5 - Meeting the Vice President

October 9th was Guayaquil’s Independence Day. Everyone was off from work, and there were all sorts of festivities around the city. Greta took me to El Museo Municipal, a museum of Guayaquil history and culture. Just as we were about to leave the guard told us that the vice president, Lenin Moreno, was about to come in. We waited by the entrance and an entourage of vehicles pulled up. First a bunch of army guys with big guns got out, then a bunch of important looking men in suits, and finally the vice president was assisted out and helped into his wheelchair. When he came through the entrance Greta introduced herself and said she was a doctor and had an American student with her and asked if we could join him on his tour of the museum. He said yes, and he said hello to me as he was wheeled past. It was pretty awesome because we got a private tour of the museum with the vice president of Ecuador. It was just Greta, the VP, the VP’s wife, some photographers, about seven bodyguards, the guide, and me. I felt like a celebrity. Actually, the real president was out of the country, so at the time Moreno was the acting president. Sweet.