TheELI Weekly
Out and About: Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
by Abdullah Alammari, RW20
If you live in Gainesville, you must visit the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. It’s a 68-acre 27.5 hectares facility in Gainesville, Florida that has 24 major gardens. There are different plants and flowers. For example, when I went with the ELI, we saw many beautiful camellias a type of flower with different colors and bamboo a type of plant . Also, it includes two main paths that can be used to see a lot of landscaping. It has a lot of artwork, such as a landlocked rusty anchor, so you can take many amazing pictures. We enjoyed the beautiful springs, and we saw different fish and birds. A ticket is very cheap. It is only $10 per person. As you can see, there are many reasons why you should visit the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.
Notes from the Office
Student Voices:
This is the last week to send your original writing for Student Voices!!! You can send paragraphs, essays, poems, recipes, letters, short stories, jokes, etc. to Olga Moody (omoody@ufl.edu) and see your writing in this ELI publication. Please include your name and class on your submission. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 2nd.
UF Federal Tax Forms:
Taxes are due on May 17th this year. If you don’t earn money in the U.S., you won’t owe taxes; however, all international students on the F-1 visa who studied in the US in 2020 must send a document to the IRS. F-1 students who maintained F-1 status while outside of the US should file the required form. If you do not file, it may impact future visa applications.
If you are on an F-1 or J visa, did not earn income in the US in 2020, and have been in this country for less than 5 years, you need to fill out Form 8843: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8843.pdf
Fill out the information under Part I and Part III. In 9 and 10, you need to include the information about the academic institution that you attended in 2020. You can find the address and phone number for the ELI at www.eli.ufl.edu. The name of the director of the ELI is Megan Forbes.
Mail your completed form to this address:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301
If you have questions about filing form 8843 with the IRS, you should make an appointment to ask Daryl (dbish@eli.ufl.edu) or someone in the ELI administration group for help.
If you had on campus employment in 2020, you earned taxable and reportable income and must submit form 8843 and a 20209 Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ to the IRS. You will need a W-2 from your employer. Make an appointment with Daryl if you have questions about filing a 2019 Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ.
You can also find answers to some questions on the UF International Center tax page: https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/f-1-student/f-1-processes/taxes
COVID-19 Requirements:
Face-to-face students, this week you must do the weekly COVID-19 screening AND a saliva test. If you got a test last week, that does not count for this week. You must follow the above schedule with the rest of the ELI students. Everyone is required to do a test this week.
Please complete the screening, schedule a test, and forward Victoria your test appointment confirmation by 3pm on Monday, March 29. You must make your test appointment on or before Thursday, April 1.
- Complete the screening and schedule a test: https://uf.tfaforms.net/440
- Log in to your UF email account with you GatorLink Username and Password: https://outlook.com/ufl.edu
- Forward the test appointment confirmation email to Victoria: vcshelly@ufl.edu
If you do not forward the test appointment confirmation email by 3pm on Monday, March 29, you cannot attend classes. Please email Victoria with any questions!
CIP Weekday Activities
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, March 20, 2021
Monday, March 29th– Game Night (Zoom) – 6-8pm
Play fun virtual games with LAs and classmates! This week we will play Yahtzee and Geography Trivia!
https://ufl.zoom.us/j/96129662095?pwd=TmdIdmgvWkFIekhBc0FwdFdOeW9NZz09
- Meeting ID: 961 2966 2095
- Passcode: gamenight
Tuesday March 30th– Plaza Hangout (In-person) – 5:15–7:15pm
Come hang out face-to-face at the Plaza! Socialize and play some contactless games.
Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-plaza19
You must be campus cleared, sign up, and wear a mask to attend this event
Wednesday, March 31st– Coffee and Culture Talk (Zoom) – 6-7:30pm
Join us this week for a discussion about animals and pets around the world!
https://ufl.zoom.us/j/99582032927?pwd=UlFOQ1pjaiswa3huUk41cnBuMEFiQT09
- Meeting ID: 995 8203 2927
- Passcode: 926123
Thursday, April 1st– Movie Night (Zoom) – 6:00-8:30pm
Come vote on a movie and watch it with LAs and ELI friends as we chat in the chatbox! Stick around for a fun discussion afterward! Movie choices this week are Bee Movie, Guardieans of the Galaxy, and Holes.
https://ufl.zoom.us/j/92962712031?pwd=dnZhVnh5WTJxWE5FNGZaRndyOFN0UT09
- Meeting ID: 929 6271 2031
- Passcode: movienight
Weekend Activities
Saturday April 3rd– Talent Share! (Zoom) – 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Come watch some ELI talent! Please submit any talents you might want to share (live or video submission) to tquinones@eli.ufl.edu by 4/1! A talent can be ANYTHING you are good at, even pictures of your cooking or art! We encourage everyone to submit if you can! If you don’t have a talent to share, make sure to come watch at socialize at the event!
https://ufl.zoom.us/j/97890687841?pwd=eFl1LzhneVRsdmZrWEx5a1B0YnpZUT09
- Meeting ID: 978 9068 7841
- Passcode: 938313
Conversation Partners: Want to meet with an English speaker every week to practice English and make a friend? Sign up for a conversation partner! You can sign up by emailing Tate at conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu. We still have some volunteers waiting to be paired with you! We have one CP who specifically works with students on their pronunciation, email Tate if you are interested in being paired with her for special pronunciation practice.
Birthdays!
Students: none
Staff: none
Notes from the Editor
Do you have something to say? Say it in the Weekly! Send your grammar questions, culture questions, and stories to Maya Shastri at mshastri@ufl.edu.
Open and download The ELI Weekly (PDF).