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 https://languagesystems.edu/blog/lifestyle/

A Taste of OC - 2018 Spring term

At the beginning of every academic term at our Orange County campus, there is a student activity called "A Taste of OC (Orange County)."  This activity is designed to introduce our students to local restaurants where they can enjoy special food that is fresh, delicious, and not expensive.  

This months Taste of OC activity led students to a place just minutes from our OC campus.  The place is called Baja California Fish Tacos, and their specialty is fresh Baja-style seafood. Baja Mexico is famous for fish tacos that are battered and fried, and on the streets of Mexico, they will only cost you about $1.  

At the restaurant we visited for the activity, they have a Wednesday special where the fish tacos are only $1.35.  This is why the line was out the door!  If you take a look at the picture of the food, you will see why this place is so popular.  All the students got fish tacos, and one student also ordered the fresh shrimp ceviche.  It was so delicious!  I'm sure the students will go back some Wednesday in the future to enjoy fresh fish tacos again!!

 By Ty, Program Coordinator at OC

https://languagesystems.edu

Annenberg Space for Photography

This past Friday, April 6, the students from NELA visited the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City.  Unfortunately, they are setting up for a new exhibit and the center was closed for observation. They only allow limited viewing.   However, when the new exhibit is open, we will return. 

After, the PC and a couple of students went to Korean BBQ in Korea town. Learning and discovery are among our core values as instructors at NELA and we try our best to help students discover new things in Los Angeles and beyond.

 By Carlos, Program Coordinator at NELA

Bowling Night

On March 23, night TOEFL teacher Marco spent the evening bowling with the NELA TOEFL students. All the students enjoyed a night out away from the classroom setting. It was a competitive night and fortunately everyone was able to bowl.

By Marco, teacher at Northeast Campus 

https://languagesystems.edu/ 

Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia

On March 1, 2018, the afternoon students of the Pasadena campus took advantage of the beautiful weather (and the free admission!) and visited Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia, California. The students enjoyed the gorgeous scenery before them - the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the historic architecture of the park, and of course, the majestic horses and their jockeys vying to win the races.

Many of the students tried their hand at betting, which proved to be an excellent lesson in English! There is a special “language” to placing a bet, in which a person must specify the race track, race number, the horse (or horses) he or she wants to wager on, and the type of bet he or she wants to place. With numerous ways of betting (exacta, trifecta, pick 6, boxed numbers, etc.), this can be an overwhelming experience for any person, native speaker or not! Nonetheless, the students gave it a crack, placed their bets, and some of they even won!

Overall, it was an enjoyable day at the races and a wonderful lesson in local history.

By Rona Par Miyasaki, teacher at Northeast Campus 

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

Santa Barbara Tour

On Saturday, February 24th, 11 students accompanied teacher John from LSI Downtown out to the Santa Barbara countryside for wine tasting, a picnic at Koehler Winery, a walk around Solvang, and to try their luck at Chumash Casino.

The weather wasn't too cold, and students enjoyed tacos, burritos, and quesadillas from the taco stand at Koehler and washed them down with Koehler's Syrah, Mouvedre, Rose', and Grenache Blanc wines.

After a some ice cream and a walk around Solvang, a Danish-style village in the Santa Barbara countryside, they headed over to the Casino to finish up the day.

First timers to the casino signed up for the players club and got $25 free play, and one student won over $100!!

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

Bootcamp Workout

Everyone was so focused and energized in completing the intense workout. 

Saturday turned out to be a hot day but it didn’t slow the group down. 

They were all enthusiastic to complete the circuit training. Looking forward to our next bootcamp session! 

By Teacher Caroline

TOEIC students and teacher at Santa Anita Race Track

On a warm but breezy afternoon, the Pasadena TOEIC class spent the afternoon watching horses and jockeys compete at Santa Anita.

It was the first time these students had ever seen horse racing and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience of supporting their favorite horse.

 By Carlos, Program Coordinator at NELA

Field trip to Union Station / Olevera Street

Students from NELA had the opportunity to learn much of the history and origins of Los Angeles by visiting Union Station and Plaza Olvera.

They had a chance to walk through the Christmas Festive train station halls and observe as passengers cross with luggage, or stop to admire the live music.  After, everyone walked across the street to see the oldest house in Los Angeles in Olvera Street. 

 They got to learn about the rich history of the area and the diverse groups that helped make Los Angeles what it is today.  

The trip ended at the Chinese American museum, where everyone learned about the many contributions of Chinese Americans in Los Angeles.
It was a great day filled with rich history and new experiences.  

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

 By Carlos, Program Coordinator at NELA

Tamale festival

The Tamale Festival in Placentia is an annual event that local people look forward to. It's a night filled with live music, the Christmas spirit, and delicious Tamales and other kinds of Mexican food. 

Each year the Orange County Campus of language systems take students to experience this special night. It's always very crowded and there's no parking so we took the shuttle bus from Valencia High School. 

We got to enjoy some amazing music, some wonderful food, and a lot of positive vibes. For all of the students tonight it was their first time. We are so glad our students from all over the world get to experience Southern California Christmas spirit through the Tamale Festival.

