Last couple days I have been hearing a lot of Chinese counting but they never get past 4. It is the freshman (really beginning sophomores and a lot of my last terms students) going thru their mandatory (girls too) 2 week military training. They march all over campus practicing their different steps. They start early in the morning 6 or 7 am and go until 8 at night with a lunch and dinner break in between, Not sure how they are managing it in this heat. I have spoken to some of my English Majors during their breaks and they are hoarse from yelling their 1,2’s, suntanned (a definite no no for the girls) and exhausted. It is 7:30 Thursday night and they are now singing military songs.
They graduated early this Saturday morning. I slept late and missed the final show but I got to see the aftermath. Some of which is pictured above. Good camaraderie was definitely evident among all the different divisions. As much as I would selfishly never want my son to go to war, this kind of mandatory military awareness might not be a bad idea for our college freshman/sophomores.
