Fran's Future Comes into Focus!

Dear Friends!

After five years of very hard work and help from a small group of devoted donors, Fran's future is beginning to come clear. Because it is obvious to her professors she has been set on a course more difficult and in the end more remunerative once she has her master's. That is, working in the laboratory, identifying various diseases and fungus's that attack the crops of larger growers. In this case, she is looking at a fungus she collected from the passion fruit farm in Morelos.

Her graduation here in Oaxaca is still set for February for those who would like to come. I don't have the details yet, but will send them out soon. Graduation presents, of course, are welcome.

After that, Fran will likely go beyond the requirements of her graduation and write a thesis on her work. This, she has been told, will increase the chances of her acceptance into grad school. She is looking at two opportunities to complete her thesis while working to support herself -- one in Guanajuato and the other here in Oaxaca, where she has found a school that offers both a Master's and Ph.D. in her field. This is a developing situation.

But for now, Fran seems to have found her path to a good career that suits her interests and will support her. And we all look forward to her graduation in February!
Affectionately from Oaxaca,
Lorena & Fran

THANK YOU!

Dear Friends,

Thank you for responding so quickly! Fran got what she needed and will be able to pay for her visa on time. You are wonderful!

Just so everyone is aware, (and I apologize for having to follow my THANKS so quickly with another appeal) Fran now has only one regular donor who is holding up her tent until her graduation in June 2019. 

So I need to start asking that a few more people step up with small monthly donations until that date. Any amount will be of help -- ten, twenty, thirty dollars would make a big difference.

If you can commit, we can talk about how to get your money directly into her bank account either by Paypal or a bank transfer.

--Lorena and Fran

News Flash 1

Fran at the end of a wonderful day spent with friends.

Hi Friends,

Fran is still enjoying her Christmas break from school. She'll be going back on January 29th! We will have some more definite news soon, but wanted to share that she will be getting her Mexican passport this Tuesday. She is going for the 10-year passport!  There's a chance she will be getting a visa to visit the United States either this year or next, but many details have to be worked out. Meanwhile, if the Trump era throws too many obstacles in her path, she realizes that she can visit other places, like South and Central America, Spain, Canada.

She has been doing consistently well in her studies and last semester was no exception. She has more than she needs to get into graduate school.

Another big pieces of news is that she had to decide before the beginning of the next semester whether she was going to pursue organic or non-organic agronomy. She said between 20 and 30 students chose organic (herself included) and the majority, about 80, chose non-organic.  What decided her was not me, though I did my best. What decided her was her father, who has never used any kind of pesticide on his orchards or crops in their village, so his advice was to forego the poisons!  An amazing man. He was the one who told his daughter to leave the village and go out into the world to make something of herself. And she certainly has.

Only 1.5 years to go until her degree!!!!

OK, signing off for now!
Stay tuned.

Fran is doing great, in her (probably) penultimate semester!!!

Fran separating the beans from the chaff

A handful of fresh black beans

Fran's teacher pitches in to harvest the black beans

Hello friends,
Fran is taking 7 classes this semester so she is working as hard as she has ever worked to keep up. Her employment with the dentist ended, which is just as well, because she has no time for anything but to keep up with her classwork. As I've mentioned, we will find out in January whether she has one more, or two more semesters to go before completing her degree.

A complicating factor (maybe) was the sequence of three earthquakes we just had. The school was closed for two weeks. On top of that, the director of her school has been accused of stealing a great deal of money and is in judicial proceedings. It does seem sometimes that anyone in power here, sooner or later gives into the temptation to take what is not theirs! The rumor is, though we are not at all certain, that this situation may delay everyone's graduation by a semester.

But that doesn't stop Fran from moving forward. She is the most courageous and hard-working person I have ever met, and nothing is going to stop her from getting that degree in her hand.

The Day of the Dead is approaching!!!  I wish some of you could come down to Oaxaca and participate in this amazing time.  Here are some of my photographs from former years.

Have a Happy Halloween. We'll be in touch before the upcoming holidays!
Besos from Oaxaca,
Lorena and Fran

Senior Project fee coming up!

Hi friends,

So many changes! As I may have explained, we will find out for sure in January whether Fran will GRADUATE in June 2018 or January 2019. She spoke to an official (they don't have advisors in Mexican schools, unfortunately) who seemed optimistic that if she could sign up for 7 classes this semester, she should probably be able to finish in June.

She signed up for those seven classes, and will be working double time until Christmas. She had to stop working for the dentist, so she has no other income now except what you kind people are providing. In return for her work, he paid her monthly bill at the Berlitz Language School. One of you has already stepped up to take care of that. Thank you!