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

 By Ty, Program Coordinator at OC  

Wine tasting trip

Ten students from LSI Downtown toured the Santa Barbara Wine Country over the Thanksgiving weekend holiday on Saturday, Nov. 25th, with a wine-tasting visit to Rusack Winery & Vineyard, a picnic at Koehler Winery & Vineyard, and a walk around the quaint Danish village of Solvang with teacher John.

At Rusack, we enjoyed our own table on the oak-shaded deck overlooking the vineyard for tasting despite the more-than-usual holiday crowds.

At Koehler, students enjoyed a lunch of tacos, quesadillas, and burritos at their weekend taco stand with Koehler's amazing Reisling, Rose', Syrah, and Sangiovese.wines out on Koehler's beautiful Oak Deck. Students enjoyed unlimited tasting in the tasting room afterwards.

The wine-savvy students were impressed with the quality of the wines, and many of them used teacher John's 20% wine club discount to buy the wines they liked.

Afterwards, feeling happy, the students enjoyed exploring the shops and bakeries in Solvang, and many were seen walking around eating ice cream cones or having coffee in the famous bakery coffee shops.

All the students had a great time, with many of them asking when the next Santa Barbara trip will be...

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By John, Teacher at DTLA 

West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval

It's Halloween! The Pasadena students participated in the colorful West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. It is considered to be the biggest Halloween party with thousands of people displaying their best costumes and dancing the night away.

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By Marco, Teacher at NELA  

Halloween 2017

It is Halloween again... The streets were full of children trick-or-treating and a lot of people were dressed up at work and schools. 

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays here at Language Systems! 

The schools were all decorated and we had candy everywhere.

It was so much fun to see everyone in costumes!

Check out some pictures from our costume and pumpkin carving contests: 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Check out our blog next month for our Thanksgiving pictures! 

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

 By Ligia, Program Coordinator at DTLA  

Halloween Knott's Scary Farm

Once upon a time, a teacher and 17 students went to Knott's Scary Farm and it was super scary!  First we had to suffer the endless traffic to Buena Park in a blood-red colored van, hich took about an hour and 45 mins.  Luckily we were all prepared with great music like "Despicito"  and "I'm the One"  so we sang our way through the traffic nightmare.  Upon arriving to the park with half of our group, the next task was to find the other half somewhere near the huge line of people at the front entrance. The first group decided to enter the park, while I waited for three rest of our group to arrive! The park was so scary for the moment we stepped into the park.  

From the foggy Zombie alley, to the New Orleans Haunted House and even the very loopy, twisty, upside-downy Silver Bullet rollercoaster- we screamed for 6 hours! By the time we walked like the dead back to the van, everyone was worn out.  In the end we would all recommend Knott's Scary Farm... It's definitely the opposite of NOT scary so beware!

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By DJ, Teacher at SBLA  

Knott's Scary Farm

Last night several students from our Orange County campus visited Knott's Scary Farm for a real Halloween experience in America.  For all of them, it was their very first time. 

 A couple of them scared easily, so all the zombies and ghosts and other scary figures really tried to scar them to death.  

There were many haunted houses and scary rides.  Walking around the amusement park and hiding behind every corner was someone in a really scary costume.  They work there and it is their job to scare you as much as possible.  Some of the people had makeup on that looked like it was done by a professional Hollywood makeup artist.  Some of the students had such a good time that they are planning to go again next week!

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

Free Spanish Class

Free Spanish class and quesadillas with teacher Kurt! 

Such a fun Friday! Muchas gracias!

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By Kurt, Teacher at DTLA  

Pizza Tuesday

Around 20 students from LSI Downtown joined teacher John for pizza at Pizza Rev last Tuesday night. At Pizza Rev, you can design your own personal pizza with any toppings you like for only $6.99 (Tuesdays only).

We are doing this every week, and students are finding it a good way to relax and use the English they learned in class, as well as making new friends! Why don't you join us next week?


http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By John, Teacher at DTLA  

Learning American Street Slang

Friday, Oct 20th was the first Street Slang class at LSI downtown. Several students came, all eager to learn new slang so they can use in their everyday conversations. 

Everyone had such a great time and all signed up for the next one already on Nov. 3rd.

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By Caroline, Teacher at DTLA  

Hike at Palos Verdes

Fun Fridays continue at the South Bay campus! Today, Teacher Steven took the students on a hike around beautiful Palos Verdes. 

They enjoyed stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and enjoyed a picnic at the end.

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

By Steven, Teacher at SBLA  

Fun night in Pasadena: Art Night

On Friday, October 13th the city of Pasadena opened its museums' doors to the public. 

Once a year, the city hosts a free event where everyone gets the opportunity to discover the many museums surrounding the city center. 

 Our Pasadena TOEFL students enjoyed the multiple museum locations on Art Night.

Also, Hanine, our Arabic and French speaker, and students from the downtown LA campus went to the art walk in Pasadena! They visited different museums and art galleries and had a blast! 

It was the perfect evening!

By Marco Cervantes, Teacher at Pasadena Campus 
By Hanine, Staff at Downtown Campus 

http://languagesystems.edu/