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NAME: Miren “Edurne” Egaña

DATE OF INTERVIEW: 2/01/98

LOCATION: Emmett, Idaho

INTERVIEWER: Begoña Pecharroman

LANGUAGE:  Spanish

TAPE NO:

INDEXED BY: Mikel Chertudi

 

 

TAPE

MINUTE                                                          SUMMARY OF CONTENTS                          

 

Tape 1, side 1

 

0-2:30              Miren’s maiden name is Laroscain.  She was born in Yrruzuieta, close to Marquina, Gipuzkoa in 1949.  Her father was Jose Luis, and her mother was María Andresa.  Her father died when Miren was 7 years old, her mother passed away in 1997.  Miren went to the Basque country to visit her mother shortly before she died.  Her mother’s death hit Miren very hard.  Her parents had owned a baserri, named Onzuazpi, which they had bought from Jose Luis’ parents when they married.  Miren’s father was born in Onzuazpi.  Both of her parents farmed on the baserri, and her mother used to take goods to the market to sell.

 

2:30-6:30         All of Miren’s family lives in the Basque country, including her brother and three sisters.  Miren does not have any relatives in the United States.  Her brother, Inocencio, is not married.  Miren is the fourth child in her family.  She remembers that her grade school in Yrruzuieta was divided by gender.  The boys would go to school in the morning, the girls in the afternoon.  All ages were taught in the same classroom.  Other children always called Miren “Edurne”, but when she started going to school, the teacher gave her the name “María Nieves.”  Presumably, she was not allowed to have a Basque name.  The children were not allowed to speak Basque in school, which bothered Miren a lot.  At home everyone spoke Basque, and it bothered Miren to have to name changed and be forced to speak Spanish.  Nevertheless, she learned Spanish quickly and easily.

 

6:30-10:00       Miren describes how classes worked.  She finished school at age 14, going to Ondarroa to get a job as a maid (criada).  She remembers what her home was like before her father died.  The children did not do much work.  Their father, who was very close to them, sheltered them.  After he died, everything changed.  The children had to help more with the farm work since their father was gone.  Her brother was 13 years old when Jose Luis died.  Her mother worked very hard, taking goods to the market in Ondarroa.

 

10:00-15:15     Miren’s job in Ondarroa was her first away from home.  Some family friends had arranged the job for her.  She took care of 2 children for a family; the boy was 3 years old, the girl was a year old.  Miren cooked, cleaned, and did all the other housework in addition to taking care of the family.  She had Sundays and afternoons off, and remembers that the family was very good to her even though the lady of the house did not like to help with any of the housework.  Miren loved to go to the movies, and the family would give her some money (in addition to her wages) to go see a movie every Sunday.  There were two movie theatres in Ondarroa, and many people would spend time there.  There were always dances in the plaza on Sunday.  Miren also loved to dance, but remembers that she often had to leave her dancing partners when her curfew rolled around.  She had to be home by 10:00pm.  She worked for the family until she was 19 years old, and they are still good friends.

 

15:15-23:00     She left the family at 19 because she needed a change.  Miren started working for Hotel Vega in Ondarroa.  She worked as a waitress in the dining room.  She and the other waitresses and servers lived in the hotel.  She talks about her daily schedule.  It was hard work; her days were always full.  The job paid well, but the hours were long and difficult.  Miren worked there for about 5 years.  She talks about a lung problem she has always had.  The job aggravated her lung condition, especially during her last year, so Miren had to leave.

 

23:00-24:00     She went home to rest and recuperate, where she and her sister worked on the family farm.  She remembers working harder on the farm than she had ever worked before.  Miren worked there until she married her husband, Juan.

 

24:00-30:00     She met her husband in 1977, when he returned after a few years of work in the United States.  He had been driving a truck and delivering hay in the vicinity of Caldwell, Idaho.  He tired of the job and returned to the Basque country to visit his mother and family.  He was from Aulestia.  The two met at a fiesta in Ondarroa.  She remembers that she and her sister went to fiestas often, but they were so tired from working on the farm that her sister would fall asleep.  They frequented Ondarroa on Saturdays for the fiestas.  After the fiesta they would go back home and sleep a bit before having to wake up early on Sunday morning.  They had to do the morning chores and get cleaned up before going to mass at Bolivar in Marquina.  The sisters had their own car by this time.  They took their religious duties very seriously, and rarely missed a mass.  She jokes that they spent a good deal of time confessing their sins.  Miren took her first communion at the age of 7, the same year her father died.  Her mother made her wear black shoes for the communion to mourn her father’s death.

 

Tape 1, side 2

 

0-4:00              Miren describes her first communion.  She remembers having to walk to Bolivar every day at 4:30 after school to prepare for the communion.

 

4:00-6:30         Juan started working in Marquina and worked for 2 years before they married.  He had his US citizenship when they married, for he had worked in the US for about 10 years (since 1967).  He also worked in Germany and served in the Spanish Army.  He was hoping to return to the United States with Miren after they married.  She was 28.

 

6:30-11:45       Miren did not really have any idea what the United States would be like before she arrived. The only preconceptions she had of the US were from watching movies.  They agreed to stay in the US for 3 years to try it out.  They bought a flat in Marquina so that they could return if she did not like life in America.  Moving to the US was like a vacation for her; they went to her sister-in-law’s child’s baptism in Colorado for their first stop.  She describes how they went to Bilbao and Madrid to get the travel documents she needed.  It was easy because he was an American citizen.  Miren got her green card in the airport in New York and the couple flew directly to Alamosa, Colorado for the baptism (they were the godparents).  They stayed in Colorado for two weeks.

