In early 2020, Dr. Steven Gamboa was preparing to take a group of students on a faculty-led trip over the summer to the Basque Country, situated in northern Spain and southern France. It would have been California State University, Bakersfield’s first study abroad opportunity in the region.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the trip got put on hold. Now, four years later, Dr. Gamboa is leading another attempt to take a group of students there.
“It actually gave us more time to continue our conversations with our partners over there, which I think has led to a better program,” he said. “I think if we tried to do it in 2020, it might have been more difficult.”
The trip will take place from June 10-20 and will include visits to major cities including Bilbao and San Sebastian as well as more remote areas, such as the mountain town of Mondragon. Applications are being accepted through the end of February.
Dr. Gamboa — who is the director of the Institute for Basque Studies at CSUB — hopes to take 10 to 15 students on the trip, which will be part of a three-unit BASQ 2820 Study Abroad course. Students will be staying in university residences during the program.
“This is an opportunity for students to experience a society that is really at the crossroads of so many things, past and present,” he said. “Being in both Spain and France, Basque Country has always been a place where people of different languages and cultures cross.”
Dr. Gamboa said that starting in the 1980s, the region began transitioning from an economy based in heavy industry such as steel and ship production to the one more focused on technology, finance and energy that it is today, especially in its largest city — Bilbao.
“I think there could be lessons there in Bilbao for places like Kern County,” he said. “We’re undergoing a transition from oil and gas to green energy production, so it’s interesting to look at how do you envision that future and how do you make it happen.”
Students will spend the first three or four days of the trip in San Sebastian in Spain, after which they will travel to the nearby French Basque city of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a sister city of Bakersfield. In Mondragon, the students will get to explore the Mondragon Corporation, a business group that is the world’s largest worker cooperative.
The students will finish the trip with a few days in Bilbao, where they will have the chance to visit cultural sites such as the Guggenheim Museum.
Offering a study abroad program in the Basque Country has long been a priority at the university, especially with the development of the Institute of Basque Studies, which was created in 2021.
“One of the things that seemed natural to develop as part of the institute was a study abroad opportunity for students,” Dr. Gamboa said. “The opportunity to travel abroad is one of those experiences that really stick with students and can have a big impact on their lives. It encourages them to travel and take chances to learn about new places and new things.”
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