For the past two summers, Maren Munoz has traveled from the San Sebastián region of the Basque country to live with the Machin family in their Coronado home.
From June 28 to July 30 each summer, high school-aged students from Basque come to America to live with host families and partake in their day-to-day lives, while strengthening their English skills and encountering Christianity through church and casual discussion.
This year, 10 of those students are located in San Diego County, including three who are residing with a Coronado family.
Almost instantly upon taking Munoz in, the Machin family’s daughter, Ellie Machin, and she developed a bond.
“It’s kind of like having a sister,” said Ellie Machin. “We’re similar in age and we just like to go to the beach, hang out and talk.”
From traveling to volleyball tournaments for Ellie, to dropping their son Luke Machin off at the United States Air Force Academy, Munoz is treated as one of the Machin’s own.
“Our whole thing is making sure that she feels part of the family,” said Paul Machin. “It’s a good balance for our family with her here and the things that she can share about her culture and the things we can share with her from ours.”
Program rooted in Basque history
The cultural exchange occurring in the Machin’s household, as with the other host families, dates back to 1991, when the seed for Summer in the USA (SUSA) was planted.
Between 1931-1936, Spain was undergoing a period of change. Taking on a more democratic approach, liberal governments challenged religious strictures by legalizing divorce and removing state financing for the Catholic church.
In response, Francisco Franco – a known authoritarian rightest – launched a nationalist coup backed by the Catholic church, which ultimately led to the Spanish Civil War. What his supporters and clergy members referred to as a “national crusade,” turned into a disruption of peace for many.
This was especially true for the Basque Country of Northern Spain. An area known for its coastal views, serene landscape and farmlands was suddenly transformed into a place of political unrest and religious persecutions. Franco enforced Catholicism upon the Basques, banned their native language from being spoken outside of the home, dismantled labor unions, forbade Basque names for newborns and instilled various other strict policies. The Basques endured these harsh conditions throughout Franco’s rule as dictator of Spain from 1936-1975.
Catholicism persists as the dominant religion in the Basque country. In 2019, 60% of Basques identified themselves as Roman Catholic. However, among Basque youths aged 15-29, that number drops to 34%, with only 4% identifying as practicing Catholics, according to a study conducted by the Basque Youth Observatory.
“Most of the churches are treated more like a museum,” said SUSA West Coast Director Chris Probasco. “There’s some churches that are only open one day a year. The big churches that are frequented do have some devout Catholic followers who come, but most of them are 78 years old and up.”
As the origin story for SUSA goes, according to Probasco, in 1991 a young man traveled from the Basque country to Silverdale, Washington as part of a year-long student exchange program through his high school. Bill and Jane Robinson volunteered to open up their home to the young man, and indirectly, an insight into their Christian faith.
“During his time there the boy had a very, very moving, intimate, powerful encounter with God at the Christian church that Bill was pastoring at,” said Probasco. “The kid and his family were just blown away by how loving and kind that the community there was.”
That one student’s experience began a trickle effect. Soon after, the boy’s brother visited, then his cousin, then his friends and word continued to spread.
“The church and the Robinsons were recruiting families to host these kids every year just because they had kind of fallen in love with these kids and these kids were falling in love with these families – it was a very organic thing,” said Probasco.
The Robinsons realized there was a need they could fill for the young Basque people, which led them to officially found SUSA in 2000, expanding their reach and network of host families.
Experiencing Christianity in a different way
Rather than taking a typical missionary approach by preaching in their country, the idea was to expose the young Basque people to a new culture by bringing them to America and allowing them to experience church in a different way.
Paul Machin’s hope is to familiarize Munoz with Christianity in a way that allows her to come to it on her own terms.
“We go to church on Sunday and she gets to meet some other kids from the church – it’s just kind of a gradual thing,” said Paul Machin. “We want her to see that Christians are not what some people might think. It’s the way we live our lives. There’s that great song – ‘they’ll know we are Christians by our love.’ We hope she’ll see that and maybe go back to her country with a different view than what has been exposed to her.”
Although the Christian aspect to the program did not play a role in her decision to come to America, Munoz said she has learned more about her own personal faith through conversation and exposure.
“Before coming here with SUSA, my beliefs were not very solidified and I was not clear about what I believed,” said Munoz. “Talking to people and going to new churches has been very beneficial to my religious background and SUSA helped me become clearer on my beliefs – even though I still think I have a lot to learn and reflect on.”
One-month cultural experience in America
Along with the days spent with her host family, Munoz will also be participating in activities with the other SUSA students. From sailboating to traveling to Yosemite, to exploring San Diego – experiencing American culture is as rooted in the program as Christianity.
Munoz has appreciated living in Coronado and the experience of independence that it has brought her.
“The people here are so nice and it’s a small town so everyone knows each other,” said Munoz. “In Spain, I have my own group of friends and family, but here I have to talk to people I have never talked to before. I’ve learned how to stay out of my house and live with another family and it’s important to know how to socialize with people you don’t know.”
SUSA San Diego Coordinator David Preston said he hopes the program will build bridges for new connections across the globe – which has rang true for the Machin family and Munoz.
“We’re planning to make a trip to visit her town and meet her parents and her grandparents,” said Gerri Machin. “[Munoz’s] mom said, ‘You’re like our family.’ There’s something really sweet about having something like that – taking a teenager into your home and loving them as if they’re your own child.”
