Basque Country Fan #1

As many of you know, I have started to publish some pieces online with different online magazines.  I write because I like to write, but to be able to share my experiences is a special treat.  I know that my family and friends enjoy reading my blogs because they want to know what's happening in my  life and how things are going, but lately, with more interest in my stories I am actually starting to see people that I don't know excited to read what I have to write - which is an amazing feeling.

Awhile back I wrote a blog about a film I went to see in Euskera during the San Sebastian Film Festival called Bertsolari.  It was a documentary about the Basque spoken poetry, it's past and present and impact in the Basque Country.  Coincidentally when I shared my cider story with one online magazine, they were also interested in running a version of this Bertsolari piece.  I was tickled pink.  On Facebook and thier website it got a bit of buzz and people seemed to be curious about this artform.  While I loved the activity, I was most happy for it to have been picked up by another website called About Basque Country.  They ran the article on thier page along with an intro about my writing.  The page is here, and since it is in Spanish, I will do my best to translate it so you can see what they have to say.

Amanda Gonser is already known by our regular readers, she wrote a lovely article about Olentzero for a newspaper in Washington State that we posted on our site and we are sure we will keep publishing her work about the Basque Country.  In this instance, she has written a piece about bertzolarismo in Big World Magazine, a site that sets out to look into other cultures and realities to combat global homogenity which is causing a loss of local cultures.  
This article is without a doubt written by what we would call a 'friend of the Basques'.  It is an explanation that seeks to show the love and interest that an 'outsider' who has come to our country as well as give a true and fair look into what we Basques are and what we do.  It is a viewpoint that contrasts the negative stereotypes that we don't like and have turned into our international image.  We are sure that with the work of these 'friends of the Basques', it's possible to change this incorrect image that many people have of the Basque Country.  Sadly, the people and places are not 'what they are', but 'what people think they are'.  Because of this, great work, from people like Amanda Gonser is fundamental for our future.  
Thank you.

I guess living here, I have become quite a Basque fan.  The culture is amazing.  The people are friendly and proud to be from here.  The traditions manage to live on in a very modern and homogenous world.  I feel lucky to have the opportunity to live in such a unique place and feel that I would be wasting it if I didn't share it with everyone I could!

Muxu!
Amanda