Update & Specific Request

Hi all!
Greetings from Oaxaca, Mexico!
Might as well start with Fran's new situation with her English Class. The dentist Fran works for has informed her that after this month, he can no longer pay for her English classes at Berlitz. This is a blow because she is now beginning to speak and write in English due to the quality of the class. It is a 700 pesos per month (or about $35 dollars). Other language options here are truly dismal, taught by Mexicans who can't speak, much less teach English effectively. Most of her classmates are taking these substandard classes and "graduate" without speaking, a total waste of time. I hope we can find someone to contribute $35 a month for the next 2 years, or even just for a year. Please let me know if you might be able to help.

Please mail donations to:

OCCU

PO Box 77002

Springfield, OR 97475-1046

Make checks out to: Francisca Education Fund

Or if you can send via PayPal, to lcassady@gmail.com

Now for other news:
My family recently visited Oaxaca and met Fran for the first time.  Well, my granddaughter met her three years ago when she visited Oaxaca with her mother.  In this photo, Hana (the tall one) and Fran are making a big batch of tamales for dinner. We had a great time together and now the house seems awfully quiet! 

Shortly my family left, Fran's younger brother arrived in Oaxaca from their home village in Cuicatlan and is trying to make his way here. It happened just as Fran was entering the end of her semester and exams, so it was a bit crazy for a few days. Thanks to Leeann and Steve, he hopefully has enough to get him stabilized with a job and a place to live. He has already filled out applications and applied for jobs. We are waiting to hear. Philemon does not live with us -- Fran found him a tiny room not far away, and after he finds a job, hopefully this month, he will be looking for a better place. He will have to live with more than one person. First step for Philemon is to learn Spanish. He must do that before he can go to school here in Oaxaca. So he will hopefully find a morning work shift which will allow him to take Spanish and math classes in the evening.

Other than that, we are hoping the situation here in Mexico doesn't go any farther downhill. The peso is falling, and people here seem to be very uncertain about their lives. The election of Donald Trump really upset everyone. Trump is the subject of most conversations here at the moment.

I still feel every bit as privileged as I always have to watch Fran grow and develop her skills, interests, and knowledge about the wider world. She has never wavered in her dedication to her classwork and still stands out to her teachers. Her work is held up as an example to others. Fran also recognizes how lucky she is to come home to a quiet apartment where she can sit and study undisturbed for as long as she needs to. Other students go home to relative chaos, many people and children living together, no privacy, no peace and quiet. I don't think I have ever seen anyone as focused, able to stay in the chair for 6 or 8 hours if she needs to, to complete a task. She has many obstacles to overcome as a poor indigenous young female in a culture that heavily discriminates against both, but if anyone can do it, she can. I hope she can maintain connections with you individually, especially as she learns enough English to eventually take over this blog!

Along with all the other things we are tracking, we are trying to get specific information about what it will take to get her into graduate school in Mexico City about 2 or 2.5 years from now. Stay tuned!

The weather has cooled off, the rains have gone, and the snowbirds are arriving. They will arrive in force after Christmas. Over the Christmas holidays Fran plans to go back to taking violin and swimming. She had to put those two activities on hold to cope with her school work, and work with the Dentist.

This might be a tense year, with the economy falling apart and the new governor taking over January 1. He is not a popular person here. Many believe the election was rigged. And so we expect more social upheaval. Fran and I are focused on getting that degree in her hands in a couple of years. One step at a time, no matter what it takes!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Fran and I ate at Quinque, a restaurant that always serves an American-style turkey dinner every year. I hadn't had turkey for several years. It was SO GOOD!  Big hugs from us in Oaxaca. Visit soon!
--Lorena and Fran

Update & Specific Request

Hi all!
Might as well start with Fran's new situation with her English Class. The dentist Fran works for has informed her that after this month, he can no longer pay for her English classes at Berlitz. This is a blow because she is now beginning to speak and write in English due to the quality of the class. It is a 700 pesos per month (or about $35 dollars). Other language options here are truly dismal, taught by Mexicans who can't speak, much less teach English effectively. Most of her classmates are taking these substandard classes and "graduate" without speaking, a total waste of time. I hope we can find someone to contribute $35 a month for the next 2 years, or even just for a year. Please let me know if you might be able to help with a donation.

