We find LOVE

Yeah, that title is stolen from a Dave Matthews Band song but I'm quoting it because it's perfectly applicable.

Don't get your panties in a knot... I haven't found some fantastic Catalan novio (boyfriend) with six days to go until I come home.  No.  I have found La Diada de Sant Jordi! 

Today, April 23rd marks Sant Jordi's Day (Saint George) AND the death dates of both Cervantes and Shakespear in 1616.  As legend has it, Sant Jordi (who died around 300 CE) slayed a dragon to protect a princess.  Where the dragon's blood fell, a rosebush grew.  He picked one of the roses and gave it to the princess.  So this holiday has been celebrated for centuries with men giving roses to the women they love.

 Then, in 1923, a Barcelona bookseller decided that the day could also commemorate the deaths of Cervantes and Shakespear.  So, now, traditionally, men give roses and women give books except it's permissible to give anyone a book (or rose, I suppose).  This is a really nice day.  It's an official work day but almost everyone takes off and walks around.  There are rose and book stands all over the city and so many people wandering around.  It's really gorgeous. 

Sarah, Dana, and I walked around for a few hours.  We bought matching leather rose earrings, a book for our host dad, and a rose for our host mom.  When we got home, our host dad had put a rose on each of our beds!  So sweet!

Photos!

The stand where we got our earrings.

Some flowers.  See the green ones?? 

There are 24 hour readings of Cervantes.  

Rose.

The epitome of the day.

So, Sant Jordi is my new day!  Forget about Valentine's Day!  I'd rather have books and roses than chocolate and roses.  Plus, what's the story behind Valentine's Day anyway?  What I do know for sure is that it doesn't include a dragon!

Also, today was my final Spanish class here.  We had our exam and then had a party afterward.  My Spanish class is a really close-knit group of people and my Spanish teacher is awesome.  We all brought in snacks and framed a picture of our class for our teacher.  Then we spent an hour dancing to youtube videos (Slumdog Millionaire, the Macarena, Cotton Eye Joe, Souljaboy, the Sardana-- Catalunya's national dance, and so on).  This was an excellent time and a little bittersweet because my Spanish class was always such a fun time. 

It is amazing that this semester is nearly over.  I have five days left here and a ton of studying and other stuff to do before I go.