TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-12:00 Coro was born in San Sebastian on August 10, 1945, where she lived until she moved to the US. Her father Alejo Gil, was from San Sebastian, and her mother Antonia Anitua, was from Aulestia. Coro’s father worked in the Caja de Ahorros Municipal, and her mother worked at home. She has 1 younger sister, Ana. She started school when she was 4 at a nun’s school for girls. Her mother used to take Coro to school, but died suddenly when Coro was 4, so a nun and her aunt moved in and took care of her. She loved to go to school; she used to start about 9am, eat lunch at school, and go home around 5pm. She had to pray a lot, but she liked the nuns. Coro explains how the classes were taught and what was covered. When she was 12, Coro’s father died of a heart attack, and she and her sister went to a different school in the same town, and only went home on weekends. She finished at the second nun’s school when she was 16. During this time, the nun continued living with Coro, but her aunt and her 2 female cousins lived in a different house on the same block, and the 4 girls were best friends. Coro has learned how to adapt to change very well; when she had to change schools, she made friendships that are still strong today. She learned how to sew, needlepoint, embroider, type and cook at the boarding school, in addition to taking normal classes.
12-22:00 After she graduated, Coro worked in the office of her 1st nuns’ school, and used the money to take classes with a tourism office. To practice her English, she next worked as an au pair in England for 2 years. When she was 21, she finished her classes and went to work at the front desk of a ski resort for the winter with her friends. After that, she and a friend went to Tarragona, where they worked during the summer in another hotel. They tried to find permanent work in the same time, with no success, but a friend’s husband found work for them in Urnieta, doing secretarial work. When another woman left a higher position, Coro took it over even though she was warned that the man she would be working for was intolerable. She spoke Spanish, English, and French, and she eventually became good friends with everyone in the office. Coro worked in this office for 2 years, until she was married, on December 4th, 1971.
22-30:00 Coro met Enrique Goitiandia, her future husband, in Aulestia in the fall of 1965. When she went home for vacation, they began to write to each other and visit on weekends; even when Enrique went to the US in March of 1966, they never stopped writing. He stayed in Idaho until 1971, during which time he worked in Boise, and went to Vietnam (in 1969). Enrique came back to Donostia, and they married [Joseba Chertudi was Enrique's driver to the wedding], and since Enrique had become a citizen, he had to live in America for 5 years, so they moved to Boise in May of 1972. They intended to come back to Donostia after 5 years, but never did. Coro never wanted to move to the US and leave behind her sister and friends, so the change was terrible for her. Even though all of Enrique’s family met him at the airport, Coro didn’t know anybody when she came. The day they arrived, it was Patty Miller’s 11th birthday, and they went directly to her house for a birthday party.
Side 2
0-10:30 After Patty’s birthday, Coro and Enrique went to Caldwell to stay with his sister Mari. It was night, and she saw nothing on the way, but when she woke up in the morning, she was greeted by her 1st vision of Idaho: hundreds and hundreds of cows. Enrique went to work a month later, during which they lived in Kuna on Benny Goitiandia’s ranch; Coro didn’t drive and so rarely left the ranch on her own. She didn’t do much except help around the house. The couple finally moved into a small basement apartment close to downtown, which made it easier for Coro to find work (she was a permanent resident by then). She began work at Boise Cascade, using her Spanish skills to work with their South America division. Her daughter Nagore was born on January 4, 1974. She walked to the doctor appointments and all her errands by herself, but went shopping with Enrique on the weekends. Coro stayed home to raise her new family.
10:30-30:00 Coro was happy to stay at home with her daughter, even though she knew she wasn’t the type of woman who could be a housewife forever. Her son Iker was born on December 14,1975. She watched a friend’s children until her daughter was in the 1st grade; the children played together, and Coro made a little extra money. Coro then went to work as a teacher’s assistant in a school, in order to have the same schedule as her children. She worked at several schools in the Boise School District, either walking or taking the bus. Her children were very involved in after-school activities, so Coro eventually had to learn how to drive in order to chauffeur them around. In 1976, they visited Euskadi with the intention of moving there, but the unemployment in Spain was so serious that they decided to stay in Boise. Coro decided to get more involved in the American way of life, but without losing touch with her Basque roots. She became president of the PTA and got involved with all of her children’s activities. She volunteers at the Basque Center and the Basque Museum and sings in the Biotzetik choir. Coro is also part of a women’s social club called Aiztan Artean, whose members are either Basque themselves or married to a Basque man. The women meet in each other’s home monthly to have coffee and dessert; the club was founded about 25 years ago.
