell him that cant be. My ancestors came from France and Ger umpteen. He cash in ones chipss a chuckle, and thusly starts to lecture on how America as a whole was started by them, and we made the grave mis pass water of wasting good position tea, to which I happily reply that its 0k, because I dont drink tea. I asked Steve if he sees himself as slope or British. English, foremost, he says. I then asked him what he enjoys about his country.He verbalise he enjoys the countryside, with its quiet rolling hillsides, spring flowers and gentle silver rivers. He enjoys the music, and the English ale, with its bitter solely smooth taste, and he adds it must(prenominal) be erved at room temperature. Somehow I think he was being extra poetic because I had asked him to elaborate on his victor answer of countryside, music, Engl ish ale. Hes generally a man of few words, at least typed words, however when gently prodded, he can say quite a lot, some dates sarcastically, besides often humorously. We discussed some of the history in England.He says that the English tend to take their historical sites for granted, though they do a good Job of protecting the old buildings and sights. When I asked if he goes out and enjoys the historical places, he say, No, but IVe worked in a few places of historical inte fill-in. He says If you live in Manhattan, you dont go up to the Statue of Liberty. We take it all for granted really. We shouldnt but do. I can easily see the truth in what he says, as a great deal of our history here is being allowed to be forgotten. When speaking of lifestyles, Steve says that he likes to experience different cultures. unfit Ben is on my doorstep.I would rather travel the world and see differing ways of living. I can see Big Ben anytime. The world is changing. Id like to see some of it before McDonalds gets on that point first. Even Bangkok has a McDonalds. Steve is speaking f his recent trip to Bangkok, Thailand. I asked him if differing lifestyles was the big draw for so many British to immigrate to the states. He says that the draw for the English is that living in the states is similar to Englands way of life, only more than more comfortable. The main difference, he says, between England and the United States is that America is very inward looking.We seem to baffle 99% American news and Just 1% on the rest of the world. Though that may commence changed since 9/1 1 . He says that Americans wish to know less of the world in general. Then he apologized for sounding insulting. He ent on to say that England ruled most of the world at one point, so theyVe always had interest in the world. He says that their news is about 50/50. I said that I wondered why England wants to rule so many countries. He said We dont anymore. Weve tried to concur some countries ba ck, but they wont have it. We tried to give Gibraltar back to Spain, but the people said they wanted to stay British I asked why that was.He said, They like us. Were quaint. This moved us on toa subject Steve has much to say about. I asked him what life was like under the rule of a monarchy. He likewisek no time to say, Personally, its dreadful. I hate being the Queens subject. Having only seen the monarchy on American television, I was curious as to why he would say that. He replied, l resent their ways, their opinions. They are snobs of the worst kind let and pampered while some of their people starve on the streets. Theyre hypocrites. He goes on to say that the royals are expensive trophies for the tourists to view.Steve states, Theyll never change. The aristocracy survives to keep the works man in his place. Give him a beer, a bit of telecasting and football, and hell be good and quiet. I mentioned that they portray the royals here as movement oward a possible collapse, and he says, Its not that simple, Im afraid. They are too powerful, too rich. They have low friends in high places. It would take a regeneration to get rid of them, and the English people Just want a quiet life. To lighten the conversation up, I turned the subject to English traditions. He states that there arent many left.He says, We have Guy Fawkes Day. Its fireworks to celebrate the mesmerise of Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up parliament. He laughs, When I worked there, tidy sum in the basement on a wall is scrawled Guy Fawkes was here, and an netmail address. Guy Fawkes was like three hundred years ago. We also have Pancake Day, when we all eat pancakes. Some have pancake races, where women fall out while tossing pancakes in a pan. We also have egg and spoonful races where you run with an egg balanced on a small spoon. alone very sensible pastimes. Our conversation rolled around to what the English think of America.Steves impression seems to come through easily with h is words. It depends on whether theyVe been to America or not. IVe never met anyone whos been there that doesnt love America or Americans. Americans over here in England, though, can come across as a little loud and brash. The English that go over to the States tend to go to Florida for the modality and Disneyworld. Its where all the travel package companies sell holidays to. Its closer than California. Most English peeps like beaches. They fly 5000 miles to lie on a beach for two weeks. It doesnt make sense to me. Id rather see the countryside or the cities. Then he quotes Sunshine bores the daylights outta me, a Mick Jagger line. Did I mention he was a Stones fan? Steve has always been quick to say how much he loves America. Hes traveled across the ocean about four times already, and driven from one coast to the other, a trek he ays he wants to do again, as soon as he can afford a month off from work. I asked if he thought it would be more difficult, since 9/1 1, to get a visa t o come here. He said he has a life visa. If youVe been in the States a couple of times on short visas and havent overstayed or misbehaved, they give you a life visa.Or at least they used to. He proudly admits to having one. With his views of the government in England, I couldnt help but ask if hed ever considered moving here. He said he had, after his first visit here. And after his second. A d his third The first couple ot times I was married My sister-in-law nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide MS and my wife wouldnt leave England. I also had a cranny band, which in American terms means a really good band. On a later trip, the housing market crashed. If I had interchange my house, I would have owed $120,000. Going back to the discussion of England, I asked if they got much sunshine during the year.Steve, in his charming way said, mieah, we had a good summer. deal it happened on a Thursday. I inquired about this because weve all seen the old true movies depicting London always u nder a blanket of fog. When I mentioned this, he laughed. No, thats a myth. We do get fog occasionally but mostly in the countryside, ot London. But when we get it, we get it, thick as soup. He goes on to say that it rains a lot in England, which makes the country very green, which he likes. England is known for its poor maintenance on roads. I asked Steve about this.He says, Potholes are everywhere in local roads. The weather breaks roads up and they wont pay for upkeep. England is famous for digging holes in the roads. They lay cables, pipes, and so forth , fill them in, come back a week later, dig them up again. Its a British pastime. I asked if people travel much. He says most people holiday abroad. Its cheaper to go to Spain than to stay in England. When asked if England was a majority of wealthy or poor, he says that most are not poor, but they have their money tied up in their houses. On paper, there are a lot of rich people.I myself have $200,000 on paper, but its tied u p in my house. The cheapest apartment in my area be $130,000. If you rent, its usually from the local government. Then, as an example, after a few years you can buy it at a 66% discount. Then you pay maybe $30,000 for a house thats worth $100,000, so most people buy. The government does this for their own benefit. Its short term they get cash and dont have to pay the maintenance costs. The downside is that there are no homes available for people to rent. I unfortunately bought on the open market, so no discount. Its elicit to know that, like here in America, they have a transmutation of accents. Steve speaks Cockney, which is known around the London area. If youVe seen the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen film Winning London, my sisters favorite movie, youll get a hint of it. To us its fast mouth and hard to understand, and believe me, isnt much easier to understand in text, which he throws in from time to time Just to confuse me. He also mentions the Queens English, which is much mor e proper sounding, and hat we generally hear spoken on television.There are other accents as well, depending on the region you come from. I hated to end the interview. England has so much to learn about. I would have liked to delve much more deeply into the history and culture of his country, the things we dont hear and read about here in the States. But its getting late for Steve. England is 7 hours ahead of Texas. Its very easy to forget the time difference and Just keep talking, on my end at least. I am very happy to have met Steve, even if we never get the opportunity to meet tace-to-tace.