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1983-1984 University Studies in the Basque Country Consortium On August 28, thirty-one American university students from eight states flew to Madrid to inaugurate the pilot program of the University Studies in the Basque Country Consortium. Accompanied by Coordinator Dr. Carmelo Urza and Director Dr. Sandra Ott, an anthropologist from the University of Oxford, the group first spent one week in Madrid visiting points of historical and artistic interest with professional guide Elena Balzola-Zunzunegui, which included Segovia, Toledo, the Prado Museum and the Royal Palace. While in Madrid, Consortium students were lodged at the Colegio Mayor Chaminade of the University of Madrid. On September 4, the students traveled by train across the Iberian meseta to Fuenterrabia, a picturesque fishing village located across the bay from the French Basque Country. The day after their arrival, the Consortium students began a four-week program of intensive Basque or Spanish language classes (5-7 hours per day). Alan King, an Englishman now living in San Sebastián and the author of a Basque grammar, was responsible for the Basque language course, which stressed the unified Batua dialect. He was assisted by teachers from HABE, a Basque language program operated under the auspices of the Basque government. While in Fuenterrabia, the USBCC was lodged at the Basque Government Hostel, complete with classrooms, where HABE offers intense residential Basque language courses. Felix Menchacatorre, a native of Vizcaya, and Patricia O’Connor offered instruction to those students who had opted to study the Spanish language. While in Fuenterrabia, a bus excursion was taken through the French Basque Country which included a visit to the Musée Basque in Bayonne and stops at several villages before crossing into Navarra at Roncesvalles. Highlights of a second excursion through the Spanish Basque Country included visits to Elanchove, Lekeitio, Guernica on its Monday market day, the Parliament and Oak Tree and a private tour of the cave of Santimamiñe, which houses 14,000-year-old paintings. Due to the tragic floods which had hit Bilbao in late August, 130 children from that city shared the Basque Government facility in Fuenterrabia for some ten days. The American students demonstrated exemplary patience with and sympathy for the exuberant refugee children. Later, some of the American students visited their young friends in Bilbao. In addition, Consortium students had the opportunity to hear outside speakers brought in to the Hostel Juan Sebastián Elcano, most notably author Alfonso Sastre, activist Eva Forest, Guipuzcoan Senator to Madrid Andoni Monforte, and ethnologist Fermín Leizaola. On October 1, the students reached their final destination and site of the Fall and Spring academic semesters, San Sebastián. In San Sebastián, courses in Basque and Spanish language, culture, history, anthropology, and political science will be offered by Consortium faculty. These classes are held at the University of the Basque Country’s Zorroaga facility in San Sebastián. In addition to giving Consortium students the opportunity to interact with local university students, the location will provide them the option to take actual University of the Basque Country courses. While the academic coursework will fill most of the students’ days, two Consortium students have been accepted into the orchestra of the Conservatory of Music, others have joined the local rugby club, and others are learning Basque folkdance and txistu with the local dance group, Argia. In addition to the regular curriculum, a special course on Basque Cuisine and Culture will be available during the Spring semester. Most Consortium students are making the most of the year by living with local families, and in that way will enjoy continuous exposure to their chosen language (Basque or Spanish) while experiencing the cuisine, customs and traditions of the Basque Country. The 1983-84 academic year will surely be a memorable and rewarding one in the lives of these motivated students. |
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