* Volunteer Day
* Notes from the Office

The FJ I Weekly

Volunteer Day
Help others while helping yourself

This Saturday, September 26th, we are
holding our first Volunteer Day of
the fall term. This is your chance to
help out the community while
practicing your English in a real-life
environment. Below is a description
of the volunteer activities going on
this weekend.

We will meet at different times.
Students, language assistants, teachers,
and staff will meet and head to the
different sites.

Please sign up on the Activities Board
for your choice of activity by 4pm on
Thursday, September 24th.

There is no cost to volunteer. Wear
comfortable clothes and sneakers.
You should bring waterto each
volunteering activity

Gator Plunge-Volunteer alongside
other folks from the UF community
and work with animals, art, culture,
youth, elderly, environment,
homelessness, and housing! Meet at
the Century Tower at 8am. We will
return around 1pm.

Emeritus- Come and serve ice
cream, bowl, and talk with senior
citizens. This is a great way to practice
your English and have a wonderful

time! We will meet at the Cabana
Beach rental office at 12:45pm and
return around 3pm.

Fishing for Success-Catch and
release fish and help with the
children's fishing competition. Meet
at Norman Garage at 7:45am, and we
will return around 12noon.

Blue House-Help with gardening
and learn about being sustainable.
Meet at Norman Garage at 8:45am,
and we will return around 12noon.

Project Downtown Gainesville--
Help serve lunch to homeless people
alongside other UF students. We will
meet at the Norman Garage at
12:45pm and return around 2:30pm.

If you have any questions about any
of the activities, see Nate in the CIP
Office, Room 318.

Have a great day, everyone!

r Class Attendance-Remember,
your attendance is very, very
important. Your teachers are
taking note of both your absences

and your tardies in every class
every day.
> Student Mailbox-Don't forget
to check the student mailbox in
the main office from time to
time. There is mail for some
returning students already.
> TOEFL Scores--Students who
had TOEFL scores sent to the main
office can pick them up. These
scores are only official as far as UF
departments are concerned if they
remain sealed in the envelope.

Now that the libraries have a new
copier contract, it will require all UF
people, including ELI students, to
open a Vending account with
Gatorlink and add a minimum of $15.
In order to print or copy anything in
the library, everyone will need to use
their Gatorlink User IDs and have an
activated Vending Account.

Next weekend, we will be going to
play Paintball. Details about the trip
will be on the Activities Board and in
next week's Weekly.

* Birthdays
* Manners

I he Weekly Newsletter o
the English Language Institute
Volume 110, Issue 3
September 25, 2009

Highlights I

The following is our afternoon
activity schedule. Please check the
Activities Board from time to time to
see if there are any changes.

Day/Time Activity Location/Cost

Meet at the Reitz
Game Night Union Games
(pool, Room
Monday bowling Bring your Gator 1
board games) ID
(Farrah) Bnng$5-10 ifyou
wanttoplaypool
orbowl

Tu y Soccer Meet at NRN
7:30 PM (Alexnd/J Field
eremy) Free

Starbucl's on
Archer Rd.
Wednesday Coffee Talk Free
(Allison) (Bnngmoney for
coffee and food if
you like.)

Meet at
Yogurberry (Next
Thursday Yogurberry Yo htlery (Nex
8:00 PM Emly) to Chpotle) on
8:00 PM mily) University Ave

Meet at the Reitz
Fday Gator Nights Union
rnday onatUnaon
6:00 PM jonatt/ Information Desk.
Free; Bring UF ID

The following are ELI Birthdays for
the week of September 25-Ocbober
1:

Students:
September 29: Arnold Rojas
October 1: Haifa Al All

Staff:
None this week!

Q: I'm interested in manners about having
meatl. What should I not do when I am
eating with Americans?

A: Oh, goodness, there are entire
etiquette books with half of their
chapters dedicated to mealtime
etiquette! There are a few general
guidelines, though.

1. Don't make noises with your food.
When eating soup, for example, don't
slurp. Just put the spoon in your
mouth and eat quietly.
2. Talking during a meal is fine, but
don't talk with your mouth full. Wait
until you swallow.
3. Don't eat foods with your fingers
that aren't designed for it.
Hamburgers and sandwiches and
chips are fine, but most other foods
(unless you are actually eating at a

fast-food restaurant) should be eaten
with utensils.
4. It's okay to offer to share your
food if you want to, but we generally
don't ask to try something that's on
someone else's plate.
5. Don't reach across someone else
to get the salt, sugar, ketchup, etc.
Ask that it be passed to you.
6. It's fine to refuse a food if you
can't eat it-be it for dietary reasons
or religious reasons or whatever. You
don't have to explain why. In fact, to
do so extensively is considered bad
form-especially if it's just because
you don't like a certain food. If your
host asks, it's rude of her/him.
7. Don't burp at the table. While it's
considered a sign that the food was
good in some cultures, to us, it's very
rude.

Q: Which is correct for the negative
shortened response form with "hope"
hope not, "or '" don't hope so."?

A: You've noticed that we're not
consistent. With "hope" the correct
form is "I hope not." However, for
example, with "think", it's "I don't
think so."

You're only given a little spark of
madness. You mustn't lose it.
--Robin Williams

SEnglish Language Institute
UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA
English Language Institute
PO Box 117051
315 Norman Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611-7051, USA
Phone: (352) 392-2070
Fax: (352) 392-3744
Email: StudyEnglish@eli.ufl.edu
Webpage: www.eli.ufl.edu