It's that time of year: romantic colors spice up dreary winter grays, cupid lurks along the ceilings, chocolate invades every store (although I can't complain), and 'love is in the air;' sigh... Although I commonly shirk the consumer-driven celebration of Valentine's Day, this February finds me embracing at least one of the traditions.
I cannot count how many people, throughout my dating history or otherwise known, of whom I have warned the perils of buying imported roses. Who has seen 'Maria Full of Grace? Don't you realize that 16-year old pregnant girls work in the greenhouses cutting off thorns all day for bosses who won't let them take five minutes to go to the bathroom? Think of all the pesticides to which they are exposed, not to mention the exorbitant amount of refrigeration and fuel used to transport bundles of flowers that arrive at your local grocery store without a bruise! How could you support such nonsense?!?
But this year is different. Colombia just so happens to be the world's largest exporter of flowers. Which means that pretty much every store, household, restaurant, and roadside corner is filled with large sprays of birds of paradise, lilies, azaleas, orchids, oh I could go on forever. Everything that is not perfect enough to send to pining girlfriends in the US gets sold here in Medellin, at a ridiculously cheap price. Although those same pregnant girls are picking the flowers sold locally, at least I don't have to pay for the consumption of fossil fuels and import taxes. My guilt has abated and I succumb.
MK and I decided that since we will not be able to spend Valentine's Day with our respective boyfriends, why not treat ourselves to a bit of color around the apartment? So this morning we woke up at 6am, hopped into a taxi and brushed through the drizzly streets (rare on a Medellin morning) to the famous 'Plaza de Florez.' Although not quite the magnificent selection I have seen in the past, we were able to find a dozen of magenta roses, blushing pink lilies, several stalks of my favorite heliconia, and these weird conical flowers called 'maracas' for $5. If I owned more vases large enough to fit the 3-foot bouquets, I might have bought enough floral decadence to create my own personal botanical garden!
I cannot count how many people, throughout my dating history or otherwise known, of whom I have warned the perils of buying imported roses. Who has seen 'Maria Full of Grace? Don't you realize that 16-year old pregnant girls work in the greenhouses cutting off thorns all day for bosses who won't let them take five minutes to go to the bathroom? Think of all the pesticides to which they are exposed, not to mention the exorbitant amount of refrigeration and fuel used to transport bundles of flowers that arrive at your local grocery store without a bruise! How could you support such nonsense?!?
But this year is different. Colombia just so happens to be the world's largest exporter of flowers. Which means that pretty much every store, household, restaurant, and roadside corner is filled with large sprays of birds of paradise, lilies, azaleas, orchids, oh I could go on forever. Everything that is not perfect enough to send to pining girlfriends in the US gets sold here in Medellin, at a ridiculously cheap price. Although those same pregnant girls are picking the flowers sold locally, at least I don't have to pay for the consumption of fossil fuels and import taxes. My guilt has abated and I succumb.
MK and I decided that since we will not be able to spend Valentine's Day with our respective boyfriends, why not treat ourselves to a bit of color around the apartment? So this morning we woke up at 6am, hopped into a taxi and brushed through the drizzly streets (rare on a Medellin morning) to the famous 'Plaza de Florez.' Although not quite the magnificent selection I have seen in the past, we were able to find a dozen of magenta roses, blushing pink lilies, several stalks of my favorite heliconia, and these weird conical flowers called 'maracas' for $5. If I owned more vases large enough to fit the 3-foot bouquets, I might have bought enough floral decadence to create my own personal botanical garden!
Although not much can dampen my flower-high spirits, I am somewhat disappointed that despite the fact that Colombia also grows and exports a sinful amount of chocolate, Nacional de Chocolate, the main company making edible chocolate (they usually drink it for breakfast) has a monopoly over the entire industry. I guess their candy bars aren't that good anyway, and instead of gaining weight this V-Day I can satiate my senses with the smell of guilt-free roses next to my bedside...
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