Happy Chinese National Humiliation Day (I'm not kidding)

Have I got a blog post for you.

I'm about to begin class around ten o'clock this morning, when the most blaring, obnoxious, loud noise filled the entire building. It sounded like an air-raid siren coming from a hundred feet outside. I started to ask my students "What in the sam-hill is that sound?", and no one knew. My first instinct: "My gosh the building is on fire and have to get these kids down seven flights of stares with little to no training, why wasn't I told this might happen?" Of course I went outside the hall way to see just what other teachers were doing, and no one was going anywhere. In my frustration, I spent the next five minutes trying to find someone who could yell (in English) why there was alarm going off outside the building, why it didn't stop, and why wasn't I told about it. The best answer I got was "When people are building something sometimes they make a sound to warn people". And well, I stuck with that. The sound continued (man it was loud), and continued and continued and went on for about forty minutes. All through my class. Which begs the deep philosophical question:

"How do you teach spoken English when you can't hear yourself talk?"

I don't know. I spent most of the class retrenching trying to find something in my workbook that would require no speaking from the teacher or the students. And then when I didn't find anything (surprise!), I kicked myself for about twenty minutes for not having a backup plan in case a random, blaring siren makes communication impossible in class. Needless to say, I couldn't teach, I lost control of the class and had to spend the next hour (after the siren stopped) trying to gain control of forty-five students who had every right in the world to be talking.

I found out after class from my friend Lily--the Chinese domestic demi-goddess--today is the anniversary of the first Japanese invasion of China back before WWII, and the siren was commemorating that moment. In fact, as I found out later on the government website, today is the first annual National Humiliation Day in China (http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/subject/lhsessions/lanmub/200703/20070304464874.html).
Yes, National Humiliation Day. I don't think that translates well, but I'll let it be. I don't know if someone meant for their to be an element of surprise along with Humiliation Day, but if they did, they deserve a raise. If they didn't however, they might want to know that out of the fifty or so people I asked, only one knew the answer. Granted, it was the inaugural NHD, and it will probably catch on by the third NHD, but as far as the first NHD goes, not many people are aware that it is NHD. Except for me, and I'm not Chinese.

"I'll see you in the morning if nothing happens."