Formative Basque Experience

 

I really enjoy Basque class, and it's more than just the fun of learning a very different language. I've always believed that people have a formative time in their lives, usually in their twenties, that defines who they are. For Travalon, it was the summer he worked at Glacier National Park. For Kathbert, it was living in Russian House in college. For Rich, it was his time at Case University. You can usually tell what a person's formative experience is because they always talk about it, and as everyone who knows me knows, I never shut up about those two weeks in France for World Youth Day. But maybe my formative experience was actually the summer I lived in the Basque country, because it was my first time outside of the US, and it really made an impression on me. I'm the only one in my class who isn't Basque by heritage, but I can get nostalgic for the Basque country with the best of them, and I do know enough about the culture to not feel completely left out. I was young enough at the time (only twenty) for it to sort of become part of my identity, a part that I haven't had a chance to live again until now.

Here are some recent photos. First is a better shot of Travalon's new Amoco Bear.

These are a bunch of Popeye dolls that Travalon just got in the mail: Olive Oyl, J. Wellington Wimpy, Bluto, Popeye, Eugene the Jeep, and Swee'Pea.

I can't remember if I ever posted a photo of our newest dragon. Meet Pistachio. 

And here are all our dragons: Pistachio and Zephyr in the back, and Solstice and Indigo in the front.

This morning it was -17 degrees Fahrenheit out, but I was fine because I looked like this:

One long, heavy coat, two pairs of pants, two hats, and the thing I got from the Turkey Trot. (I can't remember the technical term for it.) Plus gloves and boots. On my later walks today I also wore sunglasses, so then even my eyes were covered, but the problem is that they kept fogging up. Not like there's much to see around here anyway, except snow.

Famous Hat