China Stories

Earthquake drill.

5th June 2008, Maria

We were filming two girls at a school for migrant workers today. Suddenly a siren went off and everyone filed out of the classroom. We were told it was an earthquake drill. I imagine this has taken on a greater significance with the recent tragic events in this area.

The pupils all lined up in neat long rows in a large open area then, to our surprise, they started running on the spot and doing stretches. One boy stood awkwardly at the front of hundreds of his fellow pupils and demonstrated the moves while a teacher shouted out more instructions through a microphone.

It was a bizarre, unexpected sight, but we have learned to expect the unexpected during our time in China. As we scanned the row upon row of faces for our two contributors it felt like a real life "Where's Wally" game. We were told later that they had combined their regular morning exercise class with an emergency drill. I was very relieved - the last thing I'd be thinking about if the ground started shaking would be doing a couple of star jumps and touching me toes!

In the bag?

5th June 2008, Maria

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More interview trauma.

5th June 2008, Gerald

Today it was my turn for interview hassles.

After a great morning with lots of unexpected great things happening in front of the camera it was time for an interview with the girls.

What a bit of bother.

We first set up in their dorm as it was quiet and cool. However, after about 3 questions some music started playing across the campus. And didn't stop. Then people came and started chatting outside their room. Then they started cleaning the hall. Not ideal when trying to film a quiet interview. I decided to wrap up for lunch and come back and give it another go in the afternoon.

Just to be safe we chose a different location. Quiet? Yup. Cool? Yup(ish). OK, let's roll.

Not so. What would make the interview really great was if a loudspeaker started playing English lessons at full volume. (Even though the school was finished for the day!) And then, what if all this traffic suddenly appeared from nowhere? Perfect! (Kidding obviously)

AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!

I was beginning to wonder if the interview was ever going to get done. We did manage in the end to get the English lesson turned off in our area and the traffic, thankfully, was not constant so we were able to work around it.

So it all ended well. Just a wee bit later than planned.

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Counting in Mandarin.

5th June 2008, Maria

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Last bit of filming.

5th June 2008, Gerald

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