The Basque Country

Because I knew the Basque country (like Quebec) wanted independence, and because I'd heard a thing or two about the ETA, I was excited to be seeing the Basque country while in Spain. If I'd just gone as a tourist though, it would have been just like any other pretty place with ancient tree-covered mountains, the ocean, and cute red-tiled villages.

Luckily for me, my Dad's gift for connecting with people meant we were staying with a Basque family in a small town. We got lectures on Basque history and the current situation from the family's father. We also got an in to a local concert and a night drinking and singing on the street (our contribution to the post-concert concert was "Gens du pays").

I put my gradually developing smattering of Spanish on hold, and picked up a couple Basque words (thank-you is eskerrik asko, numbskull is tonto). I found it both exhilirating and exhausting communicating with the mother and daughters, as the dauthers had only Basque and Spanish and the mother could understand some French, and I of course have almost zero Spanish and no Basque.

My now moderately-better-informed opinion on Basque independence is that the situation is nothing like that in Quebec. From what we gathered, basically, Canada, for all its faults, is a democracy. The official opposition can be a separatist party. In Spain the official political party for Basque independence has been outlawed. Outlawed, can you imagine? And I'm not talking about the ETA. I can't believe that after four years of university it can still surprise me how lucky I was to be raised in a country like Canada. Happy belated Canada Day everyone!