Ciao!

London

The following's a synopsis of my two days in London (16-17 December). Overall, I enjoyed London very much. Everything cost about twice as much as it would in Michigan, but it was a clean, organized city. The people were prim & proper, for the most part, though friendly (I asked so many people for directions). But watching people queue up for the tube is a stark contrast w/ the mad crush of any other subway I'm familiar w/.

Posted by Miguel at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Holiday updates

Tonight's the annual Kalamazoo Freeze-O-Ween party. This year I'm surprising everyone by showing up in costume (I just decided). Should be interesting. I was inspired after spending the early afternoon helping J. Edmund (visiting from Boston) purchase materials for his costume.

Posted by Miguel at 07:14 PM | Permalink

Hello

Back in the US. Landed in Chicago after a harried trip. More later, including pictures & some highlights, all jotted down in my Moleskine notbook. Now, after deleting 700+ spam emails, I just want a proper night's sleep. Ciao! .:from Treo

Posted by Miguel at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In Barcelona

I've finally found a bit of time for internet, in Barcelona. It was a harried experience getting here from Rome. But I'll get into all that once I'm back in Michigan, posting stories & pictures of my two-week holiday adventure.

Needless to day. Rome was wonderful, if frantic & disorganized, but probably amazing in Summer. Florence was amazing, and I can only imagine what it must be like in Spring. Milan was elegant, and must be more so in Fall. If I could live in Italy it'd be in a little college town lika Pavia. The Italian trains are both astonishing in their scope, and crushing in their confusion. In the end, Kathira & I had a grand time, and she's pleased w/ how much Italian I managed to put together for simple conversations w/ her friends.

Barcelona. What can I say? It's everything I'd hoped it could be, a jewel of cities, and w/ enough history in the Gothic Quarter to put Florence & Rome both to shame. Well, almost. Rome is still The Eternal City & Florence is still the birthplace of the Renaissance. But. Oh, Barcelona!

Back in Michigan in two days. Bones Festes (as they say in Catalan).

Posted by Miguel at 02:55 PM | Permalink

Rule Britania

London's great. Just a brief note, because everything here cots twice as much as back home (1hr internet is £1 is $2).

Walked all over the downtown in a stereotypical London drizzle & overcast sky. But the London Underground's not nearly as complicated as people make out, and has several beautiful terminals.

Westminster Cathedral is amazing w/ its grand simplicity & elegance. The National Gallery was dizzying w/ its halls full of centurie worth of European art. And the architecture of the city is just amazing, especially the Victorian Imperial style w/ its enormous pieces of brown/grey stone.

But my favorite was the British Museum. I only managed to see half the Greco-Roman & bits of the Near East exhibits (including the Rosetta Stone & pieces of the Athenian Parthenon). Also managed to see the Celtic & British history exhibits. That's almost a quarter of the museum — and it took almost 3 hrs. But. The best part was the Reading Room. It was like a temple for books, a giant circular room w/ a domed ceiling in the center of the museum grounds. Breathtaking.

Managed to find a Bangladeshi-Indian restaurant (Rani) & a crowded pup (Dirty Dick's) in the East End. Now I'm dead tired after walking since 8am. Tomorrow I head for Rome, to meet my cousin Kathira. I wonder what adventures await us. I'm sure at least Florence is in the bargain.

Oh, and this was my fist time sleeping in a dorm-style hostel, in rooms w/ half a dozen other people. Wasn't so bad. And I've managed to spend only £35.24 so far.

Posted by Miguel at 08:47 PM | Permalink

Buon Natale

I'm on my way to Chicago's O'Hare in a bit, then to London's Heathrow. I've no idea if/when I'll check the internet again. So expect infrequent updates the next two weeks. I've pretty much cut the umbilical chord for the next two weeks — and Kaneda, alas, stayed behind in Kalamazoo. But don't worry, Mom, I'll email to let you know I landed safe & am eating all my vegetables. Also, unregistered comments won't be approved (i.e. visible) until I return. Sorry.

