Fran started back to to school only yesterday after her Christmas break…the educational system here in Mexico is rather desperately in need of many changes, but we work with what we can get. I could go on about that, but in another blog, perhaps…
She is flourishing within her small network of supporters (THANK YOU!) and continues to grow and learn in so many ways despite the educational system here. She is now committed to taking English class at the Cambridge School for the next two years to complete a requirement for graduation. Becoming fluent in English, I'm sure, will be as important to her future as her degree. She is beginning to talk to me in English, and seems to understand just about everything.
The third pillar of her education, is reading. It is said (including by Mexicans themselves) that "Mexicans don't read," and while that is a generalization, it is generally true, unfortunately. Sr. Luis Rene, (El Dentista) and I have been working on changing this situation in Fran, and it seems to have taken hold! He has told her repeatedly that all the things he knows and talks about, he learned from reading, and that his favorite thing to do at night is to get in bed with a good book. (He is happily unmarried, like me.) This made an impression on Fran, since she is constantly amazed at how much he knows!
A couple of months ago, I bought her a rather long book written by Malala about her life (translated into Spanish, of course). I think she was a bit staggered by the task of reading it, and it took her about a month. But then El Dentista -- who had been talking to her constantly about the power of reading in his life, and what it could do for her -- lent her a book and she read it in less than a week. She's now read 3 books, in one month, and seems to be on her way, reading for pleasure. I just borrowed four skinnier books from the Oaxaca Lending Library for her, in Spanish, at the YA (young adult level). We are getting her started reading by making it as pleasurable as possible, not a chore.
El Dentista has also exposed her to art, some great films, intelligent and far-ranging conversation, and excellent advice on many subjects. He gets mad at her on occasion when he thinks she has done something stupid, and she gets mad at him too, so it is a true family relationship! I feel like I have a "surrogate parent partner" only a few blocks away. Not to mention a great dentist!
Fran continues to be amazing. She came that way, partly, but because she is open, enthusiastic, BRIGHT, adventurous, strong -- she always gets the most out of life. People adore her. Except for the many native Oaxacans who would use her and abuse her if they could, because she fits a certain niche on the color line, is young, is female, is "from the pueblos," is usable and useful, and comes at a rock bottom price They will feed her bad food and have her sleep on the floor, a couch, a dirty mattress. We all plan to protect her from that as long as possible, and partly by giving her the best advanced education we can possibly give her. I still hope that by the time she finishes her Master's degree she can go to the States somehow -- take a few courses there, increase her skills, perfect her English, and become more broadly educated about the world. I think she is a leader waiting to happen.
Fran looks around her and sees the rut many young women are in here, as objects for men to play with. She is older than her peers at school (23 to their 18) so she watches them spend most of their time and energy on their appearance to get boyfriends. They don't understand why Fran seems totally uninterested. Instead of socializing, she goes straight to the front of the class and sits as close to the teacher as possible so she won't miss anything. In her village, she is an incredible anomaly, since all the girls there are married by about age 15, and start having babies. She should have three by now, and they keep reminding her of that every time she visits. Her father told her that it is better to learn how to be alone than to get married too young and start having babies. He is an amazing exception in his village too. He helps his wife with housework and taking care of the children, and the other villagers make fun of him for this.
Fran's mother is trying to learn Spanish (she, like 95 percent of the other villagers, speaks only Cuicateco, a dying language), another indication of how unique her family is. Her oldest younger brother is hopefully on the same path as Fran; he has a lonely and difficult road ahead. Her youngest brother is languishing in the village, getting a miserable education, more miserable than you can imagine. The tendency in isolated villages like Fran's is to actually hold people back, to sustain the cycle of poverty and ignorance by making sure that everyone stays at the same level, doing the same thing, thinking the same way. It pains me to think of his young brain being deadened by his surroundings, especially because I know he is energetic and precocious, like Fran.
It is worth mentioning again that pueblo life is not the ideal some people think it is, especially in remote areas where roads do not extend, where there are no health services, stores, internet connection, schools beyond primary. The young girls who start having babies at fifteen find their hair and teeth falling out because of nutritional problems, a drain on calcium and protein. Fran's mother, in her fifties, has only a few teeth left. The young men (and sometimes women) become serious alcoholics, abusing their wives and children, doing nothing to help them survive. The food they put in their mouth is gathered from plants, mostly beans and corn. There are virtually no animals to eat -- because it is too expensive to feed them. There is no plumbing, and very limited electricity. It is a 7 hour walk to town, or a 3 hour collectivo ride, if you can catch the only one that leaves about 4 in the morning. And if the road hasn't washed out from the rain. There is one person in the village who has a car, the mayor. There is one burro, and possibly one horse.
One step at a time.
Your continued support is much appreciated. Fran now has to start buying more expensive supplies for her coursework, and her one working computer is limping along. I can see the day coming when it will go the way we all inevitably go, which would be truly a disaster since she gets and fulfills class assignments on it regularly. Of course, she can use mine, but mine is headed for the great toxic waste dump in the sky itself. So we need to save, as well as pay the bills.
Another thing we are keeping an eye on is that the landlord's son is moving in upstairs, which may have large consequences, since he doesn't like us to rent our our rooms. If it gets to that, we will have to move.
The best way, the only way to move forward is … one step at a time. I'm learning not to worry. Not there quite yet, but having Fran along makes it more fun!
