LSI Beach Party 2013

On August 23, 2013, LSI students from all four LSI Schools (Downtown LA, Northeast LA, South Bay, and Orange County) were treated to a fantastic day of Beach Summer Fun at LSI’s Annual 2013 Beach Party in Huntington Beach, California.  Festivities started with the Annual LSI Beach Volleyball Tournament where representatives from each school participated in a competitive (but fun) Beach Volleyball competition.  All four Volleyball teams played an amazing single-set game against each other which ultimately led to a tie-breaker round between LSI-Northeast LA and LSI-South Bay.  The South Bay Volleyball team proved their mettle by taking the 2013 Championship cup in the end!

Following a brief period of lunch on the beach (courtesy of LSI’s fantastic culinary team), the schools gathered once again to participate in a number of Beach Water Game competitions.  Schools were first able to compete in a Tug-of-War competition where LSI – South Bay proved once again to be victorious in this event.  This was shortly followed by our Stick Game event, where one boy and one girl from each school raced to secure a “stick” in a number of elimination rounds.  In the women’s event, Yan Shan Lin (Linda from LSI-Northeast LA Campus) proved herself to be the fastest girl in LSI! 

The next competition was the Fill-the-Bucket game in which ten students from each campus raced to fill a bucket with ocean water.  Although it was a close race, LSI-Northeast LA students were declared the winners of this event.  Nobody fills a bucket like LSI-Northeast LA!

The final event of the day was LSI’s Disgusting Food contest.  In this food event, five contestants from each school competed in eating a variety of “strange foods” which included Bitter Melon, Dried Squid, and Snickers caramel/chocolate bars in the shortest time possible.  LSI-Downtown LA proved themselves to be the hungriest team on the beach by “wolfing down” all of their “disgusting” food in less than ten minutes!

Needless to say, everybody had an amazing day at the beach and we are all looking forward to next year’s Beach Event!  Thank you LSI for all the happy memories!

Discover LA: One of the world's most famous movie theatres

The Egyptian Theatre was built in 1922 by Sid Grauman, it's one of the world's most famous movie theatres, and also the site of the very first Hollywood movie premiere, Robin Hood with Douglas Fairbanks.

It's located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd, a 20 minute bus ride from LSI's Downtown Campus.

Tours are available once a month. 

For more information, please visit: http://egyptiantheatre.com/

Discover LA: Surf City Nights in Huntington Beach

If you find yourself traveling through Orange County in the Summer, one place you should definitely visit is the Huntington Beach Surf City Nights. Actually, this special event takes place every Tuesday night 12 months out of the year from 5pm-9pm. Even though you can attend a Surf City night in the month of December, you will be able to experience California culture in it’s purest form if you can go to a Surf City night in the Summer.

So, what makes Surf City Nights so special? Well, every Tuesday night the city of Huntington Beach closes down 4-5 blocks of Main St. to provide a festival or fair-like atmosphere for locals as well as tourists who come from around the world. As you walk along Main St. on a Surf City night, you will be able to see several different bands playing live music. It is possible to hear punk, jazz, reggae, and classic rock all on the same night! In addition to the cool music, Surf City nights will give you the opportunity to experience some amazing flavors of American street food. Make sure you arrive with an empty stomach because it will be hard to resist the flood of smells as you walk by street stands that are selling bacon-wrapped street dogs, mediterranean kabobs, carne asada fries, Baja-style fish tacos, Thai food, tamales, and much more!  Oh yeah, and for dessert, there’s kettle corn, funnel cakes, and homemade churros.

If all this sounds too unhealthy, you’re still in luck because Surf City Night is also a farmer’s market where you can but the freshest fruits, vegetables, juices, and smoothies.

