Travel Resources - Home Educators Association of Virginia

Homeschooling Through ItalyStacey IpsanLocarno, SwitzerlandAdream vacation! A chance of a lifetime!An unforgettable experience!Our family trip to Italy was all thatand more. But it didn’t just drop in our laps.Time, planning, patience, flexibility, and agood sense of humor had their parts to play.Eighteen years ago, Michael and I traveledto Italy for a two-week whirlwind tripfrom Milan to Sicily. It was romantic andspontaneous and great fun. We promisedeach other we’d go back for an extendedstay, like maybe a year. Wow! What a goal.Nine months later our first baby wasborn, and in quick succession came threemore little blessings. Through the diapers,car seats, sleepless nights, and toilet-training,we kept the dream alive. Michael and I wouldlook at each other and with a wink whisper,“Italy.” But the date of departure was alwaystwo years away. Eventually, even at theirsweet ages, our children caught on. Over ahigh chair or when driving long distanceswith three screaming children in car seats, I’dwhisper to my husband, “Italy”, and beforehe could respond, one of our little darlingswould calmly announce, “Two more years!”Finally, one day, when our 15-year-oldwas laughing at my Italy goal, I couldn’tstand it any longer. It had become a character-trainingissue—goal setting or perseveranceor self-respect—something. I sawbefore us a window in our lives that was freeof diaper bags, naps, and SATs, and I dovethrough it. I announced to anyone whowould listen that we, the six Ipsans, weregoing to Italy in the fall for a year. Ciao!My husband is self-employed and wehomeschool, so I figured we could just packup, rent the house, and go for it. Michael,who is more level-headed, gently reined usin until our trip to Italy had been pared to asix-week stay. Better than nothing, vero?I had thirty-six days until departuredate. No sweat, vero?Pulling Together the ItineraryI LOVED planning for this trip. Ispent hour upon obsessive-compulsive houron the Internet searching for great, cheapplaces to stay, important sites to visit so wecould meet our newly established WesternCivilization requirements, transportationoptions, and the best itinerary choices. Myeyes would get blurry looking at wineries,volcanoes, and castles to visit. All this while,our children hung over my shoulders staringat the possibilities ahead.Michael had given me full responsibilityfor the itinerary as long as I kept within thebudget. It was a lot of responsibility for meand I didn’t always like it, but I understoodhe was very busy with the decisions thathad to be made on this side of the Atlantic,wrapping up business, getting employeesset-up at jobs that needed to run smoothlywhile we were away and, pre-paying bills.So I agreed to do all the planning for thatside of the Atlantic as long as he didn’t complain—aboutanything. And he never did.I decided to start us off in the northand make a loop around the boot. It becameclear that hotels were out of the question. Iwould have to hit the lottery before six ofus could stay in hotels for six weeks. So Istarted thinking “beach-house rentals” andfound that in Italy, just like here, you canrent cottages or villas for a week at the beachor in the mountains or in the country. Insteadof $300 a day, I could spend $350 aweek. Praying first, I searched the Internetfor cozy, inexpensive villas in or near allthe places I wanted to stay. It was a leap offaith when I booked those places. We wereblessed—all but one turned out to be awesome,though I arranged most of our accommodationsfrom the comfort of my home.PackingWhile Michael wrapped up business, Ipacked up the family. I will never over-packagain after learning how little one needs. Eachof us got one backpack for clothes and toiletriesand one tote bag for CD players, books,cameras, cards, journals, and schoolwork. Weeach had three outfits: one for warm weather,one for cool weather, and one in case we wentsomewhere nice. The kids’ packs were nothingmore than book-bags on wheels. We hadone duffel bag full of shoes, and that was it.16 l The Virginia Home Educator