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/ 

We are going to miss you, Peter

Working at Language Systems is a great way to meet awesome students from all over the world.  

Sometimes students just study English here for 2 weeks, while others stay 2 years. When it comes time to say goodbye, sometimes it is really hard. That is the hardest part about being a teacher and getting to build close relationships with your students. Well, today we had to say goodbye to a very popular student named "Peter." 

After just 3 months of studying English at our Orange County campus, he had to return to Thailand. Some fellow students took him to the airport to say goodbye. Some of his friends cried because they really became great friends over the past 3 months. We will miss you Peter! Good luck to you in Thailand and we wish you all the best for your life and future. Until we meet again...

 By Ty Mussack, Program Coordinator at OC

http://languagesystems.edu/

OC Fair 2017

On Wednesday, August 10, 20 students and the program coordinator from our Orange County campus spend the afternoon and evening at the OC fair. 

This is a summer tradition in Orange County, and the fair comes to an end this Sunday, August 13. Most of us got a little wrist band for just $30 and this allowed us unlimited rides on all the roller coasters plus two free games.  

It was a bargain!  

Some of the rides were fast, and others went really high in the sky. I (the program coordinator) am actually afraid of heights, so for the ride that went super high in the air, I had to literally close my eyes.  

One big part of the fair is all the BBQ food, so one of our students tried the huge BBQ turkey leg.  It was so huge that we passed the thing around and shared it between 5 to 6 students.  We also tried the roasted corn on the cob.  

It was delicious too.  We all hung out the whole day and got to make new friends and practice English.  

At the end of the night, we got to see a few fireworks, and everyone made it home safely.  It really was an awesome trip!

For photos, please see the album I created on the LSI Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/LSIUSA/videos/1823709644313631/

Summer BBQ!

Friday August 12, over 75 students from LSI-OC met at a local park for a Summer BBQ. That is a lot of hungry mouths to feed. 

Ty, the program coordinator in Orange County, wanted to create a little school spirit ahead of our annual inter-campus beach party this Friday 8/19/16. 

The menu for the BBQ included chicken kebobs, Korean kalbi, Mexican pollo asado, marinated steak, sweet peppers, sweet corn, and lots of snacks. 

There were so many students that they had to form a line that worked its way up to the grill for food. 

After continually serving the students for about 2 hours, it seemed like finally everyone was full. 

We had such an awesome time, and we can't wait for the beach party this Friday!! 

By Ty Mussack, program coordinator at OC 

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium!!

On July 26 2016, a group of Japanese students and the program coordinator from the Orange County campus made the commute up to Los Angeles to attend Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium. 

That night, each fan received a Kenta Maeda bobblehead doll, so that was a pretty cool souvenire for the Japanese students.  

Also, a popular singer named Atsushi from the group Exile sand the Japanese national anthem before the baseball game.  All the Japanese fans went crazy when Atsushi made his appearance. 

The Dodgers played well, hit a homerun to make it a final score of 3-2 Dodgers.  We had a lot of fun and got to enjoy a beautiful summer night of baseball in Los Angeles.

By Ty Mussack, program coordinator at OC 

http://lifestyle.languagesystems.edu/

US Open of Surfing!!

Every summer, student from our OC campus visit Huntington Beach for the US Open of Surfing. This is the oldest and biggest surfing competition in the United States. 

For the past few years it has been sponsored by Vans, and the two together make up a very good example of true California beach culture. This event is not just about surfing, this year our students seemed pretty blown away at the insane skateboarding that we saw. It is truly amazing to see how crazy skaters can get these days.

The weather was perfect, and the surfing and skating made the day a perfect taste of California beach culture. This event will wrap up on Sunday July 31 with the finals of the men's and women's surfing competion. If you are in Southern California this weekend, get down to Huntington Beach!

Ty Mussack, Program Coordinator at OC

http://languagesystems.edu/

Angels Game with Ty!!

On Wednesday night, April 27, 24 students and 2 teachers from Language Systems - Orange County attended an exciting baseball game at Angels stadium. 

 We all got there a couple of hours before the game started so we could do the whole "tailgating" experience.  We barbecued in the parking lot, played games, and listened to some cool music.  

For many students, it was their first American baseball game. The Angels were playing the Kansas City Royals, last year's World Series Champions.  

The Angels were losing 2-0 when the Angels star center fielder Mike Trout hit a 2-run home run to tie the game.  The Angels went on to win the game 4-2.  

Oh yeah, and all our students received free hats.  It was a lot of fun! 

http://languagesystems.edu/

Earth Day in OC!

During the month of April, each of our Language Systems International campuses has their own way to allow students the opportunity to do something positive for the environment.  

At the Language Systems International Orange County campus, each April international students have the opportunity to participate in a volunteer project called “Beach Cleanup.”  This activity takes place at the Huntington Beach pier, and it is a chance for international students to help keep California clean by roaming the beach in search for trash and debris.  It is truly sad how much trash and debris people just throw on the beach, especially since there are large trash cans about every 30 feet (10 meters) or so. 

 For students who want to do this kind of volunteer work on a regular basis, they can join the Huntington Beach Surfrider Foundation.  This organization is dedicated to keeping California beaches clean.  The next time you visit a beach in California, remember to throw all your trash in a trash can.  If you see any trash on the beach, maybe pick up a few pieces and throw it in the trash can, even if it’s not your trash.  Together we can keep California clean!

http://languagesystems.edu/

LA Galaxy Match with Ty!

Sunday March 6 was the opening game of the LA Galaxy.  15 students and 3 teachers from Language Systems - Orange County were in attendance.  It was such an awesome experience! 

 We all met at school and carpooled to the arena.  We got there early enough to let the students enjoy a "tailgating party". LSI provided the students with snacks, drinks, and Korean BBQ before the game.  We set up our hibachi BBQ in a section of the parking lot that is specifically designed for these kinds of parties before the game. 

The LA Galaxy play at the Stubhub Center, and every seat makes you feel close to the field.  Our seats were awesome!  The Galaxy gave up a goal just 4 minutes into the game, but they came back in the second half scoring 4 goals of their own.  Final score: 4-1.  

http://www.languagesystems.com/

A Taste of Orange County with Ty

 

Today we visited "little Arabia" off the 5 freeway and Brookhurst in the city of Anaheim. We had lunch at a Lebanese hole-in-the-wall called Zait & Zataar.  The food was amazing! We had shawarma, hummus, and some amazing pastries and bread items that I have no idea how to say.

  Some of our students were from Saudi Arabia, and they even said the food was delicious.  It was only about 10 minutes from our Language Systems - Orange County campus.  Our Taste of OC activity takes place each month and it is designed to give our students a chance to eat some of the amazing international food we have here in California. 

 If you love food, you are really lucky to be studying English in California because we have authentic food from all over the world!  

Until next time, thanks everybody for coming out to lunch today!

http://www.languagesystems.com/