I once read that smiling is a universal language. After watching my kids interact with local children in Peru and now Bolivia, I would say that play is also universal. Kids run, chase, hide, and giggle everywhere, and extraneous words that neither group can understand are apparently wholly unnecessary.

While walking across the main plaza in Ollantaytambo, an Andean village in the Sacred Valley, I saw my 8 year old stick out her tongue at someone. I couldn’t see the recipient of her rude behavior, but I immediately chastised her and was genuinely surprised at her behavior.

She sheepishly looked at me, embarrassed by my reaction, and said that she was making faces at the Peruvian school girls nestled in between some bushes along the road. I glanced over and saw these sweet faces laughing and exchanging wacky looks. They were obviously waiting for my girl to jump back into the game, and who am I to impede cross-cultural silliness? I told her to carry on, and this across-the-way crazy face exchange led to my daughter’s first ever “conversation” in Spanish.

I later apologized for speaking to her so sharply and thinking the worst when she was actually building bridges and making friends in her own kid way.

Days later we walked through Miraflores, an affluent district just south of downtown Lima, Peru and I wanted the kids to pose for family photos in front of a lighthouse. It was their first time on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and the view was breathtaking. Getting an awesome photo for our holiday card and watching them soak in the beauty of their surroundings would’ve made me so happy, but the kids spotted a playground and all bets were off.

My oldest son pulled an Incredible Hulk action figure and 2 Hot Wheels out of his backpack, and he was instantly “in” with the local boys. He rode their scooters while they crashed his cars, and they all “spoke” through roars, grunts, and sound effects.

The girls took a slightly less direct approach. They acted like protecting their baby brother was the most important thing in the world. They channeled their nervousness from being outsiders into a care-taking role, and it totally worked. All of the other wannabe Mama Bears joined in, and my little one quickly collected 4 or 5 mamas on the playground. Playing house in this way soon morphed into full out running, playing, dancing, and singing in no language in particular.

These girls creatively built a complete fantasy world while each spoke their own language. I encouraged my girls to try using their Spanish (or Spanglish, if I’m being accurate), and they said OK but continued on without it. And after Little Bro lost his usefulness, he was picked up and fawned over by a group of Peruvian nannies who were enamored by his big eyes, curly hair, and infectious smile.

At that point, I sat back and relaxed with hubby on the bench, soaking up the scene.

A lot of people have asked me about my kids not having friends on this trip. It’s been asked so often that I’ll probably add it to the FAQ post. But the kids make friends everywhere they go. It’s ME that you need to worry about!