MORNING SONG
Originally uploaded by rickvonfeldt
Each morning, at 7:30, the music in the neighborhood begins. A peppy Chinese ballad blairs from the loud speakers four buildings away, outside my balcony.
It is morning revelry at the Pinghe Bilingual School and blue jumper kids file out the doors from the dorms and line up on the playground for morning calisthenics. (Listen to the song and see the school site here: http://www.shphschool.com/)
It begins with some man shouting over loud speakers, and everyone chanting in unison after him. A second song then comes on, and hundreds of kids, in unison, do windmills and stretches.
Ahh – the morning life of Chinese kids.
I asked my colleague about it today. She says that all kids do this – and she was surprised that we don’t do it in the USA. I told her that some schools do “pledge of allegiance” which I am sure would be equally odd to a non-US person. I do also remember that our sixth grade teach back in Kansas also tried to get us to do exercises in the morning. But it didn’t go over well. Perhaps it was his ex-military style of drill sergeantry that put a damper on things.
Here is a video outside my balcony. If you listen closely, you can here the music. And see the kids doing their stuff.
This also gives you a view of Pudong – an area that was all country side on the “other side of the river from Shanghai.” Fifteen years ago, the government woke up one day and decided this was going to get developed. And they never looked back!
You can also go here to see a larger view of the video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29563531@N04/3544460602/
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