With so much going on in Fran's life, Marisol (my apartment-mate) and I decided that Fran should live with us until she passes her exams in May. We are taking the most positive view -- that she will pass -- although it is not uncommon for young people to have to take the exam twice in order to pass. Unfortunately, they only offer the exams once a year, so if she doesn't pass this time, she will continue to work and study and for sure pass them next time.
But we think she is going to pass....
Living here for another 3 months will make it a little crowded, so Fran and I cleaned out my small (about 10 x 12) storage room and she used part of her school money to get a bed. It is being delivered today. It is the first real bed she has ever had, and I had to talk her into spending the money. She was talking about getting a straw mat for the floor, but I told her that getting a good night's sleep was just as important as studying for her future.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Fran's new job!
No matter how many times I encouraged Fran to focus on her studies and confine her search for employment to not more than one hour a day, she took every opportunity to drop into stores and coffee shops asking whether there were any jobs available.
Day before yesterday I bought a local paper and she immediately opened it to the classified section. That afternoon she made a call and showed up for an interview the following morning! Of course they like her! She just began a 4-day training period for which she will not get paid -- shocking to me, but that's evidently the way things are done in Mexico.
I will learn more about the kind of company and the kind of job when she comes back tonight, but we know it will involved answering phones, which they will train her to do...a good skill for an office job. She told me she never wanted to clean other people's houses for a living again, and considering how she was treated, I don't blame her a bit!
If she passes this 4-day trial she will be hired to start next Monday. Her hours are part time, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. which is exactly what she needs to be able to study and attend classes. Fingers crossed!
She is eager to start because she told me she has almost no money left in her private savings -- a disconcerting feeling. I am happy for her, and we plan to celebrate this weekend if she gets the job!
Day before yesterday I bought a local paper and she immediately opened it to the classified section. That afternoon she made a call and showed up for an interview the following morning! Of course they like her! She just began a 4-day training period for which she will not get paid -- shocking to me, but that's evidently the way things are done in Mexico.
I will learn more about the kind of company and the kind of job when she comes back tonight, but we know it will involved answering phones, which they will train her to do...a good skill for an office job. She told me she never wanted to clean other people's houses for a living again, and considering how she was treated, I don't blame her a bit!
If she passes this 4-day trial she will be hired to start next Monday. Her hours are part time, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. which is exactly what she needs to be able to study and attend classes. Fingers crossed!
She is eager to start because she told me she has almost no money left in her private savings -- a disconcerting feeling. I am happy for her, and we plan to celebrate this weekend if she gets the job!
"It's getting easier!"
Fran studies many hours every day and recently she has said several times "It's getting easier!" in respect to math. Thanks to the time she spent with Eugenio, who gave her an ordered priority list of how to approach the subject. It is paying off!
She has three classes now: math, chemistry, and English. These are all preparatory classes for the exams in April to get into the university. She says that chemistry is easy compared to math! That amazed me because my memory of the beleaguered chemistry students at UC Santa Cruz, hunching over their chemistry tables in study hall, is still vivid.
She is beginning to say short sentences in English just recently, so she will be accelerating rapidly from here.
There is still nothing more fulfilling to me right now than to watch Fran take full advantage of every opportunity that is offered her, and to see her world change and grow.
Here is a photo of Fran studying in a coffee shop a week or so ago when our internet went out.
She has three classes now: math, chemistry, and English. These are all preparatory classes for the exams in April to get into the university. She says that chemistry is easy compared to math! That amazed me because my memory of the beleaguered chemistry students at UC Santa Cruz, hunching over their chemistry tables in study hall, is still vivid.
She is beginning to say short sentences in English just recently, so she will be accelerating rapidly from here.
There is still nothing more fulfilling to me right now than to watch Fran take full advantage of every opportunity that is offered her, and to see her world change and grow.
Here is a photo of Fran studying in a coffee shop a week or so ago when our internet went out.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
A brand new life!
My internet has been mostly down for 8 days, which saved my readers from a blow-by-blow description of what's been going on! I might think in terms of weekly, rather than daily updates.
Fran has moved in with me. She is sleeping on the couch and has been spending her days studying for the upcoming entrance examinations, enrolling and starting classes at the Oaxaca Learning Center, and visiting schools to obtain information. We have started daily English classes.
She has a class in math, starting with algebra and proceeding through physics and calculus, three evenings per week. On Saturdays she has a 4-hour English class which is 80% English and 20% Spanish. Her skills in math and English have been assessed by the school.
In addition, a friend has volunteered her Oaxacan husband, an engineer, to spend 3 hours with Fran assessing her skills in math. So she will be very well informed about what she needs to improve and learn!
When she is not in formal classes she is often sitting at a table in my living room with her stack of books to study and she doesn't look up for two hours! She is very methodical in practicing her math so that she can see it get easier day by day. She amazes me.
The plan is that starting next week, once her schedule is more established and she is more familiar with the demands being placed on her time, she will start to look for suitable employment.
