These Christmas, I have not been as pro-active as I would have liked in the mission of promoting Basque. Usually, I take the opportunity to go back home in winter and summer holidays to break my comfort zone and speak Basque in places where Spanish is the rule. It is usually easier around those dates because either Christmas or summer festivities are closedly linked to our folklore, and even non-Basque speakers are used to consuming Basque culture. 🎄
However, this time, since the beginning of my journey, I had to deal with a sttessful matter that kept me very disconnected from any sort of activism. This time, the weight of life on my shoulders was heavier than my desire to promote Basque. At times, it felt like I was not making an effort since I would only gather up the courage to speak in Basque if I was with at least another Basque-speaking/promoting friend. Even with my Catalan friends (2), Catalan would not come out of my mouth (although it did with a Catalan stranger in New Year's Eve). Not because of them, but because I just did not have the energy. 👐
And that's OK🍵. Social change is happening already. We can give ourselves a break. During Christmas, I did have some situations where friends who were either Basque-speakers/promoters and Basque "dormant" speakers gathered, and the latter dediced to give Basque a chance. I also had the chance to see my "Eusko kuadrilla", my group of friends from B.A. Basque Studies, for which I am extremely grateful (3). 🫂✨️
❤️🔥Shout-out to all of them, those who speak Basque and those who try. Shout-out to whoever is reading this and also felt too tired to try, and to those who had a successful winter break promoting social change.❤️🔥
PS. Nature did help me to see everything brighter and reminded me why I love my dear Euskal Herria (BC). I always recommend visiting the BC in the summer, but I changed my mind. If you are feeling romantic and you don't mind 10°C, a hot soup/chocolate might be waiting for you in a Basque summit.⛰️🍶
Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2al6LxR6Mu/?igsh=MTgxaTJoZjNsOGsxcg==
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