Now for other news:
My family recently visited Oaxaca and met Fran for the first time.  Well, my granddaughter met her three years ago when she visited Oaxaca with her mother.  In this photo, Hana (the tall one) and Fran are making a big batch of tamales for dinner. We had a great time together and now the house seems awfully quiet! 

Shortly my family left, Fran's younger brother arrived in Oaxaca from their home village in Cuicatlan and is trying to make his way here. It happened just as Fran was entering the end of her semester and exams, so it was a bit crazy for a few days. Thanks to Leeann and Steve, he hopefully has enough to get him stabilized with a job and a place to live. He has already filled out applications and applied for jobs. We are waiting to hear. Philemon does not live with us -- Fran found him a tiny room not far away, and after he finds a job, hopefully this month, he will be looking for a better place. He will have to live with more than one person. First step for Philemon is to learn Spanish. He must do that before he can go to school here in Oaxaca. So he will hopefully find a morning work shift which will allow him to take Spanish and math classes in the evening.

Other than that, we are hoping the situation here in Mexico doesn't go any farther downhill. The peso is falling, and people here seem to be very uncertain about their lives. The election of Donald Trump really upset everyone. Trump is the subject of most conversations here at the moment.

I still feel every bit as privileged as I always have to watch Fran grow and develop her skills, interests, and knowledge about the wider world. She has never wavered in her dedication to her classwork and still stands out to her teachers. Her work is held up as an example to others. Fran also recognizes how lucky she is to come home to a quiet apartment where she can sit and study undisturbed for as long as she needs to. Other students go home to relative chaos, many people and children living together, no privacy, no peace and quiet. I don't think I have ever seen anyone as focused, able to stay in the chair for 6 or 8 hours if she needs to, to complete a task. She has many obstacles to overcome as a poor indigenous young female in a culture that heavily discriminates against both, but if anyone can do it, she can. I hope she can maintain connections with you individually, especially as she learns enough English to eventually take over this blog!

Along with all the other things we are tracking, we are trying to get specific information about what it will take to get her into graduate school in Mexico City about 2 or 2.5 years from now. Stay tuned!

The weather has cooled off, the rains have gone, and the snowbirds are arriving. They will arrive in force after Christmas. Over the Christmas holidays Fran plans to go back to taking violin and swimming. She had to put those two activities on hold to cope with her school work, and work with the Dentist.

This might be a tense year, with the economy falling apart and the new governor taking over January 1. He is not a popular person here. Many believe the election was rigged. And so we expect more social upheaval. Fran and I are focused on getting that degree in her hands in a couple of years. One step at a time, no matter what it takes!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Fran and I ate at Quinque, a restaurant that always serves an American-style turkey dinner every year. I hadn't had turkey for several years. It was SO GOOD!  Big hugs from us in Oaxaca. Visit soon!
--Lorena and Fran

Special Funding Request for Fran: 2016/17

Remember this? When Fran first started attending ITVO (Instituto Technologico del Valle de Oaxaca)

Hello friends,

This is a request for funding for some out of pocket needs we face over the next year. These are in addition to her normal requirements for attending her undergraduate school, which are presently covered. For those who contribute monthly to that fund, our deepest thanks and hopes that you will continue until graduation.

Needs for 2016/17 school year

1: English class

$600 pesos/month (about 33 dollars), plus a one-time charge of 1,000 pesos ($53 dollars) for the next 8 months. This will cover Level 2 of her lessons at Berlitz. She has 4 levels to complete before she can get her degree in agronomy, but we will take one level at a time. 

Total cost for the school year: $312

        

2. Trip to Chapingo University to investigate graduate school in Agronomy

Includes two RT tickets Oaxaca to Chapingo for Fran and myself, 2 nights in a hotel 5 minutes from campus, food and a small amount of spending money, taxi to and from bus station.

Someone has stepped forward to pay for her graduate school. All we have to do is the footwork and prepare this person a budget.

Total for Chapingo trip: $378 dollars (further explanation below)

As many of you know I am providing housing and coordinating efforts to send Fran, an indigenous young woman from the region of Cuicatlan, to 4 years of engineering college to get her degree in Agronomy. She has 2 more years to go, counting this one.