The only thing I want to add is how deeply content I feel as I watch her apply herself, experience new people and ideas, and see the joy she feels in this opportunity. If you have helped by donating money, you can be assured that not a penny of it will be wasted on this ambitious young woman!
Fran has moved in with me. She is sleeping on the couch and has been spending her days studying for the upcoming entrance examinations, enrolling and starting classes at the Oaxaca Learning Center, and visiting schools to obtain information. We have started daily English classes.
She has a class in math, starting with algebra and proceeding through physics and calculus, three evenings per week. On Saturdays she has a 4-hour English class which is 80% English and 20% Spanish. Her skills in math and English have been assessed by the school.
In addition, a friend has volunteered her Oaxacan husband, an engineer, to spend 3 hours with Fran assessing her skills in math. So she will be very well informed about what she needs to improve and learn!
When she is not in formal classes she is often sitting at a table in my living room with her stack of books to study and she doesn't look up for two hours! She is very methodical in practicing her math so that she can see it get easier day by day. She amazes me.
The plan is that starting next week, once her schedule is more established and she is more familiar with the demands being placed on her time, she will start to look for suitable employment.
The only thing I want to add is how deeply content I feel as I watch her apply herself, experience new people and ideas, and see the joy she feels in this opportunity. If you have helped by donating money, you can be assured that not a penny of it will be wasted on this ambitious young woman!
Friday, January 25, 2013
The start of something new!
This evening Fran and I met at 6:00 at the Oaxaca Learning Center, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to prepare young indigenous people from the outlying pueblos for higher education. I had been looking everywhere for this kind of help and it was right under my nose...only 2 blocks away!
Tonight Fran sat down with a wonderful young woman named Sonya, and three very smart and (parenthetically) muy guapo young men who really took their time with her. They explained the program, asked her questions about herself and her ambitions, and signed her up for her first classes, in math and English.
They are going to assess her skills and prepare her for the entrance examinations, but they also have counselors to talk to her about school and career ambitions (which may change as she progresses), and a psychologist to help her with any adjustment difficulties. It is possible that they can help find her a place to live too, either in the house of a Norteamericano/a that might have an extra bedroom, or with a female friend from the Center.
I have reiterated a few times to Fran that it is more important for her to feel confident and prepared for the exams than to take them too soon and feel defeated. She told me that she is going to try to be ready to take them because apparently this September is the last year she will be eligible to receive the $1000 pesos per month (about $79 dollars) from CONAFE. I told her that even if she misses this opportunity to receive that monthly stipend, that shouldn't change anything. Hopefully we can make up that amount in donations.
I also found out (I will confirm this) from Fran that it costs about $700 pesos (about $55 dollars) to take each examination. She was told tonight by Sonya that many people take the exams more than once before they pass. So the cost of the exams will have to be added into the cost of her education too.
Fran seemed very grateful, amazed, and determined to focus hard on her studies. She will quit her job tomorrow! Then the next day she will move in temporarily with me until she settles down to her studies, finds another job, and a place to live. I told her I hope she likes soup! She said no problem, her last employer only fed her once a day. Grrrrrrr!!!!
I believe Fran is about to enter an unfamiliar but very friendly world of people close to her own age, and in a similar situation. She is leaving a world of unpleasant people who used her and held her back. I can't wait to watch her flower!!!
Tonight Fran sat down with a wonderful young woman named Sonya, and three very smart and (parenthetically) muy guapo young men who really took their time with her. They explained the program, asked her questions about herself and her ambitions, and signed her up for her first classes, in math and English.
They are going to assess her skills and prepare her for the entrance examinations, but they also have counselors to talk to her about school and career ambitions (which may change as she progresses), and a psychologist to help her with any adjustment difficulties. It is possible that they can help find her a place to live too, either in the house of a Norteamericano/a that might have an extra bedroom, or with a female friend from the Center.
I have reiterated a few times to Fran that it is more important for her to feel confident and prepared for the exams than to take them too soon and feel defeated. She told me that she is going to try to be ready to take them because apparently this September is the last year she will be eligible to receive the $1000 pesos per month (about $79 dollars) from CONAFE. I told her that even if she misses this opportunity to receive that monthly stipend, that shouldn't change anything. Hopefully we can make up that amount in donations.
I also found out (I will confirm this) from Fran that it costs about $700 pesos (about $55 dollars) to take each examination. She was told tonight by Sonya that many people take the exams more than once before they pass. So the cost of the exams will have to be added into the cost of her education too.
Fran seemed very grateful, amazed, and determined to focus hard on her studies. She will quit her job tomorrow! Then the next day she will move in temporarily with me until she settles down to her studies, finds another job, and a place to live. I told her I hope she likes soup! She said no problem, her last employer only fed her once a day. Grrrrrrr!!!!
I believe Fran is about to enter an unfamiliar but very friendly world of people close to her own age, and in a similar situation. She is leaving a world of unpleasant people who used her and held her back. I can't wait to watch her flower!!!
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