Ciao!

Happy Holidays!

And, w/ that, I'm taking an extended blogging hiatus. There's too much I'd like to write about before my holiday & honeymoon trip. And there's no way I can do justice to any of the topics (especially the Bolivian political rollercoaster). So I'm just taking a three-week vacation after a long, hard semester.

Posted by Miguel at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

All caught up

Grades (all but one) were handed in yesterday. So. For all practical purposes, I've finished my first semester at Dickinson. It was tougher than I would've expected. Mostly, I have to learn to discipline myself — and my students — to make time for my own writing & research. But I've managed to catch up, which includes finishing all my syllabi, making my Blackboard course modules, and getting ready for the first two weeks of classes. I've even managed to put together a complete reader (more on that later).

All in all, I'm pretty pleased w/ myself. Now I just need to get some holiday cards in the mail (yes, they're late, I apologize). At least all the major gifts are out in boxes somewhere between here & their destinations.

But we should start packing up for the holidays. Half a week in DC, followed by two weeks traipsing through Italy & France. C'est trés bien, non?

We currently have a house guest. He's a rather shy student form Nepal who'll watch our cats while we're away. The college was looking for homes for international students, we were looking for a live-in cat sitter. So it all worked out, eh?

Posted by Miguel at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sliding down a slippery slope

I'm still reluctant to write much about the situation in Bolivia. It's volatile, it's changing, and at times confusing. And since I've still one course's worth of take-home finals to grade, I'm taking my time.

But things in Bolivia are pretty bad. That's clear. The pro-autonomy demands from Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni, and Pando are as serious as they've ever been. Seems they'll declare de facto autonomy — whether Evo's government agrees or not — by the end of the weekend. In response, MAS supporters have begun mobilizing as well. The result was predictable: Numerous clashes across the country (principally around Santa Cruz), leaving nearly 100 injured. It's clear that Evo's government has virtually lost all authority.

Posted by Miguel at 10:00 AM | Permalink

I'll be back, I promise

I apologize for the light blogging. But I've been swamped w/ the end-of-the-semester workload. In addition to planning my courses for next semester, I'm also hoping to (finally!) make headway on the post-defense revisions to my dissertation. Fortunately, I've finished all three syllabi for next semester as of earlier this afternoon. Now I can concentrate on the dissertation revisions (since next week I'll be grading almost 100 final exams).

If you're interested in a peak at my courses next semester, here they are:

Posted by Miguel at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A ban on politics?

Technorati tags: Bolivia politics Evo Morales

I'm not sure where to start. And I'll try to be brief. But events in Bolivia are unfolding — as should've been expected — into a total mess. No wonder few heads of state are willing to attend the South American summit scheduled for 8-9 December, in Cochabamba.

Posted by Miguel at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mr. & Mrs. Miguel

K8 & I got married on Saturday, 2 December. Pictures & details to follow later. But now I desperately want a nap before tonight's faculty meeting. We got back into town a little before 3 am, and I had to be up at 8:30 am for my morning class. In characteristicly unromantic fashion, I wrote my comparative politics final exam on the plane ride back from Chicago to DC. Fortunately, K8 is extremely understanding.

Posted by Miguel at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)