I am Basque!

I (Jeff) got home from a very short business trip to Indianapolis this morning. The heat and storms that we had in Minnesota on Wednesday was hitting Indy today. It was hot and muggy when my plane took off at 7:45am. Anyway, I am sure a lot happened around our house during the day, but was not involved. I went to work after my plane landed, so I am not sure of all the details. Janna will update later, I am sure.

Since Janna needed a break from all the action, I made the kids dinner (sausage, cheese and egg on a muffin or gluten free bagel. We call it a McMuffin sandwhich. We stole the name from McDonalds, even though we don't eat them at McDonalds. We like to make a more healthy version at home. Oh, Andoni pretended to try Green Peppers tonight. He is still not a fan of anything that we would consider a vegetable, unless chocolate is a vegetable...) and then took them all to the soccer field and park. It was such a beautiful night. Not a cloud in the sky. 80 degrees. Slight breeze. Just perfect. After traveling early in the morning and working all day, I was in the mood to just lie in the grass on a hill, high above the soccer field where Quinn had a practice. I laid on the grass, looking up at the sky, and asked Andoni 8,000 questions.

His English has gotten so good, that I can have a lengthy conversation with him now. We talked the entire 1.5 hours. He told me all about the boys (and girls) he runs around with, about the social networking site he is on all the time (tuenti), about the party in his town that started recently, about roller costers, and churros, and musical groups, and his dad's soccer team, and his little brother's soccer team, and celiac, and his holiday home, and on and on and on.

It was great.

He is a good kid. I think his parents will be proud of how far he has come with his English.

I like to tease him, and he is a good sport. So while we were chatting today, I talked him into a corner about what makes someone Basque. Since speaking the language of the Basque people is a major component of identifying oneself as Basque, I told him that I was going to go to the Basque country, learn the language, and become Basque. He told me I "could not!" I told him that I didn't care what he said, that I was going to learn the language and then I would be Basque. He told me I "could not. It's impossible. You are not Basque."

So I assured him that, while he may not let me become Basque, that I would let him become an American if he wanted. That there are plenty of Basque Americans. He said he had no interest in becoming an American, he is Basque.

So, much to Andoni's opposition, I have started my Basque language lessons. My goal is to be "fully Basque" by the end of the week. I mean, how hard could it be to learn a new language? However, since I will likely have a thick accent if I spoke Bizkaiera, I might go for Gipuzkera. I realize that if I go for Lower Navarrese, Andoni will write me off immediately. But if I learn Gipuzkera Andoni might not detect my accent and will allow me to be Basque. So that is my plan. Jeff, the American Euskaldunak.

Wish me luck!

Swimming, park, etc...

It is early in the morning here and the kids are still sleeping so I am taking this opportunity to write about the last couple of days. We continue to keep quite busy and both of the last two days have had some highlights.

On Tuesdays, the girls have a golf lesson. Andoni says that not many people play golf in Spain (or possibly in all of Europe), which I have also heard as well. Many people play golf here, and especially in Minnesota as our winters are so long, we try to make the most of our time outdoors in the summer and golfing is just one way to spend some time outdoors. We also have a golf course located directly across the street from our house and so we try to take advantage of having it there. Andoni and Quinn even went to the driving range the other day and hit balls for an hour or so, although I don't think Andoni would choose it as a hobby, I think he and Quinn had a nice time. So, anyway, this Tuesday, Andoni, the girls and I walked up to golf lessons and then Andoni and I walked to the small center of our town and ran an errand returning just when the girls were finishing up their lesson. Then, later Tuesday morning we had another swimming lesson. Shelby still cannot get into the water (although will be able to later today), so she and Andoni waited while the girls had their lessons.

Later, we headed to the park and a nearby waterfall. While we were there, Andoni and I watched the girls play with friends they saw there, and Andoni told me about his school classmates a little.

It is so fun to hear him talk more and more and gain a comfort level with us as this time together has progressed. I think you may hear he is more confident in his English speaking when he returns. He is doing great in that regard.

Tuesday night was Shelby's last soccer game. All day long, Andoni had been reminding Shelby that THIS time she needed to try to score a goal. Normally, Shelby likes to look at the butterflies in the sky rather than chase after the ball. She says she gets tired and it is too hard to get to the ball (which, truly, it is, as all the children huddle around it and, as you saw, run in quite a pack), but she PROMISED Andoni she would try. She didn't make a goal, but she did do a cartwheel in the middle of the field, which was the best she could do. It was her last game of the summer, so she got a medal for being on the team and she was quite proud. They went up for ice cream to celebrate.

