i ran into ricardo lagos, the chilean president, yesterday...literally. at a seminar on transantiago (the urban transportation project i'm here to research), i attempted to make a discreet dash to the bathroom during a coffee break. little did i know that the president, who had already made his opening remarks, intended to use this opportunity to leave the seminar. because i never look where i'm going, i crashed into one of his bodyguards, then stumbled across the president's path (as well as the sightlines of a crowd of photo-snapping journalists), before i finally regained my balance. all in all, a rather clumsy introduction. not one of my prouder moments...but at least i recovered in time to snap a couple closeup photos of my own!