Volume 160, Issue 5-June 15, 2026
The ELI Weekly
Our Florida Springs
Ask some local Gainesville residents about the best place to go on a hot and humid summer day, and they are likely to answer, “the springs.” Though Florida is famous for its coastline, the state’s natural springs are its true hidden treasure. In fact, Florida has the largest collection of freshwater springs on earth. Geologists estimate that there are over 1,000 springs in Florida, and they are still discovering new ones. In fact, 27 new springs were identified last year in the Florida panhandle!
A natural spring sits atop an exit for water that is bubbling up from below the ground. In northern and central Florida, this water is cool because it is in close contact with the bedrock, a solid layer of rock beneath the earth’s surface. With year-long temperatures of 68 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 23 degrees Celsius), the cool, clear waters of the springs grant a refreshing environment for recreational activities like swimming, snorkeling and kayaking. But the springs do more than provide us with fun! Our natural springs are an important part of the ecosystem. They create ideal habitats for gopher tortoises, alligators, river otters, and our beloved Forida manatees.
Have you ever heard the term first magnitude springs? First magnitude is a special designation for springs that discharge more than 65 million gallons of water per day! Florida has 27 first magnitude springs, two of which are in our area: Ichetucknee Springs in Ft. White and Silver Springs near Ocala. The Gainesville brewery First Magnitude Brewing Co. is named for these big, powerful springs.
Which of Florida’s 1,000+ springs have you visited? You might plan to visit a new one over Summer Break!
Photo of the Week: Volleyball
Weekend Event
No Weekend Event – Enjoy your Juneteenth holiday and summer break
The City of Gainesville is sponsoring a Juneteenth celebration. See details below:
CIP Weekday Activities
 Monday, June 15th – Coffee Talk at Tea Bestea– 6:30-9:00pm |
| Socialize with LAs and ELI friends at Tea Bestea! Play games, speak English, and try their amazing bubble tea! Take bus 1, 38, or 12. The location will change each week. Address: 3045 SW 34th St #20, Gainesville, FL 32608 |
 Tuesday, June 16th – Volleyball – 6:30-9:00pmPlay volleyball and hang out at Lexington Crossing Apartments Phase 2 Volleyball Courts with us! No experience necessary! You can also watch, socialize or play other games if you don’t want to play volleyball. Take bus 35. Address: 3700 SW 27th St, Gainesville, FL 32608 |
 Wednesday, June 17th– Green Bridges and Germain’s – 6:30-9:30pmJoin us for our second Green Bridges event this semester! Get a garden tour of one of our local community gardens by Jeftey, the alum coordinating this initiative. Learn about environmental engagement in your community and sustainability within local neighborhoods. Attending this event will count toward the three needed events for the Green Bridges certificate. Join with ELI friends and meet other UF students interested in environmental sustainability! After the tour, take a 15 minute walk with everyone to get dinner at Germain’s chicken restaurant! Try their awesome food and hang out with your friends in this fun space. Meet at the community garden listed in the address below. Address: 911 Northwest 5th Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601 |
| Information about the Green Bridges Program: Take part in this environmental, sustainability, and leadership development program that one of our alumni, Jeftey Saint Fleur, has planned for us! Our first workshop was a huge success! There are 3 more Green Bridges events this semester, and if you attend 3 of the 4, you will get a special certificate of achievement for your involvement. The next events with be a garden tour of one of our local community gardens as our rotating CIP activity on June 17th. After that, Green Bridges will be our Volunteer Day activity at UF’s Ethno Garden where we will learn about and help with composting on July 11th. The final event will be another Matherly Hall workshop with the topic and date TBD. It will be directly after classes in late July. Stay tuned for more info. If you would like to get involved beyond these events, please speak with Tate about finding more individual Green Bridges opportunities and she will help you get connected with Jeftey. |
Notes from the Office
- Main Office Closing Early and Break Hours: The main office will beclosing at 3:00pm on Thursday, June 18th. The main office will be closed on Friday, June 19th for the Juneteenth holiday. During Summer Break, the main office will be open from 9-3pm.
- Juneteenth and Summer Break Reminder: Friday, June 19th is Juneteenth, a national holiday that commemorates the end to slavery in the United States. UF’s Summer Break is the following week, June 22nd-June26th. We’ll see you back in class on Monday, June 28th!
- B-Term Students: When you return from Summer Break, you may notice some new faces in your classes! Please give a warm welcome to the new B term students and help them feel at home. They might need your help adjusting the ELI, navigating UF, and life in Gainesville.
- Free Books: Feel free to take some free books from the hallway this week. There are many excellent English resources that are up for grabs. The books won’t be there after June 18th, so take a look ASAP!
- Check your I-20s: If you are traveling during the break (for example, leaving the US and coming back), make sure your I-20 is signed. Also check the expiration date. You can make an appointment with Daryl to sign your I-20 or to renew your I-20 before it expires.
- As a reminder, all people in the US on a visa should always have their I-94 with them. The I-94 is proof that you are a registered alien in the US and shows that you are here on a non-immigrant visa. You can access your I-94 at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home. Contact Daryl if you cannot access your I-94.
- Also, have access to copies of other important documents, like your I-20, visa, passport, letter from USCIS, or other government issued documents related to your status in the U.S.
Other CIP Activities
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!
Returning students, you will not automatically be paired again if you had a CP last semester. Please make sure to sign up again here for the Summer semester if you did not request a Summer partner in your end of term evaluation from last semester.
Please email Elijah at conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu for any issues, questions or concerns or visit him in the CIP Office during office hours.
CIP Passport
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!
The CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office.
Stop by and find it for hole punches!
Birthdays!
| Students | Staff | ||
| Vasile Scutaru | June 27 | Lexa Thompson | June 28 |
| Ayham Athurwi | June 28 |
Manners & Culture
Q: My LAs told me about the “Gen-Z Stare” and I am curious about this. Is it real?
A: Well, according to the internet, it’s real 😊
First, let’s define Gen-Z: Generation Z, or Gen Z, includes people born roughly between 1997 and 2012. Gen-Z are digital natives, meaning they grew up with technology, smart phones, and social media, unlike previous generations.
The Gen-Z stare is a blank, unsmiling way of looking at someone or at the camera with no overt expression. According to Psychology Today, the Gen-Z stare in both digital and social interactions may be the result of not wanting to appear too eager or ‘cringe,’ an attempt to avoid performative positivity, or the result of constant exposure to imagery and emotional content.
Have you noticed the Gen-Z stare?
Photo credit: Susana Ramos
Joke of the Week
Q: When do you go on red and stop on green?
A: When you’re eating a watermelon!
Notes from the Editor
| I need all of you, 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.