Ciao!

Practice makes perfect

Matt & April get married beside the Saginaw River tomorrow. A brief rehearsal, followed by pizza, and tonight a last night out on the town.

Posted by Miguel at 09:39 PM | Permalink

Too busy to post

Now that my little brother's back in town for a few days, and I'm scrambling to get ready for Matt's wedding in two days, and I'm catching up on comics & movies, and I'm trying to sleep in, I just don't have enough time/energy to post about every little detail. I'm also not paying much attention to news from anywhere, unless it comes from Comedy Central's The Daily Show. It's the best source of news/analysis/commentary I can think of. Seriously. And it's available on CNN International, too.

Meanwhile, I'm just driving around Saginaw looking for brown shoes (wedding), some household items for my new apartment, late night cravings for blueberry pancakes, and just gazing at the long lines of shelves at Meijer, Walmart, Target, Kmart, in newfound awe.

I also have to think about my wedding toast, mostly thinking by re-telling crazy high school stories on the back of Matt's porch, knocking back a beer or three. He's the person (outside family) I've known the longest in my life, one of my closest friends. How do you summarize that in a five minute toast?

Posted by Miguel at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Finally online again

I've taken a break from cyberspace to just enjoy being back in Saginaw. And I do enjoy it. You spend most of your angst-ridden teenage existence plotting a way out of a small, broken down, industrial town only to find yourself nostalgic driving along familiar streets: Gratiot, Genessee, Court, Shattuck, Tittabawassee, Hemmeter, Bay. And the huge empty spaces, the country songs dedicated to soldiers, and flags at half staff for a recent fallen remind me I'm in a whole other place. I'd even forgotten what it felt like to wander aimlessly through the hundreds of aisles at Meijer's.

Posted by Miguel at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The taste of Michigan

My first Vernor's ginger soda in over ten months. Who'd ever believe it'd tase so good.

Posted by Miguel at 01:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Last post 'till Saginaw

Ran around buying a few more books (for me) & little gifts (for other people). Then went up to Alto Irpavi for lunch w/ tía Lilia. In about 12 hours I board a plane back to the US. But a night layover in Detroit (at the Comfort Inn) means I won't be back "home" or online until at least Friday midday.

Until then, I'm having a last-night-in-Bolivia dinner in Sopocachi, then up to O Mundo Café for some drinks & chatter. I plan to stay up until my radio taxi takes me up to the airport. Well, I should get going. ER will soon be on.

Posted by Miguel at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last two days in La Paz

Hard to believe it's been ten months already. This was certainly a growing experience — living almost a year in La Paz, Bolivia. I got quite a bit of dissertation research done (though less than the ideal amount).

Posted by Miguel at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Referendum, the day after

With final CNE counts still unreleased, preliminary referendum results are pretty definitive. The "Sí" vote won in all five questions, though w/ a small margin for Question 4 (which asked whether voters supported Mesa's strategy of negotiating gas sales to Chile in exchange for sea access). Nonetheless, debates are already raging in some sectors as to how to interpret the election results. Especially since later turnout figures estimate 40.6% absenteeism.

Continue reading "Referendum, the day after" at Living in Bolivia

Posted by Miguel at 04:23 PM | Permalink

Post referendum brief

Few places opened today, since elections are national holidays. Walked around downtown, then home to wait to see the preliminary referendum results on TV. Anyhow, it looks like the "Sí" vote won across the board, although by slimmer margins for questions 4 & 5.

Of course, there may be debates as to what some of the "yes" votes actually meant. And Solares already announced COB-led protests for tomorrow. So.

Posted by Miguel at 09:11 PM | Permalink

Sorry, back soon

Didn't get to the internet yesterday, then most of the city closed down. 16 July is Día de La Paz (as in the city, not the concept). It's the anniversary of Pedro Murillo's pro-independence movement on 1809 (two months after the Sucre revolt). Most businesses were closed much of the day.

Posted by Miguel at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

3 days to referendum

Only a few days left before Bolivia's gas referendum. Ballots are printed, Mesa's government's making last-minute efforts to ensure "Sí" votes, syndicates & organizations are decided if they'll boycott or strike or whatever. It'll be interesting, the country's first experience w/ a referendum election — and on such a complicated topic.

Posted by Miguel at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A travelogue w/ land mines

Literally. Friend & grad school colleague Nenad Senic is travelling through former Yugoslavia & posting interesting travelogue journal stuff. Really good, intimate first-hand accounts of post-war Yugoslavia. Beats any banal CNN retrospective.

Posted by Miguel at 07:53 PM | Permalink

Did you read the letter?

Sometimes I wonder if people pay attention. I'd requested census data from INE (National Statistics Institute) some time ago. I wanted the 2001 & 1993 census data — actually, only some very specific bits of data — but broken down to the section of province level. This latter part was very important, since it allows me to cross-reference similar level electoral data w/ census data to run models testing for relationships between things like literacy rates & voting patterns. This was all very clearly stipulated in a letter.

