When my friend and his boss decided to open this blog for me they did tell me that I could write as often or as infrequently as I wanted, but I am sure they didn't mean for me to take like a three month break after my first two posts.  To tell you the truth, I am just lazy. I do have things to say, but I have so little practice into writing them down that it really takes a lot of effort for me to sit down and just do it.  But I guess today is different.

There is something I have struggled with for a long time, and more so since I moved to Boise.  As you might know there is a huge Basque community here. I am from Bilbao, born and raised there, but my parents were not born in the Basque Country. I am able to carry on a conversation in Basque, but my understanding skills are far better than my ability to speak the language. Many times over the years I have felt the need to explain to people why I don't speak very good Basque even though I come from the Basque Country. It is partly my fault for not making more of an effort to learn it while I had the chance, and partly because I happened to live in an area of the Basque Country were people predominantly spoke Spanish. Since my kids started going to Ikastola in Boise I have had the opportunity to talk more and more Basque with the teachers, the parents, and with my own kids, and I love it. 

About four weeks ago I submitted the application to become a member of Euzkaldunak, and just today I got an email from the secretary telling me that before she could go forward with the application she needed to verify my ethnicity. I was so nervous all day long thinking that they would deny me the chance to be a member because my parents are not Basque, and that even though I am, I feel and do not know anything other than being Basque, they would deny my membership. It's funny how I have often felt that people who were born here in the US, people who have never even been to the Basque Country have the right to feel "more" Basque than me because their great-grandfather happened to be from Gernika Azkoitia or Lekeitio. I don't know why I feel the need for other people to validate me as being Basque...

In the end I stressed out for nothing. I came home to a second email from the Euzkaldunak secretary telling me that my membership would be processed by the end of the week, so I will be able to attend the monthly dinners from now on, my husband and kids in tow. I guess it all comes down to making sure that my kids are integrated from an early age into the Basque community, that they develop a pride in being Basque, that they form long-lasting connections with other Boise Basques. And how could have they done it if their own Basque mom was not able to get them in?