As you probably know already, we LOVE celebrating holidays at ELC and Thanksgiving is no exception. It is a time to share food and to give thanks. We are thankful for all our wonderful students, teachers, and staff that make ELC such a welcoming and supportive community. The people are what make ELC so special.
Thanksgiving in the United States is a fabulous, food-based holiday. The entire day focuses on preparing an artfully cooked meal and then devouring it in under 30 minutes. As Thanksgiving has come and gone in chilly Boston, our students experienced two new food-related concepts: Food Comas and Food Babies. A food coma can be defined as the feeling of listlessness, lethargy, laziness or sleepiness that one can feel after indulging in a large, carbohydrate-filled meal. Food comas are a direct result of the blood rushing to your stomach to aid in digestion. Food Babies are the temporary gut that results from these enormous meals and are often alleviated by unbuttoning one’s pants or belt buckle. Our annual Thanksgiving Feast at ELC aims to teach students not only about these wonderful American ideas, but to be thankful for all the blessings in our lives.
Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn off the cob, cranberry sauce and LOTS of gravy were among the delicious dishes served last Wednesday before our Thanksgiving vacation. Everyone piled a mountain of food on their plate and grabbed a seat at the table with friends and loved ones.
Thanksgiving is a warm and inviting holiday where we take time to share with each other what we’re thankful for while succumbing to a sedative food coma. This year, ELC staff and students were most thankful for friends, family, learning English, and of course delicious food!
~ Cara, Student Services Coordinator at ELC Boston
See more pictures of Thanksgiving at ELC Boston on Facebook!
This was, hands down, the best first Thanksgiving party for ELC Santa Barbara since the reopening of the school. You could feel the excitement from the students all morning; they all couldn’t wait for the Thanksgiving party to begin! We enjoyed a delicious turkey feast; many students and staff went back for seconds. To top it all off, the pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie were a hit with the students. Everyone was stuffed to the brim!
As everyone’s stomachs became full, we started a friendly round of Thanksgiving Jeopardy followed by a new-to-the-students game called Fish Bowl, which is a hybrid between Catch Phrase and Pictionary. That has probably unofficially become ELC SB’s new favorite game! The students liked it a great deal and insisted on playing a second round. That game requires a pretty strong command of English, and our students definitely stepped up to the plate!
With all the aromas from the feast and Christmas music floating in the air, we can confidently say that our students’ first Thanksgiving experience was a successful one! Now we can add that to the list of things that we’re thankful for.
~ Elizabeth, Director of Courses at ELC Santa Barbara
We had a great Thanksgiving feast at ELC LA! By 12:40 p.m., a bunch of our students were eagerly lined up at the door to get their share of Thanksgiving food. Some students were surprised about eating cranberry sauce with turkey, but discovered that it was a good combination. After they all got their food, everybody gathered around some classrooms to share a delicious meal with their fellow friends. Many were satisfied and happy with the food, and also came around to get seconds!
Thank you to all of staff and teachers for helping out!! We couldn’t have done it without everybody’s support!
~ Cyndi, Student Services Coordinator at ELC Los Angeles
See more pictures of Thanksgiving at ELC Boston on Facebook!