 

11:45-14:00     Miren’s first impression of the US was memorable.  She was amazed by the diversity of race in the airport in New York.  She calmed down a bit in Colorado and even more in Boise.  Her husband found a job feeding animals in Boise, they rented a house, and during their year in Boise their first son was born.  She remembers not knowing what to think about Boise.  She and her husband went to the Basque Center every Saturday.

 

14:00-18:00     She was surprised by the number of Basques in Boise and was pleased with how kind and welcoming they were.  She did not speak any English, and felt bad about having to ask for help when she needed to go to the doctor.  Other Basques helped her a great deal, and never acted like she was asking too much.

 

18:00-23:15     Miren talks about her relationship with her husband.  He has always been wonderful husband, father, and friend.  He spoke English very well when they arrived and helped a great deal when Miren needed to go to the doctor or for other errands.  She describes the birth of her son on March 11.  After his birth, Miren’s outlook on life improved a great deal.  She changed for the better after the experience.  In June, Miren and her family moved to Emmett.  They moved into an apartment in Emmett.

 

23:15-30:00     They lived in the apartment for a year and decided to buy a house in Emmett.  Miren found a job as a janitor for the church, and has been working there for about 9 years.  She also cleans houses as part of her own housekeeping service.  She talks about a botched operation she had 4 years ago, which damaged her health and has prevented her from increasing the number of houses she cleans.

 

Tape 2, side 1

 

0-1:00              She describes how she cleans the church and the priest’s house.  She does not decorate the church or prepare it for mass.

 

1:00-8:00         Her son loves sports, and Miren used to love to watch him play a number of sports while he was growing up.  She changes the subject and describes her driving test in Bilbao.  She failed her first attempt, but passed her second.  She was the last of her friends to get her driver’s license.  Her mother was very proud of her.  She got her US driver’s license when her son was 3 years old so she could drive him to day care.

 

8:00-16:00       Her son, Joseba (see minute19), speaks Basque very well.  He did not speak any English when he started preschool, but loved school nonetheless.  He never complained, but the other children did not accept him because he did not speak English.  He learned quickly and spoke the language well by the time he entered the 1^st grade.  He now goes to school at Albertson’s College of Idaho.  He loves to play golf.  He does odd jobs so he can afford to play in tournaments.  A scout from Albertson’s, as well as others, contacted him to attract him to their schools when they saw him play golf.  He does very well in school, and is on both academic and athletic scholarships.  She and her husband are very proud of him.

 

16:00-24:15     Miren has visited the Basque country many times.  The family makes a trip every 2 ½ or 3 years.  She keeps in frequent contact with her friends and family.  Currently, she has no intention of moving back to the Basque country.  She has made her life in the United States.  Miren, her husband, and her son love to visit and her son may live there one day, but she does not think she will move back.  She attributes much of his desire to the fact that they spoke Basque at home.

 

24:15-27:00     Miren has learned English by watching television and reading.  She can get along in English, but speaks Basque with her family and friends, even her friends in the US.

 

27:00-30:00     She is not a US citizen.  She plans to become a citizen soon, for she really wants to vote.  She does not spend much time at the Boise Basque Center.

 

Tape 2, side 2

 

0-4:15              There is no Basque club or organization in Emmett.  Her son learned to Basque dance at special classes in Emmett.  She does not belong to any Basque clubs.

 

4:15-12:00       Miren has not noticed much of a difference between Basques in America and those in the Basque country.  She says that the people here have, in large part, made their lives in the US and are comfortable.  Many keep in touch with people in the Basque country.  She talks about some of the differences she has noticed between her generation and the younger generations.  She talks about her view toward politics and how she was raised in a home where political matters were not discussed.

 

12:00-21:30     She describes an operation her father had and the situation surrounding it.  Her father died from complications during the surgery.  Her mother wanted everything to be calm and well after his death, and would not allow political discussions to disrupt her family.  She remembers singing Franco’s patriotic songs at school.

 

                                                            NAMES AND PLACES                                                         

 

NAMES:

 

Egaña, Joseba – Miren’s son.

Egaña, Juan – Miren’s husband.

Inocencio – Miren’s only brother.

José Luís – Miren’s father.

Laroscain – Miren’s maiden name.

María Andresa – Miren’s mother.

María Nieves – the name her elementary school teacher gave Miren.

Onzuazpi – the name of Miren’s family’s baserri.

 

 

PLACES:

 

Alamosa, Colorado – Juan and Miren’s first stop in the United States was Alamosa for a baptism.

Albertson’s College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho – Miren’s son attended university here.

Aulestia – Juan Egaña’s hometown.

Bilbao — Juan and Miren had to go to Madrid and Bilbao to obtain their documents before coming to the United States.

Boise Basque Center, Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho – Miren was welcomed warmly by other Basques in Boise.

Bolivar – church in Marquina.

Caldwell, Idaho – Juan Egaña drove a truck in Caldwell before returning to the Basque country and meeting Miren.

Emmett, Idaho – Miren now lives in Emmett.

Germany

Hotel Vega, Ondarroa – Miren worked as a waitress at the hotel after her years as a maid.

Madrid – Juan and Miren had to go to Madrid and Bilbao to obtain their documents before coming to the United States.

New York, New York – Miren got her green card in New York.

Ondarroa – Miren moved to Ondarroa to work as a maid.

Yrruzuieta, Gipuzkoa – close to Marquina, this is Miren’s hometown.

 

 

THEMES:

 

Basque Clubs and Organizations

Childbirth

Education

Family

Health Problems

Language

Religion and Church

Spanish Army