Ecuador- land of textures and music

Buenos Diaz Mi Amigas and Amigos!

This tortoise weighs 300 pounds and is about 175 years old!!!
Found in the Galapagos! More Galapagos pics to add to blog tomorrow!

Back on USA soil and it is good to be here. Ecuador is a fascinating place, a developing country that has learned lessons from those countries who have been highly industrialized for many years.....

The people are warm, friendly, and very positive toward Americans....something that I always wonder about as I'm traveling to other countries. I'll never forget the school girls who gathered around us wanting to be close to "the Americans" who were helping in their community.

The children of Ecuador, even the most destitute, are treated with extreme love and kindness....they are held in mother's arms or swathed in shawls on the backs of grandmothers. They spend a lot of time with family because school hours are short.

I think that I understand now that Latin Americans revere their language almost as much as the French. Speaking English is not a necessity in Ecuador, except maybe in the international business community. I am determined to learn conversational Spanish!

The Ecuadorian people are extremely proud of their indigenous music and folk dances.....and they should be. Singing and dancing, like silver threads, is woven throughout everyday life.

I will always remember the children and tias of Calderon with the utmost fondness. They taught me so very much about the important things in life!

Ecuador is a place of gorgeous people, uplifting music and dance, tremendous texture in their woven fabrics and crafts.

Ecuadorians are the most industrious people I have ever seen!!!!

I believe that the Ecuadorian people are very accepting of others, not judgmental.


Concerning the national Galapagos Park system.....
They are determined to protect the many endemic species of the Galapagos. It is to their credit that the many seal lions, tortoises, booby birds (yes, that's what they are called), albatrosses, iguanas, frigits, and others are not afraid of humans. In fact, most animals were merely curious at our presence and not the least bit threatened. How very special to fall asleep on a Galapagos beach and wake up to find a baby sea lion lying next to you on the sand.

Our final day at the center- very emotional

Buenos Dias Mi Amigas and Amigos!

Sadly, today was our last day with the beautiful tias and niños of Calderon. The nuevo volunteers used our bus ride over in the morning to rehearse a traditional Spanish folk song ¨De Colores¨ which we planned to sing as our part of the fiesta in our honor. In my role as default music director, I copied the song from the internet that I had also taught to many of my music students through the years. As we sang, several of the ladies harmonized to the Spanish melody and the effect was really quite lovely!

When we arrived at the center, the tias were preparing a feast for us....and I do mean traditional Ecuadorean feast replete with corn on the cob, fava beans, tomatoes, two kinds of potatoes, sopa or soup, fried chicken, fried pork chop, fried corn that is unlike popcorn, but tastes similar. THANKFULLY, THERE WAS NO RICE IN SIGHT!!!!

Around 10 o´clock the children put on traditional Ecuadorean clothing that they actually wear for traditional holidays. I will post photos as soon as I am able because these are priceless. The children and tias had rehearsed traditional dances all week to surprise us on our last day. It was a tearful and memorable performance by these lovely little ones. I will never forget how earnestly they maneuvered through traditional dance steps. The 5 year old group performed an especially difficult dance that was very impressive. The dances are often performed in their every day life because music and dance is infused in Ecuadorean culture.

Costumes were hand made embroidery and lace with the black hats, shawls. Boys wore the gauchos and hats and shawls! Can´t wait for you to see the pics.

Our group of volunteers had made paper mache maracas earlier in the week and we played these as we sang our song about all of the colors of the rainbow....all of the colors of the world.
The children were mesmerized that we sang to them with such beauty in their native tongue.

Later the tias and other local volunteers invited us, the American volunteers to dance with them. Delightful display of solidarity, mutual respect, and abiding friendship.

I´m going to meet Gene at another hotel where we will embark on yet another adventure....THE GALAPAGOS! Many photos of the gorgeous islands to follow!

Buenos Noches!
Chow!
Joanna

vignettes of yesterday

PHOTOS OF ECUADORIAN FOLK BALLET

Well, this is my 3rd try and I´m in a determined race to beat the technology gods who keep bumping me off my blog before I save it! Life in a developing country. Good news is that I feel great today, have an appetite, had a hot shower, and fresh coffee awaits!!!! Muchos Gracias to the ethos!

