A Basque in Boise

Apparently, after shaking the East coast, almost blowing it away, and issuing an statement about it, God still had time on His hands to play a practical joke on a couple of unsuspecting suspects. You know you got on God’s bad side when he arranges for a man to catch the thieves robbing his house while he was on a plane during a ride to take aerial pictures of his dwelling.

C’mon, right?

I don’t know why, but these guys must have really ticked Him off because, seriously, even staying within the realm of stealing, there are way worse things going on in this world than two men loading someone else’s TV and X-box on a U-Haul truck. Like concession prices at the movie theaters, for example.

Ark. man in plane spots his home being burglarized

BAY, Ark. — An Arkansas man who wanted to capture aerial photos of his home during his first plane ride instead helped catch two men burglarizing it.

Steven Lynn said he could see the two taking items from his house.

“I looked down, and sure enough, there was a truck hooked onto a trailer, and guys were loading stuff up,” Lynn told The Jonesboro Sun. “It didn’t seem to faze them that we were buzzing over in an airplane; we got down pretty low.”

Lynn called an uncle who lives nearby and 911.

Craighead County Sheriff’s deputy Phillip Wheaton said the two men unloaded the trailer and left the scene when the uncle arrived. But the pilot and Lynn’s uncle followed them until they were stopped near Bay by Wheaton and two other officers.

“They were giving us turn by turn directions and giving us a description by county road,” Wheaton told television station KAIT.

The two men in the truck, Roosevelt Smith III and Joseph Peel, both of Jonesboro, now face burglary and theft charges.

Smith and Peel didn’t have listed phone numbers and couldn’t be reached for comment.

Most of the stolen items were found, but Lynn said a rifle valued at $1,200 is still missing. Lynn said after talking to deputies, he realized a next-door residence he also owns had also been burglarized with several new ceiling fans, tools and copper wire missing.

“It’s slim to none that you would ever see anything like that happening. I never would have expected it,” Lynn said. “I just wanted to see my house from the air, but to see something like that is a complete mood change. I feel like I was really lucky.

Taken from yesterday’s edition of The Idaho Statesman.

Urko eta Roberto

Despite nature’s efforts to sabotage the Basque weekend, the Rhode Island Basque Club enjoyed a wonderful picnic and a concert on Saturday.  The picnic was held Saturday instead of Sunday due to the Hurricane Irene hitting the east coast. On Saturday Fermin Elexpuru and Ismael Biurrun cooked paella for 70 people, followed by a wood chopping demonstration by Juanmari Aramendi.  The original competition between two aizkolaris from the Rhode Island Basque Club, Juanmari Aramendi and Riki Lasa was postponed until their next demonstration in Montreal, Canada September 17th.

Saturday evening, following the picnic, Urko Menaia performed at Portsmouth Abbey School.  The concert was well attended; the members of the Basque Club and Portsmouth residents sang along and enjoyed the Basque troubadour and poet in his last concert of his North American tour.

Additional photos of the event can be found on the Rhode Island Basque Club’s website.

Maybe I should get it

That’s it!

• I am a native Spanish speaker.
• I have a five-year English Philology degree from the University of Deusto, in Bilbao.
• I have a Masters in Translation from Estudio Sampere, in Madrid.
• I spent two summers in England.
• I’ve lived in the US for the last 15 years.
• I speak Basque. Maybe I don’t have the highest level ever, but I can carry a conversation and write emails.

My job is to provide software support for the big, big, big digital presses. However, I am more than happy to help anybody that comes through the line, unless they treat me like I’m stupid, that is. I am sorry, but I’ve had it with the “Can I please talk to someone that speaks English?” line from customers that end up erroneously on my phone, looking for help. They’re almost always calls from people who own a laptop or a desktop printer but pressed the wrong button on the menu.

I’m going to tell you a secret, though, Mr./Mrs. Customer. Do you know why you hear an accent on my voice when I talk? Right, that’s because English is not my first language, a hint that should immediately take you to the conclusion that I am, at least, bilingual. In my case, make that multilingual. (That means that I speak multiple languages. As in more than two.)

How many languages do you speak, Mr./Mrs. customer? I get that you might have some trouble understanding my accent. Some people (I’ve encountered at least 3 in the 15 years I’ve lived in the US) have that problem, but there is no need to be rude about it.

