Two beers: Marek Zimmermann
Two beers: Marek Zimmermann
You have certainly seen him at Samfunnet. With some sort of superpower giving him the time and energy to do anything and everything. The 23-year-old from Gjøvik running hastily through the hallways, on his way to his next adventure. It’s four o’clock on a Friday afternoon and the beer waits patiently on the table. Marek declines a Peroni, he is having a Tuborg at la Bohem.
Journalist: Silje Bie Helgesen
Photrograper: Margreta Brunborg og Borghild S. Oterholdt.
Photo: Borghild S. Oterhold
Photo: Margreta Brunborg
I never expected to be admitted to NMBU, I initially had other plans.
Back in August of 2017, a Ford rolled into Ås. In the car, nervous mom and dad were about to send away their middle child. They entered the sleeping hall in Kajaveien, where beds were lined up in an orderly fashion. Temporary accommodation, 50kr per night. Well-equipped with bread, Nugatti and beer, and a small bag with clothes for a week. This was Marek’s first encounter with Ås. Little did he know that this place would be his playground for five years.
Marek pops open a beer in the behinds of a stuffed moose on the wall of Bohemen, while telling the story of how he ended up in Ås. The plan was to take a year off, but to his frustration, his parents told him to do something sensible during the year, like working. He accepted an unexpected admittance to the masters’s programme in Property. Thus, he set forth to Ås. As the above average social person that he is, he quickly learned to get in touch with new people.
I knew from the start that I had to choose between sitting in my dorm listening to the party upstairs, or to head up there and join them, he says.
Energized by being around people
People describe Marek as an altogether good person who watches over the ones who are close to him, and his friendly aura is highly contagious to other people. His history takes us back to the internet sensation, Christmas Calendar in Verket 7. He is not shy about his passion for meeting and motivating new people. Marek’s social adventure began during UKA 2018. To him, the social aspect was just as valuable as the perks he was given by the job.
While some might get tired of social situations, I get extremely energized by it. That’s probably why I’ve joined in on so many things.
Head of Mareking
Yes, Marek is a guy that has gotten involved with A LOT of things at Samfunnet. He started as a bar volunteer, which led him to join Sprell and the Election Committee. Most recently, he held the position as Head of Marketing on the Board of Samfunnet, and the International Leader for the Ringfest 2022. Many know him from UKA-stunt and Sprell, dressed in orange and green unitards. These jobs were perfect for Marek. It’s all about running around the campus and Bodega, recruiting, and informing new people.
When the job is to urge other people, I’m in the right place. The physical marketing was spot-on for a guy like me.
This is what made him take on the position as Head of Marketing for the Board of Samfunnet, or the «Head of Mareking» as he likes to call it. With a beaming smile, he tells of the great joy of being elected to the Board.
Lærken
Bohemen was always a natural meeting place for Marek. He often sat down on the couch to talk to the lærkes, and it is always the first destination after a night at Samfunnet. When he was applying for associations, it was not difficult to decide which one to join. He laughs, telling us how he started out standing in the bar, serving beer.
When he applied in 2018, there were no expectation of being accepted to actually use his voice in the choir.
I was confident that I would be accepted as mascot of Lærken. I pitched to a lærke that I can do a great Emanuel impression, would get really good at chess, and hustle at Bohemen.
Emanuel, the Gorilla, is well known to those who have seen Pinchcliffe Grand Prix, and he is the supreme protector of Lærken. Just like in the Pinchcliffe Grand Prix game, Marek was ready to take his Emanuel-role to the max. He applied with the intention of becoming the mascot of Lærken, to be allowed to walk around in a gorilla suit, begging for donations to Lærken. The plan was ready.
Marek rises to pull out a couple of glasses. He pours up aquavit and exactly 13 drops of Tabasco and uses a piece of spaghetti to stir with. He offers us one of them. This is called an “Emanuel”. Marek laughs, saying it is always fun to serve this and see the reaction of new Ås students.
He scratches the back of his head and mentions a special memory from the choir. They were standing outside of Mølla, having bought a big fish, that they would throw at each other. He didn’t even consider how weird it was until a friend walked past, shaking his head. Marek laughs and says that this was when he realized what kind of club he had joined.
Lærken does their own thing, and it is a goldmine for all kinds of stupid ideas. I wanted to be a part of that.
SuperMarek - German, ice hockey, soccer, and a spontaneous marathon
The phone rings. He places a cigarette in his mouth and puts on a woolen sweater. He speaks on the phone, in fluent German. His parents moved to Gjøvik in the 90s and stayed there; it was a choice between France and Norway.
I dream of being a Land Consolidation Judge, but I need to apply for a Norwegian citizenship to become that. I’m German.