Yesterday we painted the children´s feet....yellow-amarillo and blue-azul! Purpose, just to have fun in the bright, glorious Ecuadorean sunshine and provide a cooling respite for little feet....lots of love and tickles! I miss being a child sometimes.

One of the toddlers is very ill, possibly with pneumonia according to our nurse practicioners on the team. The child has not been taken to the hospital even though they have free public option!!! Why, because they have to get up very early and wait in line. Only the first 15 patients get admitted! Welcome to capitation.

The tias decided to swath the sick baby in lemon juice which is a folk treatment that they very much follow. I may try this myself and I hope for little Analia´s sake that it works. I really wanted to hold her and rock her all day.

Funny thing, while sitting inside a classroom near an open window, a bird flew over and dropped his business all over my shoulders. Perfecto! The tias hastened to assure me that, in Ecuador, this is excellent luck!!!!! We´ll see.

After work, still feeling pretty lousy myself, I made an impromptu appointment for a massage at the spa across from the hotel. I just needed the back, neck, and shoulders attended to. Well, to my great fortune I got Fabian...no not like the one on the front of the cheesy novels...This was a lovely, young Ecuadorean master of massage who showed me to a table in a room full of gentle breezes. There was none of that spa music in the background, just the sound of him singing an Ecuadorean song. He laughed at my inability to comprendo a lot of his speech. I know muy little Spanish...He know nada English.

Last night the team went to a fine Ecuadorean restaurant in old town where I ate my espanadas with much gusto, but was not allowed sangria by the team nurses! They did ask the musician to play Happy Birthday as they sang a good old American round of the beloved song. The nine of us shared a piece of chocolate cake and it proved to be one of the best birthday surprises ever!

Breakfast awaits and this is the last day!
Te quiera!
Joann

quick vignettes of the past couple of days

After four days of feeling very under the weather, I have returned to the land of the living! I feel great and ready to meet the challenges of the center.....
GLOBAL VOLUNTEERS



TIAS

Yesterday, we led the children outside into the glorious Ecuadorean sunshine. The weather was perfect and felt much like a summer day at our beloved cabin in West Virginia except for the intensity of the sun. The children sat along a low concrete wall and we painted their feet with a brush (right foot amillo (yellow) left foot azul (blue). This is an activity that I've used in America with my preschoolers, but here in Calderon its only purpose was to provide a cooling sensation to hot feet and love /tickles. Made we long to be a child again!

I think it would take a long time to understand this culture and its many complexities. For example, there was a very sick little toddler who was brought to the center yesterday. We have 3 nurse practitioners on this team so we are well covered for medical help. They believe that this child has pneumonia and gently urged the tias to seek medical help. A note here....Ecuador has a two tier system both public and private. This child could receive public care free, but they must wake up very early in the morning and stand in line. The public hospital only takes about 20 new patients a day!!!!! The tias performed a ritual of rubbing this dangerously ill child with lemons in an effort to bring down her fever. Later in the afternoon, tia Paty pronounced that the child was better due to the lemon poultice! Hope so. If it works I'm going to try it on myself!

Funny episode....While leaning against an open window while sitting inside the center, a bird flew over and deposited his business all over my shoulders. The tia hastened to tell me that this is very good luck in Ecuador????

Last night all of the volunteers went to a fine traditional Ecuadorean restaurant in old town Quito. This was a lovely place and, for the first time this week, I actually had an appetite as I feasted on espanadaditas! At the end of the meal, the volunteers had arranged for the musicians to play happy birthday as they sang. The waiter brought a single candle in a wooden frame with a monk (who looked like a miniature Friar Tuck). What a birthday surprise that was!

I

Schtunking

SCHTUNKING is a Yiddish term that I just learned from Glenda, a fellow volunteer! It is pronounced by puckering one's lips as though you are about to kiss a chimpanzee! Also, it is loosely defined as the fine art of doing exactly what you want to do when you want to do it....or doing absolutely nothing at all!
This concept is anathema to most Americans who are usually trying to cram 15 activities into a given time slot. I plan to become an expert.

Okay, it' s early in the morning. I had a lukewarm shower followed by day old coffee. If I have to see another plate of rice and potatoes, I might stage a revolt. I feel the "ugly American" oozing through my pores. We are definitely a spoiled lot.

