Words of wisdom from ELC students

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

Today is the day! ELC Boston is hosting the most delicious Thanksgiving Feast this side of the Mississippi! Each year, before thanksgiving break, ELC serves up a full turkey lunch with all the fixings! Not only do we share a delicious meal, but also it’s a great way to kick off a food-and-shopping-filled four-day weekend! (ELC Los Angeles and ELC Santa Barbara will have Thanksgiving celebrations too!)

The event that some Americans commonly call the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims to give thanks to God for guiding them safely to the New World. The New England Colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “thanksgivings” – days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought.

The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish and shellfish, wild fowl (turkey!), venison, berries and fruit, vegetables, harvest grains, and “the Three Sisters”: beans, dried maize or corn, and squash. Today, American’s use the holiday to spend time with family, watch football, and give thanks for all of the blessings and good fortune in their lives. Also, we eat lots of turkey.

Today’s traditional feast includes oven roasted turkey (this is why Thanksgiving is also referred to as “Turkey Day”), stuffing (Stuffing is made from bread, onion, celery, salt, pepper and other spices and herbs. It is typically cooked inside the turkey.), mashed potatoes with lots of gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn and various fall vegetables such as brussel sprouts or asparagus. Dessert is a meal in itself and consists of pies, cheesecake, pumpkin cakes, puddings and fruitcakes.

Are you hungry yet? Excellent. 

~ Cara, the Student Services Coordinator at ELC Boston

Thanksgiving was quite the holiday at ELC Boston. Pilgrims and Natives Americans alike broke bread together making the day something for which both students and staff were grateful. With turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and all the fixings on the menu, the majority of students happily enjoyed the traditional meal for the first time. It became abundantly clear which students had never experienced the massive amount of consumption that happens here as they were visibly shocked when they were later expected to choose from pumpkin, pecan or apple pie to top it all off. Few students had trouble accepting dessert once they caught sight of the whipped cream.

Everyone partook in the typical fun and games that accompany the holiday, including the drawing of hand turkeys as well as coming up with what everyone was most thankful for; some answers, “indoor plumbing”, for example, really made everyone laugh and others, “I’m thankful for my family and all the friends that supported me in my idea to come here,” definitely showed that students understood what Thanksgiving is all about. There was also the opportunity to participate in a rousing game of Thanksgiving Jeopardy as well as arts and crafts like constructing headdresses or Pilgrim hats complete with construction paper buckles.

All in all it was a highly successful Thanksgiving. Everyone left absolutely stuffed and ready for the long weekend. Everybody was thankful for the wonderful meal as well as the opportunity to share the holiday with the friends they have made here. Please see more pictures on ELC’s Facebook page.

Happy Thanksgiving from ELC!

Thanksgiving is a very popular holiday in the US that centers on food and family. Of course, we had to celebrate Thanksgiving with our ELC family by throwing a huge Thanksgiving lunch!  We served traditional Thanksgiving foods such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, gravy, cranberry sauce, apple cider, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. Some teachers and staff also brought in their own contributions to the meal like green bean casserole, cut fruit, and cupcakes.

After the meal some students stayed to play Thanksgiving Bingo.  Every student designed their own bingo board with the list of Thanksgiving related words such as turkey, family, pilgrim, gourds, autumn, harvest, leftovers, and more. Bingo winners won ELC gear such as water bottles and bags.

See more pictures from the Thanksgiving lunch on the ELC Facebook Page!