Malia Obama, 18, former President Barack Obama's eldest daughter, made a secret educational trip to Bolivia and Peru in late November, according to The New York Times.
"She was very humble, chatty, spoke Spanish very well," tour guide Gregorio Mamani told the Times via a phone interview. "She was mesmerized by the Bolivian landscape."
Malia Obama – with bodyguards and a "blond companion" mistakenly thought to be the dignitary American Embassy officials told the guides would join the trek through the Cordillera Real mountains – was offered no special treatment and did chores with her fellow hikers, Mamani added.
President Obama called Bolivian President Evo Morales to facilitate the visit and his daughter's security, despite the two countries having not exchanged ambassadors since 2008, according to the Times.
"In spite of significant political differences with the Obama administration, [Morales] accepted the visit, understood the significance of the learning experience, and respected Malia's privacy," Kathryn Ledebur, a Bolivia expert based in Cochabamba, told the Times via email. "It's really an important precedent."
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