"Rome Wasn't Built in a Day"- An Interview with the Sponsor

“Rome wasn’t built in a Day” 
(Great Things take time)

 - An interview with the Sponsor -

  By Suryatej Vakkalanka

I decided to have an interview with my sponsor, Mr. Palla, to show what he thought of Rome. This was a really nice experience for me, as it helped me view Rome in another perspective. The interview was set on June 2nd, 2017, at 3:49 p.m.

As I walked inside Mr. Palla’s classroom, I said “Hi Mr. Palla! It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

While I waited for a response, I saw it wasn’t filled to its peak capacity, as usual. Instead, there were only a few students, of which most were working on a project. I decided that was good, as less people would be interrupting my interview with Mr. Palla.  

“Hello Sunny! How are you?” Mr. Palla announced

“Good,” I started. “In my magazine, could I have a page where I interview you about Rome?”

“Sure. Sounds good.” Mr. Palla asked

“Should we start now or later? It’s your choice, really…”

“I think now would be a good time” he decided

“Ok”. I took out my special paper and pencil. These were things I kept for a rare occasion like this.  

“First question,” I said, “what was the worst thing about Rome, in your opinion?”

“Well, I would say it was all the bloodshed and gore, in-

“Wait. What does ‘gore’ mean? I asked

He answered “The same thing as bloodshed, or blood”

Mr. Palla continued “As I was saying, bloodshed occurred most in the colosseum”

“Cool. Well, onto the next question, who was the best and most effective emperor of Rome?”

“Of course” he cried “that would be Augustus, the foundation of Pax Romana and longest reigning Emperor. One quote of his was “I found Rome a city of bricks and I left it a city of marble.””

            “I thought he was the best too,” I agreed. “He changed Caesar’s dictatorship to something more powerful, but at the same time implemented parts of it into his masterplan.

            “The third question: What was the best quality of the Roman Empire?

Mr. Palla said “The best quality it holds is that they influenced us. They made the greco-Roman tradition. Everything we do, the government, ‘We the People’, everything, is influenced by the Romans”.

             “You said that also about the Egyptians and the Greeks” I protested

             “Yeah. Well, they were our ancestors” he reasoned

             “I guess. Next, what is your favorite Roman food?” I curiously asked

I knew he would be specific about this question, because he had Italian blood.

             “I don’t think anybody these days likes to eat flamingos, but I love Italian food” he answered.    “Some of my favorite foods of Italy are spaghetti, pizza, and pesto sauce” (p.s, he said more names of food, but I don’t know how to spell them).

             “Lastly, what would you teach if you could teach only one thing about Rome?” I eagerly asked

             “The organization and discipline of Rome. It was the best characteristic of Rome, also what made it succeed. I hope modern people can be as disciplined and organized as the Romans, at least one day ”    

             “Ok, thanks so much.” I said “This is the end of the interview. See ya, Mr. Palla”

 “Later, kiddo” Mr. Palla concluded