China mourns quake dead, draws lessons (3)

CARRY ON

As Gao Zhirong, a teacher at Lushan County High School, mourned the quake dead, she also felt proud of her students. "I thought they were naughty, self-centered kids. They surprised me in time of danger."

Even though the quake struck on Saturday, her students were in class. All 37 teenagers were calm and quick. In two minutes, they were evacuated from their classroom on the third floor to the playground.

When they were told to go home, 25 of them volunteered to stay and help, as their campus became a major shelter for survivors.

A week on, most of the students have returned to class in makeshift tent classrooms, hoping to catch up with their school work.

Luo Dingrong dried her eyes after mourning the dead and returned to her classroom in Lushan County High School. "I have no time to waste. I will work harder for myself and Huang Xiao'ou," she said.

Huang, her close friend, died while her home collapsed in the quake. "She rarely cared about what she wore. When I finish school and find a job, I'll buy her a beautiful dress. I'll write to her and tell her everything that she's not able to find out on her own."

Others also mourned.

Quake survivor Yang Zhifang mourned the victims while in her hospital ward in Chengdu. The 44-year-old woman from Baoxing County was recuperating from surgery on her broken left hand.

"I was lucky to have survived," she said. "I hope everything will be the same as before. I'll be happy to raise pigs and grow crops as usual."

Veteran soldier Dong Yuanzhi lit up his stove shortly after the period of mourning. His makeshift tent restaurant serves free meals to rescuers in Lushan County. "This is all I can do at the moment to repay their kindness," he said.