Social events, introducing you to life on an American campus and to the Baltimore region, are an important part of the ELC program. Friendships quickly develop as students laugh, sing, and explore American life together. Activities occur monthly and include a welcome party, an off-campus trip (Washington, D.C., Annapolis, Harper's Ferry, or the Amish country in Pennsylvania), events related to American holidays, and a final reception. ELC students may also participate in International Week during the spring semester, and they are encouraged to bring their national costumes to wear during International Week activities.
Every spring we organize an International Day, which is open to the entire Towson University community, when students dress in traditional clothes, sing native songs, share delicious food from many countries, and perform dances from their homeland.
Having fun and learning about American culture are important components of studying at the ELC. Each semester, students celebrate seasonal holidays such as Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Easter with cultural activities known to all Americans - carving cary pumpkins, writing poems of love, and hunting for colored Easter eggs.
This year we even had a Tae Kwan Do demonstration by the White Tiger School where one of our female students studies. We have taken trips to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Annapolis, MD, and Mount Vernon, Virginia. Students have even gone hiking in along the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia. And of course, in the summer, we cool off at the Oregon Ridge or Beaver Dam swimming club.
