Tomorrow's the day!

Today, Monday, was a Mexican holiday (there are so many!) so Fran spent it preparing for her first day of school tomorrow.  She went shopping for food, cooked up a big batch of chilis and beans for the week, washed her clothes, took a shower (or two), sat down for an early dinner, and was asleep by 9pm.  That girl knows how to take care of herself!

She wakes at 6 a.m. tomorrow and I think she said her class starts at 7 a.m.  She's nervous and excited and happy, as it should be.  I will tell you of her first day tomorrow.  Goodnight for now.

Fran Returns to School for Second Semester!

Ha Ha...well, I got the San Felipe mountains in focus!  This was taken on my roof a few days ago.  I'll do better next time!

Fran is going back into the ring next Tuesday, February 4!  Today she left early to sign up for classes and choose her professors.  Because of her high grades she has been put into the "A" group, which means her classes will start early every day, and she will get off earlier in the afternoon.  The "B" group will have a later schedule and not be released til 7 or 8pm.  Other perks hopefully include getting first choice on electives -- she had to take Banda de Guerra last time and had to march around in the hot sun beating a snare drum!

During her long Christmas break she attended classes in English at the Oaxaca Lending Library where she got a scholarship, and continued intermittent classes at the Learning Center.  Yesterday she had to "try out" in order to get a high-level instructor at the Learning Center to coach her on Integral Calculus.  She passed the try-out but said it wasn't easy, and that the instructor -- very valuable to her because he teaches calculus at another technical school -- gave her a bit of a hard time.  Where math is concerned, Tough Love seems to be the preferred method here.  Or maybe just Tough!  The attitude of professors towards students is a bit militaristic to my sensibilities, but Mexico is a much more authoritarian culture, and maybe that's what it takes to weed out students that are less than 100% gung ho.  Fran is pretty focused on her standing in the class, not just passing the courses.

The break was good for Fran.  It gave her the chance to relax a little, concentrate on other things such as English and reading, develop her social life, and no doubt reflect on her experiences last semester in anticipation of what is to come.

Oh!  Also her brothers visited Oaxaca while I was in the States.  Here's a couple of photos, one she took of her brothers in her village some months ago, and one taken over the holidays in a cafe this last Christmas break...

Next year I plan to visit her village with a couple of her donors and I can't wait!  It's not going to be an easy trip, but it will certainly be an adventure!

Back to the subject of her studies...Fran is still very much on trial until the end of her first year, and cannot fail a class.  I know that's not going to happen, but Fran worries!

It has been really cold this winter so far, and we are in for more of the same through February.  Thanks to some donors who visited over Thanksgiving (you know who you are) she was gifted with some warm winter clothes -- and her mother sent her back from her family visit to Cuicatlan with a heavy warm blanket that smelled like remote pueblos I have visited -- of the cooking fire.

Please join me in sending Fran good energy for her upcoming semester.  We are both so grateful for your interest and your help!  Now that she is back in school, I will be blogging more frequently.  Abrazos!

A Whole New Year!

I often surprise myself with how hopeful and positive I feel as each new year begins, but this year seems particularly promising.  I don't know why, but I feel that many people will reach a greater understanding of what needs to be done to protect the earth and the living beings who live here, and will actually start to act.  Brilliant, caring young people like Fran are filling up the ranks behind us and we cannot imagine from our own limited experience what they will be able to do.  Our job is to see that they get the best education possible, and all the encouragement we can give them.  Of course, "best education possible" is not only what they learn in institutions.  If we can't bring out their nascent curiosity about the world and give them the tools they need to advance their skills and solidity as human beings, simply "going to college" will not help them reach their full potential.

Fran and I are back from vacation and settling in before the school year starts.  She is beginning English class today.  My friend David is just now helping her get to know her new laptop, a gift from two supporters.

Last semester she was acknowledged by her teachers as one of the top 3 in her class and I am sure she is preparing to make a similar showing next semester.  I have never observed a person more skilled in organizing her life around an important goal, and following through to the end.  And she is not grim about it!  She is obviously taking great joy in the opportunity she has been given, and has expressed gratitude for the people resources who are assembled around her.  Her energy is high!

If you are interested in contributing for the first time, even a small amount, please email me at lcassady@gmail.com and I can tell you how.  For those who are already contributing, both Fran and I continue to be in awe of how you make her new life a real possibility.  Thank you.

On vacation until January 2

Enjoy your holidays!

Final Exams coming up!

Fran has two more weeks of school and things are heating up for her!  Last night she burned a CD with 74 pages of homework for her class in Discrete Mathematics!!!  This morning she is sitting for the final exam she has been worried about for a few weeks now, and has been running on about 4 hours of sleep per night for more than a week.  Last week she had 2 exams in Programming and got a 10 in one (the highest grade possible) and an 8.4 in the other.  She needs to get 7 or higher to pass.