Anyway, I'm driven to post my perception of the children's center as seen through my American prism. First of all, I've been sick with some unknown malady which has stolen my appetite, made me achy, and stripped me the rosy glow of working with the kids. I still love them, respect them, just wish I could do more.

The irony is that this group of volunteers is very talented...3 nurses, preschool teachers, artists, musicians. They don't want our expertise; they don't want these Americans telling them the better way to do things.

Children at the center are expected to sit patiently as the tias organize their art activities, ETC.
In my life I've never seen children so well behaved. It's cultural to be able to sit and wait. American children would be jumping out of the window. The children of Ecuador are expert schtunkers! American children are rushed, over stimulated.

I don't know what the answer is. The children eat home cooked food; no processed food. And, they must eat it all. Food is not to be wasted.

On the flip side, the Ecuadorean kids are expected to adhere to the institutional schedule of the center. Center schedule trumps sleepy child. Food is rather shoveled into their mouths, but this seems to be the way of the culture.

Tias wash bibs on a scrub board outside. There are no microwaves, washing machines, copy machines. To my American experience, it seems like they do things the hard way. Yet, they are extremely industrious. Whereas Americans look for the easy way out; Ecuadoreans take the simple approach. Appliances break! Good for them.

I just need to accept their ways as legitimate even though they are quite different from my own.

Ecuadoreans schtunk...Americans (according to Samuel Coleridge) hear time's winged chariot always at their backs. Each culture has much to learn from the other!

Hasta Manana

Observations about Ecuadorean culture after a single week

Images of the Orchid garden in the Mindo Cloud Forest Preserve



The Ecuadorean people are absolutely beautiful! Even though they eat a diet very rich in rice, potatoes, corn, and legumes, they are trim. They take great pride in their appearance, and cleanliness is paramount. Some resemble Spaniards, some resemble indigenous Amerindians. 3% are black. Most are short with lovely medium brown skin and striking brown- black eyes...thick black, shiny hair.

Ecuador uses American currency interchangeable with their own. It´s very common to get change consisting of American quarters or dimes mixed with Ecuadoran dollar coins. Twenty dollar bills are almost impossible to change and they much prefer five and ten dollar bills. This is a reflection of the extremely low cost of living here.

Driving in Ecuador is insane. Even though there are highway lines, most people seem to ignore them. While in the bus to our many day trips, we noticed that vehicles often passed 6 other vehicles in pairs while on very winding two lane highways. Yikes!

Taxi drivers will drive around without a clue as to where they are supposed to take a patron, often asking directions from fellow cab drivers on the road.

Quito has rolling black outs every day across the city....electricity is rationed. Internet service is sporadic because so many people are trying to tax the system at once. This accounts for my difficulty in using my blog!

The sewer system is very fragile and we are not allowed to put toilet paper in any of the toilets in this country!

Most houses are behind walls for safety. Houses are built of cinder blocks reinforced with rebar and then overlaid with plaster. Many walls are covered with graffiti.

Crime, particularly robbery, is rampant.

Hot water comes and goes....mostly goes!

No one speaks English!!!!! They are very tolerant of Americans who try to speak Spanish though.

We have seen almost NO Americans since arriving a week ago.

Many more observations, but I thought these would interest you, my friends.

Wish I had more time to insert Spanish, but I never know when the internet is going to crash!!!!!

Hasta Manana!

Sunday trip to Mindo Cloud Forest

We traveled through Quito heading west across the mystical Andes to the rainy western side of the mountains. The drive took us up and then gradually down through the dry desert of the outskirts of Quito to lush and verdant green countryside.

Our first stop was the overlook of the pristine village of Puluawa, a gorgeous village of 3,000 indigenous people who live in the green, patchwork farmland crater of a volcano. Good news is that this volcano has not erupted since 500 BC and the families have lived there for hundreds of years. From our aerial view we could see white farmhouses with red clay tiled roofs. Sleepy cows and sheet dotted the land. All framed by Andes mountains shrouded in clouds....

I met an Indian man who was selling wooden flutes that he made by hand. We played the flutes together and this was great fun!

Second stop was at the Sachatamia Hummingbird preserve. Built of wood and mostly glass with bay windows, sky lights and windows all around and afforded a panoramic view of 8 species of hummingbirds buzzing around the many feeders. Watching them was a true zen experience because they are such a fleeting rare beauty in my world.

