About Isabel

Isabel Zialcita

Isabel Zialcita

My name is Isabel Zialcita. I’m a 23 year old Basque-Catalan-Filipino. I was born in the Philippines and after 16 years, I moved to the United States. It is my dream to someday call Hondarribia, the land of my ancestors, home.

I’m currently in the early stages of my journey to learn Euskara. This journey started the day I learned my first word in the language: euskaldun.

The online dictionary said it meant “Basque” or “Basque speaker” and it was through this that I realised just how important Euskara really is. I began to see Euskara as more than just a language. I saw it as my birthright and I made it one of my life’s goals to reclaim that which has been lost to my family for generations.

6 thoughts on “About Isabel

  1. J. Caicedo Llaguno

    Hi Isabel,

    I am also of Basque ancestry (both paternal/maternal grandfathers). I was born in Ecuador, but reside in the U.S as well. I’ve always been facinated by languages. I’m curious how you are learning Euskara. Do you recommend any books? CD’s/Courses? I would appreciate any help. Thanks.

    Reply
  2. Isabel Zialcita

    Kaixo! Sorry for the delay in approving your comment. I’ll be making a post really soon featuring the different methods (from most expensive to the relatively affordable) you can use to learn Euskara. 🙂

    Reply
  3. J.Caicedo Llaguno

    Kaixo Isabel!

    Eskerrik asko! I saw your post on the different options for learning the language. You provided a lot of valuable information.

    Regards,
    JC

    Reply
    1. Garazi

      Kaixo neskak,

      It is so touching you are learning Basque 🙂 There are a couple of nice websites to learn Basque, you might have browsed them already, but i’ll post them here in case you haven’t. There are also some twitter and tumblr accounts to promote euskera with everyday sayings and phrases, which could be a nice way of learning Basque too.
      I hope you have fun learning euskera 😀
      The links:
      http://bit.ly/1bM0v6a
      http://bit.ly/1bM0zmm
      http://www.hizkimizki.com/ (this site creates mini dictionaries from the language combination you choose)
      All the best,

      Reply
  4. Angie

    Hola Isabel,
    I’m Angie and this summer I traveled all around Spain. One place I stayed was Hondarribia (Fuentarrabia), the town you are calling your home town. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. So rustic and quaint. Have you ever visited?

    Reply
  5. Anna

    I’m a quarter basque. My grandma who is full basque speaks english, spanish and basque. I want to learn basque very much.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *