Freshman! Freshman! Freshman!

My friend Nick recently sent me an absolutely fabulous picture set from The Boston Globe that focuses on modern China.  All of the pictures were great, but a few of them (specifically the ones about freshman military training) have been quite the familiar sight since I arrived in China.

I like to imagine the freshman at New College having to do...uhh...exactly this.  And yes, with the same outfits.

All freshman in the Chinese university system undergo six weeks of military training.  A little bit of marching.  A whole lot of yelling.  And after asking around, I found out that they do a bit of target practice.  For the first six weeks of school, you're surrounded by it.  In reality, the entire city is affected considering the number of universities in Nanjing.  It's not uncommon to hear random militaristic barking coming from a loudspeaker as you're walking to the supermarket.  Or get caught on the wrong side of a flowing river of camouflaged 18-year olds. 

You might think that it bothers me, but quite the contrary.  I would prefer it never stop.  Not because I enjoy the sounds of the military, but when it ends, my teaching load doubles.  I teach a handful of freshman classes that all start when their training ends.  And I like my 8 hours per week job...it's quite cush.

While lecturing today, I noticed a group marching by.  So like any responsible professor, I paused class, grabbed my camera, and tried my best to capture the ol' freshman march.  The resulting film depicts the fruits of my labor (in addition to my absurd lectures):




...and yes.  That was my shoddy attempt to blur out students' faces.

(And I did misspell Lindsay Lohan's name.)