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Vitoria-Gasteiz.  The Olabide Ikastola in Gasteiz and Bishop Kelly High School are participating in their second cultural exchange that includes youth from both schools.  The experience began in July when five Olabide students went to Boise accompanied by Andone Ruiz, the pedagogical director at Olabide.  During several weeks the Basque students lived with local families, practiced English and were surprised by the large Basque community in this American state.

Now, since July 19, nine students from Bishop Kelly are in Vitoria-Gasteiz, also residing with local Basque families and getting to know Basque culture up close.  They are accompanied by Cathy Clarkson, Spanish teacher at Bishop Kelly, and someone who knows Basque culture well.

In love with Basque

Clarkson, is a very active member of the local Basque community and speaks Basque fluently, despite her not having any family ties to the Basque Country.  She has also served for many years as the official txistulari of the Oinkari Basque dancers.  “Thirty four years ago I came to Oñati to learn Spanish, and I went home in love with the Basque culture and euskera,” Cathy told EuskalKultura.com.  So she returned to Gernika to learn Basque as well as to learn to play txistu, which made her an essential part of the Oinkaris.

Clarkson believes that some of these youth from Boise could be experiencing this “falling in love” with Basque that she did, but in any case she is sure that it will be an unforgettable experience for them all.  During their stay, the students practice Spanish, get to know the Basque culture up close, as well as playing tourist and enjoying the local festivals.  “For them everything is different: the food, timetable, life in the streets, as you do here… but deep down they are 17 year-old kids, that aren’t that much different from those from here,” Clarkson says.

Gasteiztarras in Boise

In July five Gasteiz students lived the same experience  in reverse and visted Boise for a few weeks accompanied by a teacher from Olabide, Andone Ruiz.  “They lived with Boise families and it was a very interesting experience.  For them it was amazing to see the weight of the local Basque community, and to attend festivities like San Inazio in Boise.  They were very surprised to see people in Boise who spoke Basque, and I think they were inspiring examples for them,” Ruiz explained.

This is the second Olabide-Bishop Kelly exchange, “last year four students from Olabide went to Boise and after that experience, this year students from Boise got excited to participate as well,” Ruiz said.

Benan Oregi has been actively involved in both exchanges as president of the Olabide Ikastola and a very well-known person in the Basque Diaspora due to his work in the Basque Government’s Department for Foreign Action.  Olabide Ikastola Cooperative Society is a Basque school founded as a family cooperative in 1963 and  supports high standard instruction in the Basque language.  The school was awarded the European award for Business Excellence in 2010, awarded annually by the European Foundation for Excellence – EFQM. 

-More information: www.olabideikastola.com and www.olabide.com