Gillian had soccer tryouts that night (and last night, too), Quinn has them next week, and Aubrey has them tomorrow night. I think Andoni might be interested in what teams they make, so I will be sure to email him and let him know.

Yesterday, was HOT and HUMID. It threatened to storm all day and there were tornado watches for most of the day. We were supposed to go back to the beach with our friends, but we decided instead to go to the mall and get out of the heat. Andoni needed to return a couple of things at the Mall of America, so we headed back there and planned on heading to the cinema while there. Andoni's face lit up when he heard we would go to the movies. I think he was a little hesitant because the movie we chose was not a action film, but a kids movie (Toy Story 3), but was excited to find that it was in 3D, which really makes a movie fun to watch. The movie was really good and all the kids liked it (we had also taken along a friend of Gillian's, Erika, and a friend of Quinn's, Katie).

The day was so hot, that we all got back home and didn't want to go out the door. Andoni, Gillian, Aubrey and I played a game called "Sorry." Andoni almost won a million times, and Aubrey cried (not because of Andoni, but because she was NOT winning), and then Gillian surged ahead and won. Andoni has officially become a member of our family, and puts up with all the drama that these girls manage to create each day. Someone cries at least 500 times a day and Andoni is unfazed. So, that has been part of his education as well. He is a good sport about it all.

Finally last night, Quinn and Andoni went to Bible study at church. The group is students that are more Andoni's age. They played a game together and then read and discussed a Biblical passage (James 2:14-28).

I received some sad news last night from a dear friend of mine from college who recently had a family tragedy. I was talking with her quite a while last night so, I didn't get a chance to talk with Quinn and Andoni about their time at Bible study, but they seemed happy when they returned. I will ask them more about it today. We have another busy day lined up and I will post again hopefully tonight!

More swimming, more soccer, and the like.

Another Great Day

I can't believe that our time with Andoni is quickly coming to an end. It has gone so fast in so many ways and the end feels near. I want these last few days to not be too busy and so we are not planning lots and lots of big activities, but enjoying the small things.

Today the girls all had swimming lessons at the pool across the street from our house. Since Shelby cut her chin last week, the doctor said she couldn't swim in the pool for another few days until it is totally healed, but everyone else had a short 30 minute lesson. Andoni waited until the girls were finished and then dove right in the pool and they all played for quite a while and had a great time. It was fun watching them, they have gotten so comfortable with each other and play well together.

They played basketball in the pool and then some diving games as well. Pure fun.

This afternoon, Andoni caught up with his friends on Tuenti and the girls went on a little walk while I made dinner. When the coordinator for the Language and Friendship program came to our house to "interview" us for Andoni, she gave us a list of some ideas of things to try during Andoni's stay. One thing stood out right away. Traditionally, every 4th Thursday in November in America we celebrate a holiday called "Thanksgiving." We commemorate the landing of the pilgrims on American soil and we also stop and are thankful for all the good things we have. It is our family's favorite holiday. This is a significant holiday in America and people eat a traditional meal which includes, a roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce (to eat with the turkey), sweet potatoes, green beans (or some other vegetable), and stuffing (which consists of seasoned bread and is stuffed into the large cavity of the turkey and roasted in the oven).

Anyway, serving a Thanksgiving meal was one of the suggestions of something to share with our exchange student. I love to cook and I love making this meal, so of course, we had to do it. I had planned a few weeks ago to invite my parents over to meet Andoni and to eat "Thanksgiving" in July with us. Andoni said that my mother reminded him of his grandmother, always helping in the kitchen. My parents were so happy to meet Andoni and my dad was very interested in the Basque region of Spain so I sent home the book Andoni brought us for my dad to read. My dad was thrilled. I was so glad they got to meet Andoni and they told him they wanted to come and see him again before he leaves. They are traveling to San Diego, California this week to visit my oldest brother, but will return on Sunday and plan to stop by before he leaves.

After our dinner we felt full and happy and we all went to Aubrey's soccer game where Andoni and Quinn and a friend (Mr. Dowda) of Jeff's kicked the ball around. Andoni had kicked a soccer ball all the way up to the pool this morning and then finished up the evening kicking around another one. I asked him if he ever gets tired of kicking a football and he smiled his little smile and said, "No."

We'll see what tomorrow brings. That's all for now.

