Expo Latino

This morning, Abby and Anne both performed in an Expo Latino that was put on by their school. It was put on to show the diverse cultures of the Latino countries. Otto was at work, so I reluctantly took Caroline and Dustin by myself (trust me, this is not an easy task!!). I was early enough to get a front row seat and watch my two beautiful girls do their dances. Abby's dance was actually a bunch of children's dance games that was really neat to watch. Anne's dance was the national dance of Columbia. Both of the girls were dressed in pretty, colorful dresses and both of them looked great!!
As I was watching my girlies dance on the stage, I was so proud of them. Not just because both of my kids have great rythym (which they get from me of course. . . .their daddy is an engineer. . . need I say more?), but because my girls are learning more than just a language. For those of you who don't know, both Abby and Anne attend a Spanish school. Otto served a mission in Chile and felt strongly that he wanted his children to learn Spanish. I was a bit concerned because I don't speak the language, but it has turned out to be great! I am learning more and more spanish every day and watching the girls learn about other cultures makes me so happy. These girls are learning about countries that have different backgrounds than theirs. They are learning that there are people in this world who don't have the same quality of life that they have, and yet they are happy. They are learning about other religions and thus asking more questions about their own religion. They are learning about other holidays and having fun doing it. They are able to taste food from other parts of the world and attend festivals that celebrate these cultures. Having the girls attend a Spanish school has really taught them more about life than just about a language.
When Caroline and I were waiting for the concert to begin, she noticed that there were some blankets on the wall that looked like the ones that we got when we went on our family cruise to Mexico. She also noticed a dress that looked like the one that she also got down there. It made me really want to go back to Mexico with the kids because we had so much fun down there. The girls were able to speak Spanish to the merchants at the markets and everyone wanted to touch their heads because they hadn't ever seen such fair children speak such good spanish. The girls were so proud of themselves when they got to buy their special Mexical dolls themselves and they loved attending a concert that taught them about the history of the Latino culture through dance.
All in all, I have to say that there are many decisions that I have made in my life that I wish that I could change, but sending my girls to a school that teaches them more than just a language, is probably one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Would I do it again. . . . YES!!!