EC Los Angeles Language School

Venice Beach is a must see place around Santa Monica and I really love it there and it is a great place.
The atmosphere is marvelous and you will certainly enjoy your visit. Venice Beach is one of the picturesque places I have ever seen.
It is about 15 minutes ride with the bus and if you have an own car you are even faster. I prefer taking the Big Blue Bus instead of a car. Just take the Bus Nr 1, which takes you all the way up to Venice. I know that eardrop is in some countries not very polite but I can learn a lot by listening to Americans. Learning English at the same time while you are on the bus is fantastic.
From the bus stop is it just a short walk around the corner and when you see big letters above your head that say Venice, than you are there. Your eyes will certainly catch the painted wall by the parking lot in front of you. It is a black-white painting, which shows Venice in his old times. It is huge, great and worth to take a picture of it.
If you are the first time in Venice and you just know Santa Monica, you will be surprise however I was shocked. To see all these little shops follow one by one art sellers where they sell handmade, unique products includes dozen of Tattoo Studios and all kinds of artists for your entertainment gives you the feeling that you entered the door to another world.
I want to share with you my research from my last Venice stay. First, one artist was a homeless man and his products where way different then you would expect. He tried to sell carton signs, what’s common for homeless people. Honestly, I didn’t buy a sign but I will go again before I start my trip. Another man was an artist and he could walk, jump and do crazy stuff with split glasses. Don’t watch to long! After a few minutes it was too painful for me so I had to move on. My advice, never try it at home!
You will meet strange people you don’t see often. Some are crazy in a good way like the man on roller blades playing on his e-guitar right next to me while I was on the phone. It was quit funny. At the Beach there is an open-muscle gym where you have to stop by to get a great view and I don’t mean the ocean.
My suggestion, If you think you have not a big yard at home than check out the smallest Yard in the whole world, make a picture and send it back home.
Finding a good restaurant is really easy but I prefer more my one Dollar Hot Dog which is delicious – ok, the bread is awful but with enough ketchup you will love it just like me and if you are still hungry so take another one or do it like me, order 2 Hot Dogs as a starter.
I talked now about many things here in Venice Beach but not about the Beach.
Lying on the beach after your two Hot Dogs helps you to come down and relax.
My favorite place in Venice Beach is by the cliffs. To see how the waves get smashed is an awesome experience and it is a great location to take many pictures. Don’t climb on the rocks, I know there are people who are crazy enough but I would not recommend it even for a good picture.
Right behind Venice Beach, there is a place that looks like you are in Venice Italy. There are small bridges, the river and many friendly Americans who live there. This area is actually private but if you respect those they welcome you.
You heard now a lot and if you still want to go there what I fully recommend, just come and let me know. You can join also one of our Activities where we go all together to Venice Beach and one will be soon.

Bay Cities (http://www.baycitiesitaliandeli.com/door/) makes some of the best Italian sandwiches in town! I didn’t discover it until recently and I am still mourning all the years that I lived without this deli in my life. Plus, you can eat there for under $10! How can you beat that?

Read below some great advice by Elina Shatkin from the LA Weekly Blogs about what and how to order.

“Bay Cities Deli makes two dozen sandwiches but the one for which they’re most famous, and justifiably so, is The Godmother.
Stacked with no less than five kinds of cold cuts — that’d be Genoa salami, mortadella, coppacola, ham and prosciutto — and a slice of Provolone, the sandwich comes on dense, chewy, wonderful Italian bread. Should you get mustard and mayo on your sub? Purists will tell you — and we agree — NO! All it really needs is a dash of oil and vinegar. At Bay Cities, that means: order it with the works but ask for them to leave off the mayostard.
You can get it small ($6.25) or large ($8.15), but even the “small” Godmother is a mother. It’s cool and salty, dense and filling, and definitely one of the better Italian subs in town.”

(Psst… The Godmother is my favorite too!)

