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With a university degree in Business Administration and a Masters in International Relations, Jon Garcia Gerenabarrena has been in Boise since March with a scholarship from Directorate of the Basque Community Abroad of the Basque Government.  He bikes to his office every day and is very happy with this special opportunity to work and have a close relationship with the Diaspora.  As everyone in Boise, he is anxiously awaiting the Basque Soccer Friendly and Jaialdi 2015.

Joseba Etxarri.   There is just a few weeks left until Jaialdi and we are talking to someone from Vitoria-Gasteiz who has been experiencing all the preparations of this huge Basque festival with exceptional intensity from Boise.  This is his first stay in Boise and the United States, even though others from his family have been in Idaho before. His maternal great-grandfather, Pedro Gerenabarrena, worked as a sheepherder, over a century ago, in the mountains that surround Boise, to finally return to Bakio and have a family there.

As someone from Gasteiz who now lives in Boise, is there a big difference between the two cities?

-I would say that in some ways they are rather similar.  They are about the same size, Boise has 210,000 inhabitants, more if you count the metropolitan area, and Gasteiz has 240,000.  It is possible to get around on bike in both, and both have a green belt surrounding them.  I always get around on bike here.  If I have to go farther, I take a taxi, since public transportation isn’t that great here, or by using Uber which is often cheaper and very easy to use from your phone.  Until now, I didn´t take a taxi and I’ve only used Uber once and it worked really well.

You studied in Oñati, at the Mondragon University (MU), and you later did a Masters in International Relations later in Barcelona.  Now you are here with a scholarship from the Basque Government.

-I had just finished my Masters when I red in Gazteaukera about these scholarships for a year, and so i applied.  I did the written exam and I moved on to the interview stage and shortly after that they called to tell me that I had been chosen. I started in Gasteiz in November at the Lehendakaritza, where I learned about how the Administration worked.  My US visa was delayed but I finally got it and so first went to New York where the Delegation of Euskadi in the US is headquartered.  There I familiarized myself the work that is done there and then the next week I came to Boise.  My task consists in collaborating in the work done by the Basque community, to support joint projects and in general support the cooperation and relationships between Idaho and this part of the West, and Euskadi.  We collaborate with various projects, in particular with cultural ones, with BSU (Boise State University)….Right now we are working on an exhibit, we also worked with the Delegation to finalize Lehendakari Urkullu’s trip to Boise for Jaialdi…and besides, in my free time I am volunteering with the organization of the soccer game that will be played by Athletic on July 18th in Boise.

It seems that you have been well-received.

-Very well.  The Basque community has welcomed me with open arms and in my case John Ysursa, and his family, have helped me a lot along with the entire community.  Every time that I need something, they have helped me, they have shown me the city, I have been to lacrosse games….it is very easy to be Basque here and they make you feel at home.

You have adapted well…

-Here there are many possibilities for someone like me who loves nature.  Boise is known as “the City of Trees.”  You can get around either on foot or on a bike, you can go to the mountains, or rafting….In regards to academics you have BSU, the College of Idaho and other centers…. There are also concerts regularly, theater productions, there are a lot of opportunities to exercise….I think that it is a comfortable city, specifically for youth; maybe even more so for Basque youth who have resources and activities provided to them by the Basque community.  In general people’s initiative has caught my attention and their creativity.  I think they have used their capacity in this area more than us.  The same idea to bring Athletic here, with all its complications and all the work that comes along with it is a great example.

We have a high youth unemplyment rate.  What is unemployment like for people of your age?

-I was talking about this not too long ago with some friends that told me that unemployment is around 3%.  People beginning working here while they are at university.  Almost all the people my age I know are working.  I’m not sure under what conditions, but they are working.

Do you think that the Basque community in Boise enjoys all the presence and influence as people think in Euskadi?

-All you have to do is look at the mayor, Dave Bieter, Basque and Basque speaker, in the State government there are also very important figures…The mere fact of having the Basque Block in the middle of the city which is very active and a reference for life and activities helps a lot.  Here everyone knows about Basques or has heard about them.  There are constantly multiple activities and they are covered in the media, just think on Jaialdi.

How would you invite someone to Jaialdi who might not be sure about going and participating in it?

-I would sayt it is a great opportunity that only happens once every five years.  It is a world of its own, Basques and non-Basques are impatiently waiting for it to get here and the expectation that has been created by the TV, radio and internet and the written notices have only worked to feed into it.  First we have the Athletic match on Saturday and then  just 10 days afterwards Jaialdi activities begin.  In my case, I’ll have to work, but I hope to also have some time to enjoy it.  It is an opportunity and there is no question that it should not be missed.