As I mentioned in earlier blogs, this first year is like a hazing -- she has to pass ALL of her tests and classes or she's out.  That's not going to happen to Fran, but the school will make it's first cuts next week, and Fran thinks there will be 5 to 8 students in her class who will not be coming back after the end of this semester.  I have a feeling it will be more than that.  The last cut of first-year students will be made at the end of the upcoming second semester, and usually only about half survive.  They set it up that way, so they are only left with the best candidates for graduation.  After this year, she will be allowed to flunk one class per semester and still be able to take it over again....but I can't see that happening with Fran!

Christmas is approaching.  I am going to the States for 3 weeks and will unfortunately miss her final week of exams.  But Steven and Leeann will be here and I will be notified about how she did.  Steven set her up with Skype, made an adjustment to make her computer run faster, and hooked her up somehow so that he will be able to "see" her computer from his computer.

Fran will visit her family for about 5 days over Christmas and will be back here on the 30th when I arrive back from the States.  

For the whole month of January (which she has off) she will be attending English classes 5 days a week at the Lending Library and no doubt studying in advance for the next semester.  

So I will be signing off from the blog until about January 2.  We hope you have a wonderful holiday and hope to see you back here soon.

Peace to all!

Only 3 more weeks for this semester!

Fran has been studying straight for 4 hours, discrete math. She just took a short break and is now back at it. She has a jacket on because it is really cold in Oaxaca tonight! Sometimes Fran is in her room most of the day (on her "days off") studying. Last night she told me she'll will sit with a single problem for hours until she figures it out. If she starts to go crazy, she'll go visit her friend the Oaxacan dentist for some friendly conversation, and then return refreshed to dig in again. Sometimes she goes to the web for help, or to the Oaxaca Learning Center which is only 2 blocks away. I remain in awe.

Steven and Leeann visit and help with our Squeeze-By Budget!

Steven, Fran and Leeann after our lunch meeting at the Zocalo, Oaxaca

We finally have a budget that will allow Fran to finish school!  We are seeking people who can commit to a small monthly amount to help cover what we still need:  $56.26 per month for the next 4.5 years.  $10 per month, or even $5 would really help!

Greetings friends!
First a little catch-up on how Fran has been doing.  She is still among the top 2 or top 5 in her class depending on the week, and that is out of 30 students.  One of her most valuable learning skills is her willingness to ask questions when she doesn't understand, and to connect with her teachers.  The professors at this institution do the opposite of coddling their students!  They ask students to leave the class if they are behind on their homework, or if they yawn.  They are not allowed to take notes, so the students must understand and be able to discuss the material in class.  That means they are going to fail if they don't ask questions and speak up -- the prof assumes that they understand everything perfectly unless they indicate otherwise.  So Fran speaks up all the time, and is often asked to come to the front of the class to explain problems to the others.  If the teacher gives 20 pages of homework, Fran completes all of them -- as opposed to other students who may complete 3 or 4.

Her weak subject was investigation (research) and methodology, but not any more.  She met with this professor for 3 hours recently, consulted a few times with Marisol, and is now on-track and enthusiastic.

Budget!

Numbers are not my strong suit, so when Leeann and Steven showed up from Oregon I jumped at the opportunity to get their moral support on creating a budget that will get Fran through the next 4.5 years to her engineering degree.

THE SQUEEZE-BY BUDGET REVEALS THAT WE NEED TO PLUG A MONTHLY HOLE OF $45 IN ORDER TO SQUEEZE BY.

We currently have the donors that are providing rent free accommodations (me), and 2 regular donors providing a total of $75/month, which almost covers her food bill.

Here's the Squeeze-By Budget, faithfully copied out by me on a restaurant placemat...

Monthly Budget for Fran: (current exchange rates)

$250 pesos / $18.92 dollars                        Pro-rated tuition ($3,000 pesos per year, payable $1,500 in
                                                                   July and January)  NOT ACCOUNTED FOR
$1000 pesos / $75.70 dollars                     Transportation (COVERED for the next 3 years by a grant)
$1000 pesos / $75.70 dollars                     (Minimum) Food COVERED
$500 pesos  / $37.34 dollars                      Materials and small Expenses NOT ACCOUNTED FOR

$2,500 pesos ($207.66)

NEEDED TO CLOSE THE GAP: $56.26 dollars PER MONTH (Tuition + Materials)

Therefore, we are hoping to find donors who will commit to a small monthly donation to make up part of this gap.  Of course, one-time donations are always welcome too, and I will be able to reduce the gap.  Also, remember that this is a SQUEEZE-BY budget -- it doesn't include clothes, any entertainment, or (God forbid) medical expenses should they arise.  It's also possibly short in the food department, as this also includes toiletries, toilet paper (ha!) and laundry soap.

Please consider a donation, and perhaps you have one contact or friend who might also be interested in helping.

Donations can be made by going to this site:

 http://franciscaeducationfund.weebly.com/donate.html 


THANK YOU ALL!
LORENA AND FRAN