Words of wisdom from ELC students

It’s always a special moment when students return to ELC.  Whether it’s just a visit while they’re passing through or they come back again to study, the staff and teachers at ELC are always so excited to see a familiar face. Simone Griener from Germany just completed the ELC Hat Trick – Today, she finished her third course at ELC Boston.  Aside from being an exemplary student, she is a dear friend of mine.  Before she leaves us again, I took a moment to sit down with her and reflect on her time here in Boston.  

~ Cara, the Student Services Coordinator at ELC Boston 

Cara:  This is your third time at ELC Boston. How would you describe your time at ELC?

Simi: It was a wonderful time, probably the most interesting time ever in my life.  I met people from all over the world I would have never met anywhere else. You learn a lot about different culture, make a lot of new friends and improve your English at the same time — Could it get any better?!

Cara:  What keeps you coming back to ELC Boston?

Simi:  I still want to improve my English skills but I also want to see my friends here and visit the beautiful city.  It is so nice to come back and see familiar places; you feel so much love at ELC. It’s like a family.

Cara: What is your favorite memory at ELC? Any favorite activities?

Simi:  I can’t think of any favorite activity. There were so many favorites! Beginning with the Duck Tour, soccer, going out to Fajitas & Ritas, McCormick & Schmick’s, kayaking, visiting a museum together, or going to a Red Sox or Celtics game, everything was just perfect and impressive. You will have the time of your life!

Cara: What are your future plans?

Simi:  I want to finish my studies in Germany.  I am styding English and Spanish so I want to be a high school teacher afterwards. So maybe I can teach in Boston or in any other country some day.  Thank you for everything!

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The Patriots may not be in the final game this year, but that doesn’t mean Boston won’t be celebrating! For the ultimate American Football experience, peruse this list of places to go, food to eat, and beer to drink so you don’t miss out on this time-honored American tradition!

What to eat:
Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest day for food consumption in the United States (second only to Thanksgiving Day, of course). Traditionally, there is no meal on Super Bowl Sunday – we snack all day on finger-foods, appetizers, chips, dips, and beer. Prepare yourself for a day of delicious, fried food!

• “Sliders” – Mini hamburgers, turkey burgers or veggie burgers.
• Wings – Deep fried chicken wings, best when dipped in blue cheese or ranch dressing
• Dips & Salsa – You will find a vast selection of sauces, dips and salsa to slather over all of the delicious finger food!
• Chili – Chili is a thick, chunky meat stew that is often spicy. Be sure to ask how spicy it is and don’t forget to add cheese!! (*Remember – chili can often have pork in it! Check with your server if you do not eat pork!)
• Tacos/Taquitos/Nachos/Quesadillas – TexMex food is extremely popular on game day! These foods often consist of four tortilla, covered in or filled with ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese and guacamole!
• Beer – Boston is America’s beer city! Drink up and enjoy!

Where to watch the game:
Boston is home to some of the oldest & best sports bars in the United States! Pick any one of these well known pubs, grab a bar stool and enjoy the game!

• The Greatest Bar: (262 Friend Street) This bar celebrates the greatest aspects of Boston’s rich history in sports, politics, entertainment, and architecture. If you’re looking to watch the big game, you’re sure to get a great view with this bar’s 14-foot flat screen TV – the largest in Boston!
• GameOn!: (82 Landsdowne Street) GameOn! is the mother of all sports bars. This place is home to over 90 HD TV’s and a sound system that could blow out the windows. At this bar, you can find any game playing at any time; but on February 3, prepare yourself for Super Bowl Madness!
• McGreevy’s: (911 Boylston Street) McGreevy’s Irish Pub & Sports Bar is known as America’s first sports bar! Since opening in 1894, McGreevy’s has been Boston’s go-to bar for big sporting events!
• Cask’n Flagon: (62 Brookline Avenue) This world-famous bar is located directly across from Fenway Park – the epicenter for Boston sports fans.
• Jerry Remy’s: (1265 Boylston Street) Whether you’re searching for the perfect place to catch a game or a late night hot-spot, Remy’s is the place for you. With two 6.5 X 11 foot HD televisions and thirty 60-inch TVs, you wont miss a moment of Sunday’s big game!
• Brighton Beer Garden: (386 Market Street) The Garden is one of Boston’s best and oldest bars. They also have an excellent and extensive domestic and imported beer selection!
• The Four’s: (166 Canal Street) A Boston tradition since 1976! This bar was voted #1 sports bar in America by Sports Illustrated magazine!

On New Year’s Eve, one tune that takes everyone into the New Year is Auld Lang Syne, or “Times Gone By,” a poem written by a Scotsman, Robert Burns.  This folk song is sung to celebrate the New Year, and by extension is also sung at farewells and endings to other occasions.

As the year comes to a close many ELC Santa Barbara students will end their time here, and return to their home countries.  I asked them to share some of their most memorable moments during their stay in the U.S. and heard some rather interesting anecdotes!

