Holiday Trip

On Feb 20th, 10 of us students from LSI Downtown used our holiday to go wine tasting at two Santa Barbara wineries led by teacher John. 

We were from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and Russia. First, we visited Rusack Winery, and tasted two delicious whites and four red wines. 

Using John's 20% discount, we all were excited about buying some of the wines we tasted, the newly released Rose', as well as wine glasses and bottle-topper spouts. 

After buying lunch at a local deli, we took it over to Babcock Winery, where we enjoyed eating while tasting the six wines on their menu. 

John also bought a Babcock Cab, Sauv Blanc, and one of their famous Pinots for us to drink with the rest of our lunch. 

Even though it was raining outside, we were very comfortable in their roomy, living room-style tasting room. It was so much fun!! 

Many of us thought that this was the best wine we have ever tasted, and the scenery around the wineries was so beautiful. 

I can't wait for the next holiday so we can go again!!

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is typically celebrated with your romantic partner, your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. The standard "date night" includes a card, flowers, chocolates, and dinner at a nice restaurant. There may be some other gifts exchanged as well. Some couples even fight because someone forgot or didn't plan some grand romantic gesture. These days, many people are going against these traditions and are creating their own ways to celebrate Valentine's Day because they may not be in a romantic relationship, or it's simply more fun to include family and friends! Anti-Valentine's Day parties have become popular, too. Lots of young people are finding it difficult to find a suitable romantic partner and are rejecting the idea of Valentine's Day altogether. 

At Language Systems South Bay, we celebrated Valentine's Day with a couple of traditional practices, and some non-traditional ones. 

Chocolates are a MUST! Students were able to buy a small box of chocolates and have it delivered to their friend, sweetheart, classmate, or teacher in another class with a sweet note or Valentine message. 

Many students (and teachers!) were so surprised to receive a box a chocolates from a secret, or not-so-secret admirer. 

Others were a little embarrassed, but for sure, everyone was happy to have chocolates. 

Another MUST for Valentine's Day is Valentine's cards. We had a craft table set up for students to design and create their own custom Valentine's Day cards. 

Our students can be true artists when it comes to expressing their love! 

Students created cards for their teachers, classmates,and friends using construction paper, glitter paint, foam shapes, pipe cleaners, and crayons. 

Lastly, Language Systems South Bay celebrated with SWEETS! Cupcakes to be exact. Each class had cupcakes delivered by Sylvia, the PC. 

The students and teachers enjoyed a sweet treat (and a break from studying!) We had chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavored cupcakes with sweet, sweet icing and sprinkles on top. 

Maybe February 15th can be "national make a dentist appointment day" because there were just so many sugary snacks!

So remember, Valentine's Day celebrations can be different depending on where you are and who will celebrate with you. 

There is no right or wrong way to do it, but any Valentine's Day celebration will include the colors red and pink, hearts, and sweets. Hopefully LOTS of sweets!

 By Sylvia Sunada, Program Coordinator at SB 

http://languagesystems.edu/ 

Wildlife Learning Center

Saturday Jan 29th we met at LSI to carpool together deep into the San Fernando Valley!

The Wildlife Learning Center it's not a zoo. It's a non-profit sanctuary for animals that for a variety of reasons cannot return to nature. 

The Wildlife Learning Center provides these "orphans" a forever home and strives to educate the public about these special creatures. 

A trained guide gave us a hands-on experience, getting to interact with exotic and unique animals. 

We got to meet a friendly fox, an inquisitive armadillo, an adorable porcupine, and hold a huge python. 

We were also taken on a stroll through the sanctuary grounds where we got to see many more animals while our ever informative guide answered all our questions.

Upon returning to LSI, we enjoyed a Saudi Arabian feast together, swapping stories and sharing pics.

A great day was had by all!

By Sarah Katin, teacher at DTLA

http://languagesystems.edu/