The first is video of Javi in Michigan, including him & Valerie doing a “hop on pop” reenactment. The second is video of Javi back in his crib in Baltimore, playing w/ his new eBay acquisition. The last is video of Javi demonstrating his army crawling skills.

Click once to see a video play small. Double-click to see it larger.

We’ve been back from our summer expedition for a few days now. It just took a while to get to some of the pictures from our cross-country trip (lesson learned: driving nearly 2,000 miles w/ a five-month-old is harder than we thought). Some quick notes (and pictures):

Still traveling. We’ve just arrived in Saginaw for our last visit, before we push off & head back to Baltimore tomorrow. Trying to keep up w/ news during long internet-less days is tough; so all that will have to wait until later. Instead, we’re enjoying seeing nieces we rarely see, reconnecting w/ family & friends, and enjoying our “up North” Michigan adventure.

Pronto* takes a two weeks vacation starting today. We’ll be on the road tonight to Chicago for K8’s graduation, then a swing through Michigan to visit family, then back in Baltimore two weeks later.

It’s been a hectic two weeks. Since May 15, we’ve moved to Baltimore, held our son’s christening, attended two weddings (one in DC, one in Carlisle), and hosted a reunion of the Centellas brothers for Andy & Saloumeh’s MBA graduations in Delaware. We also attended two Orioles games, bought new furniture at IKEA, and have started to explore our new Mount Washington (or is it Roland Park?) neighborhood.

We’re going to try out the Baltimore Light Rail system today. We’re also going to our first (if we can get tickets) Orioles game at Camden Yards. Should be a nice Memorial Day activity—and it seems that the ballpark is infant friendly. Sorry, Lachie, it looks like Javi’s first baseball experience will be w/ the Orioles, not the Cubs.

We’re installed in our new apartment in Baltimore. And though we now have access to the internets, we’ll barely have time this weekend. Still, it’s good to be (mostly) settled. Now I just need to find a way to catch up on sleep.

I’m finishing the last of my grading, before I head back home and finish emptying out my office. We no longer have internet at home; we won’t have it again until it’s installed at our new Baltimore place. Let’s see how many hours I’m forced to go w/o internet.

Funny thing: In my mailbox, at 7:30pm, I found two pairs of purple & white graduation cords in an envelope. They arrived w/ no prior warning, no note, and nothing in my email asking me to expect them. Nothing. I’m leaving town in less than 15 hours—and I don’t expect to be back before next week (well after commencement). What am I supposed to do w/ these?

Both Lucia (1977 Bianchi-Snark Eagle Deluxe, my first moped) & The Motron (1979 Motron Medallist) are gone. Sigh.

We started Javi on solid foods a few days ago. It’s a little early, but he’s so big (he’s bigger than your average 8-month-old) that the pediatrician suggested we start him on solids now (adding that it was the reason he was demanding to eat so frequently). So we started him on wheat cereal, which he seemed to enjoy tremendously. Here’s some video:

On a personal note: a story about K8’s research got digged. If you wondered what her NSF research was about, or why she drives to Delaware every week, now you know.

Apologies for the sporadic updates. As you can imagine, planning to move (both house & office)—all the while dealing w/ a fussy (teething) soon-to-be 4-month-old and nearing the end of the semester—leaves little time for much else beyond sleeping.

But we’ll have more pictures/updates about Javi soon enough. Including his upcoming baptism, which is May 17th in Bethesda, Maryland. Stay tuned!

We got back Sunday. But I’ve only now had a chance to upload pictures (including some from Easter weekend). Chicago was great—as always. It was a pleasant visit w/ family & friends.

The Monday deadlines came & went. And I’m pleased to share that I’ll be joining Mount Saint Mary’s University in the fall. I think it’s a great fit for me, personally & professionally. It’s also conveniently located near K8’s post-doc at the University of Delaware, which means I don’t have to move far away. Most importantly, it’s tenure track.

Two nights ago, both Sophies (yes, we have two cats named Sophie) escaped out of the house. The event involved a stray cat that lurks near our apartment & a screen door whose latch gave out. Before I noticed, they were both long gone.

It’s been some time since my last update. As you can imagine, things are very busy here. Spring break wasn’t much of a break at all, confronting mounds of grading, some writing lose ends (still loose, btw), putting together some special conference panels, and some last-minute job interview preps. And now Easter is upon us.

Ah, Spring Break! One would think this was a time to recharge batteries & rest before the rest of the semester. Alas, not for faculty. A stack of midterms & other assignments begs to be graded. Students never know how much we suffer on their behalf.

