- Daddy’s girl looking for the perfect country
On the 22nd of April 1987 at 11:52 am, a sunny spring day, Stefanie Oechslin was born, daughter of a medical doctor and his wife. She grew up with an older and younger sister who she both loves dearly in a little town in Kanton Zurich. Stefanie went to Kindergarten for 3 years, that’s right, 3 years: “I blame those 3 years of Kindergarten for my cheery, bubbly, playful personality.” Coming from a musically oriented family, she loved music and would sing all the time and even started playing the violin as early as 5 years old. In 1996, Stefanie’s father, who wanted to specialize in Congenital Heart Disease was accepted for a 2 year fellowship at Toronto General Hospital in Canada. When her parents told her that her daddy was going aw
ay, she did not really realize what it meant, since he was working all the time anyway. “I only realized what was happening when we were at the airport saying goodbye to him. The next 2 years were really hard for me. I am more of a daddy’s girl than a mommy’s girl. I remember this one time when we were at the Toronto airport, all set to leave back to Switzerland after visiting my dad. All of a sudden I made a u-turn and darted back past the airport security toward my dad who was waving goodbye to us. I did not want to go home without him. I would have done anything for either staying with him or for him to come with us.” Not surprisingly, Stefanie describes one of the happiest of her life to be December 24th 1997, when her father came back from Toronto: “The Christmas tree could have been plain and without any gifts. I would not even have cared because I was so happy that my dad was back!”
At 12 years old, Stefanie started playing the Saxophone and joined the Egger Blasmusik two years later, where her dad, her older sister, grandfather, cousin, uncle and some cousins once removed played as well. “I think over half of the Egger Blasmusik was related to me,” she says jokingly. Despite the 40 minute ride to Egg bei Einsiedeln, she practiced twice a week.
In 2003, Stefanie started an apprenticeship as a Pharmacy Assistant in the Bellevue Apotheke in Zurich. “I am a very social person, love to help other people and I was very interested in the medical field. A friend I grew up with, always told us awesome stories from her job as a Pharmacy Assistant, so it was pretty clear to me, what I wanted to do after I was done with school.”
On December 26th 2004 at a Christmas dinner with the paternal side of the family, Stefanie’s dad announced the exciting news that he had gotten a job offer from Toronto as the director of the Toronto Congenital Cardiac Centre for Adults at the Hospital where he worked 10 years ago. A lot of discussions later, her parents, her younger sister and Stefanie herself decided to move to Toronto. Her older sister decided to stay in Switzerland.
In July 2006, Stefanie finished her apprenticeship and set course for Canada. The first 1 ½ years she spent waiting for her permanent residency: “It was a really frustrating process because it’s basically a combination of paperwork and waiting. I was not allowed to work or go to University. It was really hard to meet people. The students at the English school I went to were all at least double the age that I was and I don’t even want to mention the average of the age in the neighbourhood I live in. So I spent most of my first 1 ½ years walking my dog Jackie, who I got in October 2006 to fill my loneliness.”
In 2007 Stefanie heard of a Swiss Theatre Group. “I knew immediately that I wanted to join them because I always loved to act and even acted in school plays. So I joined them and I am happy I did because I met some amazing people there.”
She is not only active in the Swiss Theatre Group, but also in the Canadian “Guggenmusig” Canadysli. “I always have a great time with them!”
Asked which country, Switzerland or Canada she prefers, Stefanie smiles and answers: “I do not know which country I like more, but if I had to create the perfect country, I would take the landscape of Switzerland and put it together with the people from Canada.” Stefanie is going to start University in September 2009 in a psychology program at Ryerson.
Photographer: Nathan Briggs
Make up Artist: James Boltan
Stylist: Anjel Yousif
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