The ELI Weekly

Volume 161, Issue 1 – August 31, 2026

University of Florida Campus Landmark: Century Tower

One interesting landmark on the University of Florida campus is Century Tower. The tower was built in 1956 and is 157 feet (47.8 meters) tall. The top of the tower is the home of a carillon, or a set of bells. The UF carillon has 61 bells that are played with a keyboard with 61 keys and 25 foot pedals. You can hear the bells ring every fifteen minutes. Also, every day at 12:35pm and 4:55pm, you can hear a 20-minute concert by a carillonneur, or a person who plays the carillon. The carillonneurs are all students at the University of Florida. If you haven’t already, visit Century Tower and listen to an amazing carillon concert!

Notes from the Office

Student Addresses: It is important that the ELI has each student’s address. If you have an F or J visa, you should report a change of address within 10 days of any change. You can update your address in myELI using the ‘Basic Information’ tab in your ‘My Profile’ page. If you need help updating your address in myELI, please contact Daryl at studyenglish@eli.ufl.edu.

Deadlines: The deadline to drop or add a class, pay tuition, submit proof of insurance and immunizations, and turn in a signed waiver of liability, is Wednesday, September 2^nd. If you miss any of these deadlines, you could be removed from classes or charged a late fee! If you have questions about paying tuition or submitting a financial guarantee, email Megan at fiscal@eli.ufl.edu. If you have questions about insurance or immunizations, email Christine Voigt at christinevoigt@ufl.edu.

Withdrawing: Students who withdraw from a course or from the ELI after the drop/add deadline (Wednesday, September 2^nd) will not be able to receive a refund or credit for their courses. Their transcript will have a grade of W (withdraw).

Holiday: Monday, September 7^th is the Labor Day Holiday. There will be no ELI classes or afternoon activities and offices at UF and the ELI will be closed. RTS will not have bus service that day, so if you need to go somewhere make sure you have transportation.

Main Office Hours: This semester the ELI Main Office is open from 8am – 4:30pm, Monday through Thursday, and 8am – 3:00pm on Fridays.

Fall Holidays

Many international students are surprised by the number of federal holidays in the U.S. This semester, we will celebrate four holidays:

Labor Day, Monday, September 7^th (no UF or ELI classes, all offices closed)
UF Homecoming: Friday, October 9^th(no UF or ELI classes, all offices closed)
Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11^th (no UF or ELI classes, all offices closed)
Thanksgiving Holiday, November 23rd through 27th (no UF or ELI classes, ELI office closed, UF offices closed Thursday and Friday)

If you would like to know more about these important holidays and what they commemorate, please ask your instructors!

Additionally, the ELI will not have classes for two Instructor Work Days: September 28^th and October 26^th. UF and the ELI office will be open on these days.

CIP Weekday Activities

Monday, August 31^st – Coffee Talk at Mochiry – 6:30-9:00pm	Socialize with LAs and ELI friends at Mochiry! Play games, speak English, and try this fun café’s donuts, coffee, or corn dogs! Take bus 43. The location will change each week. Address: 3822 Newberry Rd Suite D, Gainesville, FL 32607
Tuesday, September 1^st – Volleyball – 6:30-9:00pm	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. The ELI is usually in the volleyball court in the back of the complex next to the basketball court. Make sure to go to phase 2 of the complex! Take bus 35. Address: 3700 SW 27th St, Gainesville, FL 32608
Thursday, May 21^st – Menchie’s Froyo & Shopping – 6:30-9:30pm (sign-up here if you plan to attend)	Get some delicious frozen yogurt with LAs and then go shopping for your apartment needs at Walmart with their help! If you don’t need shopping help, you can still come for froyo and socializing! Bring some money for Menchie’s and spending for shopping you would like to do. Take bus 1 or 12. Meet outside Menchie’s. Address: 2905 SW 42nd St #20, Gainesville, FL 32608

Upcoming Weekend Event

Saturday September 12^th – Gator Football Game – 5:00-9:00pm

Our first weekend event will be a UF football game! Tickets are now for sale until they are sold out for $25 exact cash from Christine in MAT 225. You can buy tickets Monday through Thursday between 11:45am and 12:45pm.

ELI tickets are limited, so buy them before they sell out! It takes several minutes to set up your Gator ticket account so please account for some time when coming in to purchase. Your ticket IS your signup.

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 for the Fall semester if you did not request a Fall partner in your end of term evaluation from last semester.

Please email Aurora at conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu for any issues, questions or concerns or visit her 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!

Important Update! The CIP Pineapple will be hidden in the ELI Main Office this semester! It will be in a new place every Tuesday morning. Stop by and find it for hole punches!

Birthdays!

Students		Staff
None this week!		None this week!

Manners & Culture

Q: It’s so hot in Gainesville! When does the weather start to feel more like fall?

A: The transition from summer to fall weather in Gainesville is gradual. Summer weather (hot, humid, frequent afternoon thunderstorms) usually lasts into September. Highs are still in the upper 80s–90s, and humidity is high.

Early fall conditions begin to show up in late September through October, when cold fronts from the north start to push into North Florida. This brings slightly cooler mornings, lower humidity, and less rain.

By mid-to-late October, you’ll notice a clearer shift—average highs drop into the low 80s and 70s, nights are cooler (50s–60s), and the daily thunderstorm pattern fades.

True fall weather (cool, dry, crisp air) is most consistent in November.

Grammar

Q: Do I use “much” or “many” with money?

A: We use the word “much” with things that cannot be counted and “many” with plural count nouns. The word “money” is non-count, so we use “much.” It seems strange to say you can’t count money, but grammatically speaking, it’s true!

Here are some examples:

I don’t have much money.
How much money is in your bank account?

However, if we are talking about units of money (coins, bills, dollars, etc.) then we will use “many.”

How many five-dollar bills do you have in your wallet?
She asked me for many coins from my country for her world coin collection.