I’ve
now been back from spring break for almost three weeks now, and I have been
loving life in Barcelona. I am so
grateful for my life here, and my routine of classes, work, and lots of time to
explore my beautiful city. I can’t
believe I have just 5 weeks left of my normal routine because finals begin and
things wind down for the semester. A few
friends and I just booked our last big trip of the semester to the south of
Spain again, this time to Granada and Málaga with a day trip to Morocco- can’t
wait! I’m even more excited to meet up
with my family—just a little more than 6 weeks until London! All in all, I’m really trying to soak up
every moment of life here before I have to leave in July. Two highlights of my last two weeks in
Barcelona: Holi and Día de Sant Jordi.
Holi
Holi
is an Indian festival of color that celebrates the beginning of a beautiful,
colorful spring each year. Holi is also
celebrated in Berkeley each year but I’ve been unable to go, so my first one
was in Barcelona! Everyone shows up to
Holi wearing white, and then everyone proceeds to throw packets of colored dust
at each other until everyone is completely covered in colors! I personally
turned pretty blue, and it definitely took a few showers before the blue tint
was really out of my skin. My friends
(Katie, Madeline, and Frannie) and I had so much fun, and I can’t wait to do it
again in Berkeley next year!
Día de Sant Jordi
Yesterday
was Día de Sant Jordi, and it was possibly my favorite day in Barcelona
yet. Día de Sant Jordi is the Spanish
equivalent of Valentine’s Day, but SO much better, and not horribly commercialized
like the American holiday. The history
of the holiday lies in an old Catalán legend.
The short version: a brave, young knight (Sant Jordi) saved a beloved
princess, and in turn the whole kingdom, by slaying a dragon, and from the
dragon’s blood grew beautiful roses. To
celebrate the holiday the men give the women roses, and the women give the men
books (Way better than Valentine’s Day, right?!). Until yesterday I had no idea what a big deal
Día de Sant Jordi was! Apparently HALF
of the yearly book sales in all of Catalunya take place on the single day of
Día de Sant Jordi. The streets are
packed with book stand and rose stands, and most bookstores even had big
discounts yesterday. Additionally,
hundreds of great Spanish authors fill the streets of Barcelona to sign books
all day long. I was lucky enough to have
TWO books signed yesterday and meet the authors Javier Cercas (Soldados de Salamina) and Carlos Ruiz
Zafón (Shadow of the Wind). Yesterday was such a beautiful day in
Barcelona, and it really made me fall in love with the beautiful city all over
again. To top of a wonderful day the
sweet family of one of the girls a tutor in English gave me a rose for Sant
Jordi. They said it’s important that
everyone feels special and loved on Día de Sant Jordi, and I couldn’t have been
more happy to get it :)
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