Remember, you’re not better than me just because you don’t have an accent when you speak English.

Overland Park Cinemas

I hate how Edwards 21 makes me feel like a cheap-ass mom. I won’t even hyperlink to their website I’m so mad.

I told the kids we’d go to the movies on Saturday, and they were all excited. They were even more surprised when we pulled into the Edwards parking lot. “Wow, you brought us to the real movie theater and not the dollar movies!” What snobs, oh my god.

I guess they had some right to be surprised because, as a general rule, I refuse to take them to Edwards, and when I do is for the matinee shows and usually because Diana needs me. And no, I don’t do 3D  or IMAX either. Going to the movies shouldn’t be a $40 affair for 6 and 7 year-old children, and their really short mom.

I leave the ticket window a bit poorer. It’s $21 just for three tickets. Fine. Ok. I got $21. I work two jobs and I don’t go to the mall anymore. And I love my kids very much. It’s when we get to the concessions stand that I almost lost it. You see, I’m used to paying $4 for for a movie ticket that includes a nice-sized soda and a bag of popcorn or some candy of your choosing. I ask the Edwards guy (boy) how much for a small drink and some popcorn and he says $10.75. “Hahaha”, I laugh. “No, silly, not two, just for one of each.” “Yes ma’am, $10.75.”

Holy crap… That’s sick and wrong. So I turned to my kids and told them they had to share.

I felt like the cheapest, lowes, tighest-fisted mom of all times. It’s not like I can’t afford it, but I categorically refuse to paying ten dollars for two freaking sodas and another ten for two bags of popcorn. We all know that the movie theaters take advantage of having you hostage for a couple of hours, but that’s stealing.

I guess going to Edwards is kind of like getting your check-engine light scanned, but a bit more fun. However, I highly doubt it that I’ll go back any time soon.

My friend Zigor Alkorta called me last week, and through Viber, no less! I can’t believe the progress he’s made in the last five minutes technology-wise. He could barely work the cell phone last time I saw him, but since April he’s managed to get a Blackberry (or Droid, or some smartphone that’s not an iPhone) where he now has Viber and Whatsapp installed. Not only that, but he finally opened a Facebook account (just to follow our high school reunion plans), a Tuenti account, and I can’t say for sure, but he might even have Twitter.

Back to the call. He works as a photographer for Basque newspaper Deia, and he asked me to write a small article on how we enjoy Bilbao’s Aste Nagusia those of us who live abroad. I thought it was cool he thought of me, and I said of course I’d write it. But then I hung up and I started freaking out because, other than with a lot of jealousy, I hadn’t thought about how exactly I live Aste Nagusia from Boise. But once I got down to it, writing about it wasn’t as hard as I’d originally thought.

I’m not going to lie; it was pretty cool to see the article published in today’s edition of the paper. You can read the original article in Spanish by clicking on the picture.

I’m So Jealous...

My friend Zigor Alkorta (who by the way, works for this very newspaper), called me the other day to ask me to write a couple of lines on how we enjoy Bilbao’s Aste Nagusia those of us who live abroad. I’ll tell you how: with a lot of jealousy.

It’s been 15 years since I left Ortuella and came to Boise, Idaho’s capital in the USA. At the beginning it’s true I had a bad time when August rolled around and all my friends told me how much they’d enjoyed watching the fireworks, going to this concert or the other, or partying the whole night because they had to work on the beer booth. But every summer it gets a little better. Time takes its toll and I don’t feel like partying the whole night through anymore, and working during Aste Nagusia without the slightest hint of a hangover doesn’t sound too horrible.

Or maybe that’s the spiel I tell myself to feel better.

Really, most times I don’t even look at the schedule of events to save myself the disappointment when I see which groups are playing and I know I can’t go. But this year, after I talked to Zigor, I looked up the program on the Internet. It couldn’t have started worse: Sunday, August 21. 23:00. El Arenal. Night concert (first pass): Drindots. The group’s singer, Jon Urdangarin, was my remote teacher while I studied Basque online with HABE’s Euskara Munduan program. We would email each other and talked through Skype. I met him in person by chance about three years ago in Morga, after a Gatibu concert. I’d have loved going to the Bilbao concert.

