The ELI Weekly
International Education Week #IEW2021
This week, we celebrate International Education week with stories and videos from ELI students about their international experiences. Certain themes seem to be very important, like lasting friendship, other cultures, and Gainesville surprises. Here is a sample of the stories. Throughout the week, you will see more stories posted to social media @ufeli. Don’t forget to participate in the weekday spirit activities.
International Friendships
Friendship is an important theme of international education. Students from the ELI told their stories about new friends that they would not have met if they had not decided to study abroad. Here is one of those stories.
Beyond Learning
by Ana Franzoi Simi Marson from Brazil
Besides learning English, the ELI teaches us the diversity of different cultures, and also other languages. An example of this is my classmate, Lucia. Lucia is from Colombia, but she has been living here for some years. She is a great example of what a good student should be, no matter the situation, she’s always trying to learn more. While studying, reading and talking to her I noticed we have many things in common. For example, we have kids, our ages are similar, and we are both from a Latino country. She’s here to improve her English and during breaks we mostly talk about our children, family and trips.
The ELI is temporary but the friendships we make here are for a lifetime. We talk a lot about our cultures and while talking to them it makes me respect people like they are independently where they are from.
See more stories of friendship here.
The Learning Curve
International Education includes more than just learning English. These students explain what they have learned from other cultures while here at the ELI.
CIP Activities
Sign up for weekday activities only here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-student18
Monday November 15th – Cabana Hangout – 6:00-8:30pm
Come swim in the pool, play games, and socialize with LAs and students at the Cabana Beach Apartment pool area! Bring your bathing suit and towel. If you don’t want to swim, just come and socialize! Take bus 21 to Cabana Beach Apartments
- You must sign up on the weekly activity signup to attend this activity.
Tuesday November 16th – Soccer – 6:30 – 9:00pm
Come play Soccer on campus at Flavet Field! No experience necessary!
- You must sign up on the weekly activity signup to attend this activity.
Wednesday November 17th – Volleyball – 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Come play volleyball and hang out at Lexington Crossing Apartments Phase 2! No experience necessary! Take bus 34 or 35
- You must sign up on the weekly activity signup to attend this activity.
Thursday November 18th – Gator Salsa – 6:00 – 9:00pm
Come learn to dance salsa and bachata in beautiful downtown Gainesville! Take bus 1, 5, or 46 to downtown the Bull, where the Gator Salsa club will give us lessons! No experience necessary, beginners and advanced welcome! If you don’t want to dance, just come to hang out downtown with friends! Please bring your Gator1 ID Card.
- You must sign up on the weekly activity signup to attend this activity.
Friday November 19th – Lunch at the Plaza – 12:15-2:45pm
Because there is no Gator Nights this Friday, come have lunch together with students and LAs at the Plaza! Get Krishna Lunch or takeout from University Ave and meet us at the Plaza of the Americas in front of Library West during your class break! You can even bring lunch from home!
- You must sign up on the weekly activity signup to attend this activity.
Weekend Activity
Saturday November 20th – ELI Thanksgiving Potluck– 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Partake in the American tradition of sharing food during Thanksgiving time! Bring your own food or dish to share with everyone, preferably something from your own culture! This is one of our biggest events of the year with ELI teachers, faculty, LAs, staff, students, and guests all welcome! Meet at Broward Hall Basement.
Because of how large this event is, there is a separate signup from the regular weekly signup. Please sign up for this event here and read the signup details carefully: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-thanksgiving6
Faculty, teachers, and staff, please also sign up at this link.
Conversation Partners (CPs)
Want to meet with an English speaker once a week and make a new friend?! Sign up here! https://forms.gle/ctQAzW8EjXgvhYgHA.
Email conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu if your partner does not respond after one week.
Notes from the Office
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group: The ELI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Focus Group wants to hear your opinions! At the ELI, we are always trying to improve and make our students feel welcome. In order to do this, we need your perspective. Therefore, you are invited to attend a Student Focus Group meeting. At the meeting, you can give your opinions about different ELI policies and activities so that we can improve in the future.
If you have any questions, please email Thomas Dolce at tomdolce@ufl.edu. We hope to see you there!
Thanksgiving Holiday: Thursday, November 25th is Thanksgiving. There will be no ELI classes, and the ELI main office will be closed on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (Nov. 24-26). Please remember that classes will meet as normal on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 22nd and 23rd).
Student Voices: We love to see our students writing. Every semester, we take your writing and publish it in Student Voices. Past submissions have included paragraphs, essays, creative stories, recipes, letters, obituaries, poetry, creative stories, class projects, and other interesting works on a variety of topics. I encourage you to submit anything of your work that you wish to see published. It can be from any class or something you have written on your own but ask your teachers for help editing! You can email it to Olga (omoody@ufl.edu) or to your teacher. Please include your name and class on your submission. The deadline for submissions is Friday, November 19th.
Check Your I-20: If your I-20 is expiring soon, make an appointment with Daryl in MAT 223 to renew your I-20 before it expires.
Returning Student Survey: Please complete the Returning Student Survey in myELI if you have not done it yet. We understand that your plan for next semester may change, but we need to know what your plan is now so we can help you and give you accurate advice. If you want help, please contact Daryl (studyenglish@eli.ufl.edu) to ask a question or schedule a meeting.
Weekend Photo
Manners & Culture
Q: Why do some Americans say “sorry” when they are close to someone in the market?
A: It all depends how close you are standing. Sometimes when people say “sorry” it’s just a way of being polite. When you are near someone in a store, the other person might think that they are blocking your way to an item. It could also be a way of saying that they feel like they are too close to you. Generally, Americans prefer more physical personal space than many other cultures. If you are within 12-18 inches of a person, they might feel like you are in their personal space and say “sorry” as a way to tell you to move back a little. It is also common to say “sorry” if you accidentally bump into someone.
Grammar
Q: What’s the difference between “advise” and “advice”?
A: The first one’s a verb and the second one’s a noun. The pronunciation of the “s” is [z] and the pronunciation of the “c” is [s].
- I advise you to go to class every day.
- My advice is that you go to class every day.
Birthdays!
Students:
- 11/15 Wendy Gavilanes Sanchez
- 11/19 Dahyeon Kang
Staff: None