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Third Basque Studies Summer Session Abroad by Virginia C. Jacobsen This past summer we held our third Basque Studies Summer Session Abroad. Of the thirty students who attended, thirteen came from California, eleven from Nevada, two from Montana, and one each from Louisiana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Connecticut. Most departed from Oakland on June 29th with the American faculty. Following an overnight stay in Paris, the group traveled by train to Bayonne. There they were joined by the remaining students and our European faculty and all then proceeded by bus to our facility of Landagoyen, near Ustaritz, in the scenic French Basque country. Six courses were offered and some students also engaged in independent study projects under the direction of a faculty member. As in past years, Professor Jon Oñatibia of Oyarzun (Guipúzcoa) taught our elementary Basque course. This year he also conducted an advanced Basque class. Dr. Rudolf de Rijk of Amsterdam taught a course on Basque linguistics. Our American faculty consisted of the folklorist Angeles Arrien, who gave the Old World Basque Culture course, and University of Nevada professors Juan Magunagoicoechea, who taught Basque literature, and Jon Bilbao, who lectured on Basque history. Professor Bilbao was also the director of the summer program, and was assisted by Virginia Jacobsen of our staff. After class hours many of the students learned Basque folk dances under the enthusiastic direction of Professor Oñatibia, a famous txistulari. There were also evening programs such as the magnificent performance staged at Landagoyen by the dancers of the town of Ustaritz. While in the French Basque country the group went on a number of excursions to give them some first-hand knowledge of the geography of the area. We visited the ruined castle of Bidache, the Musée Basque and cathedral in Bayonne, the prehistoric caves of Oxocelhaya near Isturitz, and the cities of St.-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz, Mauléon, St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and also attended an “ancient wedding festival” in the town of Hasparren. Our students quickly became familiar with Ustaritz itself and often went swimming in the river. The town’s hospitality was climaxed by an invitation to a champagne reception in the town hall from the mayor of Ustaritz. This event was well publicized, as was the stay of our group at Landagoyen. We were featured in a story in the newspaper Sud-Ouest, and our activities were televised by a local TV station. Towards the end of our stay in Landagoyen we hosted many of the local people who extended themselves on our behalf. After dinner we showed them the film documentary Arçainia, which depicts the life of the Basque sheepherder of the American West. In mid-July the group moved to the Spanish Basque country, traveling by way of Roncesvalles. We arrived in Pamplona, our next base, in time for the San Fermín festival. Our residence and classes were housed at the modern Colegio Mayor Santa Clara of the University of Navarra. During our stay we visited a number of historical sites in the province: Olite, the castle of the kings of Navarra; Javier, the birthplace of St. Francis Xavier; the monastery of Leyre; the cathedral of Tudela; and many other points of interest. One delightful evening we will all remember was in Estella. After an excellent dinner in a local restaurant, we were entranced by the music of harpist Nicanor Zabaleta, performing in the church of the Franciscan sisters. After the concert, many of us were privileged to meet Sr. Zabaleta, who had performed in Reno earlier this year, and who had mentioned this fact when dedicating the second part of the program to our group. It was a superb evening, ending with our being joined by local townspeople in an outdoor café, dancing and singing to the strains of Professor Oñatibia’s txistu. The last Sunday in July we traveled to our next facility: the lovely Casa de Espiritualidad, adjacent to the Cathedral of Begoña on the outskirts of Bilbao. Along the way we visited a number of interesting sites in Alava. These included the famous dolmen at Eguilaz, the unexcavated Roman city of Iruña, the tower of Mendoza, and the capital city, Vitoria. As we entered Vizcaya from the south we appreciated once again the rich variety of the Basque landscape. Our stay in Vizcaya was all too short, but memories abound of a beautiful coastal region with picturesque fishing villages juxtaposed with the bustling industrial complex surrounding Bilbao. While at Begoña we visited the provincial museum of Vizcaya, the prehistoric caves of Santamamiñe, and towns as varied as Sestao (for a dance festival), Arboleda, Pedernales (for a beach party), Bermeo, and Guenica. Our last weekend in the Basque country was especially memorable. We were invited to dinner by the famous Lagunbatz gastronomic society of Rentería in Guernica. After a delicious dinner featuring fresh tuna prepared by the members at the group’s quarters in Guernica, we adjourned to the town’s beautiful frontón where many of us saw the game of jai-alai for the first time. A few days later the program ended and we began our two weeks of independent travel. We met again in Paris the night before our return flight and arrived back in Oakland in the late afternoon of August 20th. To everyone who contributed go generously to the success of our summer program, we are most grateful. To our participants in particular, we want to say “thank you” for coming—you were a marvelous group! |
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