Being German in the US and Switzerland
About Stephan Faller
If you are looking for Stephan Faller, look for a man at the company Hanggi as the Head of Finance. He’ll be ready to discuss sports, car racing, and also talk about his two sons. Though Stephan grew up in Rheinfelden, he travelled to the US as an accountant, before moving to Zurich and starting a family. These experiences have helped shape him into the person he is today.
What differences were there between your old self, and your current self?
“I [couldn’t really focus as a child]. I had all types of stuff in my mind… [and] I was not that focused in school. I could not get my head around it, and this compared with the high expectations of my parents. This drove me to the question on whether I could fulfill their expectations. What I did not realize at this time…is they probably did not have to expect… me working day and night as well.”
How do you feel when you sat next to your mother and father once you had a job?
“Back then I never felt insecure I just wanted [be] like ‘I'm a good enough to sit [and] to get my stuff together’ at one point in time. I also wanted an independent life but it's not something which makes me feel bad at all. [My parents were] always very supportive and, I went out and would talk with them [about] my feelings, and then, at a certain particular point in time, we see a lot of this when you don't talk so much.”
Did you ever feel at home in the US?
“ … At first I didn't have to move to the US, but I wanted to move to the US, because it gave me that ultimate step [of] independence from my parents and ... that the US would be an adventurous 2 years. Therefore I also never had the pressure to make it to my home, so I went to [the] US ... there with open eyes and it seemed to be in charge my time and now. I [have] the strong roots [that] have given me the opportunity to go to… Seattle and … my time [was great in America, and] the opportunity to enjoy the US was a privilege.”
What was different in your day to day life in the US and Switzerland?
“After the first time being in the US… I had no pressure to make it to my home, [and] all of a sudden, [it] became clear to me ‘hey whatever I am, and what I want to make something, home I can do it’... [Today], when I go back to Seattle to Belfair, where your mother is from, that feels home because that's where I have memories, that's where I feel connected… What changed is that the US [became] home.”
“At some point we will always come to a position where we don’t know what to do.”
-Stephan Faller
What made you feel vulnerable in the US?
“... At first I didn't have to move to the US, but I wanted to move to the US because it gave me that ultimate step in Independence from my parents… The US would be an adventurous 2 years and therefore I also never had the pressure to make it to my home… [When I first came here, I had no Track record, and I didn’t speak the language, but overtime, I wasn’t as pressured once I settled into the US]. And the most unexpected thing about the trip to America was meeting your Mother Leo.”
How did you feel when you finally came back to Switzerland?
I felt happiness when, whenever I could link to people your age, and those were definitely with my friends [at] the Rowing Club… and then back in Switzerland to see that there are some friends who were still around. COVID actually brought me together with some school friends. I have seen friends I haven't seen for the past thirty-five years and COVID brought us back together… One of the lessons for me that I have learned; it's that people make us trust, [and this brings back the most happiness to me and my family].”
“People make us trust, and this brings back the most happiness to me, and my family.”