Posted by Miguel at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

No Copacabana

I've been looking forward to a Copacabana trip all year. It never happened. Either too busy or (more frequently) road bloqueos made the short three-hour trip impossible. Today some friends went up, and I was tempted to go w/ them. But. I need today & tomorrow to wrap up some last-minute work details. Plus, this weekend'll be hectic (Sunday's the referendum election), and there's manifestaciones announced to start on Monday (probably regardless of the referendum results).

I do, however, now have an apartment in Kalamazoo. Thanks to Bay FM (for looking) & my parents (for loaning deposit $). 728 W. Lovell will be my new home come August.

Posted by Miguel at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Pictures from Sucre

Here's some images of my recent trip to Sucre. Click on any image to view larger version.

Posted by Miguel at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Goodbye, Santa Cruz

Despite the sur winds & a nagging cough, I enjoyed my stay in Santa Cruz. Didn't get to see all the relatives, for a variety of reasons, but it was a good week-long stay. Tonight I'm getting sent off w/ a dish of majao tapao, made special by tía Lea.

Posted by Miguel at 04:26 PM | Permalink

Drinking w/ strangers

Sort of. Last night was tío Ruben's birthday, hosted at tía Lea's house, were all the guests were his friends from college & work (almost all civil engineers). A bunch of late 30s & early 40s jolly types drinking Old Parr whiskey, Kohlberg wines, and Pilsener Tropical. Certainly interesting. Dancing chacarera to a band from the Chaco. The musicians were friends of tío Ruben or tía Graciela (his wife). And quite good. I crawled off to bed around 2am, serenaded through the night by guitars & singing from the patio below.

Dragged out of bed by tía Lea at 11:30 for a trip out to Cotoca, a small town outside Santa Cruz, for arepas, sonzo, and coffee. Arepas are something like pancaces, but made from yuca flour w/ cheese. Delicious.

This Sunday was the jalea festival, so the little town was filled w/ city visitors (more so than on a typical Sunday, perhaps). Jalea is sugar cane honey, sold in little clay pots. We wandered the crowded plaza, making our way to the central market. Rows upon rows of picnic-style tables & benches w/ caseras selling arepas, pacumuto (shish kabob), soup, coffee, hot chocolate, mocochinchi (dried peach juice), and other dishes.

Most Sundays, Cotoca is just filled w/ city folk on excursion. Or pilgrims. Cotoca is to Santa Cruz what Copacabana is to La Paz or Urkupiña is to Cochabamba. Cruceños drive their new cars to Cotoca to have them blessed by the Virgen de Cotoca. The devout will make pilgramages on foot out to the shrine to ask for special favors. It's about a 30 minute drive out from the city.

On the way back, I scored a hammock & hand-made powder blue blanket. The seller wanted Bs. 300 for the pair; I talked him down to Bs. 200. I hope I can put up hammock hooks in my new apartment when I get back to Kalamazoo.

Posted by Miguel at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Saturday

The Bolivia v. Colombia game was a disappointment; the national team's got serious issues. But we've just come to expect that. After all, it's not like the players are disciplined — going out to bars the night before the game isn't really in any serious sports training regimen.

Today, I'm splitting my day between two uncle's houses. Drama, drama. How can a tiny little old woman spark so much anxiety in her middle-aged sons?

The sur wind's still up, but at least it's not a proper surazo. Still, it paints the Santa Cruz sky a dreary grey. I'm recovering from my flu. But mostly I think after an outing w/ Enrique around the city, stopping for a beer. The biggest downside of Santa Cruz visits? Evangelical relatives.

But. Seriously. I do love my family. All the little quirks end up making for great stories. And it's not like anyone out there's unaware that the Centellases are crazy.

Also, saw this URL for a movement called "Neo Unzaguismo" grafitied near the Plaza 24 de Septiembre. Not really looked at it carefully, but it looks vaguely fascistic (at least in iconography & some keywords). But. In Bolivia. You never know. Seriously. You can buy a CD of the best of German music (mostly Mozart & other classical composers) but the cover includes a pictuer of the Nazi flag & other Third Reich elements. When I got in a conversation w/ the sellers about it, it was apparent they'd no idea what fascism was or anything. Just figured that it was an element of German history & no big deal. Sometimes the world's insanity gets to me.

Posted by Miguel at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Speaking of Brazilian soccer

Watched the game w/ Piper (my little cousin Felipe). He took a nap to wake up especially for it (poor med students and their lack of sleep). A nice, smooth, flowing game, even if not brilliant. After a few failed attempts, Brazil finally scored in the last ten minutes to beat Chile 1-0. Of course, some bad refereing cost Brazil several other opportunities.

Posted by Miguel at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sur & little news

There's a light sur wind chilling Santa Cruz, and I've fallen victim to its flu-inducing properties. Abuelita blames the ice cream I had w/ Marcia & Maira before the movies. Either way, it's really just a mild inconvenience, since I get to sit at home & watch cable TV, waiting for tía Lea to make empanadas.