“We were surfing at Carpenteria beach and saw some dolphins swimming about ten meters away. That was so cool!”  ~ Sandro

 
“We went to Las Vegas and saw One Republic in concert-then we saw some of the band members at the Cosmopolitan Casino afterwards. That was great!”   ~ Michelle

 
“My 20^th birthday party that I spent with my home stay family-we had a cake and balloons, and the whole house was decorated. It was so different from Switzerland, where birthdays are not so loud!  ~ Andrea

“We had a crazy experience in LA-we all drove to Hollywood and went to the Santa Monica Pier. We had a GPS, but we still got lost on the LA freeway! We were driving here and there and everywhere, trying to find the Outback Steak House. We were getting so angry and  SO hungry. At that time we didn’t think it was funny, but now we look back and laugh, because we were all so angry and SO hungry!”  ~ Kira

“We also had a crazy experience in LA. They were doing some roadwork outside the hotel when the power line went out, and we didn’t have any power! So that night we had to put our makeup on with the other hotel guests in the hallway. Some of the lights were off and some were on, so that was interesting.”  ~ Geraldine

 
“I spent Thanksgiving weekend with my host family in San Diego. We had a “”Tofurky” (tofu turkey) because we are all vegetarian. Then we went to Marina Del Rey and went sailing.  It was cold and windy, and the sea was so dark, but it was fun”  
~ Michele

 
All in all, the students at ELC Santa Barbara have had some very interesting “times gone by,” and we hope they will return to have more!!

By Debbie Belardino, teacher at ELC Santa Barbara

It was always my dream to study abroad. I decided to take the Cambridge Exam because it gives also some possibility for further studies in Switzerland. In Switzerland you have a lot of opportunities to studying English but it’s never like studying in an other country. Even if I had English at school for four years, I really improved my English here. I discovered some skills I never known about and I enjoyed the time a lot. I took the First (Certificate in English) and it was not always as easy as I thought before. It was challenging and fun in the same time and we had every week an exam for preparing us for the real one. If I look back, my scores were higher than before but I still look forward to my result of the real exam.

In my opinion, the time at school was perfect. I really enjoyed meeting some new people from all over the world. I am happy to have had kind and helpful teachers, and maybe sometimes also really funny and strange. But that made our days at school only more interesting. I think everybody who took the Cambridge Exam but not only, can confirm to have learned something more than just a language.

I had a really good time also with the office people. They all are really kind and nice but the most important is that all of them are so helpful. They are great and care of you not only like a student but in some situation also like a friend. I miss the time at school, although I am happy that I finished my exam. Now I have a few weeks more in Los Angeles, which I will spend to learn more about the city and not at least to visit the school as often as possible.

Iphigenia S. 19 , Switzerland  :P ^^

This past Monday I accompanied students to a new spot that we found down the street, The Red Hat Pub.  It’s a place that has become quite popular with ELC over the past couple of months due to their ten-cent wing deals on Mondays and Tuesdays and I went to uphold my title as the 19 wings in 10 minutes silver medal winner. While there I did more than just eat 12-15 wings in one sitting, however.  We had a student present who is just finishing his five-month stay here in Boston as well as two students who had just started that very day.

Over the course of our gluttonous feast, our veteran student, Jose, started to explain to the rookies a couple of things that will make your time at ELC enjoyable. He mentioned that it’s definitely important to take advantage of each day here in Boston and to keep yourself occupied so as to make the most of your experience. His advice made me wonder just what it is that other students think is the key to being happy while studying English here. So I reached out to a handful of students who have been here a while and asked them what advice they would give to students who are just embarking on their ELC journey.

One of the most important things that students stressed is that you should try to immerse yourself as much as possible and avoid speaking your native language. Naif from Saudi Arabia has been here for a year and said that new students should “just speak English” and Angel from Venezuela has spent 7 months here so far and he says that it is important to be with people whose first language is not the same as yours. Gabriela, also from Venezuela, has been here for 9 months now and added that time here at ELC is great to spend with different people from different countries.

Many students mentioned participating in ELC activities and also getting out and about here in Boston.  Ran from China has been here for 6 months and recommends visiting Boston Common as well as universities here in Boston with friends and definitely going to Newbury Street and Quincy Market. Gyeongjin, a Korean student who has also been here for 6 months, mentioned that in order to adjust you should definitely get involved with activities because they are a lot of fun and its easy to make friends that way.

A few students had some unique things to say about what makes ELC fun. Ahmad has been here for over a year and says that he has had an unforgettable experience here and that every one is friendly and welcoming and therefore you should try to enjoy every second that you spend here. Even more intriguing, Kibum says that it is crucial to “believe your teachers” and also to “love Laura and Melissa,” a piece of advice that I would also strongly impress upon any students new to ELC!

All in all, I was very impressed by our long-term students and the tips they had for newbies here at ELC. They had some great advice to offer them and I hope that it makes for some happy students in the future!

-Written by Laura A.