* Medieval Faire
* Notes from the Office

The FJ I Weekly

I he Weekly Newsletter oJ
the English Language Institute
Volume 111, Issue 3
February 5, 2010

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire
Journey back to Europe's Middle Ages!

This Saturday, February 6th, we will be
going here in Gainesville to the
Hoggetowne Medieval Faire!

The Hoggetowne Medieval Faire is a
festival where people remember and
celebrate the medieval times. Step
back in time, cheer on royal knights
as they joust on horseback and charge
head-on at a full gallop with only a
lance and shield to defend themselves.
Watch a chess game played out with
human chess pieces on the Living
Chessboard! Laugh along with
jugglers, magicians and a colorful
cast of characters! There will be plenty
of great food and fun. This is a
wonderful place to bring your family
and children.

WHEN: Saturday, February 6th. We
will meet at Norman Garage at
11:30am. We will probably return
around 3-4pm depending on what
time your car leaves. This is a carpool
trip so you must sign up on the
activities board by 4:00pm Thursday,
February 4th.

COST: Admission is $12 for adults,
$6 for children ages 5-17 and free for
children 4 and younger. Bring money
for food. You should also bring some
spending money if you would like to
buy gifts and souvenirs!

Have a great day, everyone!

E ELI T-Shirts-Don't forget, we have
the ELI T-Shirts for sale in the ELI
main office, $10 each, sizes S, M, L,
X-L, 2X, cash only, exact change,
sold from 8:30am-1:30pm.
> 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. Don't forget that 3
tardies equals one absence.
> 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. Also,
if you had your official TOEFL
scores sent here to the ELI, they
are in the box now.

Next weekend, we will be going to
Orlando for Outlet Mall Shopping!
This is a van trip. Transportation:
PLEASE reserve your spot on a van

by signing up and paying .20 in the
CIP Office on Wednesday, February
3 between 9:20-1:30. (Cash only, exact
change, non-refundable.)
Details about the trip will be on the
Activities Board and in next week's
Week.

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
Monday (pool, Room
6:30M bowling, Bring your Gator 1
board games) ID
(Clay) Board games are
free. Brnng$510if
you want to bowl.

Tu y Soccer Meet at NRN
6:00Tuesday (Alexandna Field
Jeremy) Free

Starbucks on
Archer Rd.
Wednesday Coffee Talk Free
(Adam) (Bring money for
coffee and food if
you like.)

* Birthdays
* Manners

Hihlght

Meet at the
Thursday Volleal volleyball courts by
sday To a the SW Rec
600 PM (Lindsey) Center.
Free.

Fnday
Vanes.
Check the Movie Night Vanes.
ELI (Raquel)
Website on
Wednesday.

The following are ELI Birthdays for
the week of February 5-11:

Students:
February 5: Ram6n Padilla
February 9: Jin Chun
February 9: Mohammed Ejbarah

Staff:
Missed one in last week's issue!
February 4: Scott Challgren

Q: Some of my classmates don't use
deodorant and the classroom smells strong
sometimes. Is it okay ifI tell them?

A: No, but it's okay if I do here.
Folks, this is always something of a
problem for us, given the
multicultural nature of the ELI and
the fact that deodorant use isn't
common in some countries, while it's
very common or even basically
socially required in others. Here in
the US, we do have people who
actively protest and get quite angry
when people indicate that they might
benefit from the use of deodorant,

but even a great majority of us do use
it, too. If you come from a culture
that doesn't use it, please be aware
that you probably smell pretty strong
to your classmates and maybe even
some of your teachers. If you are
aware and you don't want to do
anything about it, that's your right, of
course, but people are probably
talking about it. Now, with all that
having been said, I would also tell you
that if you have a very, very good
friend who might come from a non-
deodorant culture and who has a very
strong aroma, and you think that
people are in fact talking about them
without their knowledge, then it's
probably okay to go ahead in extreme
private to let them know.

Q: Why are the teachers really strict with
punctualty?

A: Well, first and foremost, they are
all required by official ELI policy to
be strict with both punctuality and
attendance. Also, it's a very strong
cultural point of view for us. To
Americans, it's rude and arrogant to
be late-it indicates that you think
that your own time is more valuable
than everyone else's. In the
classroom in particular, it's difficult to
get things going for all the students if
all the students aren't there.

Q: When do you use "or "whether" in
sentences? Which sentence is correct? "I don't
know f he is coming" or "I don't know
whether he is coming"?

A: Both are correct, actually. This
choice occurs when you are using "if'
or "whether" at the beginning of a
noun clause to indicate that a choice
or possibility exists. When the noun
clause is the object of the verb, as in
your example, you may use either one.
When the noun clause is the subject,
however, you cannot use "if'. You
can only use "whether". Like this:
"Whether you come to the party or
not is totally your choice." In this
sentence, you can't use "if'.

Q: In other languages, ifl ist some words,
before the last word I need to put "and" and
finally the last word of the ist. In Engish I
usually read "comma", the conjunction
"and", andfinally the last word of the lst.
In what cases We need toput "and" or
"comma+ and"? What is the rule for this
punctuation?
A: Oh, my, what a great question.
You've actually hit on a point on
which there is often some contentious
disagreement among native speakers
of English. This is not what we call a
question of grammar, but rather it is a
question of style. When we do formal
writing, usually we are required to use
a style manual. The two most
common style manuals in the US and
Britain respectively, the APA manual
and the Oxford manual, both ask for
the serial comma. When in doubt,
use it.

If you want your life to be more
rewarding, you have to change the
way you think.
--Oprah Winfrey

UFI English Language Institute
S 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