Got up and got in line at 9:30 to get a free tour of the Presidential Palace. Some Ecuadorians tried to cut in front of us, but Robin and Gail were having none of it. (I was across the street, buying a fruit salad.) Nice to see they´re unafraid of conflict now!
The tour was fabulous. Rafael Correa, the current president, was already popular amond this group, who followed the election last year, but his stock went up even further when we found out that the tours weren´t even given before he became President, and that previous Presidents would just keep the gifts they would get as they traveled around the world in their official capacity. Correa decided that they are the property of Ecuador, not his own, so now every one he gets finds its place in a display case around the (fabulously decorated) banquet room.
The palace is enormously impressive. We even saw the podium where we had seen Correa, in a Youtube video, announcing that he was going toi change the deal Ecuador had with the oil companies to be more in Ecuador´s favor. The students remembered it because the soldier standing at attention while Correa spoke had to try to slip his ringing cell phone out of his pocket and shut it off while it sang ¨Guantanamera¨, clearly audible over the microphone.
We split up to pack up and such (we have to be out of the rooms by noon, though they´re letting us leave the bags in a sotreroom until 6:00, and we´re all meeting at Guillermo´s for one last lunch together. That´s where I´ll have to give my speech, I guess. Wish me luck!
See you tomorrow about this time!
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