It’s time for more Javi pictures. He’s now two months old. Be sure to note: 1) he now has “real” expressions, 2) he owns a pair of baby cowboy boots, and 3) he has a ridiculous Easter costume.

I missed it, because he’s in Delaware. But Javi has learned a new trick: He can now roll over onto his side. Not all the way over, mind you, just onto his side. K8 emailed me the news. Apparently, he prefers to sleep on his side (something I already knew, since he would sleep better if I turned him onto his left side).

Sunday, he had discovered how to suck his thumb (which saves us from waking up at night to put a dropped pacifier back in his mouth). It’s funny how quickly they start to learn little things.

My parents leave town tomorrow & start heading back to Bolivia. It’s been good having them here these past two weeks, even if it’s been hectic. But I’m certainly going to miss them—especially since we might not see each other again for another year.

Javi turned a month old two days ago. It’s a cliché, but he’s growing fast. He barely fits into his 0-3 month clothes & he’s slowly gaining new skills (he smiles). He also has a belly button now.

It’s hard to believe how quickly time passes. Javi is almost a month old now (and fussier by the day). The lack of sleep is starting to slowly wear me down. I still have two major projects (book manuscript, article rewrite) to finish—because in two weeks grading papers will take over my life.

There’s a number of reasons why my dad’s my personal hero.

For those of you seeking Javi updates, please check the new “Javi” category page: mcentellas.com/archives/javi/.

My mom posted some pictures of my cousin’s baby (his first, too). It’s actually a very funny story of sorts.

A big “thank you” to everyone who called, emailed, or posted a comment of good wishes on the birth of little Javi (Javier Enrique). We’re all three of us now back home, recovering, but tired.

After 36+ hrs of labor, followed by a C-section, little Javier Enrique Centellas was finally born at 9:20pm. Weighing in at 9 lbs, 6 oz (and nearly 22 inches long!). There’s a few (of the many, many) pictures up on my Flickr. Unfortunately, the hospital doesn’t have WiFi—so some of you will have to wait for updates & new pictures. And w/ that, I’m back out to the hospital. Ciao!

Taking a very quick break for a shower & a change of clothes. But we’re in the hospital, hoping little Javi (finally!) arrives before midnight.

Still no baby. So little Javi will now (most likely) be born in ’08, not the tail end of ’07. We won’t get the nice tax break (sorry, my dad’s an accountant, I can’t help it), but that’s OK.

No baby news yet. We’re still waiting. K8’s parents are coming up today, since they’re getting anxious (and there’s not much else to do). Hopefully soon?

I’ll be taking a break over the holidays. The most obvious reason is that it’s Christmas. But also because I’m expecting my first son any moment now. I’ll be back soon. And then we’ll have lots of baby pictures. Oh, and Bolivia news & updates (which I’m keeping up on, of course). ¡Feliz navidad, y’all!

We mocked the local panic & frequent emails about winter “weather emergencies”—and now we’re on our first full 24 hours w/o electricity in the house. Lovely.

It’s finally snowing in Carlisle. And I’m loving it. I’m sure the panic will soon set in (why don’t people outside the Midwest understand that snow is a perfectly natural form of precipitation?) & area schools will shut down for 3-4 days. But in the meantime I get to watch snow drift across campus from my second story window.

Today’s our first wedding anniversary. It’s almost surreal to think that it’s gone so quickly. A year ago today we were in Chicago in the middle of a snowstorm (I barely made it in for the nuptials). It was six weeks after I defended my dissertation & barely four months after coming to Dickinson. A year later, it’s six weeks after K8 defended her dissertation & three weeks from the birth of our first child. It’s been a whirlwind.

My good friends Dan & Emily are getting married today in Kalamazoo. I’m not able to be there, but I wanted to wish them the best. And I’m especially touched that Dan called me last night from his bachelor party—which apparently involved 16 people trapped in a parking garage elevator. Anyhow, they’re a wonderful couple. And I wish them the very best in San Francisco.

If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve taken a slight break from blogging. In part, my priorities are currently elsewhere, particularly as the push before the brief Thanksgiving break put “real” work (the kind I get paid for) higher on the agenda. Similarly, I’m realizing that I need more “down time”—particularly in anticipation of our first son: Javier Enrique Centellas (due in a few weeks)—because 5-6 cups of coffee per day is destroying my eyesight & stomach.

Last weekend we finished putting the baby room together. And we managed to keep the room open for guests, too (don’t worry, if you visit us we’ll move into that room). So I think we’re pretty much ready. There’s still some minor things to worry about, but we have at least a month before Javier Enrique arrives.