Next we rode to the charming town of Mindo which serves as the gateway to the Mindo Cloud Forest and Preserve. We drove through the town of a few hundred people and meandered over a dirt road riddled with pot holes to the cable gondola that took us at a frightening height across the river to the falls trail. This was like zip lining in a group! Great fun!

Once we got to the other side we descended a steep hiking trail to the water falls where the brave were jumping from a 30 foot cliff in a 24 foot deep mountain pool. We crossed a foot suspension bridge to get a better look at the falls. The bridge looked like it could collapse at any moment!

Observation...Ecuador has very lax safety in these public parks. Americans would never tolerate a bridge and- or cable gondola in that dilapidated condition.

Eventually, we had a fabulous lunch back at Mindo town. This place reminded me of Dodge City in the Gunsmoke series from the 50´s. Dirt roads, but many taverns or saloons where the locals meet and bring their guitars, mandolins, and percussion instruments for jamming together. Loved this! The restaurant was very quaint with a big stone fireplace and plaster walls painted in bright colors.



This is a woman who is roasting coffee by hand in a coffee plantation high up on the western side of the Andes! I bought some fresh, hot coffee beans for Gene, my coffee aficionado!

Saturday on the Road to Atovalo

We left the hotel this morning around 8 o´clock for a relaxing, albeit lengthy, day of just being tourists. We traveled about 1 hour until we reached our first stop....the equator!!!!
As I straddled the Equator, a line that is created with stones after much Scientific research into it´s exact location, I got a big laugh out of being in the northern and southern hemisphere at the same time. LOL

Later we were allowed into the home of one of the indigenous ladies to take a bathroom break and to admire her hand made jewelry and her husband´s wooden sculptures....really pretty. I ended up buying a lovely beaded bracelet and necklace for the grand total of $5. This fact brings me to another observation about Ecuador...they use American currency interchangeably with their own. Also, their cost of living is so cheap that they will not be able to accept or make change for a $20 bill!!!! Remarkable. The paradox is, and believe me when I say this country is full of paradoxes, the ATM´s only dispense twenty dollar bills. Wow!

I should mention that her lovely bathroom had a marble tub, stone floor, a German made toilet, and American soap products. A Micky Mouse towel hung by the sink.

We gave a couple of young girls a ride on our van to Atovalo. As they rode with us, wearing the indigenous clothing consisting of white blouse with floral embroidery and black hats and shawls...long black skirts, they sang songs of their people. Was I in Heaven or what question mark. Sorry, but the keys are very different on these computers and I haven´t figured out where the question mark is yet.

We also bought some beautiful hand made alpaca scarves from the girls for $3 a piece!

We finally arrived in the incredible market town of Atovalo where a shopper can browse through winding alley ways replete with hand made sweaters, scarves, hand bags, toys, musical instruments, street vendors. I was interested in finding hand made Ecuadorean sweaters for Ukiah and Anahli! Such a fun experience bargaining in Spanish. I made one vendor so angry that he asked me if I was from Israel....Take that any way you want to. I was insulted on behalf of the entire Jewish race and refused to buy anything from him!

Other vendors were quite fun about the bargaining process and Meredith, especially, had a field day. Her purchases are a surprise, though.

We had a wonderful lunch in the nearby Cotochoco or Leather Town. This place is famous for its local, hand made leather items. I found a leather backpack for $24 in cash! I wish I could have had more time to buy these beautiful and very affordable leather crafted goods.

Well, time for dinner! Hasta Manana....Wish I could download my I phone pics to this computer.

Day 5 Expect Miracles!

Buenos Dias Mi Amigas,

I´ll write quickly because this is my 3rd attempt and the internet is not cooperating. Also, I´ll try to incorporate some Spanish. It´s been a goal to learn some phrasing and single words because there are very few folks in Ecuador who speak a single word of English....very humbling for this gringo!

The children´s Center has proven to be a place of many paradoxes as is most of Ecuador. Children are kept fastidiously clean to the extent if they get a single spot on clothing, it´s changed immediately. The children are as well kept, if not better, than most middle class American kids.
It´s been fun getting to know them, mainly through hugs, smiles, and other facial expressions as we learn their language. I've learned that these kids are able to sit, attend to task, and do not expect to be entertained at every moment. I've become quite fond of the three year-olds especially. Later I´ll tell some stories about them.

