Mods Around the World – Marco Scardella

As our summer voyage to meet Mods from across the globe comes to an end, we touch down in Budapest. That’s the current home of Marco Scardella, a native Sardinian who’s lived in more countries than most grade schoolers can name.

Now that he’s situated in the capital of Hungary, Marco’s getting to know the city and its people. He’s not alone: with more than four million tourists arriving each year, Budapest is the sixth most popular tourist destination in Europe. Those visitors can be found escaping the heat by riding in one of the world’s largest underground subway systems and drinking tap water from drinking spouts on the streets’ fire hydrants. Fun fact: if it weren’t for Budapest, we might not have the Rubik’s Cube, whose inventor was born in the city.

As he spends time in Budapest, Marco feeds his lifelong wanderlust with weekend European excursions. As a teacher as well as a touring opera singer, Marco made his way across Europe and Asia and settled in countries far and wide. Along the way, he picked up the ability to converse with people in many languages; this predilection for communications has served Marco well in recent years, with his career focusing on customer-facing support roles.

Tell us about your background and previous jobs.

I’ve travelled since I was very young, and learned several languages. This allowed me to quickly find work to help pay for my studies. I taught for 13 years and have worked in customer service roles for the past seven years. Those roles have ranged from front- and back-office jobs to working at a contact center, as a translator, a tour guide, a tourist event manager, and as an interpreter. In addition, I perform as an opera singer (I’m a baritone) and teach part time.

Tell us about where you’re from.

I was born in a beautiful Italian island in the middle of Mediterranean called Sardinia. It has a population of 1.6 million. My city, Cagliari, is on the sea. The food, language, and architecture have a strong Spanish influence, as this region was under Spain’s dominion for four centuries. The main language is Italian, of course, but people also speak Sardinian, another Romance language. It’s very different from Italian, so much so that during WWII the Italian Army radio operators were Sardinians, and the spies weren’t able to understand anything!

But you didn’t stay in Sardinia, did you?

No! I’ve lived all over the world, moving to London when I was 18, touring as a singer around Germany and Eastern Europe, and studying for two years in Milan. I later sang and taught in Poland, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. I then moved to Asia for three years, working and volunteering in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, and Laos. After some time in Rome and the Ukraine, I most recently moved to Budapest. I love this city; it’s beautiful and very livable. So far, I’ve visited 74 countries, including every nation in Europe.

What led you to ModSquad?

I was looking for a home-based job for a while when I saw an ad for an Italian-, Spanish-, and English-speaking moderator/customer service position. It was perfect. Since coming onboard, I’ve worked on six projects, and I’m super happy! ModSquad offers me the ideal job, since I can bring my skills with me should I make another move.

What languages and skills do you use for work?

In my current project, I’m working in English and Italian, but I also help out with projects requiring Spanish or other languages (I speak six languages fluently and can get by in another four). I’ve been doing moderation, customer service, and even translation.

What sets ModSquad apart, in your opinion?

I appreciate the job’s flexibility and the opportunity to work on different interesting projects. Of course, the people—from the project managers to my fellow Mods—are all talented, hardworking, and fascinating people. I’ve even been able to meet a few of them, and I wasn’t disappointed! I see ModSquad as one big family.