The ELI Weekly
ELI Country
By Mikail Hamid, RW60
Inspired by an activity I did with my LAs, I have created a new country called ELI Country. Here are some things about ELI Country:
ELI Country is an imaginative, ideal nation shaped like a heart and founded on the values of peace, innovation, and equality. Located near Africa and South America, it is home to five culturally different regions, governed by a Council of Elders and driven by a digital economy using the powerful ELI Cedis (money).
The nation celebrates diversity through its four official languages, promotes work-life balance, and blends advanced technology with natural beauty. With a bold flag, a unifying anthem, and a motto that says, “Together we are strong,” ELI Country stands as a creative vision of what an ideal society could be!”
Weekend Event
St. Augustine Beach and Town
| Explore the oldest city in the United States after spending the afternoon at the beach! Swim and soak up the sun at the beautiful Florida coast! Then see the amazing Spanish architecture of the old city and explore famous landmarks, shops, and restaurants. Tickets are for sale from Tate in Matherly 211 for 25 dollars exact cash.
You can purchase tickets Monday – Thursday from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Get your ticket before they sell out! Space is limited! Your purchased ticket is your signup! *Tate teaches a class from 11:00am to 12:05 pm so she will not be able to sell tickets during that hour. Reminders: Make sure to bring a bathing suit, towel, change of clothes and a packed lunch or snacks! Feel free to bring any sports balls, beach chairs, speakers, or anything else you’d like to have with you at the beach. There are NO restaurants at this beach so bring your lunch from home. When we go to the city, you will be able to eat dinner at the restaurants so bring some money for food, treats, and shopping. All students riding the bus MUST follow this schedule: St. Augustine Trip Bus Schedule – 7/19 8:00am – Meet at Norman Parking Garage 10:45am – Arrive to Frank Butler Beach (5860 A1A South St. Augustine, FL 32080) 2:30pm – Leave beach for St Augustine Old Town (10 S Castillo Dr, St. Augustine, FL 32084) 3:00pm – Arrive to Old Town GET DINNER DURING THIS TIME 7:00pm – Leave Old Town to return to Norman Hall – Return to Welcome Center at this time. Do not be late. 9:00pm – Arrive to Norman Parking Garage – Please arrange for a ride home at this time. |
CIP Weekday Activities
CIP Photo of the Week: Volleyball
Other CIP Reminders
Conversation Partners
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!
Scholarship Nominees
Each semester, the ELI awards 2 scholarships. It is very difficult to be nominated for a scholarship! The nominees all worked very hard this semester and achieved the following criteria:
- Full-time C semester student
- Academic Excellence
- Outstanding Progress
- Excellent Attendance and Participation
- Practices English
- Successful Academic Work Strategies
- Intercultural Understanding/ Relationships
- See more about the scholarship here: https://eli.ufl.edu/application-information/scholarship/
Please join us in congratulating these nominees for the ELI scholarship to study in the Fall 2025 semester!
Paula Barragan Sanchez
Selena Carpio Martillo
Xian Chen
Fabiola Colmenares Bermudez
Lu Huang
Anghelo Ita Durand
Carolina Paz Yépez
Notes from the Office
Notes from the Office
Apartment Leases: In the Summer, many student leases end on July 31st. The ELI semester ends on August 9th, so you may need to find another place to stay for a little while! It is important to know the exact date that your apartment lease ends so you can make plans. If you’re not sure when it ends, ask your apartment office.
If you need help finding a place to stay in the short term (like a hotel or Airbnb), someone to take over your lease, or a new apartment, talk to Christine in Matherly 223. If you will leave the ELI after this semester and need another person to take over your lease, Christine can help with that also.
People out: Patricia will be out July 10th to July 14th.
Farewell to Heidy: Though we will all miss Heidy, we must say farewell and good luck! Heidy has served as the ELI receptionist since November 2024 but will soon leave us for a new position at UF! Heidy is excited to start a new job at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Her last day will be July 17th. Please stop by to wish her well!
Santa Fe College Informational Workshop: Next Tuesday, July 15th, representatives from Santa Fe College will present to ELI students at 3:15pm in room 214 in Matherly Hall. They will talk about degree programs, the admissions process, and student life at Santa Fe College. If you are considering Santa Fe College, this is a great opportunity to meet their International Student Services team and ask them questions. They can answer questions about the required credential evaluation process, transferring college credits, and important deadlines if you want to start with them in August. Even if you are not interested in Santa Fe College, this workshop will give helpful information on applying to undergraduate programs in the US.
ELI Class Photo: On Tuesday, July 15th, we will be taking a group photo of everyone at the ELI at the bronze Gator sculpture outside the Southwest entrance of Matherly Hall. The sculpture is known as Gator Ubiquity (see photo). Your Grammar teachers will walk you over there after Grammar class on Tuesday. If it rains, we will take the photo on Thursday, July 17th at the same time. 
Returning Student Survey: The Summer 2025 semester ends in 4 short weeks, so it is time to think about what you will do for the Fall 2025 semester. We are asking you to tell us your plan for next semester. All students must complete the Returning Student Survey in myELI by Friday, July 18. Please do the survey even if you are not yet 100% sure of your plans. Please tell is what you think you will do. You can change your answer later if needed. Final Exams: Final Exams start the week of July 28. Final exams cannot be made up if you miss them, so you must be in class on the day of your finals. All reading exams are on Monday, August 4th. Grammar Exams and Listening Exams are on Tuesday, August 5th. Ask your teacher when your final writing exam will be. Good luck! Commencement Info: Our ELI Commencement ceremony will take place in the Career Connections Center in the Retiz Union, Level 1, at 10am on Friday, August 8th. At this ceremony, we will recognize our scholarship and award winners and celebrate this semester at the ELI.
|
Birthdays
| Students | Staff | ||
| Malek Albahouth | July 14 | Heidy Charbonier | July 16 |
| Aljarah Aljafar | July 17 | ||
 |
Happy Birthday! | ||
Grammar
Q: Why do all Americans pronounce the letter ‘t’ like a ‘d’? Why do people say the word water like wadder?
A : That’s a great question! We pronounce the letter t more like a d when the t appears in the unstressed syllable (like water, bottle, cattle, kitty). But if the t is at the beginning of a word (Tuesday, tomorrow) or appears in the stressed syllable (intense), we don’t pronounce it as a d.
Why do we do this? It helps create a natural flow between syllables.
Joke of the Week
Why did the sun need a break?
A: It was feeling burned out! 
Special Note from Student Voices Editor, Thomas Dolce
Every semester, the ELI publishes a collection of student writing. You can send a piece of your writing to be published for everyone to read. You can send paragraphs, essays, stories, recipes, poetry, and even photos. Also, the best two pieces of writing will be recognized at the ELI Commencement ceremony at the end of the semester. For inspiration, you can find previous editions of The ELI Student Voices on the ELI website.
To submit your writing, please email Thomas Dolce at tomdolce@ufl.edu. Please include your name and class. The last day to submit a piece of writing is July 18th. We can’t wait to read your writing!
Request from the Editor
| 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 Jen Ramos (jenramos@ufl.edu) Use the subject heading: ELI Weekly.