note: location is santiago, chile

after much waiting, i finally got a job offer today…well, actually two. one was at universidad catolica helping to study/improve the system to control oxygen levels in fish farms ($700/mo). the other was to teach english ($15-20/hr). i ended up turning them both down and, after a long long break, will resume sentradiaries with my drive south tomorrow.

it’s been fun hanging out in santiago and i was fortunate to be at a hostel with a few other long-term residents…all with exciting lives. paul is a physics professor sailing around the world on a 25 foot boat by himself…and he had some pretty crazy near-death experiences. i went rock climbing a few times with tom, a british exchange student (from bath) at universidad catolica, and colin, an australian MechE grad interviewing with BHP (a mining company). I also hung out and went skiing with roberto, an ecuadorian american who quit his job at citi and has been traveling around south america for 15months. it’s interesting how quickly friendships can form when you’re stuck in a new, foreign place with shared living quarters. of course, along the way, other interesting people have drifted in and out of the hostel….the brazilian girls who were here for a psychology conference, the crazy chilean who slept during the day and partied all night (and would come in at 6am, drunk and talk on his cell phone in the room), or the aussies who took me out for my first outdoor climbing experience (and nearly died in the process). it’s also been fun meeting all the chileans and learning a new city…but i think it’s time to move on.