Valerie Wunderlin
I am excited to introduce to you my friend and fellow American Valerie Wunderlin.
Finding Valerie away from a swimming pool is like finding a Flös fish out of water. Swiss National Elite and Juniors Synchronized Swimming Coach, Coach for the SC Flös with 7 Swiss Titles, Member of Swiss Olympic, are references that belong to the American as much as her smile and friendly manner do.
Valerie has worked on and off for the Swiss Swim (the National Association for all Swim clubs) in different capacities for the last 25 years in development, coaching knowledge and multisport improvements to the synchronized swimming sport. Currently she works for the Liechtenstein school system and is once again working with the Swiss Juniors Synchronized Swim Team.
Val, how did find your way to Switzerland or more precisely, Liechtenstein and Werdenberg?
I received my Bachelor in Sport from University of Arizona and wanted to become a coach. At the time, I was working in the restaurant business in Connecticut. A friend told me that they were looking for a coach in Buchs, Switzerland and I applied. I didn’t have a clue where Buchs was but I got the job and within five days I was on my way to coach the Buchser Synchronized Swimming Team. I called it my „maternity swim leave“ because it was scheduled to last nine months.
And now, how long have you been here?
I have been here 26 years, I arrived in 1989. A pretty long maternity leave!
Do you remember anything about your first days here, your reactions or how you felt?
I sure do, I felt sick.
Rita and Jakob Jütz who I call my “Swiss parents”, picked me up from the Zurich airport. It was a gray January day. I was exhausted from the trip but they thought it would be a good time for sightseeing tour. Off we went to Triesenberg. After three or four curves, the carsickness kicked in and I threw up all over the car. Triesenberg was a curse and a blessing for years to come; it is where I met my husband Ruedi and where we lived for 4 years.
Did they want to send you back to the States?
No, Rita and Jakob were super and really helped smooth the way for me. They had lived in the States for a couple of years which helped them understand me and my challenges. The transition wasn't difficult for me, but I travelled a lot the first two years making it less intensive.
Did you speak German?
I didn’t speak a word – I smiled a lot. My kids say I still can’t speak German.
I used the „hand and foot „ method which worked well at work. If the girls didn’t understand what I wanted, I would gesture. If they still didn’t understand, I would jump in the pool and show them. Afterwards, they said the word out loud and I would learn it – one word at a time. At night Jakob would try and teach me. Try being the keyword.
You went to college on a swim and soccer scholarship. Were you as good at winter sports? After all you came from up north, in Connecticut.
That’s what my husband thought too when he tried to teach me to ski.
Uh oh! You broke the same rule that I broke. Rule number 1 – never, ever let your husband teach you to ski – or anything else for that matter. It leads to disaster.
You got that right. He said “You are an athlete, skiing won’t be any problem for you.”
We were on our way to Davos and he pulled the car off to the side of the street and got out. “Let’s go. We will put the animal fur on the bottom of our skis and walk up.” He didn’t add anything and unfortunately, I didn’t ask any further questions. We walked straight up for about 1 ½ hours. I thought ”Wow, this is going really well.”
Did you remember the theory of physics – what goes up must come down?
Coming down was a catastrophe. I took the hide/fur off of my skis and as soon as I put the skis back on I started down the hill, out of control, backwards. Naturally I fell. Again and again, for three hours. I got to a cliff and was so petrified that I just sat there. Every minute I sat there I became more furious.
I say my loving husband and a lot of movement at the bottom of the hill. It was a large group of people looking up and I wondered what they were looking at. Horrified, it hit me, “They are all watching me.” At this point I recognised a police car. Oh my God, the policeman spoke through the bullhorn loud enough for the entire town to hear, “Hey lady, you up there, do you need assistance? Should we notify the fire department?” I could imagine the fire truck driving up and the ladder unfolding – no way that was to humiliating. I took off my skis, got up, through them over my shoulder and slid, walked and fell down that stupid hill until I reached the bottom.
I used every curse word that I knew in both languages. I cursed my husband, the hill, the police and the whole damned situation. I arrived wet with sweat, a bright red face and lots of anger. The police turned to me and said, „That is without a doubt the funniest thing I have ever seen.”
I thought to myself, great, just great, as if I did this just for his benefit. Actually I skied for other reasons, for reasons of insanity – my kids.
That was probably not the last embarrassing moment you experienced? Were there some cultural misunderstandings?
One summer I organized a barbecue for friends and neighbors. I went shopping and found candles on sale. They were so cheap I could decorate not only the table but the entire patio. The gold around the top wasn’t exactly my taste but they would be ok if the wind kicked up.
At the beginning of the party the mood was downright depressing. After a few drinks the atmosphere improved and one of my guests worked up the courage to ask, “Is there a particular reason you used grave candles to decorate tonight?”
What did you learn from your different integration experiences (I ask while still giggling)?
When you are the new person on the block, you have to jumb out of the box, and force others to do the same. Sometimes you may have to knock a few times before they open the door.
Thank you Valerie for your time, involvement not only here in our area but your contributions for the Swiss sport and for being a great example to those on the journey to integration.
Check out Val's Tips and Recommendations under VIP's Tips.