Grapefruit Season

I don't usually have enough Internet time to get as thoroughly caught up on the Orioles as I'm accustomed to. Thankfully, a quick glance at the headlines from the Baltimore Sun's Sports Page was all I needed to be reminded I'm not missing anything.

March 22, 2008
Hit by pitch, Millar suffers cut on finger

Game recap: Cardinals 7, Orioles 4

March 21, 2008
Guthrie works through rust in loss to Cards

Millar to go fourth as O's cleanup man

Millar just getting warmed up

Game recap: Mets 7, Orioles 0

Ray Frager: O's expectations dim despite bright spots

Keeping Trembley happy, one diet soda at a time

March 20, 2008
Loewen's return painful to watch

Game recap: Cardinals 12, Orioles 3

Guthrie makes pitch as Markakis' caddie

Childs Walker: Outfield plays shallow in '08

March 19, 2008
Game recap: Twins 4, Orioles 2

Two likely candidates vying to be 5th starter

March 18, 2008
O's face roster of decisions

Those Fantasy Guys: Previewing the Orioles

Postcard from Florida: Road to nowhere for O's?

March 15, 2008
Trachsel struggles in O's loss to Marlins

O's reconnecting with storied past

Game recap: Red Sox 7, Orioles 4

Postcard from Florida: Saturday night's not so all right

Depth a concern for pitching-starved O's

Hoey 'going to be fine'; return date unknown

Left-hander Loewen likely to miss start

Peter Schmuck: Throwing in towel on Cabrera

Game recap: Mets 6, Orioles 2

March 12, 2008
Game recap: Orioles 2, Cardinals 2, 10 innings


So onto a happier topic. It's spring in southern Kazakhstan, and a bunch of volunteers are gathered in Shymkent for Nauryz, the Muslim New Year. The holiday was yesterday, March 22, and we went to a hippodrome to watch horse races and kokpar, a game like polo where players vie for a dead goat carcass. Unfortunately I missed this event, but a few people got video that I'll be watching soon. There was also as much plof (like rice pilaf) and shashlik (like shishkabob with only meat) as you could eat. Some of it was being given away for free, some was really cheap, and all of it was really good. The weather here is unbelievable as well. Temperatures probably are in the 70s here. A lot of volunteers have come from the north where it's still in the -15 to -20 range and snow is still falling. This just drives home the point: Kazakhstan is a big country.

I'm in the middle of a 10 day break from teaching, which includes a few days here in Shymkent and then an in-service training conference in Almaty that goes until March 29. It's a welcome break from teaching. The teaching is still going fine, but there is a huge difference between each class. The fourth year students just finished their classes, which is too bad because they were some of my favorite groups. But hopefully I'll get some helpful ideas from this conference in Almaty that will help me in the class.