We’re now birthing class graduates. We’ve got a certificate & everything.

It’s a hectic weekend. Yesterday, we rented a van, to drive to the nearest Ikea (two hours away) for a number of household & baby related items. Today, I’ll spend most of the day assembling Swedish furniture. At least we have a crib now. And I’ll have a real dresser, rather than wire boxes. Slowly but surely, our apartment no longer looks like graduate student housing.

It’s perhaps fitting that today—on the anniversary of “9/11”—my Democracy & Democratization class is reading the first chapter of Samuel Huntington’s The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (1991). It’s fitting because “9/11” is both the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001 and of the US-supported (if not directly “backed”) Chilean military coup of 1973.

While Huntington’s work has been controversial, he’s made some important insights that aren’t easily dismissed—and shouldn’t be overlooked. One of them is this snippet on pages 29-30:

“… the future of democracy in the world is of special importance to Americans. The United States is the premier democratic country in the modern world, and its identity as a nation is inseparable from its commitment to liberal and democratic values. Other nations may fundamentally change their political systems and continue their existence as nations. The United States does not have that option.”

Most of the class discussion will focus on the Huntington’s introduction to the idea of “waves” of democratization, which they’re reading alongside Dankward Rustow’s 1970 classic article, “Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model.” But I hope we have a chance to parse out this Huntington nugget (which closely follows an argument that increased democratization throughout the world may bring more peace & less violence). Because what Huntington notes in this passage is that US political identity is wrapped up in our belief in liberal, democratic values. The US isn’t only the premier democracy (for all its faults), but the world’s premier case of “civic” (as opposed to organic, ethnic, or cultural) nationalism.

The US wasn’t founded on the belief that “the American people” should govern themselves (in the way that, say, the Serbian nation-state is explicitly Serbian and not for others in Serbian territory—this example could be applied to a host of “ethnic” nation-states), but on the belief that people should. Re-read the first line of the Declaration of Independence; it clearly implies a universal scope. And it suggests that the US has a founding mission to promote the spread of democracy.

Perhaps if we paid more attention to the struggle for freedom & democracy around the world, we wouldn’t be so surprised in international relations. And we may need to constantly remind ourselves that our first priority—or “prime directive”—as a state is to act in ways that promote democratic values around the world. Perhaps the last question made before any policy decision should be this: “Will this policy hinder or advance the cause of freedom in the world?”

While Pronto* is only a few months old, September is my five year blogging anniversary, w/ Ciao!

The conference was physically draining. Perhaps it was driving nearly 10 hours both ways, but I’m just completely drained. But there were some quality panels, which I enjoyed. And Montréal—in terms of local food & beer—is fantastic (K8 & I both agreed that the food in Montréal was better than in Paris).

I’m at LASA, in Montréal. It was a long (but not tedious) drive. And now I’m enjoying free WiFi in the hotel lobby, catching up on emails. The panels are interesting, of course (though we missed Alvaro García Linera’s presentation). And I’m hoping not to completely burn out before my Saturday panel (and I’ll need energy for the drive back!).

Catching up w/ Bolivian news is disturbing, but not unexpected. Street violence in Sucre, w/ promises of more to come. Both sides are to blame of course. And inflation has hit double digits (sparking fears of hyperinflation).

I’ll be attending the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) conference in Montreal. And we’re driving there & back. So I probably won’t be blogging until Monday. If you’re looking for English-language Bolivia updates, be sure you check the Global Voices Bolivia page. Ciao!

Some exciting (non-baby) changes: I am (as of yesterday morning) Latin American Studies program coordinator at Dickinson College.

Just because it’s hilarious, YouTube video of the 2007 “Hipster Olympics” (below).

After reading a TNR article on America’s obsession w/ genealogy, I’ve become obsessed w/ genealogy. I remember as a kid looking at a small family tree my tío Jorge had drawn. But I don’t remember much, other than the fact that there was a “Pio” in it somewhere (I think my great grandfather). So I recently set up a free account on Ancestry.com. And it’s been a fascinating way to procrastinate.

Like many others, I’m scrambling to get ready for the Fall semester. I’m mostly ready, but I like to get a lot of other projects either out of the way (or well under way) before classes start. Otherwise, they get shoved to the back burner.

I’m finally starting to structure my long-neglected Bolivia politics wiki, currently concentrating on entries for MAS & MNR. These entries will serve as templates for the rest of the project, which will take at least a year to complete. I’ve applied for a research assistant, which would help considerably.

