2005 American Language and Culture Session 1 (ALC1) Calendar

July 31 STUDENTS ARRIVE! Host group orientation & Dorm tour Welcome & Icebreaker       Weekly Theme: DIVERSITY	August 1 9am: English Placement Tests & Orientation PM: Campus tour & Bike rental Intro to VIA/Host group meetings (mandatory)	2 9am-12pm: English Class PM: Host group meetings/ Icebreakers (mandatory)	3 9am-12pm: English Class 7pm: San Francisco Giants v. Colorado Rockies	4 8:45am: Group photo 9am-12pm: English Class 1:30pm: Martin Luther King Paper Project 7:30pm: Host Presentation- Obesity/ Fast food culture (mandatory)	5 9am-12pm: English Class (Due: Project proposal) 1:30pm: Scharffen Berger chocolate factory	6 Day in San Francicso 5pm: STOMP! (the musical)
7 Morning: Visit Glide Memorial Church or St. Anthony's Foundation or Fruit picking with Village Harvest 6:30pm: Host presentations- Diversity & Immigration in the U.S. (mandatory)       Weekly Theme: IDENTITY	8 9am-12pm: English Class 2pm: Lifeflight-- Stanford Hospital emergency helicopter 7:30pm: LGBT issues (mandatory for Taiwanese)	9 9am-12pm: English Class   7:30-9:30pm: Movie Night-- "Mississippi Burning" (mandatory)	10 9am-12pm: English Class   7:30pm: Larry Diamond (speaker on democracy and security in East Asia) (mandatory)	11 9am-12pm: English Class 1:30pm: KQED Televison station visit 3:30pm: Google 6:30pm: Family & Cultural Identity Panel (mandatory) Late Evening : Meteor Shower viewing	12 9am-12pm: English Class (Due: First draft) 2:30pm: Parnassus Investments	13 Great America amusement park
14 Morning: Glide Memorial Church OR San Jose Jazz Festival     Weekly Theme: GLOBALI- ZATION	15 9am-12pm: English Class   7:30pm: Movie Night-- "Shaft"	16 9am-12pm: English Class   2pm: Levi Strauss headquarters   6:30pm: Host Presentations- American Musical Traditions & Marriage Trends in the U.S. (mandatory)	17 9am-12pm: English Class afternoon: Volunteer at Project Open Hand 3:15pm: Kayaking Lessons 6pm: Dinner at Magic	18 9am-12pm: English Class 2-4pm: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals 4:30-7pm: Volunteer at Sacred Heart Evening: Wicked (the musical)	19 9am-12pm: English Class 1:30pm: Religion in America: a panel presentation (mandatory) 7pm: Jack Johnson concert	20 Activities to be announced
21   Homework Day!!       Weekly Theme: ENVIRON- MENTALISM	22 9am-12pm: English Class (Due: Final draft) 2:30-4pm: Visit Sierra Club 6pm: Dinner at Magic	23 9am-12pm: English Class (Oral presentations)	24 9am-12pm: English Class (Oral presentations) 2pm: ALC Basketball Tournament	25 9am-12pm: English Class (Oral presentations) 2pm: Intel 4:30-6pm: Graduate Panel 7pm: Host Presentation- Social Dance Workshop	26 Last day of classes! 12pm: Graduation Luncheon   7:30-9pm: Job Panel	27 Yosemite Trip
28 Yosemite Trip	29 Yosemite Trip	30 Farewell Banquet	31 Students depart to Asia Sad Goodbyes!

* time and dates are subject to change
* schedules in black apply for all participants; schedules in green are mandatory for all participants; schedules in blue are optional and limited

*Red indicates important class assignments.

July 31 , Sunday

9:15 am: Japanese students arrive
7:20 pm: Taiwanese students arrive

August 1, Monday

9:00 am: English Class Orientation and Placement Tests (Room 260-113): Your first morning at Stanford, you will be introduced to the English for Foreign Students Faculty and curriculum and then take brief written and oral examinations to determine your appropriate class level.

August 2, Tuesday

9:00 am: First English class of program.

Afternoon: Meet with host groups.

August 3, Wednesday

7:15 pm: San Francisco Giants Game (Cost: Free, for all students): The San Francisco Giants are one of the Bay Area's two professional baseball teams (the other team is the Oakland Athletics). The Giants star player, Barry Bonds, is one of the greatest professional players of all time. He is currently third in history for number of career home runs. Giants Home Page

SBC Park, the Giants' home stadium, was designed five years ago and is a wonderful place to watch baseball. The stadium is on the waterfront, and some home runs are hit into "McCovey Cove" in the bay. To get to the Giants game, we'll be taking the CalTrain commuter train.

 

August 4, Thursday

8:45 am: Group Photo: Before your classes, we will all gather by Stanford's main quadrangle to take a group photo. You will receive a copy of the photo the last night of the program.

