Volume 159, Issue 6- February 23, 2026

Florida Facts

Think you know a lot about Florida? Take this quiz and find out! Answers on the last page 😊

Which dessert is most famously associated with Florida cuisine?
A. Peach cobbler
B. Banana cream pie
C. Key lime pie
D. Chocolate mousse
What makes Florida unique among US states in terms of elevation?
A. It has the most mountains
B. It has active volcanoes
C. It is entirely below sea level
D. It is the flattest state

The Everglades are best described as a ____________:
A. slow river of grass
B. saltwater marsh
C. dense rain forest
D. frozen wetland
Florida is the only place where which two reptiles live together in the wild?
A. snakes and lizards
B. turtles and tortoises
C. geckos and iguanas
D. alligators and crocodiles
St. Augustine is the _______________________ city in the United States.
A. prettiest
B. largest
C. oldest
D. most Expensive
Why is Florida a prime location for rocket launches?
A. It’s a peninsula
B. It is near the equator
C. It has no air traffic
D. It has a small population
Which famous attraction is roughly the size of San Francisco, California?
A. University of Florida
B. Miami Beach
C. Kennedy Space Center
D. Walt Disney World
Florida has more _______________ than any other state.
A. tornadoes
B. sunny days
C. lightning strikes
D. miles of coastline

Spring B Starting Soon!

Spring B students will be arriving next week! They will take their placement test on Wednesday, February 25th and start classes on Monday, March 2nd. Please help us welcome them to the ELI and give them any help you can as they settle in.

CIP Photo of the Week: Karaoke

CIP Weekday Activities

Monday, February 23^rd – Coffee Talk – 6:00-8:30pm

Socialize with LAs and ELI friends at Kung Fu Tea! Play games, speak English, and try bubble tea, or get dinner nearby! Take bus 1 or 38.

The location will change each week.

Address: 3102 SW 34th St, Gainesville, FL 32608

Tuesday, February 24^th – Volleyball – 5:30-8:00pm

Play 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, February 25^th – Depot Park Soccer and Karaoke – 6:30 – 9:00pm NEW TIME and LOCATION

Explore Depot Park with ELI friends every Wednesday! Play soccer, check out the restaurants and then end the night with free karaoke at the Boxcar! Meet in the grassy area in front of the Boxcar.

Address: 201 SE Depot Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601

Thursday, February 26^th– 4^th Avenue Food Park – 6:00 – 8:30pm

Visit this super popular restaurant area of Gainesville with amazing outdoor seating and yummy food options to try like tacos and pizza! The fun outdoor space is great for hanging out with friends and photo opportunities! Bring some spending money if you would like to buy dinner. Meet outside at 4^th Ave Food Park. Take bus 1.

Address: 409 SW 4th Ave Gainesville, FL 32601

Friday, February 27^th– Reitz Game Room – 6:30 – 9:00pm

Hang out with friends in the Reitz Game Room! You can go bowling, play pool, and play board games! Bring your Gator1 ID for cheaper rates. Some Fridays, the Reitz plans Gator Nights! Check out the fun themed activities they may have this week.

Address: 655 Reitz Union Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611

Call Tate or Paola if you have any issues finding the ELI at an activity. Their numbers can be found on the signups.

Weekend Activity: Midterm Picnic

Saturday, February 28th- B-term Welcome Picnic – 12:00-2:45pm

Meet new B-term students and hang out with all your ELI friends outdoors! Socialize, play games, and celebrate reaching the middle of the semester! Meet in front of Norman Hall. Free food provided! You must sign up to attend. Sign up here!

CIP Recommendations

Get different recommendations from your LAs and CIP friends each week! This week is musical artists:

Musical Artists

Aurora: Tate McRae

Elijah: Madwoman

Kemarah: Medjy

Lexa: Fetty Wap

Paola: Tyler Childers

Sam: Set It Off

Shawn: Voice

Tate: Griff

Talk to LAs and the CIP Office to learn more about their favorite artists and tell them about yours!

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!

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 Spring semester if you did not request a Spring 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 her in the CIP Office during office hours.

Other CIP Reminders

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!

Remember the CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office. Stop by and find it for hole punches!

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: Tate will be out of the office on Monday, February 23^rd.

Florida International Leadership Conference (FILC): Christine volunteers with an organization that does a student leadership conference. This year, she wants to get ELI students involved! FILC is a 3-day summer-camp style retreat. You can find details here: https://faie.org/2026-filc/

International and US study abroad students attending Florida colleges or universities are able to participate. We will go to Camp Geneva to participate in leadership sessions, networking, and fun camp activities. The cost for the camp, including food and lodging in a shared cabin, is $195. Talk to Christine by February 23 if you are interested or have questions!

UF Federal Tax forms for International Students: Were you in the U.S. in 2025 on an F or V visa? If yes, you have a responsibility to file tax forms with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Tax forms are due on April 15^th this year. They are filed for the previous calendar year, which in this case is 2025.

You must provide required tax forms even if you did not earn any money in the U.S. in 2025. All F and J visa students (including dependents) who were in the US last year must submit IRS form 8843. You can get the form 8843 from the ELI main office.

You cannot submit this document electronically. You must physically mail it to this address by April 15^th:

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service Center

Austin, TX 73301-0215

Because you are at UF and have an active Gatorlink, you have free access to Sprintax, a web-based tax preparation software designed for non-resident aliens, including international students, scholars, and visa holders in the U.S. Sprintax can help with filling in form 8843, but you will need to print and mail the document yourself. Contact Daryl or Christine to receive:

the UF student Sprintax link
help filling out form 8843
information about how to mail form 8843 to the IRS address in Texas

If you had on-campus employment in 2025 as an international student, you will receive a form from your employer reporting your income and tax withholdings called a W-2. Because you earned reportable income, you must submit a federal tax return to file your W-2. Talk to Daryl if you had on-campus employment last year and have questions about filling your taxes.

Birthdays

Students	Staff
None this week!	Olga Moody	February 25

Student Questions: Grammar

Q: What’s the difference between “take” and “get”?

A: Both are verbs mean that you now have something. The main difference is that “take” specifically means that you initiate the receiving, perhaps without the other’s permission.

The dog took the cookie from my sister and she started crying
My brother got a cookie after dinner.

Joke of the Week

Q: What do you call a monkey with bananas in his ears?

A: Whatever you want!

Student Voices

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, March 27^th.

From the Editor

An invitation to contribute:

Would you like to see your own writing published in the ELI Weekly? Here are some ways to contribute to our newsletter:

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.

Answers to the Florida Facts Quiz:

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