If you like shopping, then you will think you are in heaven! On Main St. you will find many cool surf shops where you can buy brands like Roxy, Hurley, Vans, Quicksilver, Ripcurl, and many more. On a Surf City Night you will also find street vendors selling hand-made arts and crafts, many of the art being related to California culture and history. When your feet start hurting and you need a break from walking along Main St., you can head to the beach and sit on the sand while you watch local surfers enjoy one of California’s most interesting sport – surfing!  In the Summer, the sun sets around 7-8pm so you can also enjoy a beautiful sunset.  If you can, try to make down to Huntington Beach on a Tuesday night.  You will love it!

Taken from our monthly e-Newsletter.

http://www.languagesystems.com

Summer Celebration 2013

 On July 19, 2013, students, teachers, and staff all gathered at Gaucho’s Village in Glendale to celebrate LSI’s recent accreditation with ACCET.

The celebration was held in a Brazilian style restaurant and the evening started out with an all-you-can-eat buffet and Brazilian barbecue.  The food was amazing and everyone enjoyed sampling different types of meat that were being offered at the tables.

Then Brazilian Samba dancers entertained everyone first by performing on stage in beautiful costumes. After a few performances, the Samba dancers went into the crowd to bring up some teachers and students to dance on stage with them!  After a while, everyone was dancing like a pro and the crowd was clapping along. After the Samba dancers were finished, a crowd of people went up on stage to get pictures with the dancers.

Next, on behalf of LSI, the Academic Director, Michelle Buell, thanked all the teachers, program coordinators, staff, managers, and students for making accreditation possible.

Once the performances were finished, it was party time! The DJ arrived, the music was pumping and the people were dancing! For people who needed a break from dancing, there was a hookah bar in the back of the restaurant where they could hang out with friends.

Everyone enjoyed the celebration and we are all looking forward to the next big party at LSI!

Thank you LSI for such an amazing night!

Discover LA: Where the largest collection of art in the LA area lies

Conveniently located between La Brea Ave and Fairfax Ave on Wilshire Blvd (only a 7 minute drive west from LSI Downtown), you will find LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). LACMA boasts the largest collection of art in the LA area with over 15,000 pieces! Right now, LACMA is featuring exhibitions of the works of the supremely influential Italian painter, Caravaggio, and legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. The hours of operation are: Monday - Tuesday 11 AM - 5 PM; Wednesday - Closed; Thursday - Sunday 11 AM - 7 PM. The student discount entrance fee is $10. Enjoy!

Taken from our monthly e-Newsletter.

www.languagesystems.com

Discover LA: It's More Than Just A Library!

Where can you see an early edition of Shakespeare, sip tea in a Japanese garden, and roam through a barren desert, all in one afternoon? Established by a wealthy financier in 1919, the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino houses many rare books, famous works of art, and over 120 acres of botanical gardens. Although it's known as the Huntington Library, it's more like a museum than a library. The collection includes many rare books, including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible and a rare manuscript of Canterbury Tales. The art collection, housed in a mansion that was once the home of the Huntington family, contains many famous paintings and sculptures from 18th century England and France.

You could spend hours roaming through the extensive landscape gardens at the Huntington Library. Perhaps most famous is the Japanese garden, where cherry blossom trees overlook a serene pond brimming with colorful koi. The desert garden nearby is an arid landscape, featuring cacti and succulents native to Southern California.

On weekdays, tickets to the Huntington Library and Gardens cost $20.00 for adults, and $10.00 for students. Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month, but you must reserve tickets in advance.

Taken from our monthly e-Newsletter.

www.languagesystems.com

Discover LA: An Iconic LA Landmark

“The mission of Griffith Observatory is inspiring everyone to observe, ponder, and understand the sky.”

Overlooking Los Angeles, the Griffith Observatory sits atop Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It is an iconic LA landmark that has been featured in several movies and on television. Admission to the Observatory building and grounds is FREE. There is a charge to see shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium.

Griffith Observatory

2800 East Observatory Road

Los Angeles, CA 90027

(213) 473-0800

http://www.griffithobservatory.org/

Taken from our monthly e-Newsletter.

http://www.languagesystems.com