Chilean Leader Walks the Halls of Her Youth (Bethesda)

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post

Chilean Leader Walks the Halls of Her Youth
History-Making President's Visit Thrills Students

By Lori Aratani
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 9, 2006; Page B02

Two weeks isn't a lot of time, but if you really, really practice, you, too, can master the Chilean national anthem. And if you're really, really lucky, like 14-year-old Dao Hoang was yesterday, you'll have the opportunity to play "El Himno Nacional" for someone really, really important -- someone like Michelle Bachelet, the first female president of Chile.

Bachelet, in Washington to meet with President Bush, took a side trip yesterday to her alma mater, Westland Middle School in Bethesda, where she was a student in 1963. She also attended nearby Wood Acres Elementary school in 1962. Bachelet and her family lived in Bethesda for two years while her father, Alberto Bachelet Martinez, was assigned to a military mission at the Chilean Embassy.

"It's, I would say, a strange feeling to come back here after 33 years," Bachelet, 54, told a crowd of students awe-struck that a president -- a president! -- had once walked the same hallways they do today.

Dao, who plays saxophone, and other members of Westland's school band worked hard to master the Chilean national anthem in time for Bachelet's visit.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060801758.html

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[mark414]

1. how excellent for those kids

i like this line especially "Bachelet, 54, told a crowd of students awe-struck that a president -- a president! -- had once walked the same hallways they do today."

it tells those kids that they can do anything

good story

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. A real one too! -nt