USA Cup Weekend

Well, it took lots of paperwork, phone calls, emails, faxes and pleading with various people. But we got Andoni into the USA Cup. There was a trick to it: we missed the deadline for having him play as a "Guest Player", so, instead, we registered him for the Edina Soccer Club. He was not allowed to play in league games, since the rosters were "locked", but he could play for the Club in tournaments. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

Friday night, Andoni got to meet a professional football player. I am referring to American Football, not Futbol, or Soccer. We went down to the park to kick the soccer ball around on Friday night. Andoni and I played against 3-5 girls. It was fun. I got to sweat a lot and pretend like I was 12 years old again. Oddly enough, my body did not pretend it was 12. It reminded me the next day that I was, indeed, 38 years old.

I saw Ben Leber across the park and brought the kids over to where he was. My wife has seen him down by the park and told me that he had a Great Dane dog. And, since dogs are such an easy way to open a conversation, I asked Ben if my dog could say hi to his dogs. Ben agreed and we struck up a conversation. I introduced him to Andoni and we discovered that Ben Leber has a wheat allergy, so he deals with much of the same issues that Andoni does with his diet. The big difference, of course, being that Ben Leber actually eats vegetables. Andoni eats chocolate (I like giving Andoni a hard time about his lack of vegetables, since I was much the same when I was his age). We talked for about 15 minutes with Ben. I think Andoni could appreciate how special it was to meet an NFL star.

Saturday was an early day. We left at 7:00 am and watched Quinn's team get destroyed by a team from Iowa (which is the state south of Minnesota). The USA Cup (www.usacup.com) is a fantastic tournament. I played in the first USA Cup in 1985 when I was 13 years old. The USA Cup draws teams from all over the world. This year teams have come from Japan, Costa Rica, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, Moracco, Puerto Rico, etc. And, teams from all over the United States and Canada come too.

Anyway, after Quinn's first match, we hustled over to Andoni's match. Andoni was playing with a lower-tier U13 team from the Edina Soccer Club (ESC). He was wearing shin pads that I got him, Quinn's cleats (boots), Gillian's socks and shorts, and a uniform (#3) that his team got for him. Andoni did not start the game, but came in after about 15 minutes (there are unlimited subs in US Soccer at this age).

Andoni came in and immediately wowed the entire crowd. It was breathtaking. I don't know if Andoni is good in the Basque Country, but he is really good here in America. Let me give you an example: I played soccer my whole life growing up and played in hundreds of games. I think I have seen a "nutmeg" in a game situation 5 or 6 times. A nutmeg is where the player who is dribbling the ball plays it between the defenders legs and then continues his dribbling. Well, Andoni had TWO nutmegs against his opponents in his first game. Here is a video of the first nutmeg (a bit shakey, but at least it is on film):

Andoni's team lost a heartbreaker. 1-0.

After a quick lunch and lots of water (it was hot), we went to the "village" and traded pins with soccer players from all over the map and had some fun playing games.

We then watched Quinn's team win their next match. Quinn played great.

Then Janna took Quinn and her sisters home for dinner while Andoni and I hung around until his next game. It was a later start (5:45pm). Andoni started this game and played even better than the game before. He had two goals and an assist. His first goal tied the game. His second was the game winner. The parents on the sidelines were amazed. By this time, all of the ESC parents are cheering "Go Andoni GO!" "Great pass, Andoni!" And they are all coming up to me and commenting about how elegant and smooth he plays. It was fun to watch.

We went home for some pizza afterwards. And then went to bed. Long day.

The next morning, Andoni's team played again. This time, a team from Manitoba, Canada. The game started off even, but ended poorly. ESC lost 8-0. Andoni didn't play as much after the game was out of reach, since the coach wanted his players to get as much playing time as possible. It was their last game of the year.

The players gave Andoni the uniform he wore for the tournament. I am glad he gets to bring a piece of ESC home with him. And, while I wish he could have played on a team with more talent, at least he was able to participate in ESC and USACup.

After Quinn's late game, we drove home in the rain. We all sat on the couch and watched the World Cup Final. Unfortunately, Spain won. But it was a good game.

After dinner, Andoni and Janna and Quinn sat on the floor of the den and talked for about an hour. Then Andoni and I got on Youtube and shared stories about our favorite football teams. Athletic Bilbao for him, the Minnesota Viking for me.

Now for some much needed rest...

TWo quieter days

The Lake Harriet Bandshell

Andoni walking along Lake Harriet

The last two days have been a little quieter as I think we are all a little worn out from non-stop activities. Andoni is getting more and more comfortable it seems with our family and really teases the girls just like a brother.

Yesterday was mom's choice day. The kids were arguing about where they wanted to go and couldn't come to an agreement. I decided to take control and told the group we were going to visit Lake Harriet.

