The ELI Weekly
Out and About: UF Bat Houses
With the Halloween season around the corner, it’s a good time to talk about bats! Along with witches, ghosts, and pumpkins, bats are synonymous with Halloween. So, if you are interested in getting into the Halloween spirit, take a visit to the UF Bat Houses, located across from Lake Alice. You can watch these spooky creatures emerge from the bat houses around 15 minutes after sunset, particularly on warm evenings, when the temperature is about 65o F (18 o C).
You might be interested to know why UF has bat houses. It began with a colony of bats that had been living in an old building on UF campus, Johnson Hall. When Johnson Hall burned down in 1987, the bats took up residence in the bleachers of Pressley Stadium, where people sit to watch track meets. UF decided they needed to get the bats out of the stadium, so they built a bat house. They captured all the bats and released them into the newly built bat house, but the bats flew out of the house at night and never came back.
People thought the bat house was a big failure. It stood vacant for 3 years until a new colony of bats moved in. In fact, so many bats came to the bat house that it started to collapse inside due to all the weight. So, a new bat house was built in 2022. An estimated 500,000 bats now call that bat house their home!
A visit to the bat house is scheduled as part of the CIP weekly activities on Thursday, October 23rd
Click here to learn more about the UF bat houses: https://youtu.be/UOACyFFlhOs?si=_ZRm476Z9FNtgm3J
Weekend Event: No Weekend Event. Study for Midterms!
You may have midterm exams in some of your classes. This is a good opportunity to review everything you have learned so far this semester!
CIP Weekday Activities
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Monday, September 29th – Coffee Talk – 6:30-9:00pm– Activity Still Happening on Instructor Work Day! |
| Socialize with LAs and ELI friends at the Panera on Archer Road! Play games, speak English, and drink a coffee or get dinner at the food truck in the area! Take bus 6.
This semester, the location will change each week. Address: 3443 SW Archer Rd Suite 1A, Gainesville, FL 32608
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Tuesday, September 30th – 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. Take bus 35.
Address: 3700 SW 27th St, Gainesville, FL 32608
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Wednesday, October 1st – Depot Park & Karaoke – 7:00 – 9:30pm |
| Spend time at beautiful Depot Park at sunset and explore the fun outdoor space with your ELI friends! Then head over to the Boxcar where there will be free Karaoke! Bring some money if you would like to buy food at the burger restaurant, Goldie’s! Meet in front of the Boxcar, park side.
Address: 201 SE Depot Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601
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Thursday, October 2nd – Soccer – 6:30 – 9:00pm |
| Come play Soccer on campus at Flavet Field on campus! No experience necessary! You can also watch, socialize or play other games if you don’t want to play soccer.
Address: Woodlawn Dr, Gainesville, FL 32603 |
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Friday, October 3rd – 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. Many Fridays are Gator Nights so bring your ID to check in and see all the fun themed activities the Reitz may have planned for you this week in addition to the game room!
Address: 655 Reitz Union Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611 |
CIP Photos of the Week: Coffee Talk and Green Bridges Volunteer Day
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 Elijah 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: Daryl will be out of the office on October 2nd and 3rd. Please plan around these dates if you need to see him.
Firearms: The UF Police Department sent a message out last week reminding students, faculty, and staff that it is illegal (not legal) to bring a firearm (gun) on campus for any reason. Even though it is legal for some people to own and carry guns in Florida, people who own guns are never allowed to bring them to UF. Only the police or other law enforcement are allowed to have guns on campus
Course Evaluations: Soon we will be doing midterm course evaluations. This is your opportunity to provide feedback for your classes. Please go to this link https://bit.ly/4048gmH to review the evaluations so that you know how to fill them out when they are distributed in class. Your teachers and Language Assistants will use this information to plan the class for the rest of the semester.
Hurricanes: You can go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ to keep informed of hurricane activity, and they also have some excellent preparation and planning tips. Also, of course, if there is any hurricane threatening Gainesville, we here at the ELI will keep you informed and make sure you know what to do and where to go. The main thing about the NOAA website is that they have some excellent tips about early preparation.
Finally, you should download the Gatorsafe App on your phone so you can get notifications about storms or other dangerous weather near campus.
International Student Scholarships
The GATEWAY English Test is offering multiple $1,000 cash scholarships for international students, with the first one to be announced at the end of September. International students only need to enter once and will have multiple chances to win.
Amount: $1,000 cash scholarship
Eligibility: Open to all international students currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university, or who plan to enroll in the next 12 months
Deadline: September 30, 2025
Click here for more information
Birthdays
| Students | Staff | ||
| Juliana Montealgre Ruiz | October 4 | None this week! | |
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Manners & Culture
Q: I always call my ELI teachers teacher, but my friend told me this is not a common thing in the U.S. Will my teacher think I’m rude if I call her by her first name?
Your friend is correct! It is not common to use the word teacher as a form of address. Sometimes little kids do this when they can’t remember their teacher’s name! In general, however, kids in the U.S. call the teacher Ms/Mrs/Mr + last name. For example, I would be Mrs. Ramos. At the ELI, we are less formal, so teachers don’t mind being called by their first name and probably prefer that over something more formal.
Joke of the Week
Q: Did you know bats aren’t big planners?
A: That’s right. They prefer to just wing it!
From the Editor
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