Alba is Home

The train hydraulics let out a puff as we screeched to a halt at the train station in Alba, Italy. We squeezed through the open doors with our mass of backpacks and bags hanging off our bodies and stepped down onto the cement. As my feet hit the platform, it marked my fourth time in Alba, Italy. What keeps bringing me back? The world-class Barolo wine? The Ferrero chocolate factory that emits chocolatey perfumes throughout the city? The picturesque brick alleyways and red roofs? Yes, of course…but the real reason runs a bit deeper.

As soon as we started shuffling toward the train station we spotted Fausto and Franca, my Italian host parents. With smiles, hugs, and kisses, we were reunited. I introduced them to Bonnie, excited to share with her the experience of the Medford-Alba Gemellaggio (sister city program). After a gelato, laughter, and a drive up to their house in Diano d’Alba, they led us into the room where we would stay, the same room I slept in 7 years ago, the first time I came to Alba with the Medford-Alba student exchange. With a wave of emotion and peace in my heart, I was home. 

A sense of “home” is unique after being away from Oregon for 5+ months. Italy being our ninth country on our Eurotrip, we’ve been on our fair share of trains, planes, and automobiles. The ever-changing cycle of AirBnB beds and google searching “top ten things to do in (insert city name here)”, had become our routine. We spent the next three weeks in Alba, and the experience was amplified as my parents joined us for a week and a half. 

This was a chance to be a citizen, to live like a local halfway around the world, and to sit around a dinner table with friends and enjoy a meal together. We went go-karting, enjoyed many aperitifs (shoutout to Cichin, our favorite bar of the trip), had take-out pizza by the pool on a summer’s night, saw people out on the town for the first time since high school, and even took a ten hour road trip in the middle of the night for a concert in Perugia—truly refreshing for the spirit.

After many goodbyes, we boarded our Flixbus out of town. As we pulled away, I couldn’t help but feel the same nostalgic emotions. Alba is a charming community, with so much history and flavor, but time after time, it’s the human experience, the friendships that I cherish the most. It’s a sense of belonging, 5,500 miles from Oregon.

Alba is home.

Next Up: Bulgaria

Peace be the journey,

Cody

*The Medford, Oregon-Alba, Italy Sister City Program started back in 1960 as a way to build international friendships. A student exchange formally took off in the 1980s and has grown ever since, now sending a group of 30 Medford students every two years to stay with host families. This exchange happens in the spring, and then the Italian students come and stay in Medford in the fall. A cultural and friendship exchange in the purest sense. Interested in Medford-Alba? Visit: www.medfordalba.com