We are now setting our sights on graduate school. I think I’ve said before that I can’t imagine releasing her, as an indigenous woman with no financial resources, into the world until she is well prepared for a real career. As in the United States, a person without a Master’s Degree is going to flounder, unprepared to work in their chosen field.

I am getting older, and my future here in Mexico is somewhat uncertain, so I am anxious to get her plans in place. To do that, we need to take a trip to Chapingo, the premier agronomy school in Mexico, to find out exactly how much it will cost, the documents and grades she will need to get in, and how to apply. Every detail wrapped up. You can’t do things in Mexico over the phone or through the internet. You have to sit down with someone face to face. Finding that person, and setting up an actual appointment, is the hardest thing to do, and then you have to be prepared for long waits.

This is the first excursion to check out a graduate school. Chapingo University is considered the best. However next year we plan to visit one more school to get a sense of other opportunities for Fran in case we face obstacles at Chapingo. More on that next year.

Please let me know if you can contribute to these special needs this year. Contributions for these special requests must come directly to me, not sent to her account in Oregon. That account is not set up to handle anything but regular monthly donations for her current needs.

I can receive donations through Paypal, or by check to my Credit Union:

Santa Cruz Community Credit Union
324 Front St Santa Cruz, CA 95060,
+1 831-425-7708
Bank Routing Number: 321180939
Account #: 1032841026

Check made out to Lorena Cassady

Fingers Crossed! Thank you for your generosity!

Fran's Summer, 2016

Fran's Summer, 2016

Blast from the Past --
This photo is from 2014 from a visit to her village in the mountains

Swimming lesson

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it's been so long. Fran and I have had a busy and productive summer. She learned how to swim thanks to Sheela, one of her fans and supporters. Yesterday, her last official day of lessons, she swam the length of the pool, not with a boogie board either! She has discovered a real love for swimming, though she talks often about how afraid she was of water and drowning before. So this is a real breakthrough, and something she can hopefully enjoy for the rest of her life. Thank you, Sheela!

Two other supporters, Dean and Mary, bought her a violin (!) during their last trip to Oaxaca and are now paying for violin lessons. I got the music stand.  She went to all the neighbors here and asked for permission to practice and all said yes!

Fran went every day to swimming, and every day to violin class during her 5-week summer vacation and discovered two things she loves just for herself. During the school year she is overwhelmed by homework, English class every Saturday, tons of homework, and working in the evenings for the Dentist, who is not an easy person for her to deal with, unfortunately. But the hours and location are convenient, so she tolerates his petulance.  Enough said.

It took her a solid week of waiting fruitlessly in line for many hours, under the hot sun, to finally get signed up for classes. But finally, in order to do so, she had to go over the heads of the unhelpful and mean women at the desks to the director himself, to get signed up for morning classes (she must have morning classes so she can work for the dentist in the evening). The women folded their arms in front of them and and said "sorry, I can't help you," or "if you don't like it, maybe you should come back next year and try to sign up again." I get so furious when she tells me stories like this! She is not the only one to suffer -- all the students are treated like this, AND THEY DON'T PROTEST, so it continues.

But Fran protested. When she went to the director to make her case, he looked her up in the computer and was very impressed. "You are an excellent student!" he said, and promptly wrote a note ordering the women to give her the classes she wanted. Something similar happened last year, and Fran got the dentist to accompany her to school one day to help her get what she needed. As soon as a male professional showed up beside Fran, the idiots hopped up and did their job.

The miracle in all this, is that Fran always stands up for herself. That came from her father in the village, who told her when she was a small child, that when you take the rich people's clothes off, you see that they are no better than anyone else. We are all human beings, and no one is better than anyone else.

Unfortunately, and notably, all the people in Fran's life who have treated her like a second or third class citizen, treating her badly or denying her what she is entitled to, have been Mexican WOMEN. It constantly amazes and angers me to see it. The prejudice here against indigenous people is intense and constant, and absurd, since Oaxaca (next to Chiapas and Guerrero) is by far the most indigenous state in Mexico. Up north the prejudice is just as bad. The whiter, the taller, the more Spanish blood you have, the more you are treated with respect. The Spanish brought that racism with them, and it has never left.

