Nathi Stupf, a virtuoso at the stove. Unconventional, rebellious, honest and, above all, always authentic.
Nathi Stupf's primal scream and urge for freedom.
There are characters who never rebel, who always move in the cozy warmth of a homely and safe environment. Hanni already developed rebellious and revolutionary characteristics as a pubescent teenager, which were by no means in line with conformist attitudes.
Having just about got through the school of theory with the deep phantom pains of her parents, Nathi discovered the study of nightlife to its fullest. The pull of the moon, the deep black sunless time of day when other laws play a role, had a magical attraction for her. The seed for a non-bourgeois banking career desired by her parents was planted.
At not even 18 years old, Nathi was blown like flotsam by the wind of freedom over the waves, across the big pond to the west. Nathi wanted to get out to sea and into the surf, into the spray of life.
She ended up at High Scholl in San Antonio, Texas. And right away with her first host family in the marital and educational problems of American suburban neighbourhoods.
She had not booked this ticket for educational experience. After moving to another family, things worked out better. 3 little kids with similar rebellious attitudes were then more to her liking and the environment also suited her.
The fact that you meet punks in America with whom you get on very well is probably also down to your character. There’s no denying the attraction.
Hanging out with this gang in San Antonio was also an interesting experience.
What particularly impressed her in the States was that you have to organise yourself and take an active role. Free enterprise and personal initiative were at the top of the agenda at High Scholl. The fact that sport was not neglected was a given.
After all, it is an important field at American high schools for channelling one’s exuberant feelings and strength. Hanni didn’t want to have to actively integrate because otherwise he would have been an expat and, above all, a Swiss outsider.
The desired path back home to Switzerland
Immigration laws are evil for freedom. A wall of ignorance that is hard to penetrate and that you as a young person don’t want to understand and yet have to accept. A first blow to the neck that had to be digested.
The plan after the first taste of local air was to do an apprenticeship and then set sail again very quickly with a professional perspective that could also secure a living abroad.
Nathi found it very exciting that her sister was already looking into the pots and cooking her soup. After working for the necessary money in the winter season, Nathi started training to be a chef herself.
She ended up in a classic home-style Swiss kitchen. She wanted to learn everything from scratch. The beating of a wild boar, like all the other technical Swiss culinary skills that have been passed down for generations and are continually experiencing a renaissance. Cooking tweezers were already available back then, but that didn’t appeal to you to stay in one position in the kitchen for ages. She wanted to learn the big picture very quickly, from the ground up.
What then truly steered Nathi’s path in a new direction was, how else would one assume, love of course.
In the last year of her training she met the man of her life. A railway worker. Perfectly suited to Nathi. The Swiss Federal Railways are known for their punctuality and reliability. A counterpoint to Nathi’s personality. Clearly mutual alternating poles attract each other, that has always been one of the secrets to a long-lasting love.
Nathi Stupf's trip into the Canadian wilderness and a love on hold
