Today started with orientations about the program, city, families, etc. Afterwards, we went to downtown Santiago. We visited the cathedral of Santiago where many public figures are buried. Then, we ate at a nearby fish market on our way to the Palacio Moneda.
Visiting the Palacio is like visiting the White House in the U.S. Needless to say, it was exciting and fun for me! The palace was beautiful and it was neat to explore where history was made, a country torn apart, and then revived into the strong Chile it is today.
(For those who don't know, Chile suffered a military coup, supported by the U.S., in the 70's where the president was shot and killed.)
We got to see where the President makes his public announcements, speeches and signs documents. The Palacio is where the President works as well. We think he must have been there, because there were secret service all over the place! One was specifically for our group, too!
Anyways, I was part of the group where we are advanced in Spanish, so we were fortunate enough to have the entire tour in Spanish. Woo! They definitely threw us into the immersion of sink or swim to understand! It ended up being fine, but definitely a shock.
Some of the pictures show the guards out front in their lovely uniforms. It was fun to see the changing of the guards. They are just like the British, because they never cracked a smile or moved! Impressive. There was one official with a floor-length cape, which my friend and I loved. He was nice enough to take a picture with us.
The last thing is of some of the damage that was done to the Palacio in the last eathquake here. It was crazy to actually see the effects and reminants of the earthquake.
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