Rio Gringa

When I’m doing research and unexpectedly come across one of my old pieces

• Rio’s Renaissance: Will Public Works Last? (Rio Gringa)
• Paraguay Aims to Regain Mercosur Membership (AS/COA Online)
• Weekly Roundup: Brazil or Mexico to Head WTO, Venezuela’s Vote Audit, Dilma’s Argentina Trip (co-written, AS/COA Online)
• Explainer: President Barack Obama’s Trip to Mexico and Costa Rica (co-written, AS/COA Online)

When I have to sit through an academic presentation or panel that is almost entirely in academic-speak

When I remember that I registered for a conference that involves getting up early on a Saturday

When someone asks me, in all seriousness, if my Spanish is really good since I lived in Brazil and married a Brazilian

Attempting to find any reliable information about Chávez’s health

Trying to follow El Chapo death rumors on Twitter

When analysts and the media “drink the Kool-Aid” and hype a Latin American country beyond what is reasonably realistic

Dedicated to Ulysses.

When I see how much press coverage is given to the Maya end of the world story, even from serious outlets

Getting home from a trip abroad and realizing you have to go to work the next morning