After four full days of floor hockey competition, most of them spent at the FedEx hangar by the airport, there was no question what Panama's Special Olympics delegation wanted to do next.

It was time to call home.

After their last competition Wednesday, the Panama athletes trouped to the Egan Center where AT&T is offering athletes free calls home at a bank of 14 phones. The spot is a popular feature of "Special Olympics Town," where delegations find rest and relaxation between competitions.

For most of the Panama delegation, it was the first chance since Sunday to tell family what they had been up to all week.

Anibal Herrera, 16, knew his mother would appreciate the call. She cried the day he left, he said. It was his first big trip alone. "In our culture kids don't leave home that easily," explained Maritza Santiago, the delegation's assistant leader, who serves as their guide and interpreter. The free calls, up to 15 minutes each, help keep the travelers connected while away.

On Wednesday, Herrera brought his mother at least some reassurance. He was having the time of his life. His delegation won five games and tied one. It's very cold. Also, he likes it very much and wants to stay.

Well, she can deal with that last revelation when he returns.

Many agree that Alaska has given athletes plenty to call home about. They've been crowding the free phones since they arrived. At any given time, volunteers like Marcia Lythgoe are surrounded by the buzz of at least half a dozen languages. She has derived one thing from the clamor: "They all want to phone home." And everyone, no matter what they speak, knows the international language for telephone: thumb up near the ear, pinky outstretched near the mouth, and the rest of the fingers in a fist.

Walter Alvarado, 19, and his Salvador teammates told family members about the beauty -- and cold -- of Alaska. They also crowed a little over their win against Argentina.

Daniel Santana, 17, of Team USA, surprised an aunt in Milford, Mass., who didn't know he was here, he said. His report home? "I think it's a great town," he said. "Everybody's nice. They're generous, respectful."

Eddie Glover, 38, called family in Philadelphia. He preferred not to divulge much else about his conversations, however, except to make it clear he was enjoying the opportunity. "Can I use the phone again?" he asked.

Others were feeling a special obligation to call home Wednesday. Male members of the Azerbaijan delegation, were scrambling to call their mothers, sisters and other female family members for International Women's Day, March 8 -- a national holiday in Azerbaijan. (Because of the time difference, it was already Thursday there when it was only Wednesday here.) Women's Day is not a day a devoted son or husband can just let slide by, said Rauf Ramazanov, 20.

A celebration that honors working women, the holiday -- as observed in Russia and other former Soviet republics -- has been called a cross between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. It's generally celebrated with parties and presents for women.

If he was home, Ramazanov said, he would be following a family tradition and taking over his mother's housework -- vacuuming, doing dishes and the like. Because he's competing half a world away, however, he can get away with just the phone call. "I congratulated my mom," he said through an interpreter. "I sent best wishes to be healthy and beautiful."

A polite young man, he also didn't forget to honor the women on this side of the world. "Congratulations," he said, in Russian, to a reporter and the interpreter, both women.

Reporter Sonya Senkowsky can be reached at ssenkowsky@adn.com.