1:30 pm: Visit the Martin Luther King Paper Project and talk with Professor Clayborne Carson(limited to 18 students): "The King Papers Project is a major research effort to assemble and disseminate historical information concerning Martin Luther King, Jr. and the social movements in which he participated. . .The King Papers Project is one of only a few large-scale research ventures focusing on an African American. . .In 1985 the King Center's founder and president Coretta Scott King invited Stanford University historian Clayborne Carson to become the Project's director and senior editor. . ."

7:30pm: Host Presentation-- Obesity and Fast food culture by Kim Kwon. Education in the U.S. by Kim Kwon.

August 5, Friday

1:30pm: Scharffen Berger chocolate (limited to 27 students): Visit the factory where this gourmet chocolate is made and try a sample. After the tour, we will visit the city of Berkeley and the University of California campus.

 

August 6, Saturday

Spend the day with your host exploring San Francisco!! (Bring a Jacket)

5:00pm: Attend the musical STOMP! (Cost: $40, available to all students): "STOMP is a movement, of bodies, objects, sounds - even abstract ideas. But what makes it so appealing is that the cast uses everyday objects, but in non-traditional ways."

August 7, Sunday

8:30am-12:30pm: Fruit picking with Village Harvest: come enjoy a day outdoors and learn about community agriculture in California.

10:30 am: Glide Memorial Church (limited to about 15 students): The Sunday Celebration at Glide Memorial Church is quite unique. The Glide Ensemble will clap, sway and blast out the spirit of empowerment though singing a variety of songs, including jazz, blues and gospel. More information about Glide can be found at www.glide.org.

9am-2pm: Visit St. Anthony's Foundation (limited to 13 students) to meet and talk with homeless people in San Francisco, learn more about the services provided by the organization and volunteer.

6:30pm: Host Presentations-- Diversity in the U.S. by Yang Tan & Immigration in the U.S. by Ivan Tzvetanov.

August 8, Monday

Stanford Lifeflight (limited to around 20 students): Meet a helicopter pilot and emergency nurse of Lifeflight. They will tell you what it's like to work for Stanford's emergency helicopter service. You will also get a tour of the helicopter.

7:30pm: LGBT issues--Taiwanese will have a chance to talk with a Mandarin speaker who is lgbt (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender). Korean and Japanese students will be able to attend a similar panel or event later in the program.

August 9, Tuesday

7:30pm: Movie night: "Mississippi Burning": ALC faculty advisor and film scholar Raphael Lambert will show this important film about the U.S. South during the Civil Rights movement for African-Americans. A short discussion will follow the film.

 

August 10, Wednesday

7:30pm: Larry Diamond of the Stanford Hoover Institute will discuss security in East Asia and Taiwan Straits relations. "During the first three months of 2004, Diamond served as a senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. He is now lecturing and writing about the challenges of postconflict state-building in Iraq. . . Diamond has lectured, taught, and conducted research in some 25 countries over the past thirty years. During 1982–83 he was a Fulbright Visiting Lecturer at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria. In 1997–98 he was a visiting scholar at the Sun Yat-Sen Institute of the Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. His research and policy analysis are focused on the relationship between democracy, governance, and development in poor countries, particularly in Africa."

August 11, Thursday

2:00pm: KQED television and radio station (limited to 32 students): These are the largest public stations for Northern California.

3:30pm: Google (Cost: Free, limited to 28 students): Google is recognized as the world's largest search engine. The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin who were students at Stanford University. They developed a new approach to online search that took root in a Stanford University dorm room and quickly spread to information seekers around the globe. 27 students will have chance to visit their headquarters which is close to the Stanford campus. To learn more about Google, click here.

6:30pm: Family & Identity Panel (Mandatory attendance): Tom Tseng and Rebecca Smith (a married couple) will share with us their thoughts on cultural identity and family life in the U.S. Tom is the associate director of the Office of Asian Relations at Stanford. Rebecca is the associate dean for External Relations at the School of Education here at Stanford.

Meteor Shower viewing (any number of students): The meteor shower will peak late at night around 1:00 am - 4:00 am. You can join a hike to the Dish, but make sure to get some sleep so you won't be late for class the following day.

August 12, Friday

Parnassus Funds 2:30pm (limited to 10 students): Learn about socially responsible investing from the founder and president, Jerome Dodson, of Parnassus Investments. Learn why its "the mutual fund company that does well by doing good."

 

August 13, Saturday

All day: Great America amusement park.

 

August 14, Sunday

10:30 am: Glide Memorial Church (limited to about 15 students): The Sunday Celebration at Glide Memorial Church is quite unique. The Glide Ensemble will clap, sway and blast out the spirit of empowerment though singing a variety of songs, including jazz, blues and gospel. More information about Glide can be found at www.glide.org.

