48 seventh graders say, "Thank you, Frenchie!"

In Taiwan, the start of the fall school semester begins next week for most schools. However, most junior and senior high school students are already in school, as they are encouraged to attend a month-long summer session, or summer camp, as my school calls it. Truthfully, it is more like a camp than school. Students don't receive grades, go one trips to Sun Moon Lake and prepare skits and acts for the opening ceremonies. So, with a shortened summer vacation, students and teachers both enjoy a casual month of gradually preparing ourselves for actually having to work.

I teach both junior and senior high school students. Both are enjoyable, but it's seeing the newly arrived 7th graders that tickles me the most. A couple are bigger and taller than I am, and some could fit in my pocket. Some look like Charles Schulz drew them, and some look like perfectly proportioned 3-foot tall adults. Our junior high classrooms all have a PC that is connected to a projector that displays whatever is on the computer monitor onto a large screen at the front of the classroom.

Today, we were cruising around the Internet, visiting different kinds of sites, exploring their functions and learning how to navigate them in English. We had finished with music, news, community and photo sharing sites and were moving on to blogs. Well, I thought. Why not use Ni Howdy? We could even do a short post as a class. Good idea, right? Well, I pressed enter and stood up to get ready to point out the different features on a blog. The screen was behind me to my left and I was looking at some notes when the little people let out a great hullabaloo. I wasted time looking among the students thinking someone puked on another student again and then saw them pointing to the screen. There was Frenchie's "mother" smiling pleasantly at us all. Now, Frenchie, I know I have often commented on how late Taiwanese learn to socialize, but I'm not sure this was what I had envisioned. You definitely made their last day of class, but what am I going to do for a follow-up - and not get fired? A little help here.