chile is quite small, about 16 million people total and 7 million in Santiago. This makes it surprisingly easy to get in touch with important people who control money. Not the rich mine barons (yet), but people who run the equivalent of Chile’s NSF (National Science Foundation). Today, for instance, I was put in touch with the CEO of Fundacion Chile — a government backed (private?) organization which funds innovative projects. The CEO is busy planning next years budget, but hopefully we can meet early next week. chile only has a few big organizations like this…and i’ve already met with top dogs at another one too.

also, at our hostel is a pretty ridiculous guy. why? well, he’s trying to sail around the world. in a 35 foot dingy. by himself. with no desalinator. with no radio or emergency communication equipment (he’s a purist). pretty stupid, no? well…the really stupid thing is that he’s going around cape horn next….with the same equipment (or lack there of)…..after he was stuck in the pacific ocean for 6 months with enough food for only a couple. he was at the verge of eating leather when he finally met the trade winds. but still, he’s not going to buy a phone….because that would taint the adventure. his biggest fear of cape horn are the icebergs. honestly, who can say ‘i would have died if i hadn’t found that extra can of lentils’….or ‘if i hit an iceberg at night, i will die’. you’d think a physics professor would be smarter than that.

there’s also a mildly crazy woman who works on the main street a block from the hostel. today, she was wearing a star of david on her right arm and washing car windows when they stopped at the red light. she does two additionaly odd things. first, she often washes the rear windows instead of the front (maybe a good idea, since most people don’t have rear wipers and it’s harder to protest someone to stop if they’re behind you). second, she rarely asks for money after she wipes down the window. maybe she just does it for the love of washing windows with a dirty old rag. she also enjoys standing in the middle of the road as the cars speed by (see pic).