February Footnotes

A Hevesi Groundhog (amerikai mormota) would not have seen his shadow on Thursday. That continues the sorry pattern of the sun refusing to shine except on rare occasions. At least an early spring will not go unappreciated.

Muddy footprints in my house today outed an intruder. The culprit? A maintenance man. Apparently my September/October conversation with Agi worked its way through the appropriate channels and someone had come to see about "the shower that makes a flood every morning, like in New Orleans." (This, of course, was a conversation attempted in German that I eventually gave up on.) I am the proud owner now of a couple new tiles. I will be able to walk on them on Saturday, according to a Hungarian note lying on top of them.

The former cute-student-teacher has become the new cute-young-English-teacher. It's funny to watch what differences a new young lady can make in the inner-workings of male teachers in the staff room.

Class 8A has begun each English lesson with the "Good Morning Song" since October. We've now added to their repritoire. reperitoire. repretiore? rep-rih-twar. The eleven 13/14-year-olds now end their 45-minute lesson with the Beatles "Hello Goodbye." The paradoxical lyrics are some of Gaines' favorite here in Hungary, as the local folk use the word "hello" to say goodbye.

And a funny thing has happened...beginning to find happiness in Heves. This weekend will mark my third in a row in the little burg of 10,000. We'll see if Farsang, their take on Mardi Gras, is a time well spent in this little village.