And last night I get a Facebook message from another friend, Olatz, who tells me she run into my parents during the fireworks. Fine, you’re going to say there is nothing special about running into people during Aste Nagusia, but the thing is that my parents (from Ortuella) and I (from Boise), met Olatz (from Larrabetzu) last month at the Basque picnic in Homedale, a little town about 40 miles from Boise. Until yesterday they hadn’t been together in the Basque Country.

I feel sad that I can’t enjoy the week with my family and friends, and I’m especially sad that I’m unable to expose my kids to Bilbao’s atmosphere during Aste Nagusia. In the United States it’s unthinkable to take your 6 and 7 year-olds partying with you; but in the Basque Country, during any town’s festival, it’d be weird to leave them at home.

Who knows? Maybe next year I’ll go on vacation in August and I’ll be able to write an article on how I enjoyed Aste Nagusia live.

The Basque Market was established in December 2000, on the Basque Block in Downtown Boise, Idaho. Since opening, the Basque Market has quickly become the leader in Basque catering, and is famous for preparing large paellas for parties, weddings, anniversaries, and other events. A variety of classes on paella, sangria, tapas or wines are also offered every month.

Tucked between the Leku-Ona and Bardenay restaurants, and right across the Basque Center in the Basque Block in downtown Boise is the Basque Market, where you can find a variety of Basque and Spanish goods almost impossible to come by elsewhere, such as turrones, piquillo peppers or anchovies. Owners Tony and Tara Eiguren have been serving lunches, tapas, and wines since they took over the store in 2006, and they even have a take-home deli case filled with ready-to-eat dishes.

Many Boiseko Gazteak parents look forward to Tuesday nights, when they can relax inside the Basque Market with a glass of wine, some tapas and good conversation while they wait for their children’s Basque dancing practice to be over. Tapas are also served on Saturday nights and First Thursdays.

The Eigurens, who purchased The Basque Market in 2006, attribute their success to the unique products they sell and treating customers like family. “When we purchased the Basque Market in 2006”, said Tony, “we faced many challenges in the beginning, learning a tremendous amount about so many unique products that we were selling, along with balancing our family life and our teaching careers. During the first year, my wife Tara and I were still teaching and balancing a new career as small business owners. We attribute some of our success to the fact that we offer such unique and special products from the Basque Country and the Iberian Coast, which no other business offers in Boise and the surrounding areas. We also treat our customers like family, always intending to create a very welcoming and comfortable atmosphere, just as if they were invited to our home for a glass of wine!”

When asked about a special moment at the Basque Market, Tony says there is not one special moment that stands out, but many special moments that make up every day instead. “On the one hand,” he says, “there are many regular customers who sit on the patio with their favorite bottle of wine, or come in for tapas they love, and who have become good friends of ours. On the other hand, many visitors stop by the shop as they pass through on vacation.” He tells us that meeting so many interesting and new people every day really makes their job enjoyable and rewarding.

During this year’s San Inazio festival, the Basque Market stayed open longer hours to accommodate all the people that flooded the Basque Block to enjoy the festival and served delicious tapas on the new Tapas Bar, plus they cooked paellas out on the patio throughout the weekend.

Whether you have yet to visit the Basque Market or you are one of their regulars, I have good news for you. For the next 48 hours, you can get $14 worth of Basque Market goodies for only $7. Check out today’s AmazonLocal deal and get yourself some vouchers. I got five of them this morning!

For more information on The Basque Market, click here.

The Basque Market
608 W. Grove St.
Boise, ID 83702

Phone 208-433-1208
Fax 208-433-1215

Hours: Monday thru Saturday 10:00am – 6:00pm

The San Francisco Basque Cultural Center will celebrate their Euskal Etxeko Jaialdia 2011 on August 27-28, along with the 50th anniversary of the Zazpiak Bat Basque dancing group.

All reservations must be prepaid by August 16, 2011. Checks should be made payable to the Basque Cultural Center and mailed in care of:

Anita Arduain
226 Bryce Avenue
South San Francisco, CA 94080
650-583-7018

RSVPs can be made by email to RSVP@SFBCC.us

PROGRAM OF EVENTS

Saturday, August 27, 2011
3:00 pm:
Zazpiak Bat Dance Group. Through the Years. Performance by Groups Past and Present
6:00 pm:
Aperitif with entertainment by Jean Flesher Band and Bergara Band from Euskal Herria
7:00 pm:
Barbeque steak dinner
Adults: $25.00
Children under 12: $7.00
Prepaid Reservations needed
9:00 pm:
Dance to the Music of Jean Flesher Band and Bergara Band from Euskal Herria