Lake Harriet is one of a series of inter-connected lakes that really are in the middle of the city of Minneapolis (Minneapolis actually means, when translated from the Native American, the city of lakes).

I think it is one of the prettiest aspects of our area and I wanted to show it to Andoni. It was hot, so we walked to the Lake Harriet Bandshell, and then back to a nearby ice cream shop for a treat. The kids complained a bit about all the walking, but I covered my ears and guided them along. After some refreshing ice cream, we visited a local toy shop and then went to a little bookstore called Wild Rumpus. Now, Andoni has made it clear to me that no Basques like to read at all and he is very not interested in books in any way, but I wanted to show him this unique bookstore in Minneapolis that has chickens, chinchillas, lizards, cats and birds all over the store. The chickens and cats are free to wander and there are unique nooks and crannies to view the other animals. It is a neat store and because I LOVE books (and so do the girls), it is one of our favorite places.

Last night, Gillian had her last soccer game. She scored TWO goals, Yay! The game was tied, but I think Gillian felt great about the end of her summer futball season. Andoni was right there cheering along.

Today was even quieter. We spent the afternoon at the pool for a couple of hours and that was about it. Andoni and the girls played together at home on the Wii and now they are all at the park with Jeff burning off some more energy.

We have a big weekend ahead. Andoni gets to play in the Schwan's cup soccer tournament this weekend. We looked at three different stores to find just the right soccer shoes for him, but couldn't find what he was looking for, so he can make do with a pair of Quinn's shoes. Quinn also plays this weekend, and so tomorrow will be a four futball game day. Quinn's game is first at 9:15am and then Andoni has a game at 10:45 or something like that. We will stay at the tournament all day; it is in a city called Blaine which is about 30 minutes north of here. Andoni and Quinn are quite excited. It should be lots of fun.

Andoni's brother, more fun, and life

We had a wonderful time while Inigo was here. It was great to see the two brothers together, and I can tell they like each other very much, which is really neat. I heard them chatting away late into the night, catching up, I am sure on all their adventures and comparing their experiences.

Ever since Andoni had see the rides at the Mall of America, I knew that his heart was set on getting back there. So, it was the perfect place to take all of the kids, especially since Andoni wanted to go on the "scary" rides and the girls prefer some of the tamer ones. So, after getting some of the morning duties out of the way, and after lunch, we packed up the car to the fullest (6 kids!) and headed to the Mall of America. I got unlimited ride wristbands and told Andoni and Inigo to meet up with us in an hour. They ran off and I caught sight of them once or twice running from rollercoaster to rollercoaster. After the first hour, they met me promptly at the designated spot and I told them to come back again in another hour. Inigo said, "One more hour?!? We have already gone on all the rides one time!" Andoni said, "No, it's okay." And off they went, and one hour later, they had gone on their favorite ride 5 times and I think were satisfied. We then did a little shopping which was fun to watch the two boys deciding about what to buy. I wish we had had more time there, but we needed to head home for soccer games and practices.

We ate dinner together after soccer games and talked some more. It was hard to bring Inigo back to his host family, I have to admit, we all had such a nice time together. We learned so much about all of Inigo and Andoni's travel experiences and their town and family. We all enjoyed our time together very much.

Inigo is so kind, like Andoni, and I think it meant a lot to Andoni and Inigo to be able to spend some time together. Although, Inigo did tell me that he knew it was better for their English practice if they are not together. Inigo will travel next week (I believe) to the Black Hills in South Dakota, which is a great trip. I gave his host mother a list of all the things that our family has enjoyed there, and I know they will find some of their own. I hope to hear all about it.

Yesterday was a quieter day. Andoni and Jeff were looking forward very much to the soccer match and Jeff even came home from work to watch with Andoni. Of course, no one in our family now wanted Spain to win, but oh well. We are counting down the days until the final game!

Andoni will be playing soccer this weekend in a tournament match which draws teams from all over the Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa) and even Canada. I think in the past, there have also been some Scandinavian teams. So, last night, Jeff, Quinn and Andoni went looking for some cleats so Andoni would not have to borrow Quinn's anymore (which is what he was using for practices). They couldn't find any of the brand Andoni was looking for in his size, so Jeff, will take him today to one more place (called Soccer Express) and hopefully, they will find some there.

We also took Andoni with us to our small church down the street last night for a Family Bible study. When we got home, he showed us some pictures on the internet of his family church which is lovely. Our church is Protestant Christian, and quite different from what Andoni is used to. The children were read a story and then we had a discussion about God's forgiveness and love for us. Andoni asked if there would be some type of exam, but he soon found that there wasn't. We also ran a race together at Bible study, I don't know if Andoni has ever done that at church either. We will finally bring him to a church service this Sunday (since we have been out of town the two other weekends he has been here). He will see a little more reverence in the church service on Sunday, last night was a fun family event.

