The ELI Weekly
Out and About: The Matherly Hall Ghost
by Reading/Writing 51
Recently, there have been reports of sightings of the Ghost of Matherly Hall. The ghost is said to resemble a typical, male UF student, complete with backpack. Supposedly, he has a strong aura that can be felt from several feet away, even when he cannot be seen. He is sometimes visible, but his face is always obscured by a hoodie, and his appearance is fuzzy. He can usually be seen when the Century Tower carillon (bell tower) plays the UF fight song after dark.
It is believed that he appears at this time because he died in Matherly while the fight song was playing off in the distance. He can be heard whistling the fight song, but, in a creepy twist, the further away the whistling seems, the closer the ghost actually is to the listener. He died on the 2nd floor of Matherly, right next to the entrance to the ELI main office (Matherly 223). If you examine the wall carefully, you can see that some of the bricks and paint do not match the rest of the wall. This is because the space was once a room that was sealed off while the ghost, when he was still alive, was napping. He was trapped in the room and suffocated.
Reading/Writing 51 recently held a séance in the hall in front of the covered room and made a startling discovery: If the room is unsealed on Halloween, the ghost’s spirit will be freed and can move on to the next world. Will the administration do the right thing and free the ghost?
The students of Reading/Writing 51 certainly hope so.
CIP Weekday Activities
Weekend Event
Saturday, November 2nd – Fall at Amber Brooke Farms – 9:30am to 1:00pm
Visit a local American farm and check out all the fun activities they have to celebrate the Fall season including a pumpkin patch, corn maze, flower-picking, food trucks, petting zoo, and more! This beautiful space has tons of opportunity for great photos and different farm activities with your ELI friends. Cost for entry is 15 dollars if you purchase ahead online or 18 dollars at the door. They do not accept cash.
Meet at Norman Parking Garage.
You must sign up to attend this event. Car spaces are limited: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-52683637-amber
Other CIP Reminders
Conversation Partners (CPs)
Want to meet with a fluent English speaker and make a new friend? Sign up for a CP! If you choose to sign up, you must meet with your partner for one hour a week. It can take up to two weeks to get a partner from when you sign up. Please sign up at this link: https://forms.gle/CZoP2zQ7nxWD4wcA8
Please email Rachel at conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu for any issues, questions or concerns or visit her in the CIP Office during office hours.
CIP Passports
Don’t forget to get your CIP Passport hole punched from the activity leaders at the event (not after). We do not hole punch passports after the event. Redeem your completed passport for a small gift, a photo for the ELI Instagram, and your name published in the ELI weekly!
Need a new CIP Passport? Stop by the CIP Office.
Remember the CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office. Stop by and find it for hole punches!
Completed CIP Passports
Congrats to students who completed their CIP Passports! Thank you for being so involved with the CIP!
- Basel Almakhlef
- Mohammed Almuwayni
Notes from the Office
Community College Workshop: Representatives from the Santa Fe College and the College of Central Florida will speak to ELI students on Wednesday, October 30, at 5:00pm in Matherly Hall 0006. This is great opportunity to learn about SF and CF, hear about the application process and timeline, and you can meet their International Student Services team.
People Out: Tara is out of the office from Oct. 28-Oct. 29. Christine is out of the office from Oct. 31-Nov. 5. Daryl is out of the office on Nov. 4. Please plan around these dates if you need to talk to Tara, Christine, or Daryl.
Time Change: On Sunday, November 3 at 2am, we will change from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. Your phones, computers, and most computer-controlled devices with clocks will automatically set themselves back one hour, but you will have to manually set your other clocks (like on your microwave) back yourself. If you somehow forget, you could wind up showing up an hour early for classes on Monday!
Student Voices Entry Due this Friday
Every semester, we have amazing student writers, so we take your writing and publish it in an online collection called Student Voices. In past semesters, students have written paragraphs, essays, creative stories, recipes, letters, obituaries, poetry, and more. You can see past editions of Student Voices (https://eli.ufl.edu/news-publications/, scroll to the bottom of the page) for inspiration.
We 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 Moody (omoody@ufl.edu) or to your teacher. Please include your name and class on your submission. The deadline for submissions is Friday, November 1st.
Photo of the Week: Homecoming Parade
Birthdays!
Manners & Culture
Q: My teacher said, “Come to my office hour.” What is an office hour?
A: An office hour is time that your teacher has reserved for students. During this time, students can come to the teacher’s office and ask the teacher questions about assignments or class, such as grammar, vocabulary, slang, culture, or anything else students want to know more about. Sometimes, students will just come by the office to say hi and chat during office hours, and that is ok too!
Grammar
Q: Why is “almost students” wrong in the following sentence?
- Almost UF students wear flip flops to class.
- Almost all UF students wear flip flops to class.
- Almost 30% of UF students wear flip flops to class.
- Almost 200 UF students wear flip flops to class.
Joke of the Week
Q: What is the problem with twin witches?
A: You never know which witch is which!
Notes from the Editor
I would love to hear from you! Send me a paragraph about fun activities you have tried in Florida or send me a story about an interesting place in your country. Send me grammar questions, culture questions, or even jokes. Send them to mshastri@ufl.edu. Use the subject heading ELI Weekly.