Posted by Miguel at 05:45 AM | Permalink

Help Iraqi schoolkids

I joined the Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge. Please DONATE to support Iraqi School Partners (pair Iraqi schools w/ American "sister" schools). Kids are the future; helping Americans & Iraqis communicate goes a long way to improve cultural understanding.

Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge is a competition between blog teams (you can join Team Ciao) to raise money for different projects that help Iraqis directly. This isn't about politics. If you'd like to help the people of Iraq, here's a chance to back up your beliefs w/ your money.

Bigger blogs have already raised thousands. Help this little blog bridge some of that gap; let's show "big name" bloggers that little blogs can make a difference, too. This is my Christmas project — if you wanna get me something, this is what I want.

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UPDATE: W/ only a day left to go in the Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge, Team Ciao raised more than twice Buzzmachine (Jeff Jarvis) & slightly ahead of Chicago Boyz (University of Chicago economists). My thanks go to everyone who contributed.

Posted by Miguel at 12:00 AM | Permalink

(Feels like) my first trip

Though I've traveled extensively in South America (plus two visits to El Salvador), I've never actually travelled as a "true backpacker" through uncharted territory. And never on a strict budget. So, at age 29, I feel a little giddy, anxious, and adventurous — all in a way I've never felt before.

Traveling through Bolivia's easy. At least for me. I speak the language, understand the people, can judge what's safe or not. I blend into different dialects fairly well, passing for camba or kolla as necessary. And. I know a few dollars go a long, long way to keep me fed & comfortable. So. Yeah. I've done the whole backpacker/hostel thing through Sucre, Tarija, Cochabamba. But I know it won't be the same as doing it through Western Europe.

My brief forays into Chile, Peru, and Argentina were similarly safe. On each occasion I traveled to meet friends or family, who'd put me up comfortably & keep me fed. All I had to do was get there. My two trips into El Salvador were w/ parish delegations, making them relatively easy as well.

This'll be so very different, and I've been trying to come to grips w/ it beforehand.

Sure, I speak English, Spanish, even a bit of mangled Italian. But London's more expensive than any place I've visited, and I'll be entirely on my own. At least, in a way I've never been before. There are no friends or relatives available in case of emergency, or just to meet up for a spot of tea & scones. And I've to make sure to keep enough money by the end of my trip through Italy — coming in the part of the year where my stipend money's thinned to its breaking point — to survive two days & one night in Barcelona. Where I also won't know a single soul.

Italy'll be less stressful, w/ my cousin Kathira taking lead, along w/ her friends. But she's young, a recent immigrant, so the budget issue'll grip us both. I'm especially afraid of her spending more than she can afford to be a good hostess; and I'm afraid of me spending too much to give her a great Christmas. It's the fine line an "American cousin" always treads.

It sounds silly, coming from a guy who's lived on his own for most of the past 19 years. Who tries so hard to be independent, self-reliant (even though I know I'm not). But all that posturing is easy when the safety net's right below, isn't it? But this is the real show.

I'm 29 & I've never just struck out on my own for an adventure. After all, I could've just gone to Rome. But I'm deliberately going to London & Barcelona — just because I've never. Here's to looking out across the horizon.

Posted by Miguel at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Sitting on the edge of tomorrow

I leave for Europe tomorrow. Wish I could say I'm packed. But I still need that vital backpack, the thing that'll hold all my travel items for two weeks. And I leave Kalamazoo in barely 24 hrs. So I sit on pins & needles.

Posted by Miguel at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Celebrate coming by going

Twenty years ago, I showed up a 9-year-old in Michigan for my first winter Christmas. My brothers & I ran around in our first snow, oblivious to the winter chill. We learned how to sled, skate, and make snowmen. We didn't realize this was the first of many such holidays, that we were about to stay in the US permanently.

W/ the economy collapsing around a politically uncertain Bolivia, my parents made the difficult choice of moving the family to Michigan. It was a sudden decision, not especially planned out. Sam & I would stay w/ our grandparents, while Mom & Dad went back w/ 4-year-old Andy to sell our house & possessions. They came back a few months later. My cocker spaniel, Tony, never came to America.