The food that the kids eat is quite interesting...always soup followed by creamed fruit, rice and vegetables. Yesterday I watched them eat their bowls of creamed soup garnished with a freshly boiled chicken foot. This they ate with relish, particularly a little girl named Darling who even ate the toes!!!!

Since it was Friday, the tias or teachers cleaned all the toys and bed sheets by washing them in a large tub of cold water and soap in the play yard. They are very clean although not so worried about germs. Toothbrushes are kept in a common cup upside down and children sleep two to a crib. Our American OSHA would be up in arms. Kids are miraculously healthy.

Yesterday we also went to a public school where the young girls attend in the morning, coed in the afternoon, and adults at night. No resources are wasted. Girls were muy bonita in their navy uniforms. As we walked into their play yard, the little girls swarmed us as bees to honey. They wanted to warmly greet us in the little amount of English that they were learning at school. One little girl came up to me and annnounced ÿellow which I later understood meant to be hello! Very touching experience which brought me to tears. It´s good to feel loved for being American.

Last night we were invited by our Jewish friends to attend a synogogue sabbath service. This was magical....a beautiful place. It was led in part by a young girl who was having her batmitzfa this weekend. Later, we had wine under a white canopy in a portico decorated with tea lights and crystal hanging from the trees. Colored lights every where....magical.

Today we go to Atovalo Market two hours north of Quito. Looking forward to bargains and hand made gifts for you!!!!! We´ll see the Equator as well as a volcano and a lake! The photo above is Atovalo market showing indigenous Amerindians in native dress that they wear daily! The smiling lady had just sold me a beautiful hand woven bag. After a very funny round of bargaining that resulted in a sing song between the two of us, I bought the bag for diaz dollars....
the bidding started at twenty!

Hasta Luego!
Love

Day 4 Live in the Moment

We arrived at Center 2 and were greeted in the usual warm and loving way. Today I continued work on the mural and (I must say) my little Ecuadorean princess is looking much better now that she has her mocha colored face, brown-black eyes, and black hair. I'm loving this....
Estoy tan feliz!

Later I found myself in the garden weeding the Ecuadorean way. This means using NO LAWN MOWER or other fancy tools. We cut the grass with very dull hedge clippers and placed the cuttings in a potato bag. Some of the locals volunteered as well and I was surprised to see a grandmother with a baby wrapped in a shawl on her back chopping weeds with us. She was obviously one of the Indigenous Indian looking ladies of Calderon.

Observation: The folks of Calderon do not like to have their photos taken....something about taking their spirit away from them. I've also found this to be true with some of the native American Indian tribes.

We walked to lunch through the streets of Calderon and through the outdoor market.


Observation: Food is locally grown, very fresh, and there is a large variety given to their wonderful year round growing climate. At 10,000 feet altitude the days are warm(70 degrees) and the nights are a refeshing 55-60 degrees.

Many more observations, but I will post them later as I can. It's time for breakfast of fresh fruit, cheese, bread and very strong coffee!

hasta luega!

Day 3 Don't Hide Your Light Under a Bushel

This post will probably seem like a stream of consciousness list of observations. Each moment has been packed with new discoveries and I feel much like a young child who is trying to learn proper customs and a new language!

Also, computers and electricity rather come and go in this land so the very act of blogging has been a challenge....Here goes and I write about Wednesday even though it's Friday. I'm on Ecuador time as they say.

I continued to work on my mural at the center. The fact that I'm not an artist seems not to concern the other volunteers, but I have discovered that painting, like singing, puts one's ego on the clothes line for all to see. The art is relaxing as i paint standing in Equatorial sunlight with 72 degree breezes blowing through my hair and the song of exotic birds wafting through my window. I am very happy.....Es toy tan feliz!

In the afternoon, I was asked to lead some American folk songs for the entire school. Aha! Now I'm in my element. The children and "tias" circled around and I led them through Ring Around the Rosie, Row your Boat, If You're Happy and you Know it. They actually know and sing these same songs in Spanish! I then got a translator who helped while I told the children the story of the Wild bird followed by the game and song. This was a hit with the Ecuadorean children just as it has been with my American students.

Observation....people around the world are more alike than different.

In the afternoon, Meredith and I ventured to a coffee shop where we tried to order skinny cappachinos....very funny.