Meet another one of ECLA’s awesome teachers, Jacquelle Rodriguez!!

“Hello all! Whether you’re asking yourself if you should come to EC Los Angeles or you’re already on your way here, welcome! I might or might not be your teacher, but you’ll see me in the halls either way and you can’t miss me! I love teaching, probably because I love learning too. I’ll try my best to help you succeed here and to make your time in Los Angeles as memorable as possible. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but I like to think of myself as a global citizen Before I came to ECLA, I taught in Paris and Andalucia. So, I can say I know what it’s like to learn a foreign language: the frustrations and the highs.
Believe it or not, when I’m not teaching English at ECLA, I’m at home teaching myself or striving to improve in one area or another. I’d like to say that I’m fluent in Spanish and French, but there’s always more to learn! Baking is another one of my hobbies; you can ask the staff here at ECLA whether what I make is always edible or not. I also enjoy reading military history and watching old crime and film noir movies. So that’s me in like ten sentences. You can come to ECLA if you want to find out more.”

Welcome to Los Angeles, the best place to find food from all over the world!
However, we must first begin with the most “American” food of all: HAMBURGERS!
There are several locations in Los Angeles to get the best hamburger depending on your personal preferences. Today let me introduce you to In-N-Out!
In-N-Out Burger is a must try if you are in Southern California! The first location opened in 1948 in Baldwin Park, just east of Los Angeles. Since then, they have been serving some of the best fast food burgers in town! Their menu is simple: cheeseburgers, hamburgers, shakes and fries. Just make sure you check out the secret menu before you!

http://www.in-n-out.com/menu/not-so-secret-menu.aspx

Meet one of EC Los Angeles’ teachers!

“Hello future and current EC students! I am a true native of Santa Monica. I was born here, raised here and went to school here until I was 18 years old. I know this place well and have seen it change over the years. I feel extremely lucky to be a teacher here at EC, just blocks away from the beaches of my childhood. I went to college to study Literature and Creative Writing but when I finished my studies, I decided that I wanted to live in South America. So I got a TESOL certification and a job in Santiago de Chile and went to live there and teach English for a year and a half. I loved every minute of it and decided that my true path is teaching. I think that teaching at a place like EC is a dream come true for me because I can grow as a teacher everyday and work with motivated students from all over the world, learning about their cultures and sharing some of ours.

When I’m not teaching at EC, I love to ride my bike all over town and explore new places and things to do in Los Angeles. I also love to try interesting and new types of food. I’m a huge fan of all kinds of movies and literature. Writing is my biggest artistic passion. I also like to practice and improve the languages that I already know French and Spanish. I look forward to meeting you in the classroom or in our hallways. “

Donsel Meier is a High Intermediate student from Switzerland. This week is her first as Student Ambassador and we are so excited to have such an enthusiastic volunteer. Check out what she has to say below!

“As an Event – and Promotion Manager, conferences, family reunions, weddings and corporate events are my world guests.
I am a passionate event organizer and getting the opportunity to be the Student Ambassador for EC Los Angeles is a great honor for me. The variety of my tasks as a Student Ambassador are not just my knowledge and my strengths as an organizer, it is also my personal interest. To support, work with international students all over the world and practice at the same time my english skills, what do I need more?”

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes; but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice; yet the plural of spouse is spouses, not spice.

If the plural of man is always called men, why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet, and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

We speak of a brother and also of brethren, but though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”) is a celebration held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla (English: The Day of the Battle of Puebla).The date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride,and to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day—the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico—which is actually celebrated on September 16.

Events tied to Cinco de Mayo also occur outside Mexico and the United States. For example, a sky-diving club near Vancouver, Canada, holds a Cinco de Mayo skydiving event. In the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean, there is an annual Cinco de Mayo air guitar competition. As far away as the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, revelers are encouraged to drink Mexican beer on May 5. The city of Brisbane, Australia, also holds an annual Mexican Festival to honour the day.