On a brighter note -- and to return to Fran's summer, this year she discovered a lot about what she finds pleasurable, personally. That was a great gift, and something that can never be taken away from her. She will always be able to go to those things to enrich her life outside of work, if she can just find the time for them.  And she is highly motivated to do this. We'll see how it goes once the school year gets underway -- Next Week!!!

Thank you for the small gifts you give that make Fran's life so much brighter.

Summer Begins!

These mangoes are very big, and we ate 7 of them before I took this picture. They cost 20 pesos, or about $1.06 from the Abastos market here in Oaxaca. The green oranges are regular size. They are in season now, from Veracruz.

This is just to remind you that I rent this room for short and longer term stays. Come visit!

This is just to remind you that I rent this room for short and longer term stays. Come visit!

I painted this chessboard onto the top of this dedicated table.  I use it about 3 times a week with guests. It's right inside my door, so I can hijack anyone who comes in.  

Our dining / study table

Fran just finished her last semester for the year and is heading into summer "vacation". This morning she was headed out with some friends, so I got this photo. This summer she will be taking violin, swimming, a summer class at her school, English at Berlitz, and working for the dentist.

Fran is gearing up for a more relaxing summer, still crammed full. She's really excited about finding the time to start violin lessons with her new violin, and got up early this morning to go set up the lessons. Her lesson will be once a week for 4 hours. We're going to have to work out practice times that don't drive the neighbors crazy...

She's also eager to learn how to swim, and has decided that this is more valuable than taking a second summer course at her school to get ahead.  I agree. She has been suffering from stress of late, and needs to find ways to bring it under control. Regular physical exercise will help.

Fran shared with me that she has been worried about money, just like the rest of us -- where it will come from, and if it will last long enough to get her through grad school and on her feet. We are both concerned about that, but she has been fine so far. It is a test of faith and confidence in uncertain times..

I think I have written before about the instability of Oaxaca, of its educational system, of the grim economic situation in Mexico -- none of it looks good. And to a young indigenous girl with only us as a "safety net" it looks perilous at times.  But with all the lessons she is learning, her continuing determination and energy, I think it's going to turn out fine.

I still dream of finding a way to bring her to the States for awhile, at least on a short term visa to study, so she can become truly fluent in English and get a broader picture of what's out there -- even broader than the world outside her small pueblo.

She is learning a lot by the visitors who rent the room. They've come from all over the world -- the U.S., England, France, Japan, India, Canada, and they all talk to her about their lives and experiences. I hope you have a chance to come and visit us too!

We both thank you for your continuing interest and support.  Don't hesitate to ask questions or comment on this blog. I think that's possible, no?

Visit from Fran's parents!

We had the pleasure of a brief visit by Fran's parents, Cresencia and Antonio, for lunch on Sunday. This was only Cresencia's second visit ever to Oaxaca City. She basically never leaves her remote village. But on this occasion, she decided to come along with Antonio on the nickel of a corrupt politician in their region. He pays villagers $200 pesos ($11.34) to show up at the Zocalo to demonstrate on his behalf once a year. He brings them in by the vanload, stuffing in 15 people, cheek-by-jowl for the 6 hour ride in the heat. The journey isn't free, nor is their food. They return home with basically nothing to show for it except, in this case, a visit with their daughter.

It is hard for us to imagine how hard Cresencia's life is, as a woman in a traditional indigenous pueblo, where women are little more than slaves to men. Cresencia's husband, Antonio, is not the cause of her suffering.  In fact the rest of the village makes fun of him for helping her so much. 

The cause of her suffering is her three brothers. Now that their mother is old and sick, likely not far from death's door, Cresencia is now responsible for doing all the making of tortillas (an onerous and physically-taxing job in itself) cooking, cleaning, and errands for her brothers. Fran tells me she is anxious for her mother's health because of this burden.

At one point recently, the brothers didn't think their sister was doing enough, or doing it willingly enough, so they reported her to the town council. All men, of course. She was fined $100 Pesos and ordered by the community to step it up. If she does not, she will be fined again, or worse.

Fran's father, Antonio, was right to suggest that Fran leave the village and make a better life for herself. Her sister, now about 26, followed in her mother's footsteps and now has 4 children, a lazy and alcoholic husband, and a lifetime ahead of grueling work. But still, she thinks Fran has done wrong to leave, that she has ruined her life because she still is not married.

