Happy Groundhog Day!

Lots of exciting things happening this early February!
First, and most importantly, yesterday was my half-birthday, bringing me up to the ripe old age of 22,5. Not normally a problem, but I was in high school when my students were born, and that just don't feel real good. Suppose it only gets better...
Second, yesterday was Kanako's birthday! We go way back, to Hon. English 10 2nd period. She got me a Mercedes for my half-birthday, we played tennis dismally in the summer, she fled Katrina, and is a masters student at Tulane in social work. Happy Birthday Kanako!
Third, today Americans celebrate Groundhog's Day, which might just be one of the most absurd holidays of anywhere, ever. I completely forgot to talk about this monumental event, and horrify the kids with the spelling of Punxsutawney, but on reflection I now know I'd never have managed to translate 'groundhog' and would've tried to describe it as "a really fat mouse that lives underground, chews on my Grandma's porch, and Dad tries to shoot them." In the interest of cultural sharing, maybe I'd better just let this one go...

I love Burgundy, and I love living here. Among the things of which the Bourguignons are the most proud of is their wine. Last weekend I had the great fortune of attending the annual Saint-Vincent Tournante festival in Nuits-Saint-Georges. The short: a village in the central wine tract is chosen to host, they choose the wines to offer for tasting, 30k people come, 10 Euros gets you a commemorative glass and 6 tastings, and you can buy soupe à l'oignon ("French onion soup") and escargots. It's great because you get to taste several hundreds of Euros' worth of wine, and you get a nice wine glass, but it was about 1C (35ish F) out, and the Cote de nuits only produces red (which is meant to be served, and especially tasted, around room temperature). It was still great. Ana Laura (the assistante from Mexico) and I went with Hervé, a middle school Latin and French teacher who invites us to everything wine related within in a 2 hour radius of Autun. In a few hours he's taking AL and I to Beaune, right in the middle of Burgundy's wine region, to a great, affordable wine boutique, and for a little sight-seeing (Beaune is home to the really famous bourguinon tiled roofs). Should be awesome!
One last thing to share before ending this exciting round-up of a post: protests in a way that only the French could.
France 'dims' for climate protest
I love it here...