In the past few weeks of the summer session, our ESL students participated in two social activities. First, students met for a pizza lunch and a boat tour of the Houston Ship Channel.
A week later, the students got together again for a World Cup kickoff party hosted in the Anderson-Clarke Center. Read on to find out more about each of these social activities!
After having a delicious pizza lunch in our student lounge with students from all levels of the program, the ESL students drove to the docks at the Houston Ship Channel. It was a stormy afternoon in Houston, with the normal summer rain showers falling steadily during the tour.
The rain didn’t stop the fun, though! The boat had plenty of seats indoors, along with free coffee and sodas to sip while cruising down the channel. On the tour, the captain explained the historical significance of the Houston Ship Channel and why it is one of the city’s most important economic drivers.
Along the tour route, students saw big oil tankers and other ships moored along the banks. These ships come to Houston from around the world, bringing products to the city.
After the tour was over, students headed home for the day, with everyone looking forward to the World Cup kickoff party happening the following week.
At the kickoff party, students got to root for their favorite team or home country by wearing a jersey to the social activity! Students also brought snacks and food from their home country to share with their classmates.
Before eating all those delicious snacks, though, students played a few rounds of foosball with their classmates and teachers. Then, everyone sat down to watch the opening game of the World Cup - Mexico against South Africa.
Right before the game began, students filled out a bracket with all eleven games from the first weekend of the World Cup. The students who predicted the Mexico vs. South Africa score correctly would get a chance to spin the wheel for a prize at the end of the game!
As students watched the game and ate a selection of international snacks, a few former students and instructors stopped by to say hello. It was a great chance to introduce our current students to some ESL program graduates.
At the end of the game, several students correctly guessed that Mexico would beat South Africa 2-0, so they all got to spin the wheel for a reward! Among the prizes were some World Cup keychains, a Rice Owls magnet, and some M&M Mini’s candy tubes.
With these two action-packed social activities, the first summer session of ESL is coming to an end. We’ll have more social activity recaps and pictures from next session’s events. Stay tuned to our social media channels and the blog for more details later in the summer. Thank you for reading!
By Hadrian Barbosa