Children at play!

In America, when one thinks of children playing, you think of children playing with computer games, video games, or for the younger ones, perhaps some organized playdates or storytime.

In China, my school has students ranging from 4 to 18 and every day they have over 3 hours of free time, where they can play, do homework, wash their hair from a spigot that's located a foot off the ground, or eat food that costs less than $20 USD a month. I try to bring my camera every time I step into school, because you never know what sort of things you'll be able to capture!

Here, for example, are the empty bowls that some of the children used while standing and eating. Many of my students don't rush to eat when the bell rings at 11:20 because unlike staggered lunch times like I had as a child, all 1000 students are dismissed at the same time and they eat all the same place. The sitting area for children to eat fits at most 50. I haven't been around to witness the chaos. This is only a taste of the aftermath.

This next photo is what I assume to be two kids cuddling in public, PDA, a la Argentinian street style, but take a second glance! These kids are about... 5. Hilariously enough, they're both girls. Who doesn't like a hug/ long enveloping cuddle along a wall?

Other activities that children enjoy doing, which seem safe enough:

Ping pong on tile tables.

Jumping rope.

Patty cake.

so cute!

Watching while others play patty cake.

not. creepy?

Mouth to mouth resuscitation/ pressure points massage.

you tell me what this looks like!

Playing with wood/trash/dirt.

who can blame them? that trash looks like so much fun!

... and who can forget my favorite, hitting other students? (not pictured, I couldn't legitimately start a fight just for my pleasure, ahem, photo capturing...)

It's obvious that Chinese children have different past times than their American counterpart but both seem to have a lot of fun doing what they like!