Beyond that, there’s manuscripts (and revisions to manuscripts) to send out. Then there’s the upcoming LASA conference in Montreal. And, of course, my two-year visiting position ends next June. So there’s that. I’ve no idea where I’ll be living in 10 months (or how I’ll pay for food, rent, and student loan bills).

I got to see my future son (yes, it’s a boy!) for the first time today. It is actually rather amazing what can be seen in a sonogram. Don’t kid yourself, it’s still incredibly fuzzy. But you can actually make out fingers, toes, and other little body parts. I officially have permission to look for robot, Star Trek, or similarly-themed baby accessories. Sweet.

I’ll admit that I’ve not carefully read the baby books. Yes, that makes me a bad father/husband. But, in my defense, they’re geared to panicky women (understandably) & aren’t very interesting (yes, I did flip through them). But if you want to make sure I’m fully prepared for fatherhood: Buy me these three books from my personal wishlist.

One of the things I personally selected for our wedding registry was an ice cream maker. This summer, one of my “personal” (not-work-related) projects was to learn how to make ice cream. So far, I’ve made cinnamon, coffee, and maple walnut ice cream. I’ve been searching to try some more exotic, spice-based flavors. First on my list? Anise. I’m glad to discover I’m not the only one: sour cream anise ice cream.

I went on my first tour of a hospital (Holy Spirit in Mechanicsburg) yesterday. I’ve never been on a “hospital tour” before, though I’ve never been expecting a baby before, either. So this is all new to me. Mostly, we met in a room full of other pregnant women & men to learn about car seats, why babies shouldn’t be shaken, and such. Basically, mostly common sense information & probably meant to protect the hospital from potential lawsuits. But it was nice to see the place where we may have to drive 20 minutes to at 3am some winter day in December. We’re also scheduled to visit the Harrisburg Hospital (the other place we may have to drive 20 minutes to).

Summer school is much more time-consuming that I remember (from my student days). I’ve only three students, but I have to prepare daily lectures. I only hope the students are somehow keeping up w/ the 30+ pages of reading per day; we’re trying to cram a semester’s worth of material into four weeks (the fifth week is devoted to them writing their research paper). It’s certainly an experience.

We’re still settling back in from our month-long trip. Between the unpacking & Copa América watching, I’ve not found too much time yet to post any updates. I’m barely able to keep an eye on the current Bolivian situation. But it’s not good (though not yet a disaster either). Now they’re fighting over the issue of the capital (whether it should be moved back to Sucre), making it unlikely that the Constituent Assembly will finish by the 6 August deadline. Clearly, this isn’t the same kind of pliable assembly that either Chávez or Fujimori enjoyed.

It’s been a long trip. And it’s good to be back home. But before the unpacking, it’s time to catch up w/ some Copa América action. I just called to activate my sports package subscription (for GolTV), where I just saw USA tie Paraguay 1-1. Here’s hoping for victory.

Our short, two-week trip to Bolivia is almost over. And, yes, we both bought an incredible ammount (a suitecase full) of new books & other research resources. Wednesday at dawn we fly back to the US, then head off to Kalamazoo for my official doctoral graduation ceremony. After a day or two at the lake w/ family, we'll finally head back to "home" (K8 hasn't actually been "home" in three months!). It's been a pleasant whirlwind trip, but we're looking forward to settling back into our routine at home.

Things still haven't changed dramatically in Bolivia. The "crisis" (as everyone refers to Bolivia's existence since at least 2000) continues unabated, droning on & on, only changing tempo & tone from time to time. But life, for most people, seems to continue as usual, though w/ the slight improvements that time always seems to bring (one wonders how much more things could improve if there was no "crisis").

For future reference: I should never travel w/o my own laptop. Never, never, never. Life is just much easier that way.

Only a brief update from Santa Cruz (read to the end for more “personal” update). I’ll be sure to post more once I’m back at home in Pennsylvania. It’s difficult to find time to post when I’m mostly visiting family/friends. And they deserve most of my attention. But I’m reading the paper (mostly El Deber in Santa Cruz) & watching TV news as much as possible. Plus, you can’t help but observe things on the street. I am updating my del.icio.us linkroll frequently; if you can read Spanish, that’s a snapshot of the things I’m reading about.

We arrived a few days ago, safe & sound in Santa Cruz. Spent most of the days catching up w/ my parents & family, eating camba food, and relaxing after a long academic year. So far, things are going well. The weather's pleasant (sunny, breezy, otherwise calm). Today we hope to get some work done (I have to edit some articles; K8 has to grade papers & do some writing), before going out (if we both feel up to it) to stroll Monsenor Rivera, the downtown cafe district.