Tape 2
Side 1
0-10:00 There are about 30 members in Aiztan Artean, and they collect money to benefit the Basque Center and other Basque activities. Coro thinks she has made a lot of progress in immersing in Boise life. When she 1st came to the US, she admits she had a bit of a shock, because she had only been used to British English, but she was much better off than many immigrants, who had had no experience with English before moving here. She found the food and the clothing very strange and distasteful at first. Coro had never idealized the US because she never wanted to come here. She remembers being surprised that there was never anybody in the streets. Her 1st friend was a Mexican, and next she met Diane Zubizarreta; they were all the same age and had families, and so they all did a lot together.
10-30:00 Coro and Enrique always attend the Basque picnics here in Boise. She has always maintained contact with her family in Euskadi, at first through letters, and now over the telephone. She goes to visit every 3 years during the summer. Coro has decided that after all the time she’s lived and worked here, she deserves some of the benefits of her tax money, and so she is in the process of becoming a citizen. She would like especially to be able to vote. Coro now works in 2 private schools, teaching 1st-6th grade Spanish, French and Latin at Montessori schools, which she has been for the last 13 years. She discusses the differences between this school system and the public school system. Coro then describes her involvement with the Basque Center. She says that Basque-Americans are a unique mix of the two cultures, which isn’t a bad thing – just different.
Side 2
0-27:00 Coro feels different from the Basque American women, because most of the Basque cultural elements are traditional and somewhat antiquated; this has only recently begun to change. She seems saddened that many family activities for Basques go unattended by most. She talks about the difference between the Basque Museum and the Basque Center; the former is open to the public for membership, and the latter requires Basque heritage or marriage. She says that even though non-Basques like Cathy Clarkson have done a lot for the Basque community, they are not allowed to be part of the Basque Center. She then talks about the Oinkari dancers a bit. She says that the difference between a Basque and Basque-American doesn’t stem so much from marriage to non-Basques as from the country itself. She discusses some of those differences. In her spare time, Coro likes to chat with friends and take walks. She talks about the diversity in America, and says that when she travels to Euskadi, she feels she has never left.
27-30:00 Coro’s children went to Boise public schools until high school, when they attended Bishop Kelly High School.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Aiztan Artean,: Basque women’s social club
Anitua, Antonia: Coro’s mother
Biotzetik: choir Coro sings for
Boise Cascade: employed Coro in their international division
Boise School District: Coro worked for it for a while
Clarkson, Cathy: has done a lot for the Boise Basque community
Gil, Alejo: Coro’s father
Gil, Ana: Coro’s sister
Goitiandia, Benny: Enrique’s brother
Goitiandia, Enrique: Coro’s husband
Goitiandia, Iker: Coro’s son
Goitiandia, Mari: Enrique’s sister
Goitiandia, Nagore: Coro’s daughter
Miller, Patty: director of the Basque Museum and Cultural Center
Montessori: school system where Coro now teaches
Oinkaris: Basque dancers
PTA (Parent Teacher Association): Coro was her kids’ schools’ president for a while
Zubizarreta, Diane: Coro’s friend
PLACES:
Aulestia, Spain: Coro’s mother’s birthplace
Basque Center (ID): Coro is a member
Basque Museum (ID): Coro is a member
Bishop Kelly High School: Coro’s children went to high school here
Boise, ID
Caldwell, ID
Kuna, ID
San Sebastian, Spain: Coro’s birthplace
Urnieta, Spain: Coro worked here for a while
Vietnam: Enrique fought there during the war
THEMES:
Clubs and Organizations
Immigration
Language
Schools
