campaign email #9
La Futura Doctora!
Email from Vivian
La Futura Doctora!
Email from Vivian
Queridos Amigos,
One of my fondest childhood memories is playing Lotería in my Abuelita’s tiny house in the pasaje of the barrio where I grew up in Honduras. My Mami, tias, primas, and our vecinas would squeeze in, grab a handful of uncooked frijoles, and crowd around our small living room where we would take turns calling out La Dama, El Sol, La Bandera, El Tambor…
Each round was more than a game. It was a storytelling circle where the women who raised me — my earliest mentors — shared wisdom, humor, and love with every card drawn. I can still hear their laughter as one auntie told stories about “the caballero she once knew,” or when a neighbor joked, “¡El ladrón me robó la sandía!” My cousins and I would marvel at how the mujeres had a chiste for every card!
Imagine my delight when my dear friend Lissette (and her husband Bob) reached out and offered to host a Loteria-themed Meet & Greet at their beautiful home in the Virginia Country Club Estates. We had never talked about my experiences playing this game, so there’s no way she could have known just how deeply her generous offer would touch my heart.
This event will also be extra special for me, as it will double as a small celebration of a very personal academic milestone. If you noticed the subject line, “La Futura Doctora,” it’s in reference to my recent successful defense of the doctoral dissertation proposal I've been working on for months. After years of classes, hours of preparing for the comprehensive exam, countless family sacrifices, and immeasurable hard work, I am no longer a doctoral student. As of last week, I am now officially a doctoral candidate! This marks one giant step closer to fulfilling a lifelong dream — and a promise I made to my beloved Abuelita — that one day, I would proudly become a doctora.
Please click on the invitation below to RSVP for an evening of joyous celebration, community connection, and Lotería!
I can’t wait to play a game of Lotería with you, surrounded by laughter and stories reminiscent of the ones that shaped me all those years ago in my Abuelita’s casita.
Con Cariño,
Vivian Malauulu
La Futura Doctora
P.S. In case you don’t know, Lotería is the colorful, picture-based version of Bingo!
