"Come On America!"

Reporting live from a lecture by Jesper Steinmetz

It’s Monday evening. I’m sitting in the train towards Middelfart. It’s been a long day but I’m looking forward to hearing what Jesper Steinmetz has to say about coming to America.

I’m standing outside the building where the lecture is taking place in just about 15 minutes – “Middelfart KulturØ”.

As I’m walking up the long stairway, with white steps, I feel my stomach filling up with more and more excitement.

Entering the door to the room wherein the lecture is being held, I feel overwhelmed by the large windows facing the Little Belt. The sun is shining beautifully and is just about to set.

In just a few minutes the clock will be exactly 7.30 pm and the lecture will begin.

Before stepping on to the platform Jesper Steinmetz quickly spits out his chewing gum and places it in an ashtray.

As he introduces himself he uses an inch of irony, when referring to an article that once wrote, that Jesper Steinmetz lived in America when he was 19 – in 1886 (!) Today is his 45^th birthday, and he seems happy to spend it here with us, in Middelfart.

Jesper has travelled to America many times, but he has only lived there for two years (and once when he was 19). His contract as a correspondent for TV2 runs out when four years have past. He loves his job, and puts a great deal of pride into portraying America in ways people wouldn’t expect – giving the Danes the small story, instead of always portraying the big story.

To give us a glimpse of a regular day in his life he shows us a bit from a documentary made by “TV2/Nord”. A very hectic life, which isn’t as glamorous as one would think.

Then he pulls out three things he always carries around: a red hat, with TV2 written on it, for a microphone, some make-up, and two cell-phones; one he uses in Denmark and one he uses in America. Those things are linked to his work, a work which he carries with him wherever he may go.

When pulling out the make-up and smiling from ear to ear, he tells us an amusing anecdote:

I was once on my way to do a live interview for TV2. I was in quite a hurry, and I had to powder my forehead because of the lighting. Standing in the male lavatory in Mac Donald's, in front of the mirror, powdering my forehead I get the strangest look from an American man. Looking like he was waiting for me to pull out a dress.

The room is filled with laughter, and on every seat people are smiling. Jesper Steinmetz is a very charismatic man, and even though he speaks no formal language (he curses quite often!), he comes across as being a nice and very likeable man. When cursing, he blames his parents, with a smile, for the way he was raised.

Jesper constantly brings us behind the scenes by showing clips on a white screen. At one point he experiences some technical problems and I feel the crowd waiting in silence with full excitement. He quickly fixes the problems all while talking about random things and episodes in his life.

After an hour of listening with full attention there’s a 30 minute break with coffee and American carrot cake.

Second round is a Q&A.

At least one person from every row has a burning question, and as Jesper Steinmetz has said, it’s always the random questions which seem the most interesting.

“How are the American women?” “Tell us about the American election!” “What can we expect to read in your book?” “Do you have an American wife?”

Jesper politely answers all the questions.

The alternating switches between lecturing and showing clips from the documentary and from previous newscasts, creates an excitement over the feeling of being “close” to him. It leaves you with the feeling of being a part of his life and with a feeling that there’s a backside to America which you must explore. And this is the feeling I carry with me when heading back to the train station after the lecture.

-- Written by Naomi Altamirano, 2.d