Mr. Hanak’s 70th birthday

This photograph was taken on my (Jan Hanak) 70th birthday in Zilina in 2005. From left to right: my older daughter Marcela Hanakova, my wife, Ludmila Hanakova, I, Jan Hanak, and my younger daughter Michaela Hanakova.

We see our daughters very seldom. The younger one has been abroad for eleven years, and the older one seven. Even the two of them don't visit each other. Albany and Vancouver are very far away from each other. They're very busy with school and work. Work abroad can be compared to sport. When our athlete starts with a foreign team, he's got to be better than the local players in order to stay. It's the same with work. It's not enough to be like the locals. You've got to be better. They have to be better, and that doesn't happen by itself. My wish for my 70th birthday was for all of us to be at home together again. They'd been here several times, but never together. For my 70th birthday it finally happened. It was a great present for me. Otherwise we're constantly in contact. We phone and email each other.