On March 1, I was diligently studying in my room, when I heard my senora calling, "Ashley! Ashley!" At first I was afraid that something was wrong because of the excited tone of her voice. As I left my room hurriedly, I saw her standing next to a window and frantically waving me over. She told me in Spanish, "Do you want a beautiful picture of Segovia?!" Of course I did! I grabbed my camera and returned to look out the window where two storks were perched on the roof of the next building. As I took the picture, Sol, my senora, explained that in Spain there is a saying that goes:

Por San Blas la cigüeña verás, y si está cerca el verano más temprano, y si no la vieres mal año esperes.

Por San Blas, una hora más.

My senora explained that the rhyme was important for the last day of February, just the day before. Similar to the English tradition of the groundhog, this predicts an early summer or remaining days of of winter depending if you see the storks.

I enjoyed the cultural experience that Sol was able to share with me and I was also surprised by the similarity in the superstition and tradition to those of American culture. Her enthusiasm reflected what it meant to Spanish culture and made me excited to learn about it. She continued by sharing with me other stories about the migration of the birds and the masses of them that could be seen later on in the year in the Plaza Mayor. This scene also reminded me of the number of storks that land every summer for a few days on the pond on my family's farm in Kentucky. Despite the differences in culture, I continue to be surprised on the number of similarities that exist between the lines. Furthermore, I hope the rhyme is right and that summer is indeed close!