Stealing kisses from the President
After several postponements and some last minute planning the third grade FINALLY got to visit the Palacio Nacional in Guatemala City. The trip was organized through the president's cabinet member, the Ministerio de Gobernacion or Secretary of Domestic Affairs, who happens to be the grandmother of one of my students and the first female to ever hold a position this high in the Guatemalan government.
All of the students were welcomed into a courtyard and shortly after entering we were greeted, to our surprise, by the President, Oscar Berger, and the Ministerio de Gobernacion, Adela de Torrebiarte. We were unsure if President Berger would be there for our trip and sadly I didn't recognize him. I quickly asked who it was and then proceeded to snap as many photographs as I could. He shook hands with many students and signed several autographs. On his way to the front of the group he passed me and the Spanish teacher I work with. We both were greeted with a "Bienvenidos" (Welcome), a handshake, and a traditional kiss on the cheek.
After he spoke to the students briefly, there was a presentation over a statue that stands in the courtyard. It is a statue of two left hands wrapped together and there is always a white rose present in one of the hands. Apparently, the changing of the rose is usually quite a ceremony with soldiers and military precision, similar it seems to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Today we were able to change the rose. Two students presented the rose and my student (the grandson) was the one who actually got to place the new rose in the hand and keep the old one. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the actual transaction as all the newspaper and television media closely surrounded the president and my student, not allowing anyone to watch.
After this presentation the President said goodbye to the students wishing them a wonderful visit and promising them a snack before they left. We were then led by a tour guide upstairs and into the President's office. While it probably wasn't as fancy as the Oval Office it was still a beautiful room with wood carved doors and paneling on the walls as well as extremely plush carpet. Much to my dismay, while my students were sitting on the carpet listening to the tour guide one of my students felt so much at home he decided to lay down spread eagle. I quickly told him that while it was comfortable he was NOT in his living room. We were not allowed to take pictures in the office and afterward the other teachers and myself decided it probably had something to do with photographic evidence of all the corrupt deals that had taken place within those four walls.
Next, we were allowed in the State room where the official center of the city is located (i.e. where all distances between other towns is measured to). The room had a beautiful chandelier and a version of the Guatemala flag with real life objects for the center emblem instead of it being printed on the actual fabric. The most interesting part of the room for me was the stain glass windows that lined either side. On one side, the windows depicted Mayans building temples or in ornate costumes. The other side, depicted the Spanish conquistadors who came and stole everything from the Mayans. Beautiful windows, but it's interesting that this part of history is displayed in the national palace. While in this room, I had the chance to point out to my students what an honor it was for us to get to visit and meet the president. While we were inside the room walking around we noticed that the door we had entered through had been roped off and a regular tour was standing outside looking in. I pointed out to the students that it was extremely special for us to be allowed inside and that we needed to appreciate the privilege we had received.
Following our time in the State room we were ushered into a door marked "Privado" (private) and walked through a tunnel that connects the national palace with the president's home. We were able to see his sitting area, dining area- where he eats breakfast and lunch daily unless he is entertained an important visitor, and the parlor where he greets important guests. Inside the residence another unexpected person made an appearance, the First Lady. Again I neglected to know who she was before she greeted me and moved on. Once I found out I quickly ran up to her again and asked for a photograph. She was extremely kind and handled the 125 third graders crowded around her for photographs and autographs extremely well.
Our time in the residence concluded our trip and we crossed back through the tunnel into the palace where the students received their snack, fulfilling the president's promise. We loaded back in the bus and returned to school. It was a WONDERFUL experience for me and I really do think that most of my students were appreciative of the chance they had and enjoyed their time in a place they have spent time learning about in Spanish class.
All of the students were welcomed into a courtyard and shortly after entering we were greeted, to our surprise, by the President, Oscar Berger, and the Ministerio de Gobernacion, Adela de Torrebiarte. We were unsure if President Berger would be there for our trip and sadly I didn't recognize him. I quickly asked who it was and then proceeded to snap as many photographs as I could. He shook hands with many students and signed several autographs. On his way to the front of the group he passed me and the Spanish teacher I work with. We both were greeted with a "Bienvenidos" (Welcome), a handshake, and a traditional kiss on the cheek.
After he spoke to the students briefly, there was a presentation over a statue that stands in the courtyard. It is a statue of two left hands wrapped together and there is always a white rose present in one of the hands. Apparently, the changing of the rose is usually quite a ceremony with soldiers and military precision, similar it seems to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Today we were able to change the rose. Two students presented the rose and my student (the grandson) was the one who actually got to place the new rose in the hand and keep the old one. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the actual transaction as all the newspaper and television media closely surrounded the president and my student, not allowing anyone to watch.
After this presentation the President said goodbye to the students wishing them a wonderful visit and promising them a snack before they left. We were then led by a tour guide upstairs and into the President's office. While it probably wasn't as fancy as the Oval Office it was still a beautiful room with wood carved doors and paneling on the walls as well as extremely plush carpet. Much to my dismay, while my students were sitting on the carpet listening to the tour guide one of my students felt so much at home he decided to lay down spread eagle. I quickly told him that while it was comfortable he was NOT in his living room. We were not allowed to take pictures in the office and afterward the other teachers and myself decided it probably had something to do with photographic evidence of all the corrupt deals that had taken place within those four walls.
Next, we were allowed in the State room where the official center of the city is located (i.e. where all distances between other towns is measured to). The room had a beautiful chandelier and a version of the Guatemala flag with real life objects for the center emblem instead of it being printed on the actual fabric. The most interesting part of the room for me was the stain glass windows that lined either side. On one side, the windows depicted Mayans building temples or in ornate costumes. The other side, depicted the Spanish conquistadors who came and stole everything from the Mayans. Beautiful windows, but it's interesting that this part of history is displayed in the national palace. While in this room, I had the chance to point out to my students what an honor it was for us to get to visit and meet the president. While we were inside the room walking around we noticed that the door we had entered through had been roped off and a regular tour was standing outside looking in. I pointed out to the students that it was extremely special for us to be allowed inside and that we needed to appreciate the privilege we had received.
Following our time in the State room we were ushered into a door marked "Privado" (private) and walked through a tunnel that connects the national palace with the president's home. We were able to see his sitting area, dining area- where he eats breakfast and lunch daily unless he is entertained an important visitor, and the parlor where he greets important guests. Inside the residence another unexpected person made an appearance, the First Lady. Again I neglected to know who she was before she greeted me and moved on. Once I found out I quickly ran up to her again and asked for a photograph. She was extremely kind and handled the 125 third graders crowded around her for photographs and autographs extremely well.
Our time in the residence concluded our trip and we crossed back through the tunnel into the palace where the students received their snack, fulfilling the president's promise. We loaded back in the bus and returned to school. It was a WONDERFUL experience for me and I really do think that most of my students were appreciative of the chance they had and enjoyed their time in a place they have spent time learning about in Spanish class.
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