Tae Ono is from Japan and studied at ELC Santa Barbara for 48 weeks in our Intensive English program. In the year Tae spent with us, she’s seen many, many students come and go. However, one thing never changed: she always kept staff, classmates, and teachers laughing with her antics! Come get to know more about our beloved Tae below!
What do you like to do for fun?
I like hanging around with friends and watching movies.
Why did you choose to study English in Santa Barbara?
I was told that ELC is a good organization and I didn’t want to study in a big city. Santa Barbara looked perfect for me!
What are all the ways that Santa Barbara is different from city?
There are less people. There are a lot of palm trees and nice peaches. Also people are very friendly and chill.
What do you miss most about your country?
I miss taking a bath. It is very dry and you shouldn’t use that much water here, so I never took a bath.
What are your top three favorite places in Santa Barbara?
My favorite place is Butterfly Beach since it’s much more beautiful than others. Leadbetter each is also nice. La Brezza apartments because I made so many friends there and I lived there almost all of my stay.
Where have you found the best food in Santa Barbara?
I think there are a lot of good seafood restaurants here. I went to Boathouse in Hendry’s Beach. They have so many good seafood dishes. My favorite is baked salmon. Also Habit Burger is the best I’ve had!
What is your favorite activity at ELC?
I really liked going to some restaurants for happy hour or I also liked Taco Tuesday. Additionally, I really liked to talk with officers. I always had fun with that.
What are some tips you have for people who want to learn English?
It might be only for Japanese or other Asians, but you should study English before you go somewhere to study English. Otherwise, it’s hard to make friends when you get there. I would say build a fundamental English skill that you can use to communicate with others.
ELC Santa Barbara staff want to add:
Tae was an amazing person to have around for such a long time! She made some great friends who even came back to visit her and Santa Barbara again! She was great for a good laugh and her adventures made for fun stories whether around Santa Barbara or north or south of the United States. She’s been a great sport through all of life’s ups and downs. We can’t wait to see her again for our Cambridge program!
