Marek
I always mispronounce this, whether it's Czechia or the Czech Republic, but that's where we are today!
Q.U: What do you like about where you grew up?
M.H: I grew up in a small town and one of the things I liked about being there was that I was never forced to do anything so I was allowed to do as I wanted to. As long as I was doing well in school and in sports then everything was okay. There isn't like a special place or monument in the town so for me it was the people that made it special. That's why to this day I have a close circle of friends that I call and meet up with. We do have forests around too, but my friends made it special.
Q.U: Tell us about a typical day from when you were in high school.
M.H: During high school I was hooked on computers, but first a typical Saturday day. I would wake up around 9-10A.M and then do something on the computer, so I was basically teaching myself about software and how to really use a computer. After that, I would eat and spend some time with my family and then go to the gym. In the evening I would just play computer games with my friends. I got a laptop when I was in fourth grade and I guess that where it all started.
Q.U: How connected are you to your environment?
M.H: Well, here we sort out household trash and around the house we have a garden. Apart from that, I don't think that there is much. I do pick trash in public, let's say if its the size of a mug, I don't go around picking cigarettes one by one, that's crazy. And I usually stay away from the streets.
Q.U: How often do you use social media and what effect does it have on your life? Does it disrupt your studies? Make you think differently about your body or do you only use it for pure entertainment?
M.H: I would say everyday. Instagram about one and a half hours a day, so it can be anytime during the day and I just keep track of time with apps that measure time. On Facebook, I measure time all the time, because even when I'm playing games or listening to music, I just switch tabs and start talking to my friends on Messenger. It can be distracting, but its how I communicate with my teachers and classmates, so I will only fallback with school work if I don't use it. Also, I'm trying to be as passive as possible on social media so it does not change how I see myself, I rather go outside and play games or something.
Q.U: What is special about your name, if anything?
M.H: There was a time I was looking it up, it's a Greek name meaning strong or something like that. The name was popular here the year I was born so I guess that's the story behind it. A Greek name, meaning strong.
Q.U: What type of music do you listen to? Also, give your top three favorites.
M.H: I listen to rap and hip-hop a lot, also to rock and metal. My top three favorite artists would be Tom MacDonald because of his controversial songs, Eminem- a legend of rap and also this other Canadian artist Dax who started a few years ago and he's really good. Top three songs right now are Popular Monster by Falling in Reverse, Killing Strangers by Marilyn Manson and I hate Hip Hop by Tom MacDonald.
Q.U: What kinds of places do you go on holiday, or would you like to go?
M.H: Mountainous and rocky places, so I would like to visit Norway and Albania because of the mountains, maybe go up with a group of friends and go hiking or something. If I were to go to a city, I would preferably go to the museums and learn about its history.
Q.U: What hat is your favorite dish? Is it connected to your nationality?
M.H: Hmm, so my childhood favorite dish was connected to my nationality but not my current favorite dish. The name is knedlo vepřo zelo, it's cabbage with meat and dumplings. Here in Czech Republic we eat almost everything with dumplings *laughs*.
Q.U: Can you imagine yourself living in the opposite part of the world? What do you think you would be up to right now?
M.H: Well, the opposite part of the world would be the ocean haha. So if let's say I was in the United States for example, I would be so happy. I would have a chance to speak English everyday. I have actually been thinking about moving to the United States, so that would be great. On the other hand I might return to Denmark next year to work again, hopefully things with Corona will be better.
Q.U: What is the last thing you bought today?
M.H: I commute everyday for around fifty kilometers to get home so I paid for a train ticket, but apart from that I bought lunch earlier on. It was a small piece of bread with cheese.
Q.U: Can you think of something you are not sure about but would have done if you had the chance to? It can be a career path, performing at a club, moving abroad or anything.
M.H: I think that going abroad earlier is something I wish I had done. Maybe even during high school, but I'm not sure if I would've actually done it. I wasn't really interested in studying or working abroad until I went for the first time. The people from the agency that I met were the ones that changed my mind, it was the agency that helped me get to Denmark. I guess living there and seeing this new perspective about other countries played a huge role on me wanting to travel more, or work and study abroad.
Q.U: Do you really think that one day people will just be people? That we will look past skin color, race or whatsoever and live together?
M.H: I don't think that's possible. There are still people who are very hateful and selfish, people who will teach it to their kids and it will just go on and on. I don't think it will happen in the next thousand or two thousand years, unfortunately.
Q.U: About your career, do you already have in mind what you want to do or are you just getting by?
M.H: So far I'm just getting by, but I have some ideas in my mind. I would like to work as a translator, translate from English to Czech or learn Spanish and translate from Spanish to English or Czech. I was working as an IT guy for a few months but I quit the job because it was not the job I imagined it to be.
Q.U: What can be said about you based on your style?
M.H: Well, I wear hoodies for like twenty-four hours a day, with jeans or shorts. I think people would see that I am loud, you wouldn't miss me at school or anywhere because I'm just too loud. I am also two meters tall, so people do notice that too!
Q.U: When was the first time you got your first phone. Do you remember what it was?
M.H: Yes, it was a Nokia phone, a newer model of 3310. I got it around age eight, in 2006.
Q.U: Fun fact about you.?
M.H: I'm into martial arts, six or seven of them. I have the basics of sumo, boxing, jujutsu, muay thai, and a couple others. I am also into languages, so I know quite a few. I have basics of German, Russian, Hungarian and a few more. I know English, Czech, Slovak, a bit of Polish- I can understand basic conversations. In total, the languages I speak fluently are four and in total it would be eight with the ones I have the basics of.
That concludes today's interview, thank you for reading and do stay tuned in for the next one!
love, Queen
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