Aside from taking it one step at a time, breathing deep, having faith, the only thing I'm nervous about now is the upcoming expense, in January, for her senior project, which obviously she must complete before graduation. Hopefully we will have some realistic estimates soon. But that fee, which is likely to be about $1,000 USD and will have to be paid sometime after the January semester begins.  Stay tuned. Getting specific information about anything is probably the most difficult challenge in Oaxaca, partly because decisions at the institutional level are made about 5 minutes before they go into effect.

So Fran will need some extra help financially to cross this Rubicon. I am looking for a few new donors. Perhaps you know someone who would like to help her leap over the last hump! It is a lot to ask anyone individual, so I am hoping a small (or large) group can chip in on it. But again, we are still looking for at least a few reliable estimates of the actual cost.

Meanwhile, expect invitations to her graduation sometime next year. YOU DID THIS! You made it possible for one bright young woman to have a future, and as soon as she can catch a breath, she will want to thank each of you in person.

Big hugs from Oaxaca.  And more soon.
Lorena and Fran

Fran's Expanding Life! -- Lots of Photos!

Hi Friends,

Fran is just winding up the school year and beginning to think about how she will spend her summer. She recently went on a trip with her classmates to Puebla, where they visited a coffee plantation, an orchid farm, a native plant arboretum, and an indigenous agricultural project. They also visited a Totonac ruin that looked quite amazing.

Fran at Totonac ruins

Fran with a couple of classmates at an arboretum in Puebla

Fran and her class at the Totonac ruin in Puebla

Fran at a beautiful waterfall and swimming pool in the wilds of Puebla

Fran with a young soldier in the back of a camioneta in Puebla

Immediately after her trip to Puebla, she was invited by some new friends on a pleasure excursion to El Istmo, where she saw a beach and an ocean for the first time in her life, at Salina Cruz. After a long, dry period of concentrating on her studies and being somewhat disillusioned with the male species, and to some extent the female species...she ran into this wonderful group of friends.

Fran & Friends at Salina Cruz

After the beach, they went to a fiesta in the town of Juchitan.

Fran dressed for the fiesta, second from right

Fran and some of her new friends. Checo is on the left.

Then they went to her friend Checo's graduation from Fran's school. You can read between the lines here...  Checo is a year ahead of her. Below is a photo of Checo with Fran at his graduation. He knows how to dance, and Fran has been taking classes, so she was ready! (THANK YOU SHEELA!)

Fran and Checo at their school. He just graduated.

Here is a photo Fran included to show you one of her classrooms:

Fran must have taken this photo...because I don't see here here.

Here are more photos. She has about 1,000, but we thought we'd spare you!

Fran at the ecological dormitory for students in Puebla

Fran in bamboo, Puebla

Hotel Cuetzalan, where the students stayed in Puebla

Stonework at Totonac ruin

Ok, that's all for now. We hope you enjoyed the photos!

This summer, Fran will be concentrating on English and if her school offers a class she needs for her degree, she will enroll. If not, she will take a much needed break, though she will continue to work for the dentist. And I suspects she'll be spending some pleasant hours with her new friend, Checo.

And to all of you who have donated to Fran's education, we send our gratitude and love!

Just got back from the States...

Last night, after traveling or waiting around to travel from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.  I'm still in a semi-coma but wanted to share some exciting news that I haven't even had time to consider very deeply, so more will follow.

As you know, we are looking ahead, planning for Fran's next steps after graduation in June 2018. I met with several people in California and have received correspondence with suggestions and offers of help, all of which are exciting. I also have news about the length of my projected stay in here Oaxaca, which is now longer than expected. I thought I was going to qualify for housing in California in about 2 years, but was informed that it will now be between 3 and 4 years.  I am 700th on the list! 

That means I can be here to support Fran in various small ways a bit longer. In the following weeks, she and I will be looking at the possibilities and organizing priorities.

The basics:

Fran will study English for 1 solid year, possibly 18 months, in order to pass the TOEFL test at the level expected by colleges in the U.S. and abroad. That means weekly classes (at least) at Berlitz, and 3 times per week with me, plus an English-only environment here at the house.

Fran will then attend graduate school near Mexico City to get her Masters in Agronomy. That should take 2 years.

But other opportunities have been offered and are possible:
1. An offer to go to school and work in New England.
2. Possibly attending Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz for a year.
3. Possibly working on an organic/sustainable farm near Barcelona and studying there, possibly a doctorate.

For now:

One step at a time. Investigating the details. Applying for a passport and visas, etc.  It's a little overwhelming, but we have time to do it all at a measured pace.  Thank you so much to you all, and especially those who are now becoming involved in helping with the next stages. 

Our goals:

That Fran receive a deeper and broader education than that available to her here in Mexico. That at the end of the process she will be able to support herself and love what she is doing, including contributing positively to her community and beyond. We are determined that she at least receive her Master's degree, become fluent and qualified in English, and have the benefit of at least one year abroad in Canada, the U.S., or Europe.

Onward!