On Thursday my group visited La Moneda, which can probably be most easily described as the Chilean White House. There are a couple key differences. First of all, the President doesn't live in La Moneda, it's just where she works. She actually lives about 2 blocks from me in my neighborhood called Las Condes. Another major difference is that La Moneda is not stuck way out in the country, it's actually located right in the center of Santiago.
The tour was very interesting and lasted about an hour. We had an armed guard following us the whole time. We learned about the history of the building a little about the history of Chile. You may not know that Chile has it's own September 11th, literally. On September 11th 1971 La Moneda was attacked and the President of the time (Salvador Allende) along with a number of other staff members was killed.
The pictures are of La Moneda, me and some friends with the guards in front and the window of the offices where La Presidenta works. If you want a closer look just click on the pictures.
After the tour our student guides took us out to a nearby pub where we tried the famous Chilean drinks known as Terremotos. They consist of wine, triple sec and pineapple sorbet. Que rico!
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