| As we watch the Astros choke or White Sox | | | | |
| perform valiantly depending on your point of | | | | Institutions of higher learning are |
| view, I am reminded of my baseball experience | | | | sacrosanct in Russia. It is serious business |
| in Russia. | | | | where deep thinking occurs, everyone studies |
| | | | like mad and the teacher is obeyed at all |
| World Series | | | | costs. For example, the students all stand up |
| | | | from their desks when a teacher enters and |
| I always find it interesting that most of our | | | | leaves the room. Serious stuff. |
| professional sports call the championship | | | | |
| round the World Series or some similar | | | | The game was proceeding nicely. Everyone was |
| variation. Clearly, there are games being | | | | getting the hang of it, the rolled up paper |
| played elsewhere, so how can it be the world | | | | ball was surviving and the broken desk leg |
| championship? With baseball, the arrivals of | | | | would've put any bat to shame. And then the |
| Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and | | | | Dean walked by the door. And stopped. And |
| Tadahito Iguchi of the White Sox certainly | | | | stared. |
| suggest baseball in Japan must be of a high | | | | |
| quality. Perhaps more interesting is the fact | | | | The University Dean, Tatyana, was a great |
| that some sports aren't even acknowledged in | | | | person and I liked here a lot. In turn, I am |
| other countries as I found out in Russia. | | | | pretty sure she thought I was a raving |
| | | | lunatic, but didn't seem to mind since the |
| Siberia does not have cable television nor | | | | students enjoyed my classes. Alas, I thought |
| can one pull up anything other than CNN. This | | | | I had crossed a line with the baseball game. |
| made watching the World Series a bit | | | | |
| difficult. Resorting to my usual tactic, I | | | | The Dean opened the door and entered the |
| started hitting up my students for inside | | | | room. Simultaneously, students looked for |
| information on any parents that might own a | | | | places to hide and I tried to come up with |
| satellite dish and could get the games. To my | | | | some reason why playing baseball was critical |
| astonishment, not a single person knew the | | | | to the education of future judges. Tatyana |
| World Series was on or much of anything about | | | | took the bat from the hand of a student, |
| baseball. Nobody had even heard of the | | | | looked at and stared at me. It was one of |
| Yankees! A few students had heard of the Los | | | | those stares where you could tell she was |
| Angeles Dodgers, which was unbearable for a | | | | considering sending me back to San Diego. |
| person from San Diego. It was time to set | | | | There would be no chance of explaining this |
| these innocents right! | | | | one away. |
| | | | |
| The classrooms I taught in were pretty large. | | | | After what seemed like minutes, but was |
| Everybody stand up! Desks were moved to the | | | | probably five seconds, she did the last thing |
| walls, books were placed in the appropriate | | | | I expected. She took her stance. |
| places and the rules were written on the | | | | |
| board. Forget constitutional law, we were | | | | The game was on! |
| going to play some baseball! | | | | |