Afternoon: San Jose Jazz Festival. (Cost: Free, limited to about 25 students) Hang out in sunny San Jose, listen to jazz and experience one of America's largest free music festivals. Click here to see the main acts of the festival.

 

August 15, Monday

7:30pm: Movie night-- "Shaft": ALC faculty advisor and film scholar Raphael Lambert will show this "blaxploitation" film from the 1970's. Come watch an American classic. A short discussion will follow the film.

 

August 16, Tuesday

2 pm: Visit Levi Strauss headquarters (limited to 20 students): San Francisco is home to this American Icon. "In response to gold miners' needs for sturdy work pants in 1873, Levi Strauss patented the process of putting rivets in pants for strength and the world's first jeans were born." To get an idea of how their products have changed over the years, visit their websites "History" section.

6:30pm: Host Presentations-- American Musical Traditions by Tina Lin & Marriage Trends by Peter Yu.

 

August 17, Wednesday

3:15 pm: Kayaking (Cost: Free, limited to 5 students): Five lucky students will receive a private kayak lesson outdoors at Bair Island Aquatic Center with Gina Sanchez, coach of the Stanford Canoe and Kayak Team. If you cannot swim, don't worry. We have quality lifejackets and beginner boats, and the water is very calm and still. Coach Gina will teach you all of the important beginner skills.

Afternoon: San-Francisco-based Project Open Hand (limited to 10 students) provides home delivered meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to people living with HIV/AIDs. . .

6pm: Magic (limited to about 12 students): Take a break from cafeteria food! Have dinner and talk about environmental issues with members from this community.

August 18 , Thursday

2-4pm: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (limited to 22 students): This is one of the federal appeals courts that is just below the Supreme Court in importance. You will tour the historic courthouse architecture, visit the courtrooms, learn about the important cases decided here and have a chance to talk to Senior Judge John T. Noonan.

4-7pm: Volunteer at Sacred Heart in San Jose (number of students to be announced)

8:00 pm: Musical "Wicked" (Cost: $32.00, limited to 16 students): This is a new Broadway musical about the untold story of the Witches of OZ.

Synopsis: Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years. More information about this musical can be found here.

August 19, Friday

1:30pm: Religion in the U.S.: Stanford students will talk about religion from their own perspectives of faith and belief, and about the U.S. as a multi-religious society.

7:00 pm: Jack Johnson Concert (Cost: $42.50, limited to 7 students): This musician is a very talented singer-songwriter, and he is popular among American college students. You can read his lyrics and listen to samples of music at www.jackjohnsonmusic.com.

August 20, Saturday

11am: Castro neighborhood walk (limited to 18 students): A San Francisco resident and experienced guide will lead a walk through one of the city's important neighborhoods. This neighborhood has a long history and is open and celebratory about its thriving gay and lesbian population. After the walk, you will probably have a chance to talk with an lgbt person who lives in the area.

August 21, Sunday

10:30 am: Glide Memorial Church (limited to about 15 students): The Sunday Celebration at Glide Memorial Church is quite unique. The Glide Ensemble will clap, sway and blast out the spirit of empowerment though singing a variety of songs, including jazz, blues and gospel. More information about Glide can be found at www.glide.org.

 

HOMEWORK DAY!!

August 22, Monday

2:30 - 4:00 pm: Sierra Club (Cost: Free, limited to around 18 students): The Sierra Club is an organization dedicated to protecting the natural environment and wildlife in the US and throughout the world. Students will have an opportunity to learn about the organization and also about its relationship to Yosemite National Park from Michele Perrault who was the National President for the Sierra Club during 1984-86 and 1993-94. You can learn more about the Sierra Club at www.sierraclub.org.

6pm: Magic (limited to about 12 students): Take a break from cafeteria food! Have dinner and talk about environmental issues with members from this community.

August 23, Tuesday

Oral Presentations

August 24, Wednesday

Oral Presentations

2pm: ALC Basketball tournament. Come play hoops (or cheer) with students and teachers.

August 25, Thursday

Oral Presentations

2pm: Intel (limited to 20 students): visit the museum explaining the history and products of the leading chip maker.

7pm: Host Presentation-- Social Dance Workshop by Gem Chien. Learn how to dance to Swing Jazz!

August 26, Friday

Last Day of Classes!

12pm: Graduation Luncheon

August 27, Saturday

11am: Depart for Yosemite National Park
We will all be taking a bus together to one of the United States' oldest and most beautiful parks. The bus ride will take about 5-5 1/2 hrs.

August 28, Sunday

Enjoy Yosemite National Park

August 29, Monday

Enjoy Yosemite National Park

August 30, Tuesday

Return from Yosemite & farewell banquet at hotel

August 31, Wednesday

Students fly back to Asia. Sad goodbyes.

 

Other Events to be scheduled soon:

Other LGBT events.

Presentations/ Panels about life in U.S. to be led by Stanford hosts (to be scheduled soon):