Observation: There are very few English speaking folk in Quito or Calderon and they really try to understand, but are obviously amused in a friendly way. I must learn Spanish...Debo aprender espanol!

Day Two Carpe Diem- Seize the Day

Day Two was one of those really perfect days that happens every once in a while. Meredith and I are getting to know the other volunteers a little better and have been quite taken with their wisdom, humor, and open heartedness.

We arrived at the center and were met at the door by Pati´ who greeted each of us with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and a resounding Buenos Dias. This is the custom in Ecuador and it is considered rude if you do not hug and kiss each greeter.

Today I spent a couple of hours working with the children in the Art rincone or ¨center¨ as it would be called in America. Observation....the children are extremely attentive to the teachers and volunteers. They are expected to sit in chairs as lessons are being set out for them and they do this willingly. On this day, the kids traced their names and glued ¨bonitas¨ or small balls of tissue paper along the lines as though they were created dots.

I was soon pulled out of this room because I had volunteered to paint murals on the upper floor that is now under construction. As it turned out, I was expected to also draw the mural!!! I am not an artist....I repeat, I am not an artist. However, in the spirit of coorperation I found a drawing of a princess in a coloring book and proceeded to draw this design on a wall. Unbelievable....afterall the catch phrase for the day was carpe diem! As I drew, I discovered that I was really enjoying the bright sun shining over my shoulders and the bird song beyond the window. I was very happy, in fact.

At lunch, I went back down stairs and helped with the proceedings. The children are fed very nutritious meals that are traditional to Ecuador. On this day it was a squash soup followed by onions, pig skin, and potatoes over boiled rice. Rice and potatoes are a staple in every meal-lunch and dinner. Interestingly, the children are expected to clean their plates and drink all of their fruit juice. Exotic fruit juices seem to be served at every Ecuadorean meal. In fact I had never heard of many of these fruits. We have had mango, papayo, orange, pineapple, guava, and many others. After lunch the children were all put down side by side cross ways in the twin size beds with about 4 children to a bed. They are all expected to nap and they do this willingly.

Observation...the Ecuadorean children do not seem to be in need of constant entertainment as are our American children...generally speaking. They are treated with great love and respect, but they are expected to follow the rules. They brush their teeth, wash their hands and move their little chairs from room to room.

I have gotten particularly fond of the 4 year olds as they seem to be the kids that I´m with the most. Have I mentioned that they children are beautiful

Anthony is very outspoken and loves art. Paulita is a gorgeous little girl with the most amazing green eyes. Kevin loves to ask me my name and give me a hug. Jonathan loves to hold my hand.
Sebastien seems to be the class leader among the 4 year olds.

At the end of the day, I was asked by the teachers to come sing soft songs to the children! So, here I am being the music teacher again. I do miss it. The children seem to respond to my singing, a fact which makes me very happy.

Meredith and I went to the local mall just to get a cup of real cappacino...hope I´m spelling that correctly. We ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel except the driver didn´t have a clue where our hotel was located. He ended up asking other taxi drivers in the traffic for directions to our hotel. This was rather scary because we could sense that we were getting very far away from our destination. We finally got back within a couple of blocks of our hotel and gave that driver $4 American money.

That night after dinner, Martine and Andreas came by to give the group free Salsa lessons. So much fun to learn this Latin dance. So we really fulfilled the challenge to Seize the Day. I´ll begin to write specific stories about some of the children as I get to know them better.

Buenos Dias day one

Traveling from Quito to Calderon, a city of approximately 200,000, took only about 20 minutes and offered a panaramic view of the Andes. The center is in two facilities, one that is adjacent to the large fresh produce market in Calderon, the other about 2 miles away.
The day was very full, but working with the very efficient teachers proved to run very smoothly.
The nine volunteers entered the center and were thrilled when these beautiful children smiled shyly at us and greeted us with their sweet, ¨Buenos Dias.¨ I volunteered to work in the art room, but soon found myself in my default mode of singing songs. What better way to break the language barrier than with a rousing round of If You´re Happy and You Know It! This, as it turned out was familiar to the children, although they know it in Spanish. We sang it first in English, then Spanish.
Amazing how music seems to unite our big world. Soon, we were assisting with more art projects and I learned some additional Spanish words....papel, crayones, ETC. Refreshing to know that children are pretty much the same everywhere. There were many hugs and smiles and I am mucho happy!