Easier way to contribute!

Many thanks and huge hugs to Leeann, who continues to maintain Fran's credit union account in Oregon and see that Fran receives your donations for her Education Fund.

Dear Friends,

Fran is now hooked up to her own PayPal account, so you can send contributions to her directly! Her Paypal email is:

franady_virgo@hotmail.com

If you are one of her few regular contributors and would like to change the method you have been using to contribute directly to Fran through PayPal, we'd appreciate a heads up. Otherwise, for now, feel free to continue as you have been doing. 

. . . and many thanks!

Amazing Fran!

Dear Friends,

There is so much to report, but I will begin with a recent challenge Fran faced, and her subsequent trials in overcoming it.

Last semester, in her microbiology class, her instructor announced an exam date. Fran studied nonstop for it, as she always does. She took the exam, and was informed a few days later that the teacher had LOST two exams. Hers was one of them. Let me just stop here and say that in my entire career as a student, up until my Master's Degree, and then in my long career as a teacher, I never heard of a teacher or professor LOSING an exam paper. This man has done it many times, apparently.

The exam was rescheduled for the following week for the two students whose papers were lost.  Fran took the exam, and a few days later, the final grades for all of her classes were posted on the class website. She got a "0" for the class in question.

Christmas vacation started immediately.

Fran didn't have one. She went to her school every weekday for 10 days, spending between 4 and 8 hours trying to track down the teacher, an administrator who would listen to her, even the director of the school. She would wait outside rooms where he was supposedly in conference or a meeting, but he never came out. She called him repeatedly. She was told his mother had died, and he had to leave town. He was running away from her.

Eventually she found out there was an on-campus organization to help students, but it wasn't up and running.

Meanwhile she heard from other students, and even another teacher, that this man was known for doing things like this, but he was untouchable, because he belonged to the political clique that runs the school Two years ago students if they did not attend a PRI rally (the most corrupt party in Mexico) they would be graded down one level. None of this discouraged Fran from continuing to insist on her rights. She knows she is one of the best students in the school. How could she have gotten a 0 for that class?

Finally she wrote a letter about what had happened, and all the measures she had taken to try and get the teacher and the administration to listen to her, and solve her problem. She threatened to take it to an outside civil rights agency. She gave a copy to the director of the school, to the teacher, and kept a copy for herself.

Finally, with only two days of her vacation left, the teacher started making conciliatory noises. He apologized to her and said he would rectify the situation. At this writing, we don't know if he will, but it looks promising. It only took Fran about 650 hours to get him to move.

But she did it. And I can't tell you how rare this is, for any Mexican, especially any student, and more especially a young indigenous woman, to stand up for their life. 

There is one fly in the ointment. It turns out that this teacher is in charge of the specialty Fran chose, and will be her instructor for 3 more classes before she graduates. (This instructor, by the way, does not even have his master's degree; he bribed his way into this position). Fran has been warned by another teacher to keep her eyes open. He may try to undermine her in the future.

I am not the only one that warned her to reevaluate, perhaps consider changing her specialty (from plants to animals) but she doesn't want to do that. She feels confident. She has already signed up for next semester's classes, including a class with this instructor. She also knows that at this point, if she wants to change her specialty, it would take weeks and weeks of bureaucratic grind, in which she would miss classes, and possibly be forced to skip the entire semester. You can't imagine the chaos of the educational system here. So, fingers crossed.

But our Fran is mastering the art of fighting back.

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?