Of Mans First Disobedience

The freshmen of Hunan University wrapped up their mandatory military training this past Monday, which means that some of them, for better or for worse, now have the pleasure of being taught by me. Although my methods of indoctrination are almost surely more primitive than those of their previous overseers, the effects of their training have not entirely worn off, and they thus display an unexpectedly high amount of obedience and attentiveness. Whereas the juniors I teach have mostly abandoned any pretense of even appearing interested in the narrative techniques utilized by O. Henry in "After Twenty Years," freshmen are enraptured by the simple question of what people from Turkey are called ("Turkeys?"). Their innocence is endearing, but I fear that, as with freshmen everywhere, their gaze is brightest before the fall.