Today we may go swimming at the pool. We'll see!

4th of July (Independence Day)

Well, we had a full weekend of Independence Day activities. Independence Day, or 4th of July, is a huge summer celebration in America. In 1776, the American colonies declared independence from the British. It has been quite a neat time sharing this particular holiday with Andoni. I promised him that we would come celebrate Basque Independence Day someday.

The weekend started Saturday morning. We watched the first half of the Argentina/Germany game (we recorded the second half for later), and then walked down the street for a fourth of July parade that happens to be very close to our house. We sat along the street and cheered, waved our flags, and watched the kids pick up candy that was thrown to them. Andoni helped the little girls collect a small bag of candy. He was a good sport, despite the fact that it was hot and there was a good soccer game going on.After Andoni and I had watched the rest of the soccer game,we went over to some friend's house for a cookout. We ate hamburgers and met some new people. These friends have a girl staying with them from France. She is in the same program that Andoni is in. Turns out, she is Basque too. It's a small world.

But Andoni did not have much time to fall in love with Bianca, because I pulled him away from the party to go meet my brother, Scott. Scott has a wife, two daughters, and two of the largest dogs that live on the planet earth. His dogs are basically like small horses. Andoni seemed to enjoy the dogs. But, since my brother was hosting a birthday party for one of his daughters, we did not stay long. So Andoni and I made a quick trip to a store to pick up some things for the cabin before we went back to our friend's house.

We were only there for a couple of minutes before we went home and watched the second game (Spain vs Paraguay). While we enjoyed the game, we also got ready for another trip to the cabin. The timing was perfect - we were on the road by 4:00.

We made it to the cabin in time to quickly cook up some fajitas. And then we had Smores (or s'mores, as in "some more(s)"). Andoni had never had them before. They are a campfire must in America. While Andoni had a gluten-free version, the recipe is simple: A toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers. mmmmmm, delicious!

Andoni LOVED it. I think the Smore has just made it's way to Basque country.

That night was very hot. It was difficult to sleep. But Andoni never complained. And while the kids were all sleeping, my uncle and his family arrived at the cabin. They did not intend to stay long, but wanted to come up for some family fun.

The next morning, we did some early fishing. Andoni caught more fish.He also played some games with some of my cousins.

But shortly after lunch, my uncle and cousins left and it was just us again. Andoni and the girls spent a lot of time together playing in the water. They took the kayak way out into the lake and Andoni teased the girls. The girls would jump off the kayak and Andoni drove the boat far away from them.

He also teased Aubrey on the dock, not letting her back on. I told the girls that they really had a real brother now, that is what brothers do! They all had fun and lots of laughter.

Due to the rain throughout the day, they also spent time playing board games. Andoni has learned Doodle Dice, Farkle and Sequence.

After a quick dinner and smores, we went 40 minutes north to a small town named Cloquet. Here we parked the car and watched fireworks together. It was a beautiful night - the perfect temperature and very few mosquitos. Monday was a beautiful day. Lots of sun. Warm. Because the 4th of July fell on a Sunday, most people took Monday off from work. The kids played in the lake most of the morning right up until lunchtime.

Andoni got to spend time with the girls and repair some of the broken relationships that he had destroyed the day before on the kayak (kidding, of course). They laughed and played. It was a great day. That is, it was a great day until Shelby decided to fall off the dock and crack her chin. It was just as we were about to leave. Just after lunch. Shelby and Quinn went down to the dock to get some of the towels. Shelby stepped wrong and hit her chin on the dock as she fell into the water. The cut on her chin was obviously in need of stiches, so Janna took Shelby and Quinn and headed to the doctor (where she ended up with 5 stitches!), while Andoni and the rest of the girls helped me (Jeff) close up the cabin. We were about a half hour behind Janna when we finally left the cabin.

Once home, Andoni was able to talk to his brother who was waiting for us to get home so that he could come over. His host family drove him over and we had a chance to catch up with Inigo. What a nice, polite young man. Inigo, while noticibly excited to see Andoni, was kind enough to engage with the Northrup family, asking lots of questions and giving many answers.

After a mexican dinner at Chipotle, we went to Aubrey's soccer game and then a frozen yogurt place called Freeziac (don't worry, gluten-free).

Well, another fun weekend. Lots of good memories. We are all looking forward to getting to know Inigo more. And we were honored to spend Independence Day with our new Basque friend.