Personal Enrichment Program

Come and participate in the Lake Chapala Society's new Personal Enrichment Program (PEP) 2019 series. This is one response to our members call for more programs, both entertaining and fun.

Our next series of programs features highly qualified experts such as Rachel McMillen. Each program will present topics that will elucidate an understanding of yourself and Mexico.

The courses are easy to choose from and consist of 2 - 8 class sessions. The prices are very affordable, and the class sizes are small.

Please Note:

• The fee to participate in each Personal Enrichment Program is payable in cash at the LCS office, or on-line via credit card, or PayPal. On-line payments are subject to a 7% surcharge to cover processing and foreign exchangefees.
• All Personal Enrichment Program courses are limited to Lake Chapala Society Members only. If you are not an LCS Member,you will be assessed a one Month Membership fee ($250 MXN), in addition to the course enrollment fee.
• Your LCS Membership must be active on the date of the course presentation. If your membership will expire before the selected course date,it must be renewed to attend the course.
• The LCS Office should be notified at least 5 days before the course begins if a cancellation is needed. There is no refund.
• A waiting list will be created for each course where member interest exceeds the maximum enrollment.

PEP Seminars

Revolutionary Women in Modern Mexican History.

Course Fee: $350 MXN
Min/Max Students required: 11/25
Course Dates: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, December 10, 12, 13, 2018
Course Time: 10:00 - 12:30 PM
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: This course will highlight the voices and experiences of women, changing the prevailing narrative of the Mexican Revolution and post-revolutionary state formation by placing women at center stage. We'll examine how women seized opportunities created by modernization and revolutionary upheaval to challenge conventions of sexuality, work, family life, religious practices, and civil rights.

After a glance at women in colonial era Mexico, we'll take a fresh look at women's participation in the Mexican Revolution, from their homes and in workplaces and through politics and community activism. We'll see how women of diverse backgrounds with differing goals were actively involved in the Revolution, first in military roles during the violent early phase of civil war, and later in the state-building process. Drawing on a variety of perspectives, we will notice the ways women variously accepted, contested, used, and manipulated the revolutionary project in Mexico.

Our subjects will range from nonconforming soldaderas in the military to upright Damas Católicas, from prostitutes writing the president to demand healthcare rights to Chicas Modernas in Mexico City pilloried by the press and male students. Women refashioned their lives, seeking relief from bad marriages through divorce courts and preparing for new employment opportunities through vocational education. Activists ranging from Catholics to Communists mobilized for political and social rights. Although forced to compromise in the face of fierce opposition, these women made an indelible imprint on post-revolutionary society.

We'll recover narratives that have been virtually written out of the historical record, bringing to light a rich and complex array of women's experiences in the revolutionary and post-revolutionary era in Mexico.

Enrollment ends: December 3, 2018.

Seminar Instructor

Dan Grippo, Ph.D.


Daniel Grippo first traveled to Mexico in 1980 and has studied and lived in a variety of Mexican locations. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Latin American History as well as an M.A. in Religious Studies. In addition to teaching at various U.S. universities, for the past 10 years Dan's history lectures at the International Friendship Club in Puerto Vallarta have raised money for charity and attracted large turnouts. Dan recently began offering courses at LCS.

Negotiating Paradise: The History of Tourism and Expat Communities in Mexico.

Course Fee: $350 MXN
Min/Max Students required: 11/25
Course Dates: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, December 10, 12, 13, 2018
Course Time: 2:00 - 4:30 PM
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: This course will provide an understanding and appreciation of the richness and complexity of tourist and expat enclaves in Mexico by examining their roots and development over the past two centuries, from quiet beginnings to the booming multi-national, multi-billion dollar industry they are today. Special attention will be paid to the ambiguities and contradictions of tourism—does it represent national development or foreign exploitation, or a mixture of both?

Tourism in Mexico got off to a shaky start in the 19th century era of Revolts and Railroads. It blossomed in the 20th century in the aftermath of two World Wars, fueled by diplomacy and drugs, beatniks and expats, World Heritage sites, colonial cities, and beachfront paradises. A wide range of sources and voices will be employed to tell the tale of how tourism has been constructed and negotiated by various and competing interests over the course of modern Mexican history.

Along the way, we will touch upon the history of expat communities and tourist meccas such as San Miguel de Allende, Lake Chapala/Ajijic, Cuernavaca, Acapulco, Cancún, Los Cabos, and Puerto Vallarta.

Enrollment ends: December 3, 2018.

Dan Grippo, Ph.D.


See above for Instructor's background and experience.

Introduction to Creative Writing.

Course Fee: $650 MXN
Min/Max Students required: 11/20
Course Dates: January 7, 14, 21, 28, February 11, 18, 2019
Course Time: Monday, 2:00 - 4:30 PM
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: Creative writing is considered an art, a door to express thoughts and emotions with imagination. We'll learn how to use language and 'voice', character development, dialogue, narration, backstory, theme, point-of-view, plotting, how to create the story arc, and, of course, editing and critiquing.

