Philip and Chase at the Toledo Sister Cities International Festival

I try to introduce my grandchildren to the wider world whenever I have a chance. I give them maps, photos, talk about my travels, take them to meet people from somewhere else. They met my conversation partner Fenghua. They have met friends from Europe, Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa, and they have classmates from other countries in school. So today, my daughter Elissa and I took our grandboys, Chase and Philip, to the Toledo Sister Cities International Festival at the Seagate Convention Center in downtown Toledo.

We roamed around looking at displays, talked about different countries, listened to music and performances by various ethnic groups. Chase and Philip enjoyed getting their names signed in Chinese, at the Chinese display table, and in Arabic, at a lovely exhibit of Lebanese art and  cultural  items.   I showed them the countries on the map.

"You guys already know about these two countries," I told them.
"No, we don't, Nana," Philip chimed in.
"Well, have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant or eaten Chinese food? And how about the Lebanese food at the Beirut and the Grape Leaf?"
"Oh right," Philip smiled. "Good food."
 We agreed food was a good way to get to know another country!

Dr. Elizabeth Balint, director of the Great Lakes Consortium. We worked

together on the Open World Project that brought people from Ukraine to Toledo.  

Toledo is a "Welcoming City," home to immigrants from many countries.  They have helped make our neighborhoods strong for generations. Some are newer, including refugees from war-torn Syria. Toledo has sister cities in Spain, China, Hungary, Poland, Japan, Tanzania, Germany, Lebanon, Pakistan and India.  It makes sense that the world's two Toledos, Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain have been sister Cities since 1931, one of the oldest formally recognized sister-city relationships in the world (see www.association of two toledos.com).


I've been talking about maybe getting a sister city in Ukraine. Our US Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is interested. She is always a strong supporter of the International Festival and international exchange programs. She is knowledgeable about and honors America's history of immigration, including her own Polish and Ukrainian heritage.  "We are all immigrants," she says, and "through food, music, art and fun we build bridges toward a stronger future together."

We had to sample some food, of course, so Philip and I got Asian food and Bubble Tea, and Chase got tacos, and we sat down to eat and watch a Karate performance. Chase is a yellow belt! We introduced ourselves to an elderly man sitting alone at the table. Turns out he was a retired Professor of German Language and Culture at the University of Toledo, where he had taught for many years.  It was nice to strike up a conversation. A few minutes later a  mother and her son, who was dressed in lederhousen, asked to sit at the table. I asked if he was from Germany. No, he was just dressed like a German, in Bavarian lederhousen actually. He was a Senior in high school who loved the German language and wanted to go to college in Germany. His mom was encouraging him.  "You're at the right table," I said, as I introduced them to the German professor, which delighted all of us.  They spoke a little in German, and we had a lovely chat about Germany and travel.

Serendipity! The same  kind of serendipity we encounter wherever we travel, and always to our delight, and it happened right here in Toledo, Ohio, at a table at the International Festival! 

The world is open to us. All we have to do is embrace it. I hope Philip and Chase, and all my grandchildren, will give it a try one day!