Soon announcements came from the school VP hailing this fire drill as successful and “the fastest time yet” as students, workers and teachers all cheered in unison. Just when it looked like a stampede would occur, the children miraculously and almost unconsciously, formed in, and fell into perfectly ordered groups (much like a brigade): Get’s people MOVING.Īs the students exited the building, I began to realize the true student poopulation of schools in China (ours had 6,000 plus students!). Man, I love the incentivized “run for your life” mentality. Even the teachers were running, pushing and redirecting children like pinballs. Fat kids fell behind while mousey students tried not to get trampled. Children were pushing and shoving, knocking down each other, and slipping as they crammed into the staircases. Yet, unlike western-centric fire drills, where remaining calm, walking and maintaining order are fundamentals, this fire drill was a lesson in controlled chaos. Within seconds, the quiet linoleum halls were filled with a raucous throng or 人群 (rénqún) of middle-schoolers, yelling, laughing and darting every which way. Despite hype by Chinese media outlets and some threat. I was not disappointed.Īfter watching a highly dramatized re -enactment of the Sichuanese Earthquake or 四川地震 (sìchuāndìzhèn), I was told to stand out in the hall, and wait… I could feel tension building and the atmosphere changing as other teachers began to nervously enter the halls. Last week, Chinese state media announced that the PLA Navy would be conducting live-fire drill in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, April 18. I figured it would be a good reason to get out of the teacher’s office, so I grabbed my video camera or 摄像机 (shèxiàngjī), expecting something interesting to materialize. The following is orientation for an “Earthquake Evacuation Drill” which is essentially a fire drill or 消防演习 (xiāo fáng yǎn xí). Well it’s back to school, and you know what that means: orientation.
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