Cresencia speaks only Cuicateco, though she seems to understand a few Spanish words. Antonio speaks fairly good Spanish. But there were several times when Fran and her mother were conversing in their native tongue and I was entranced at how beautiful it sounded. The very name of Cuicatlan was given by the Aztecs when they passed through the region. The word refers to the musical sound of the language.

We ate French Toast (which they had never sampled), bacon, fresh squeezed orange juice and scrambled eggs. Both of them ate for three! I would have had to take a siesta after such a meal, but they were soon packing up to go back out in the 95+ degree heat and meet up with the demonstrators in the Zocalo. Then pile into the sardine can for the journey home.

Fran is gearing up for her final project presentations and exams. She hopes to pass Statistics so she doesn't have to take it this summer. She would rather take violin lessons!

Her life never stops, and she has to do it all in unbelievable heat these days. School, homework, work, housecleaning, English class, homework, it never ends.

Now that the President of Mexico has cancelled all the scholarships for Master's degrees (aimed at the poor to keep them from competing), our plan for Fran's future has received a serious blow. She has been working especially hard to keep her grade point average high so that she would qualify for the scholarship, but now that doesn't seem to matter. I don't want her to lose hope, and I don't want either of us to be discouraged. 

She thinks it will cost between $7,000 pesos and $15,000 pesos per semester (about $400 - $850) for her master's degree in agronomy. So that's 4 semesters. That doesn't include board and housing, which of course is much, much less here than in the States.

I don't think it is too soon to send out an appeal, even though this emergency will not occur for 2.5 or 3 years. It will still occur. At that point, she will move out of my apartment and go to the school of her choice for the Master's, hopefully Chapingo outside of Mexico City. It makes my heart beat fast just to think about it!

So if you think you might be able to chip in funds for that 2-year period coming up, when she will need roughly $2,000 per year, (only $2,000 -- imagine!)  please consider putting some money away for her and letting me know what we can count on.  Of course I will give exact figures as soon as we gather them.

Perhaps you can bring a friend into the circle of Fran's supporters? Let me know if I can add them to my mailing list for this blog, OK?

After Fran gets her Master's, she will be on her own. If she goes to Chapingo, she's pretty much guaranteed a job somewhere in Mexico. She will be highly qualified. If she does not go on for her masters, she could easily end up working in a coffee shop and struggling for the rest of her life. It's more or less like that in the States too now, I imagine.

I will continue to endeavor to keep up this blog more often! Both of our lives have been very busy, and recently the added stress of a nasty landlord who doesn't treat Fran very well. There is a lot of racism and classism here in Oaxaca, unfortunately. Gringos seldom see it on their short visits, but you don't have to live here long to realize what's going on. Fran escaped the fate that was waiting for her as a young indigenous woman. I want to make sure there is no possibility that anyone will ever pull her down again.

Best wishes from Oaxaca!
Lorena and Fran

Third Year and Still Going Strong!

Fran on an outing at San Agustin Etla last month

A beautiful young woman!

Enjoying our day, Etla Market

Fran is just starting the second semester of her third year at the engineering school, Instituto Technologico del Valle de Oaxaca (ITVO) in Xoxo, a community 30 minutes south of Oaxaca City.

Since she changed majors, it's actually her second year as an agronomy student. This semester she is taking a heavy load: Statistics, Agricultural Topography, Agricultural Production, Rural Sociology, Animal Physiology and Plant Physiology.

As always, her learning curve includes far more than her academic course of study. She has had the opportunity to learn much from contact with our Airbnb/Craigslist short-term roommates which we very much need to help pay the rent and meet expenses. Each guest contributes some small lesson, a bright idea, expertise, encouragement. And Fran has had her disappointments and trials as we all do. 

Those of you who have been following this blog are aware of where she came from, and the implications of her current aspirations set against the background of the rural, isolated life of her childhood, which was extremely limited in terms of resources and opportunities. But each trial has made her stronger, taught her something important, and etched more definition into her understanding of the new world to which she has committed herself.

I continue to feel privileged to watch the unfolding of this strong, curious, ambitious young woman, and we are both thankful for the small community of friends that faithfully support her efforts to learn and grow, and make a strong foundation for her future.  

Many thanks!