Welcome Home!

June 18, 2010
We woke up this morning in Milano, Italy. Yesterday, we traveled from Avignon, France to Milano. We stayed at the Abe Lincoln Hotel. It was a very nice place. Upon registration, they asked us if we wanted a matrimonial bed – not sure what that was, we said, “Yes, we are married.” We got a very nice room with a very large bed!

Today, we drove through the mountains to Bolzano, Italy. This is like coming home for me. During the summer of 1977, between my junior and senior year of high school, I was an AFS (foreign exchange) student. I lived with the Lorenzo and Laura Oss-Emer family. They had one daughter my age; her name was Barbara “Wetty” Oss-Emer. We were very close. Wetty also came and lived with my family in the US. For what ever reason, we have lost contact with each other.

I was determined to find my house here in Bolzano. We were following directions to our camping ground – Moosbauer – and got a bit mixed up when suddenly; I started to recognize my surroundings. We saw the Castel Firmiano, the mountain that Papa had renamed “Montana Laura(in my honor), and the bridge Papa would ride his scooter across on his way to work. We quickly parked, and walked right to “my” house. It is on the bank of the Adige River, across from the train station, and next to an apple orchard. I was for sure I had found the house – but it is no longer a residence – it is a government building which houses the offices of the River Adige authority. Many things have changed. There is a highway close by, new buildings, less orchard. I remember the area as being somewhat in the country – it is just now on the edge of town.

I tried to talk with two men. One only spoke German – and we didn’t get too far. The other was an older man who was coming up from the basement of “my house”. He spoke both German and Italian. I got a bit farther with him. Yes, this used to be an apartment house. No, he didn’t know the Oss-Emers. But, he wanted us to see his boat. He and his two sons paddle their boat and kayaks from Bolzano all the way to Venezia (Venice). This is about 260 km!

I asked him if I could please see the back of the house to confirm that it was “the” house. As soon as I saw the balcony, I started to cry. This is where Mama would “spin” the salad, hang out our laundry to dry, and call us for supper. The backyard is now non-existent. It is in this backyard where I spent many an hour in a hammock reading, studying my Italian, playing with the family dog “Jimmy”, and visiting with my friends. The orchard is smaller – but the walkway/dirt roadway by the river is still there. The gate is still there – it still needs a good paint job! 

As we were walking back to the car, a woman stopped with her car and asked (in English!) if we needed help. I explained that I lived in that house 33 years ago as a foreign exchange student. I asked her if she knew the Oss-Emer family. She did not – but perhaps her husband did – for he had lived in the area all of his life, She called him on the phone and he walked down the road to meet us. He only spoke German, so she stayed a minute to help translate – then she needed to go to work. Yes, this was an apartment building for two families at one time. Yes, he knew the Oss-Emer family. I told him that I knew Papa had died. He told me that Mama died just this year and that Wetty lived in Rome. Tomorrow, I will write him a letter and drop it off, explaining in writing who I am, and asking him to forward my contact information to Wetty.

This had been a good day!