My Travels in China and Attempts to Learn Chinese. . . First Stop: Kunming, Yunnan
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Death by Teambuilding
Every morning this is going on at 9:30 outside my window. It puts a smile on my face every time. I hope it never gets old.
4 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Umm...does this remind you of the ridiculous way Southwestern expected us to start "bookfield" days? American companies could implement this to fight obesity. It also reminds me of the Japanese school that was outside my window in Cairo. The students woke me up each day with a march/organized exercises in the courtyard while chanting "Today will be a happy day" (in English, curiously).
It definitely gave me Southwestern flashbacks. Although that was not nearly as bad. This music is on a loudspeaker. I can hear it from my 15th floor window, across five lanes of traffic (seven if you count the busy bike lanes). Also, the uniforms are painful to look at.
I originally thought this was very Mao. I called the post "Communist Calisthenics." But today I talked to a Chinese friend about it, and she says that it's a publicity ploy. I guess people passing by on their way to work are meant to be intrigued by bad choreography plus matching dowdy grey and pink outfits plus big band music.
Anyhow, I definitely appreciate the turning of a practice that immediately conjures communism into a means for completely capitalist ends.
4 comments:
Umm...does this remind you of the ridiculous way Southwestern expected us to start "bookfield" days? American companies could implement this to fight obesity. It also reminds me of the Japanese school that was outside my window in Cairo. The students woke me up each day with a march/organized exercises in the courtyard while chanting "Today will be a happy day" (in English, curiously).
It definitely gave me Southwestern flashbacks. Although that was not nearly as bad. This music is on a loudspeaker. I can hear it from my 15th floor window, across five lanes of traffic (seven if you count the busy bike lanes). Also, the uniforms are painful to look at.
I originally thought this was very Mao. I called the post "Communist Calisthenics." But today I talked to a Chinese friend about it, and she says that it's a publicity ploy. I guess people passing by on their way to work are meant to be intrigued by bad choreography plus matching dowdy grey and pink outfits plus big band music.
Anyhow, I definitely appreciate the turning of a practice that immediately conjures communism into a means for completely capitalist ends.
Hey magiie- when are you going to join them. BTW, I liked the water delivery part the best.
You should definitely join them. You could use the excercise.
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