The Trip of a Lifetime

Anna Grosso couldn't wait to get her braces off. With two painful years of orthodontic adjustments behind her, she was ready for the big day. The visit to Dr. Flynn's was like a victory party. Hooray! she thought. I'll be free at last! It seemed as if the entire procedure passed with lightning speed. She emerged from the office suite with a brand new smile. Her overbite had disappeared and her teeth were straight and shiny. Anna felt like a million dollars. She had a lot to look forward to. Her parents had promised her a cell phone as a reward for good dental hygiene. She could hardly contain herself. She had to be the happiest girl in the seventh grade!

It didn't take long for her to learn how to use her priceless gadget. She loved talking and sending messages to her friends. Of course she had to be careful about how many calls she made, but it was a small price to pay for her newfound popularity. School even seemed like a lot more fun. Before she knew it, summer vacation had arrived.

Anna practically flew out of the school building on her last day. With her improved smile and her phone, she was on top of the world. Little did she know that she had a surprise in store. He parents had planned a family trip to Italy!

"Oh, Mom!" Anna pleaded. "Couldn't we just stay here? I just want to hang out! You know. The pool. The mall. I'll miss all the fun!"

"Trust me, Anna. You're going to love Italy," her mother assured her. "There's so much to see and everyone is so nice. And the food is fantastico !".

Anna tried to believe her, but she had her doubts. She hoped she'd be able to use her cell phone in Italy. That might help.

The family spent the next few days getting ready. Their anticipation grew as they bought summer outfits, bathing suits, and sandals, not to mention all the gifts for the relatives. Mrs. Grosso explained to Anna and her sister Elizabeth that they would begin their journey in Rome and then stay in Raiano, the tiny farm village where she was born. Though Anna was a bit nervous, she had to admit that she was curious. Anna's grandparents still lived in their original home. The family would stay in the same house where Anna's mother was born. It all sounded pretty cool.

"Hurry, up, Anna! Elizabeth, how many CDs are you trying to stuff in that carry-on? That thing already weighs a ton!" Their dad's patience was evaporating. But the girls couldn't help it. Neither of them knew Italian. They would be stuck in a foreign country. They were going to need all the backup they could get.

Finally, everyone's luggage was loaded into the car. Hours later, they boarded the plane that would take them across the ocean.

Upon arrival, everyone was exhausted. They found their hotel and crashed for the night. In the morning they would tour the ancient streets of Rome.

The capital city was amazing. It was loud and vibrant, and so much history was evident in the architecture. Anna marveled at how different it all seemed. She was so intrigued by the sights that she kept the volume of her disc player turned way down. She hardly reached for her phone. Her mom kept trying to talk about her hometown, though. Plainly she looked forward to the visit. Everything, she said, would be simpler there. Mrs. Grosso hoped Anna and Elizabeth would adjust well and secretly wished they'd all become closer.

Nothing could have prepared Anna for Raiano. It was like a page from a storybook. The sun was blazing in a dazzling blue sky. The green mountains rising all around were capped with snow. The air was sweet and clean. The houses were painted in soft pastel shades of coral and jade and yellow and cream. Shoppers strolled home from the open-air market carrying mesh bags filled with oranges and tomatoes and long loaves of bread. People lingered on shady benches and children played in the park in front her grandparents' house. It seemed as if she had been magically transported in time to a medieval city with public squares and cobblestone streets.

The homes they visited had regular phones on their kitchen walls, and washing machines, television sets, and refrigerators. Automobiles were everywhere too, but the pace in Raiano was easygoing. No one was in a rush. Most people didn't even own a computer and, strangely, they didn't seem to mind. Anna wondered what her Italian peers did for fun. "Do they sit and watch the grass grow?" she asked her mom.

After a day or two, Anna began to miss her friends back home. She wanted so much to call and talk with some of them, but her cell phone wasn't working in Raiano. Text messaging was out of the question. Her parents asked around to find someone with a computer. The doctor's office had one, but she was too embarrassed to ask to use it. Her dad suggested writing letters or postcards. It was ages since she had actually done that.

"Maybe," her mom added, "you could start a journal. It might be fun to read it to your friends when you get back home."

Anna thought about keeping the journal, but she wished she could watch music videos instead or play her favorite computer games.

There was a bowling alley in town, but the parking lot was always empty. The single movie theatre advertised one film, but of course it was in Italian. And Anna never saw anyone going in there either. In the tiny business district were several cute shops, but, if you wanted a mall, you had to drive 30 minutes to the city. Yet the parks and plazas were filled with people, young and old. Everyone was laughing, telling stories, taking leisurely strolls, or sitting at outdoor tables sipping cappuccino. Groups of teens gathered in the shade or outside the ice cream shop.

By the third day, Anna summoned up enough courage to try making new friends. She bravely walked up to a group of girls and repeated the lines of Italian she had rehearsed with her mother. Luckily, some of the girls knew a little English.

The girls were friendly and excited to meet her. They asked many questions about life in Chicago. Anna tried to find out more about them too. When she showed them her phone and explained how it worked, they were amused. They told her they were working on a play to be performed when school started, and invited her to a rehearsal. She found out they were also members of a dance club that met every Thursday night. They even introduced her to the boys who played on the soccer team and invited her to watch a game. That night Anna and her sister joined them for the best pizza ever.

Much too quickly, the Grosso family vacation came to an end. Somehow Anna had survived without making a single phone call. She had been afraid she'd be bored to sleep. Instead, she came to enjoy small-town life. Anna and Elizabeth even got to know each other better. Her new friends had taught her how to have fun just by enjoying one anothers' company. Anna could see that there was more to life than the Internet and the mall.

When the Grosso family reached home, Anna couldn't wait to tell her friends about the trip. She reached for her phone to call her friend Marie, but then quickly tucked it away. Maybe she'd walk around the block to visit her in person instead.

1.	SEQUENCE What events occurred in Anna's life before summer vacation?
2.	SEQUENCE What events occurred in Anna's life before summer vacation?
3.	PARAPHRASE In your own words, retell how Anna and her mother feel about the trip.
4.	NOTES What notes would you take to remember how the Grosso family prepares for the trip to Italy?
5.	CONNECT Have you ever visited a new place? How did you feel as you prepared for the trip?
6.	PRIOR KNOWLEDGE What do you know about medieval towns?
7.	INFER What do you think the Italian young people did for fun?
8.	INFER Why do you suppose the Raiano bowling alley and movie theatre were empty?
9.	PROBLEM/SOLUTION How does Anna cure her boredom?
10.	SUMMARIZE Summarize how Anna has changed by the end of the story.