It wasn't easy. But we made the best of it. Dad struggled to learn English, but we never lacked for food. And w/ incredible hard work & sacrifice, my parents bought a house in the city, and a decade later moved to the suburbs. The American dream.

For a long time (too long, perhaps) I carried a grudge for being uprooted & moved so suddenly to a new country. What would my life be like had I stayed in Santa Cruz, Bolivia? Very different, I'm sure of that. But, as time went by, I came to accept my parents' choice. They did it for their kids' benefit. And, in the end, I think they were right.

So. This holiday marks my twentieth anniversary of "coming to America". Ironically, I'll be spending it in Italy, w/ my cousin Kathira (another member of the Bolivian diaspora). One of the perks of being "American" is the ability to travel freely wherever I wanna go — so I guess I'll be celebrating by taking full advantage of my US passport.

But I wanna give a public "thank you" to my parents, who put aside an entire lifetime of dreams for the sake of their four children. Mom, Dad, it was worth it. Merry Christmas.

Posted by Miguel at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Barcelona plan

Still reeling from a flu that makes my brain feel like marshmallow, I headed out for soup & tea at the Rocket Star, before going bowling. After a shaky start, I managed a respectable 125 the first game, but fell to 108 the second.

At the Rocket Star, finished a preliminary plan for Barcelona (28-29 December). Tentative, since I've to be flexible about when/how I get there from Italy (probably fly). Here it is:

Posted by Miguel at 01:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

London plan

Officially turned in my grades yesterday, after accidentally stumbling upon the last few minutes of the departmental holiday party. I'd forgotten all about it, what w/ the mad dash of finals week. By the time I got there, there was no more plasticware, so I settled for some (delicious, btw) meatballs & toothpicks.

Posted by Miguel at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Blogroll housekeeping

I just updated my FAQ w/ information on my blogrolls. If you're wondering why I link to some blogs & not others (I sometimes add/delete links).

Posted by Miguel at 01:11 AM | Permalink

On to Rome

Booyah! W/ the exception of two make-up exams waiting for me at the office, I'm done grading. That means shortly after noon, I'll waltz up to Friedmann Hall, gather (& grade) my last two exams, then hand my semester gradesheet into the office. On to Rome!

Posted by Miguel at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

You don't know Miguel

I jumped on the bandwagon, and wrote a quiz about myself. You can take it here. Be warned. It's really hard. Seriously. Here's the current scoreboard.

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UPDATE: Why are people I don't know taking this quiz? Better yet, why are they outscoring some of my friends?

Posted by Miguel at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Refuse to surrender

I just took this pledge sponsored by the ACLU.

Posted by Miguel at 12:44 AM | Permalink

Carnival of the Vanities plug

If you're looking for some new, under-linked, interesting blogs to read, here's this week's Carnival of the Vanities (#116). Every week, another blogger "hosts" a roundup of links to bloggers he/she things are interesting but not widely-enough read. The COTV concept was developed by Silflay Hraka.

Posted by Miguel at 09:09 PM | Permalink

AIM woes

For some weird, unknown-to-me reason, AOL suspended my AIM username. While I'm almost never on IM, you can reach me w/ my .Mac username.

Oh, and Happy Chanukah everyone.

Posted by Miguel at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Busy time of year

This is actually one of the busiest time of the year for college profs. Students tend to forget that; we never do. See, I'd rather not give papers & long essay exams. That's just more work for me. I could just give a scantron, multiple choice bubblesheet. It'd certainly make my life easier.

Posted by Miguel at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Advice in the mail

Sending some news magazines to gringo friends back in Bolivia. I've managed to sell them on Reason, so I've decided to toss in some current issues of TNR & The Weekly Standard. It's my little bit of subversion. Sometimes, it's good to read the view from the other side.

The best article in these issues is "A Fighting Faith: An Argument for a New Liberalism" (TNR). Peter Beinart critiques what went wrong w/ the left in 2004 (and how to fix it) by pointing out the post-war left's ability to take a hard line against illiberalism (communist totalitarianism) — and produce JFK.

