The ELI Weekly
Volunteer Weekend: Help Out, Practice English, and Have Fun!
Help the local Gainesville community through one of these volunteering opportunities! There are 4 different activities on Saturday and Sunday, but please only sign up for one. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-volunteer2
CIP Weekday Activities
Other CIP Reminders
Gator Basketball Ticket on Sale this Week!
The ELI is going to the Gator Basketball game on February 11th! You can buy tickets from Tate in the CIP Office starting this week, with 20 dollars exact cash and your gator1 ID card from 9:00am to 12:30pm Monday through Thursday. Tickets are limited!
Busch Gardens Bus Passes on sale NEXT Week!
We are going to Busch Gardens on February 25th! You can buy bus tickets from Tate in the CIP Office starting NEXT week (starting 2/6), Monday through Thursday with 25 dollars exact cash and your gator1 ID card from 9:00am to 12:30pm. Bus Tickets are limited! Tate will help you learn how to purchase your Busch Gardens entrance ticket online.
CIP Passports
Don’t forget to get your CIP Passport hole punched from the activity leaders AT the event (not after). Redeem your completed passport for a small gift and photo for the ELI Instagram! Remember the CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office. Stop by and find it for hole punches!
Conversation Partners (CPs)
Want to make a friend and speak English? Sign up for a conversation partner! Wait two weeks to be paired and then meet your new partner for one hour a week to practice conversation and make a friend! If you are a returning student and still want a CP, you should still sign up here, even if you had a partner last semester.
Sign up for a CP here: https://forms.gle/8nDmxEbrzaSP92Cj8
Remember, if you sign up, you must meet your partner at least once a week and respond to their messages. Email conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu if you have any questions or problems.
Notes from the Office
Can F-1 students work on campus? Yes! F-1 students can work on campus. However, students cannot work more than 20 hours per week (this is true for all on-campus student employment, not only F-1 students) when classes are in session. Also, your work schedule cannot conflict with your ELI class schedule. If you are an F-1 student, you cannot change your class time for your work schedule. Also, F-1 students can ONLY work on-campus. It is illegal for F-1 students to work off-campus unless they have been approved by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service. If the ELI knows an F-1 student is illegally working off-campus, the ELI must terminate the student’s I-20. If you have questions about where you can work or how to find a job, you can talk to Daryl in the main office.
Lost and Found: Have you lost your car keys, student ID card, driver’s license, wallet, or some other important item? Many times, when people find an item, they bring it to the office for safe keeping. When you lose something, please come by the ELI Main Office (MAT223) and see if it is in the lost and found.
Hallways: Many UF faculty and staff have offices in classroom buildings, just like Matherly Hall and Norman. Please remember to speak softly in the buildings. Please do not block the hallways or staircases by sitting in them.
Photo of the Week
Manners and Culture
Q: I don’t have enough time between classes! Where can I eat?
A: The best solution is to bring lunch and some snacks. Pack a sandwich or leftovers from dinner the night before with fruit, nuts, or granola bars. If you do have time between classes, you can go to the Reitz Union, which has a lot of options. Closer to Matherly, the Starbucks in Library West has sandwiches and snacks. There are also lots of options on University Avenue and throughout the campus.
Q: Why do people from the USA answer “American” when somebody asks ‘Where are you from’? People from Brazil or Venezuela are Americans, aren’t they?
A: Because “Unitedstatesians” doesn’t sound pretty. It’s true that Brazilians and Venezuelans are also Americans, and more specifically, South Americans. Canadians and Mexicans are also called North Americans. But since people from the US don’t have their own nice sounding nationality, in the US we call them “Americans.”
Grammar
Q: If “plan” doubles the “n” in past tense (planned), why doesn’t “open” (openned)?
A: Actually, you’ve found one crazy spelling point in English that does have a pattern. In verbs of more than one syllable, we only double that last consonant when the stress falls on the last syllable. In “open” the stress falls on the “o” so we do not double the “n”.
Birthdays!
Students–none this week
Staff
- Will Fletcher 1/31
- Maya Shastri 2/3
Notes from the Editor
- Do you have a burning question about culture or grammar?
- Do you want to tell us about a great place in Florida?
- Send your questions and stories to Maya Shastri (mshastri@ufl.edu).