euskal jaiak

"this........

                 is the     

 best day 

            of the year"

maialen is one of our new students

that is what our student told us when we saw her during the annual Basque festival called: Euskal Jaiak. these pictures are now almost a month old, but i thought that you'd enjoy seeing how Basque people celebrate and remember their culture. it was so fun to walk around, meet up with friends and students, and be a part of this cool festival. next year, we plan on dressing up as well so we don't stick out so badly like we did this year!

          

visitors

sightseeing americans

my new best friend

last week we had lots of people visiting Basque Country. a group from the Seattle/Portland area were here with Summer in the USA.

every year in september, they hold two reunions that all the kids who participated in the program can come to and

reconnect with some of their leaders, friends from the summer, and maybe even their host parents. while they were here, we tagged along on some of their adventures.

it was so great and very very encouraging to see these awesome people again.

view from the top of one of our hills in Zarautz

not only did we have some Americans visit the area, but we also met a couple from Sweden who came to vacation here for a week.


a friend of a friend asked us if we could pick them up from the airport and we agreed.

the little town of Getaria

we immediately took a liking to them and during the week, we brought them to our part of Basque Country so we could show them around zarautz and a nearby town named getaria.

we had a great time with them and are so glad to now have more friends from Sweden!

weddings and babies

before i begin, i need to clarify: no, i'm not getting remarried, and no, we're not having a baby. but... our friends are!

just a few days after we got back to Basque Country, we had a chance to go to a Basque wedding FOR FREE! normally, people here pay 100-150€ to go to a wedding, but, a couple of months ago, i offered to take pictures at my student's wedding. when she took me up on my offer and i refused to be paid, she said, "well, then you and jonny can come to the wedding for free!" i don't know about you, but jonny and i like the word FREE. plus, we were very excited to get to be a part of such a significant part of Basque culture. so, here are a few pictures from the wedding and the huge feast/party they had after the ceremony.

next. babies. actually, to be accurate, it's only one baby. or so we all think. anyways, some friends of ours who live about an hour away are having a baby. a week or so ago we had a baby shower for her. it was great to meet joanna's Basque friends and here family who is here visiting from england. here are a couple of pictures for you to look at as well.



i think that's all for now, though i have much much much more to write. i just have to wait to find time to develop my pictures! more blogging will soon follow. i promise!!