He tells about the trips to Germany, and the hockey team he played for. Marek started playing hockey when he was only five years old, and the sport has become a big part of his life. As a child, he was active and played football too. The activity level has not been lowered as he grew up, exemplified by that time he was out for a jog and ended up in a marathon race. He joined in, and spontaneously ran a 40km marathon. He was a little late for dinner that day. In Ås, he ran the Kadaver’n with a friend, and he describes running as a covid activity which blossomed during the lockdown.
Marek has always liked people who give back as much energy as he himself gives.
Birds of a feather flock together, that’s why I work in a kindergarten.
Working with children is a break from the everyday struggles. In his room, there is a folder containing all the drawings and paper figures that the children have made him. He says that the kindergarten is a place where he can be a buffoon, do football tricks for hours and run around and play.
Maybe I will just work for a few years in property management to gather some money, buy a farm and run a kindergarten.
Marek tells us that he admires people who realize their dreams, without worrying about money or what other people think about it.
I’m left with a lot of memories, and an extremely wide comfort zone
Now, Marek is writing his master’s thesis and this spring, he will be done as a student at NMBU. As his final trick, he is part of the committee for the Ringfest. When the thesis is submitted in May, he will no longer be running in the hallways of Samfunnet, breaking through the ice on Andedammen, or manning the bar at Bohemen, stirring with spaghetti. He is not coy about how he feels about the master’s thesis life, which he simply describes as “rotting in the room”.
Shit, I’m almost done studying. It’s a sad realization.
He puts his hand on his chin and thinks about what he is left with after these five years. Marek’s experiences have made it easy for him to get to know new people, and to build networks. He says that he is not that stressed about moving someplace new. The thoughts go back five years, when he first applied to NMBU. He feels like he is back in the same situation. Now, he is ready for “the next step”, and as his parents said back then, he has to do something sensible. If Ås has taught him anything, it is that the next step can be the best years of his life.
It is five in the morning. After one too many Emanuels, the notebook is closed again, and that concludes our twelve-hour long interview.
Greetings to Marek
Your Honor!
Marek is so beautiful that if you look at him, you pass out. He is also the man with so many worms in his ass that he is an essential in any fisherman’s bag.
Living with you was like a party that never ended. The energy and eagerness you have for everything that is fun, spreads like wildfire among us bohemians, and you are our first choice as flatmate for the next pandemic.
Even if you are a buffoon of the highest order, and your energy is what is known to most people, it has been nice to get to know you on a deeper level. You have an amazing ability to see people and check up on people when they have heavier days. It feels safe to be able to open up to you, knowing that an understanding and well-reflected answer is to come.
The dinners are quieter here without you, and less food is thrown about. But the ripples from your time here are still apparent, like the moose in the roof, the kindergarten humor, and the clothes on the couch. There will always be a lighter(lighter?!) and a cup of coffee for you at Bohemen, and if not, you can always prepare the coffee yourself. And if you don’t pick up your jacket soon, it will be nailed to the roof above the bar!
Respectfully,
The Bohemians
COME ON, PUT ON SOME KOPPEN
Life with Marek is rarely boring. We have memories of running around doing stunts at events, arranging searches when you fall asleep at the loo, and smoking together naked. The keyword we are left with is “sprell”; no wonder that was the committee that first pulled you into Samfunnet, and for that, we are really grateful. Thank you for not being able to sit still, so that we get plenty of breaks during meetings, and for being so forgetful that we can enjoy really good rice together <33
But no matter how restless you can grow in our meetings, you are always patient when it comes to checking up on the people around you and asking how they are doing. You are a safe person to talk to about things that are hard, or simply ventilating shit when that is needed. You are a true friend that backs us up when we need it, and are happy to be there for you when the über-pessimist appears, even if you are more of a realist.
We are so happy to have been in the board with you Marek, and we look forward to lots of fun with you in the future!
xoxo tullekoppene
Dear Marengo
We love you so much and appreciate how you are always your true self! No one can ever take your place in our little family in Verket7.
You are a true source of joy, with a high energy level and lots of impulses. All the late nights in the kitchen, kudos-hunts on Strava, long evening walks, good talks and, last but not least: pancake-Thursdays, are only a few picks of the memories that lie in our hearts.
There is no getting around that you have had luck throughout your life. Maybe your surfboard hasn’t gotten its red stripes, but you have built, all by yourself, a great network of people around you, where you have formed good relations that push you on in life. As long as you polish, clean and keep it in order, there is nothing to do except keep on surfing on. The master’s this spring too, will land eventually <3
Hero by night, hero by day <-- The core of who you are
Hugs from the pancake gang,
Stian, Lars, Josefine and Emilie
