The ELI Weekly
CIP Weekday Activities
Weekend Event
Saturday, February 8th- Silver Springs State Park – 8:30am to 1:00pm
Join us at the beautiful Silver Springs State Park to enjoy real Florida nature! The springs are some of Florida’s most popular attractions. Enjoy a trip on a glass bottom boat tour to see a perfect view under the crystal water and learn about the springs or kayak around these beautiful springs where you may be able to see gators, manatees, fish, and even monkeys. Bring about $20 to cover the cost of a ticket for a boat ride. Budget around $35 for kayaking/canoeing/paddleboarding. Bring your own lunch or buy food from small menu of food and enjoy a picnic on the grounds. There is no swimming at this spring. Meet at Norman Parking garage and please do not be late.
You must sign up to attend. Sign up here! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-54720890-silver
Other CIP Reminders
Basketball Tickets on Sale Now for the February 15 Game
Tickets for the ELI block at the 2/15 Gator Basketball game against South Carolina are now for sale! Buy a ticket from Tate in the CIP office Monday through Thursday from 9am to 12:30pm with 20 dollars EXACT cash and your Gator1 ID. Please budget time to wait in line to get your ticket and about 5 to 10 minutes to get your eticket and account set up. During the first week of sales, tickets may only be sold to ELI students and their immediate family members. During the second week of sales, tickets can be sold to anyone and any other guests you would like to bring. Tickets are limited so make sure to buy them early before they sell out!
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 here!
Please email Joey 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 don’t 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
Find the Pineapple
Remember the CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office. Stop by and find it for hole punches!
Notes from the Office
People out: Christine is out of the office on February 10 and 11. Please plan around these dates if you need to talk to Christine.
Beware of scams: Be careful of scam emails, text messages, and phone calls from people asking for bank account information, gift cards, credit card information, etc, even if they say they are from the police, ICE, or IRS. These messages often claim they need immediate payment or there will be some terrible result for you. These are scams meant to scare you into giving them money. If you ever get a text or call and you aren’t sure if it is a scam, come talk to Christine for help.
Keeping Immigration Documents with You
This is a reminder that you should have easy access to immigration documents on your mobile device. You should have digital copies of your documents stored in a protected way on the device that you always have with you. We recommend that students upload these documents to an encrypted folder on your phone and in myELI. F-1 students should upload these documents:
- Your most recent, active I-20 (with Daryl’s signature on both pages)
- Most recent I-94
- Passport bio page
- F-1 Visa
- Letter form USCIS showing change of status to F-1 (if you changed to F-1 status while in the U.S.)
For other students, we recommend that you upload documents specific to your situation. These can include:
- Visa
- Green Card
- Letters from USCIS showing: Pending application status, Temporary Protected Status, Humanitarian parole, Asylum status, DS-2019
- Most recent I-94 (if you have one)
- Government ID (for example, a state ID, driver’s license, or passport)
EAD card
Having easy and fast access to these documents is good advice for all ELI students. Please talk to the ELI administration if you have questions about what documents you should have access to.
Expectations for Respect and Civility
Sexual harassment is illegal in the United States. It is illegal to make comments or act in a way that makes people feel uncomfortable, and it is illegal to make unwelcome advances (verbally or physically) to anyone. You should never touch another person without their consent or make comments about other people’s appearances.
Bullying is a form of manipulation that is never acceptable in the classroom or at the ELI. While some bullying is physical, others can be hurtful emotionally. For example, getting classmates to laugh at another person can be harmful. Please treat all your classmates with respect.
Photo of the Week: Satchel’s Pizza
Birthdays!
Manners & Culture
Q: What does “personal space” mean in the United States? When one should be aware that it is being violated.
A: One feature of US culture is the idea of personal space. Basically, if you stretch your arm out to its full length, strangers should not come any closer to you than the tips of your fingers. Sometimes people come too close to another person, and this could be considered a ‘violation of personal space.’ How do you know you have violated someone’s personal space? They will take an involuntary step backward from you. If you want to notice how people react to their personal space being violated, watch people on a crowded bus. People will try to avoid any contact with the other riders and even apologize for any accidental touching.
Q: What is Groundhog Day?
A groundhog (also called a whistle pig or woodchuck) is an animal related to the squirrel, but about the size of a large cat.
In the US, Groundhog Day is a popular tradition celebrated on February 2 every year. On this day, the official groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, predicts the weather for the next six weeks. If the groundhog comes out of his home and sees his shadow, then we will have 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring will arrive early. Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow this February 2?
Grammar
Q: How can I use ‘due to’? I thought ‘due to’ meant the same as ‘because’, but somehow I always get it wrong.
A: With due to and because, the meaning is the same but the grammar is different. In fact, you can use due to just like you use because of, and then the meaning AND the grammar will be the same. Here are some examples:
When you use because by itself, you need to create a clause (subject + verb):
- Because the weather is stormy, we have cancelled the soccer game.
When you use due to (or because of), you only need a noun or noun phrase:
- Due to the weather, we have cancelled the soccer game.
- Because of the hurricane, we have cancelled the soccer game.
These sentences confuse the two grammar rules. Can you correct them?
- Because of the weather is stormy, we have cancelled the soccer game.
- Due to the weather is stormy, we have cancelled the soccer game.
Joke of the Week
Q: What do you call two people who fall in love on Valentine’s Day in South Korea?
A: Seoul-mates!
Notes from the Editor
Who wants to be a leader? I need students, LAs, instructors, staff, and administrators to help me write the Weekly!
- Write a paragraph about your experiences this semester. You could write about an ELI activity, a Gainesville event, a fabulous local restaurant, or tell us about a place or event in your country that we should visit.
- Send me grammar questions for me to put in the Weekly.
- Send me manners and culture questions for me to put in the Weekly.
- Send me jokes to put in the Weekly.
Send your paragraphs and/or questions to Maya (mshastri@ufl.edu) Use the subject heading: ELI Weekly.