Well, I'll admit it. I seem to have made a mistake. Not a grave, life threatening, mistake, but one a little more worrisome than my last move in Internet scrabble (PIN for 10 points was mere desperation). Yet it is a mistake that would just be a little sketchy if it were in America.

You see, I took an idea from some other ESL teachers and created a Gmail account just for my students to practice English since they're so goddamn shy they might as well be mute. But after more than 6 weeks with the account, I have received emails from 2 different people. One is my favorite and arguably best student from last year, the other is a girl formerly known as "Chocoholic".

Chocoholic writes me an average of 3 times a day. She frequently asks me why I only write her once a day, or as she is quoted nearly 4 weeks ago, "I write 26 times you. You only 8." I have been asked for my picture (apparently for a friend), and when I didn't send her one, I thought her broken English would reach out of cyberspace and choke me. She also asked me to give her a nickname. I decided that since she liked chocolate so much I would call her Hershey. She got mad because she thought that was a boy's name, but when I informed her that it was a last name, it took her minutes to change her screen name to "Jean Hershey". And most recently I have been asked to go on a picnic with her. Now, since this is my first experience with a 'Teacher Crush', I am not sure what to do, and when to do it. All I know is that I watch my words carefully for fear that some day the Board of Education will accuse me of soliciting a student via email. That's just the kind of note I need to end on for my Fulbright.

Oh, did I mention she skips lunch to speak with me for an hour in my office? At least her English will be up there, along with her hopes.