Valentine's Day

Out of all of the holidays celebrated, Valentine's Day is my least favorite.  The United States does a number commercializing this day so much so that by the time February 14 rolls around I want to throw a rock at anything that resembles cupid, hearts, or love.  The only redeemable thing about this holiday is the chocolate that goes on sale the day after.  So basically, in summary, Valentine's Day makes me want to throw up.

However, Spain's way of doing Valentine's Day is totally bearable.  The stores aren't filled with flowers, red, pink, hearts, or anything resembling this holiday.  The only V-day thing I saw today were a few people carrying flowers and a display of strawberries placed conveniently next to some champagne.  Other than that, you would never even know that this day was supposed to be something special.

Even the schools keep it simple on this holiday.  I, more or less, was the reason that it was even mentioned in my school.  In each of my classes yesterday, my lesson involved covering the topic of V-day.   I explained the similarities and differences and the students then made cards for a classmate and/or played some Valentine's day bingo.  I learned that the United States is the only country that gives cards to every single person in their class.  I also learned that candy hearts are an American thing.  Cupid is universal-- called Cupido in Spanish.

In the end, my Valentine's day here in Spain has been rather enjoyable.  Sara's mother prepared us a delicious lunch.  Tonight myself, Sara, and two of our other friends are having a pizza, movie, and wine night.  And I even have my very own Valentine.  He may or may not be nine years old.  But at least he proved that he is learning some sort of English.  I present you the poem he wrote for me...

Happy Valentine's Day from Spain