Freshman Boot Camp

It's that time of year again--the flowers are in bloom, the smog is not as noticeable, and the familiar twang of "yi, er, san, si" permeates the air. Ahhh...freshman military training.

Military training is required of all college freshman in China. They spend their entire day with their class and a drill instructor, dressed in fatigues and sneakers, learning how to march in formation. They gain important combat skills such as proper arm-swinging, stepping in sync, and singing patriotic songs. So the end result is a well-drilled troop of mostly girls marching and singing "jun zhong ju hua" ("Chrysanthemum in the Army"), followed by a rousing verse of "tuan jie jiu shi ji liang" ("Union is Strength"). A lucky few get to fire actual weapons.

Of course the real reason they have to do this is nationalism. What better why to foster obedience to the state than to have them march in the hot sun for 8 hours 8 days straight with your classmates? Chinese college students take every class with the same group of people. They learn as a unit, they live as a unit, and then they become an actual "unit" of model Chinese citizens.

And of course it is also adorable. I finally managed to find my little Dong Fang freshman on day 2. This is the class that is already incredibly good at speaking in sync, so I knew they would be good at walking in sync. They were all smiles as usual, and according to them they liked their instructor. He, however, was not happy to be there, having commanded plebes for five years already. One of my star pupils seemed very excited about the whole experience--her brother is in the army and she plans on marrying an officer.

I took some pictures, and did a few satirical drills of my own for their amusement.

I love Spring.
Leb Wohl