When many "hawks" during this campaign cycle lauded the three best presidents of the 20th Century, they mentioned: FDR, JFK, Reagan. Two of these were Democrats (most specifically mentioned JFK's "pay any price, bear any burden" speech). But they all had something in common. Something to think about.

Oooh! And my new CDs finally came in the mail from Darla Records:

La Buena Vida, Harmónica
V/A, Información y Turismo (Siesta comp)
Tender Trap, Film Molecules
La Casa Azul, Tan Simple Como El Amor
Le Mans, Saudade
Spring, Tokyo Drifter

Ah! New music to listen to while I grade essay exams.

Posted by Miguel at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bolivia's municipal elections

Here's a preliminary round-up of Bolivia's municipal elections, taken primarily from El Nuevo Día. If I focus mainly on Santa Cruz, forgive me, but: A) it was the most bitterly contested race, B) it's arguably the most dynamically changing city in Bolivia today, C) it's the center of recent challenges to the central state, and D) it's the city I was born in.

Posted by Miguel at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

End of semester (almost)

Just finished proctoring my PSCI 250 final exam. From an original enrollment of 45, only 33 took the final — a 25% attrition rate (only 15% if you consider I've only 38 still enrolled). Not too shabby, eh? Now I've two hours to myself, running errands, before an end-of-semester lunch downtown w/ some fellow grad students. Then comes the grading.

Posted by Miguel at 10:27 AM | Permalink

Latin American politics (and Bolivian municipal elections)

The website for PSCI 345 (Latin American Politics) is finally up. Only the "weblog" link doesn't work, since I've not yet set it up.

Today's the Bolivian municipal elections. Should be interesting. So far it looks like the winners will be: Juan del Granado (MSM) in La Paz, José Luis Peredes (PP) in El Alto, Oscar Vargas (MUP) in Santa Cruz, and Gonzalo Terceros (CIU) in Cochabamba.

Posted by Miguel at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Forgot to mention Day By Day (my favorite daily strip) is back, after a long hiatus. Welcome back, Chris.

Posted by Miguel at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Syllabi, done

Good God did I sleep in today! Woke up shortly before 6pm, fed the girls, and even considered crawling back into bed until Sunday. Instead, I grabed Kaneda & headed down to the Rocket Star to work on my class syllabi for next semester. And, yep, mission accomplished.

Posted by Miguel at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Saturday looked good to me

Tonight's show rocked. Saturday Looks Good To Me headlined a great line-up. The Ann Arbor band lit up a near-home-town crowd, w/ their infectious & solidly crafted 70s groove-pop. Tired, after a long road trip, they were ecstatic to be back in Michigan, headed for home.

Posted by Miguel at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Syllabi writing & debutant watching

I've been a bit busy trying to finish up next semester's syllabi. I finally (?!) got desk copies of my Latin American politics texts, so I'm pretty close. I'll unveil the course websites & syllabi by Sunday (if you're interested).

Also, got a better haircut & mahogany red haircolor from Kate. To see it, you should come visit me tomorrow early morning (6am to noon) at The Rocket Star, keep me company (and awake), and drink some dark Italian roast coffee. At the very least, you should come down (even if it's still snowing) for the night's musical entertainment.

Saturday Looks Good To Me
Transgalactic Superluxe
The Bridge Over River Qua

Saturday Looks Good To Me is on Polyvinyl Records (of Mates Of State fame). Mickey O, Bill Brieger, Mary, Chris, and DVG are in The Bridge Over River Qua. This is their debut show, but they've all been in some really interesting bands before. Show starts $6 at the door, 8pm sharp. Be there, or be L7.

Posted by Miguel at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

More Bolivia online

Another Bolivian-American blogger emailed me, and tipped me off to an online Bolivia webcast “radio” AG Bolivia. I’m listening to it right now, and it streams really well.

Posted by Miguel at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Church, State, and the Citizen

My weekly Herald column ran a day early (online here). This week, it’s on the difference between separation of church & state and separation of religion & citizenship. Below’s the original version.

Posted by Miguel at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)