Originally Sent on August 29, 2004

Welcome to the Chronicles de la Chicanita Trying to Make It, an interactive, easy to read series of emails from María Lucero Ortiz, your favorite chicanita trying to make it. Started in 1999, these chronicles have followed our chicanita from San Jose to Los Angeles to Italy and Mexico City. Our fourth installment finds our freckly protagonist in Washington DC for law school, the ultimate challenge and possibly the premise of the next hit reality show, extreme law school.
Your free subscription offers you anecdotes, pictures, random thoughts, and privileged contact with the bookworm chica. DC will not be like Siena’s chianti nights, formaggio (cheese) filled meals, and italian men in tight ass jeans around every corner (“Ciao bella!” still rings in her ears, grazie, prego) or the always vibrant DF, where after 6 months a friend described Lucero as cihuacoatl, nahuatl for mujer serpiente, snake woman, having shed many colonized notions of self and fear. She will not be backpacking through jungles or beaches or working side by side with empowered colleagues and community leaders to make a difference. DC will not be like Los Angeles; her home away from home, her alma mater, her foundation as she spread her wings. DC is scary because it is the first adult decision ever de nuestra Chicanita.

And now, without further ado, our chicanita speaks…

Week 2 of law school starts in 11 hours, precisely at 10:30 am EST with Professor May in Contracts Class. Lucky for me, I live in the NW section of the city, an upper class hood, just 5 minutes away from WCL (Washington College of Law de American University. We’re the Eagles, it’s all very patriotic.) Every day on my way to class, I run into women of color walking the future conservatives of this country around the block. You can change the location but not the situation.

I live in a 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 3 story, old red brick, Victorian era pad with a great backyard. My housemates are all very different.

First, there’s Michael, the sixth new kid on the block. He’s from Connecticut with the New England accent, New York bark and bite, and heart of gold. He’s a third generation italiano, speaks the language way well, and a 2L at American Law.

Michelle is from San Diego, a 1L like me, very studious and politically involved. She likes chocolate and is a great study buddy. Her parents are Jewish-French-Canadian.

Violaine is a WCL alumni who is now working on democracy projects in the Caribbean and former Soviet states. She’s from France, loves 80’s music, and keeps a tight watch over the use of lights and dishes. She’s the oldest in the house and the oldest tenant.

Finally, there’s Tomo from Japan, who is leaving next month. He takes two showers a day and spends a whole lot more time in the bathroom than the rest of us combined. A homie from North Carolina named Chris, who is pursuing a MA in forensic science, will be taking his place. We’ll see what he’s all about soon enough.

There’s lots of mosquitos in DC and they’re all part of the welcoming committee or a friendly bunch because I’ve gotten all sorts of bites, booo. In packing my two carry-on and two checked bags, I was careful to bring clothes that I could layer but I did not pack for this humidity or the mosquitos. It’s intense. But the alternative of spending all day in AC is not appealing tampoco. I love all the greenery in DC. I am surrounded by all sorts of parks and the streets are all line with beautiful trees. I hear the fall is an amazing display of color. You’ll hear more about DC in our bi-weekly or monthly editions (depending on the rigors of school).

Week 1 of law school was much more interesting and relaxing than I imagined. I have a fixed schedule this year and this semester I am taking: Contracts, Torts, Civil Procedure, Property, and Legal Writing and Rhetoric. I have three female and two male professors. Two of my professors are African American. I have not yet come across any Latino professors in my classes or the law school but the Dean is from Chile. My incoming class has about 400 students, including part-timers and we are all divided into sections of 90. In my section of 90, I am 1 of 4 Latin@s, there are like 4 African American students, 5 Indian students (from India), and like 9 Asian students. The rest of them are from White America. It’s a total trip. My entire class is said to be 30% students of color and 60% women. The awesome part is that the majority of my classmates have travelled abroad or speak more than one language. Many of them are interested in Human Rights work and the school tries to foster a sense of community. There was even a story about a mujer who lost her laptop last year and her section pitched in to help her get a new one. The workload is intense enough without having to worry about sabotage and unfriendly folks.

For the first time since I can remember, I have time for myself. I go to class, study at the library for a while, come home and make dinner, study some more, but I still have time to listen to music, paint, talk on the phone, and even watch TV. I don’t know how long that will last but if I am able to be productive during my 9-5 daily schedule, I can afford to take one day off on the weekends without touching a book. All through high school, UCLA, and even MALDEF, I did not make enough of an effort to chill, read for pleasure, listen to jams, etc. and now I have time. I have been weirded out all week. I came to law school expecting to be crazy stressed and for the first time in a long time, I am not stressed. Again, this could all change starting at 10:30am tomorrow but for now I am going to enjoy it.

As subscribers, you’ll journey with me down the treachorous road to “making it”. One of our subscibers has suggested that I change the name to the Chronicles of a Chicanita In the Process of Making It, but “making it” is far more complex than graduating from UCLA and being accepted to law school (WCL was ranked 55 by US News in 2004 and 47 in 2005, just in case your were interested).

Feel free to contact me, I love to get feedback and news (chisme) from home. I am also trying to become more tech-savvy (FINALLY!!! says Flippo, my software engineer brother) and am starting with the wonders of instant messaging so if you’re an IMer, add me. Send me your names, even if you’re not on Yahoo. I heard there’s a free, all-inclusive IM service which I plan to use. I’ll let you all know once I find out.

This year has been tough for many of us but we have to make the best of every situation. Good luck with all your adventures.

A huge hug from the East Coast,
Lucero :)