Enrollment ends: January 3, 2019

Rachel McMillen, BA (Hons).


English Language & Literature (University of Melbourne)
Dip. Ed. (Melbourne)
Adult Education (Vancouver College)

Rachel McMillen is the author of four books, with a fifth scheduled for release in 2018. Two of the books were nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award. She has also written articles for various publications including Pacific Yachting and Seasons Magazine.

Coming Home: Real Stories of Mexican Migrants

Course Fee: $650 MXN
Min/Max Students required: 11/25
Course Dates: January 9 - February 13, 2019
Course Time: Wednesday, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: As foreign visitors and residents meet members of the local community they hear a new spin on the migrant experience in the stories of local artists, teachers, business people, restaurant owners and wait staff, doctors, masons and neighbors.

The new PEP class at the Lake Chapala Society, "Coming Home: Real Stories of Mexican Migrants" listens for the echoes of migrant voices in immigration stories as portrayed in novels, non-fiction, and interviews.

The class will hear the voices of immigration in a variety of interactive ways:
1. Class members will read two or three of the books from the list emailed to them when they register.
2. The foundation of the migration dialogue from the Braceros of the WWI to today's Dreamers will be presented by King.
3. Several area residents, former migrants will visit class sessions to tell their own stories of going to the US and of returning home.
4. The class will include a viewing of the satirical and often humorous, award winning movie, "A Day Without A Mexican."

Enrollment ends: January 3, 2019.

Judy King

Contact: judykinginmexico@gmail.com
Cell: (Mex) 331-301-6783

Journalist, Real Estate, Business
Publisher, online magazine "Living at Lake Chapala", 2001 - 2013
Editor, Lake Chapala Review, 2008 – 2014
Columnist, Guadalajara Reporter, 2015-2016
Author, "Living at Lake Chapala," 2014
Living in Ajijic since 1990

Children of Corn: Food in Mexican Culture

Course Fee: $650 MXN
Min/Max Students required: 11/20
Course Dates: January 9 - 24, 2019
Course Time: Wednesday, Thursday 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: We need to eat in order to survive, however, what we eat, how we eat it and where we do it is a cultural matter. Our society and its history are responsible for giving meaning to our culinary rites, which are part of our identity. Mexican identity is based on food, but not any food; maíz, tortilla, chile, tamales, pozole; food that symbolizes the story of two worlds colliding every time we take bite. We'll discover a little bit of thisstory by getting to know the origin, evolution, and cultural meaning of some of the most popular dishes in Mexico.

Enrollment ends: January 3, 2019.

Eleonora Santini

Contact: eleonora.santini@hotmail.com
Cell: (Mex) 33 2384 2850

Eleonora Santini - Anthropologist, english and italian teacher, early childhood alternative education teacher, certified in Philosophy for Children (P4C), amazed by life, history, our ability to think, and words. Living in Ajijic since 2016.

Understanding Mexican law and procedures of daily life in Lakeside

Course Fee: $600 MXN
Min/Max Students required: 12/30
Course Dates: January 11 - February 8, 2019
Course Time: Fridays, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: This course is a response of what our members have been dealing with regarding Mexican law. Here we will be accompanied by two expert lawyers who will explain everything you must know about Construction, Mexican Social Security (IMSS), INFONAVIT (employees),employee settlement, how to make sure everything is in order to buy a property, wills, etc. So, get ready and join us.

Enrollment ends: January 3, 2019

María de las Nieves Solbes


Lawyer graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Throughout her professional career she has worked as a coordinator, strategist and executor of legal solutions in various institutions of the financial sector, mainly banks, bonding and insurance companies, also developing advisory and litigation functions at managerial levels, specializing in civil matters, commercial, contractual, and in judicial and extrajudicial collection. Thanks to her leadership skills and the in-depth study of the matters entrusted to her, she has been able to develop strategic skills and strategic solution in complex litigation. She is currently a judicial mediator, with a high percentage of conflict resolution.

Need a driver's license?

Course Fee: $750 MXN (Includes course and trip)
Min/Max Students required: 15/17
Course Dates:
Monday and Tuesday, January 29 - 30, 2019
Monday and Tuesday, February 25 - 26, 2019
Monday and Tuesday, March 25 - 26, 2019
Course Time:
Monday 10:00 - 11:30 AM,
Tuesday 7:00 Am - Noon
Course Location: South Campus Board Room

Course Description: We continue to expand the services we have for the community, so, now we set out to launch the course for the driving test and a trip to the SeMov in Guadalajara to process or renew the driver's license. It is important that you register before at least 7 days prior to the Monday class because we have to schedule the appointment of your procedure online with sufficient anticipation. Once you are enrolled, you will be sent an email with all of the instructions for this. The driving test can be taken in English in Guadalajara (only for new licenses).

Enrollment ends: 7 days prior to Monday Class.

Alfredo Pérez Aldana

Contact: directoreducacion@lakechapalasociety.com

Lake Chapala Society Director of Education