Sunday, August 28, 2011
10:00 am:
Basque Mass with Aita Lastiri and Aita Cachenaut, the Klika, Elgarrekin Choir, Zazpiak Bat Dancers
11:00 am:
Presentation of the Basque Cultural Center Bizi Emankorra to Gratien Etchebehere, Etienne Jorajuria, Jean-Baptiste Lorda. Performance by Zazpiak Bat
12:00 pm:
Aperitif with entertainment by Jean Flesher Band and Bergara Band from Euskal Herria
1:00 pm:
Barbeque rack of lamb lunch
Adults: $25.00
Children under 12: $7.00
Prepaid Reservations needed
3:00 pm:
Opening Game with Youth Handball Players followed by Adult handball and pala with local players

To download a copy of the flyer, click here.

Hi everyone!

I just got word that the Rhode Island Basque Club 2011 picnic has been moved to Saturday, August 27th at 2:00pm. The picnic will be followed by Urko Menaia’s concert at 6:30pm, as scheduled.

Unfortunately, Rhode Island it’s a bit far away for me, but I hope those of you that live closer consider making an appearance. Then you could come back here and tell us how much fun it was.

Ondo pasa!

Like computer trouble or software error messages (”But it was working perfectly this morning!), the “Check Engine” light comes on when you least expect it and for no apparent reason. After years of dealing with computers and five Saabs later, I no longer ask myself that question and direct all my energy to solving the problem. So after the light came on in the Touareg I sighed, took a deep breath, and scheduled an appointment this morning to take the car in after I picked the kids up from school.

I get to the Service department at Lyle Pearson at 2 p.m., with my two kids plus one of Andoni’s friends in the back, all hyper after the first day of school. I go inside and a guy with the longest mullet ever greets me. (I’m not judging, I’m just painting a picture here, you know, describing). He gives me a number and takes my keys. I ask how long it’s going to take for them to read me the code, and he says “Oh, about an hour and a half”. What? Are they using a scan machine from the 30’s? Just how slow are you guys? The man talks to me like I’m stupid. “Well… you have to get the code, and then look it up on the computer to find out what it means”. Dude, even with a DOS command prompt PC you can get the codes faster than that. I’m not paying $100 diagnostics to these people. Shit, I can get my own iPhone Car Diagnostics Kit for that money (I am seriously considering it). I get that repairs at the dealership are more expensive, but c’mon, that’s a rip-off. And a bit insulting. So I take my keys and drive off.

I decide to go to Einstein’s Oilery instead. The guys are super nice, and for a decent price they change your oil, give you the day’s edition of The Idaho Statesman and your choice of coffee and soda (Coke, Sprite or Dr. Pepper). It feels more like Sonic than a mechanic shop. Mitch was my “waiter” today. He even has a mechanic-ish name. I feel much better already.

I was hoping I could get away with using normal oil in the Volkswagen, but no such luck. The guys feel bad and show me the computer screen so I can see for myself I need synthetic oil. As I’m reading the information, I notice a service called “Check Engine Light”. Awesome! Especially when I ask about it and they tell me it is fast and it is free. Sure enough, two minutes later I’m tightening the gas cap and the check engine light is now gone from the dashboard. And I only paid the $70 for the oil change.

I can’t imagine how pissed off I’d have been if I had to pay to tighten that cap.

*I just heard on the radio that AAMCO will also do the scan for free.

While we are on the DC earthquake topic, I wanted to share with you some interesting facts on earthquakes that I found while surfing the web last night. Sarah Zielinski has done some research on which US states are more prone to experiencing quakes, and it turns out they can happen in places other than California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, or Hawaii. You can check out the Earthquake hazard map for the United States and get a visual. The map is included in Sarah’s post from yesterday on the smithsonian.com website, which you can read in its entirety here.

However, what really grabbed my attention was how people react to an earthquake nowadays as opposed to a decade ago. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking I would probably hit Facebook first, then I’d twitter the news. Or maybe I would double-check that I got both accounts linked so when I used one the news would immediately post to the other one. Have you thought about how you would go about it?

Oh, wait, wait! I could write up something quickly on the blog – posts automatically show up on Facebook – and then retweet it right after I publish it. Ummm…