What's your name again?

A common phrase in a group of 130 students from different countries...but although we may not remember each other's names, we have had fun and meaning full conversations--from talking with the Peruvian delegates about their traditional foods of guinea pig and ceviche, to discussing the economic impact of the Beijing Olympics with Chinese students.

Today was once again a full and exciting day in Lima. We started off the day at San Ignacia de Loyola University (USIL), one of the best schools in Peru. We received welcoming gifts from some students at the university and were welcomed by the university's president Lourdes Flores, who supposedly ran against the current Peruvian president Alan Garcia and almost won. We also received warm welcomes from Peru's Minister on Foreign Trade and Tourism and the former Minister of Industry. We also received a keynote address from Tony Nowell, an ABAC (APEC Business Adisory Council) member representing New Zealand. He was a former senior executive for Loreal and Sara Lee and gave us some good tips on questions to ask ABAC members throughout our interviews this week.

After enjoying some traditional Peruvian dances, we went on an amazing tour of the wonderful city of Lima, which was led by several students from USIL's tourism department that were very friendly and knowledgeable about their city's history. We visited the government palace, the city hall, and a museum with traditional Peruvian art and archaelogical artifacts from the Incan period and even earlier. We also visited the home of a Peruvian diplomat, built over 200 years ago.

Finally, after a long day, we sat down to enjoy what we hoped to be a traditional Peruvian meal....unfortunately we ended up getting salad, french fries, and barbecue.....but it actually was quite delicious! Tomorrow we really will get to experience Peruvian cuisine, so we'll let you know how that goes!

Disclaimer: sorry if this is not cohesive or really descriptive or interesting....we're just all really tired from our full days!

Matt here taking over the helm for Rachael as she is doing what I probably should be and heading to bed. I had a quite different experience today than the other Furman students, in that I was randomly selected to attend the ABAC (APEC Business Advisory Council) forum on small and medium businesses in the APEC region. The event was held at the Museo del Ejercito Real. We were able to arrive just in time for a three course catered Peruvian lunch, and a scenic walk around the museum. We then entered the conference and took our seats in the press booth as representatives from Peru, Mexico, and Chile discussed the necessity of Latin America to increase its rate of economic growth, and the integral part small and medium businesses play in that effort.

After about two hours of sitting in the press booth, I admit I was getting tired. I stood up and walked to the hallway to stretch my legs when, what do you know, I got a glimpse of Peruvian President Alan Garcia's motorcade pull up. I quickly rushed to my seat, eager for a good view of President Garcia's closing remarks. As soon as he walked on stage, the small press area that had previously only been occupied by two other students and myself was filled with six additional reporters, each crowding and pushing us to the rail to get footage of the president. President Garcia stressed in his remarks the importance of technology integration into small business to increase their efficiency and prominence in economies. I left the speech early, as our group was on a tight schedule and had to catch the bus back to the hotel. We were delayed, however, and fortunate enough to stand at the curb and watch the president's motorcade leave.

We are fortunate enough to have one of the students from the Vietnamese delegation filming many of our activities and posting them online. We will try to post the link here as he posts videos online.