Posted by Miguel at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The beautiful game

After a parrillada dinner, we gathered at tía Lea's to watch the opening of the Copa América, the world's oldest soccer tournament. Bolivia was opening against Perú. We hoped for a good showing, as much as we hoped for a victory. Instead, we witnessed two teams clumsily flopping by each other, despite a few, rare moments of brilliance.

Posted by Miguel at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Check the weather

Because it's so polemical, I'll just link to this blog dedicated to Michael Moore's new movie, Fahrenheit 911. Of course, even The New Yorker skewered the film for not being a documentary, but rather a disservice to the American Left. But. I've not yet seen it. So. I'll say little. Either way, the afforementioned blog lists some of the innacuracies in Moore's flick, if you're interested. At least, it can lead to an open, healthy debate on the film's content & message.

Posted by Miguel at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Long flight

There was a flight delay in Tarija, so I didn't arrive in Santa Cruz until about 10pm. So. Relatives left waiting for me from 6:30pm at the airport. But it was nice to spot abuelito in the crowd of anxious waiters, everyone waiting for the overdue flights & tired relatives.

Posted by Miguel at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

On to Santa Cruz

Spent my last half day in Tarija, the light sur wind that chilled last night, descending in white whips down the low mountains, subsided, breaking to a beautiful winter day. Walked around the main plazas, stopping at the market for a blended juice drink & some bookstore browsing. Andrea called & we met again for lunch: saice in the central market. More conversation about authors, dreams of Spain, brown eyes & delicate hands swirling. She gave me a bottle of homemade honey, before disappeared into her office at the Fiscalia (the DA's office).

Posted by Miguel at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

A Sunday in Tarija

Last night, I sat at the bar of Bagdad Café. Reading The Shipping News, sipping fernet & coca cola, smoking. Started a conversation w/ a girld w/ the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Decided to take a chance, ask her out to lunch.

Posted by Miguel at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Leaving Cocha

My 2+ days in Cochabamba were great. Amber's a fun host & great conversationalist. We exchanged books: Life of Pi for Shipping News (which I've already started & much enjoy).

Spiderman 2 was as great as we both thought it'd be. Took Friday afternoon to visit the Palacio Portales (she'd never been) & ended up also taking in the Alcide d'Orbirgny Natural History Museum (quite nice, too). Didn't make the 5pm Spanish tour, so settled for the 5:30 English tour of Palacio Portales. Had fun taking photographs in the ground's gardens. Didn't enjoy the contemporary art exhibit.

Other than that, we mostly hit the tasty vegetarian restaurants in Cochabamba in the day, the quaint little cafés along Calle España at night. Seriously, Ganesh Restaurant's one of my favorite places to eat in all Bolivia. For Bs. 10 you get an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet that just leaves you not only full, but completley satisfied.

Got all my stuff from CEDIB (the official "purpose" of my trip) & am now a truly happy camper. I won't be when it comes to coding five election's worth of newspaper coverage ... But I also know that (barring really horrible luck), I'm in good shape for a year of data analysis & dissertation writing. Seriously, CEDIB's the most useful research-oriented organization I've come across in Bolivia.

Interestingly, there was a march in Cochabamba while I was here. It was so polite, they even left half the road open for vehicle traffic. They carried green & yellow balloons & were preceded by a well-dressed drum & buggle band. Such an interesting juxtoposition to the paceño variety.

Well, I'm back at Aeropuerto Jorge Wilstermann, waiting to fly out to Tarija. Two nights in Tarija, than on to Santa Cruz. And since I've already done the tourist thing in Tarija numerous times before, this part of my round-the-country adventure will be more quiet, still, reflective. Unless I can get a guided tour of one of the wineries ...

Posted by Miguel at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Quick flights

Got to Cochabamba half a day early & after a brief flight. So brief, we took off, the beverage cart started moving down the aisle, we landed. Barely in flight long enough to drink a juice box. Goodbye Aeropuerto Juana Azurduy (Sucre); hello Aeropuerto Jorge Wilstermann (Cochabamba).

Met Amber at her place near the Prado — she's hosting me in her guest bedroom. Then off to Restaurant Ganesh for an amazing, filling vegetarian lunch. A few errands. Now she's back at her office; I'm gonna see if I can get my CEDIB work done (picking up more data) early today. Perhaps w/ enough time to hit some book stores. Cochabamba's also known for its great bookstores & publishers, especially Los Amigos del Libro.

Tonight. We're off to see Spiderman 2. I've been waiting for this film for some time. Excited? Yes.

It's nice to be back in Cocha. The weather's magificent. I now know my way around downtown a bit better, w/ some familiarity of the little cafes along Calle España. Should be a pleasant, albeit quick, little visit.

Posted by Miguel at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)