Politically, the situation is getting interesting (check my del.icio.us links), w/ a simmering conflict between Evo (president) & Ruben Costas (the Santa Cruz prefect): Evo chose not to attend a scheduled meeting yesterday between the two. We'll see what happens in the next few days.

Blogging will be light for the next three weeks, as we’ll be in Bolivia visiting family & friends. I’ll check in from time to time, but no guarantees. But we heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time today, which was rather exciting. I’ll admit that it’s a bit odd trying to plan 5+ years out, when I only have guaranteed income (and health insurance) for another 12 months.

We leave for Bolivia in three days; so a lot of work to get done between now & then. But I think we get a sonogram image before we leave.

When we moved, we decided to get a “home” phone in addition to our individual cell phones. We decided to use VOIP, rather than a “legacy” phone service; we went w/ Vonage (in part because they have a very slick ad campaign). To their credit, it’s very easy to set up an account, and we were up & running in minutes. To their discredit, it’s very difficult to cancel an account. Plus, who needs a “home” phone anyhow?

I’m traveling to Bolivia in a few days. In some ways, this is nothing new. Though my family moved to Michigan in 1985, we frequently went back to visit relatives & friends, especially in Santa Cruz & La Paz. It’s also nothing new to K8; we met there (we were both Fulbright fellows). But this time, we must consciously plan our visit around potential bloqueos & street protests.

This weekend was my first Memorial Day weekend since moving to Pennsylvania (does PA count as “East Coast”? I’m never sure). I spent most of Friday driving to & back from Pittsburgh. Then I spent Sunday & Monday in Philadelphia & Wilmington (Delaware). That meant I became rather intimately familiar w/ I-76 (aka the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

Today is Mother’s Day in Bolivia. I’ve always liked this holiday; though perhaps that’s partly due to heavy “patriotic” government indoctrination I received in Bolivian elementary schools. In contrast to the US holiday, it (in part) honors one of the country’s “founders” (a founding mother?): Juana Azurduy de Padilla.

Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the birth of the Star Wars universe. A colleague in the French department is hosting a Star Wars theme two-day party (or “conference”). Sadly, I’ll have to miss out on the second day (when they’ll watch/discuss episodes IV, V, VI) because I’m driving to Pitt to visit some friends & browse their library’s Eduardo Lozano Collection (probably the largest Bolivia-specific collection in the US). But I’m trying to scramble to put together an appropriately themed snack and/or drink to bring to the festivities (for some reason I thought this would be on Saturday). I will make one small contribution: my favorite Star Wars fan film is Troops (1997). Enjoy!

There’s still a small number of people left to contact. But we’re already making it public knowledge: We’re having a baby, due sometime in late December.

K8’s back in town—and this is commencement week at Dickinson—so blogging will be light until Sunday. And Saturday I finally get to watch Spiderman 3; but only after watching Man U beat Chelsea for the FA Cup.

Also, my dissertation (Democracy on Stilts: Bolivia’s Democracy from Stability to Crisis) is finally available for download through Western’s electronic thesis & dissertation database. It’s three PDF files.

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PS. The Man U-Chelsea game is on pay-per-view. So I guess we won’t be watching it.

I’ve just posted my course syllabi for next Fall; you can download them from my department website. I’ve revamped the comparative politics course (POSC 150). The democracy & democratization course (POSC 257) is completely new—and I’ve built the reader from scratch.

Fellow Bolivian blogger, Eddie Avila, has been working on a great program: the Bolivian-American Project. I hope to work on the Emerging Leaders program in the future. There’s currently a program in Washington, DC (where there’s a large Bolivian immigrant population); Eddie’s going to Cochabamba, Bolivia, to start a program there, soon. Check out both programs. You can also join the Bolivian-American Project Facebook page (if you’re on Facebook).

Over the last few days, an online discussion at the The Democracy Center (a place I respected) blog completely disintegrated. An anonymous poster known only as “El Grindio” decided to suggest that my “weak intellect” was a product on my “genetic code” (eugenics, anyone?). There was more (oh, much more!) in that racist vein. Which is a shame, because it has—at least for now—completely shattered what should be an interesting forum for the exchange of views on contemporary Bolivian politics.

This picture was taken in Bolivia, about 31 years ago. I’d like to send my mom (& my dad) best wishes today, back in Santa Cruz. Funny how life comes full circle.