Today our Happy Ex-Student at Lexis Byron Bay is Juliana!
Juliana!
My name is Juliana Barrera, I’m 25 years old and I’m from Bogotá, Colombia.
Before leaving my country, I was working for a Colombian fashion brand but I was feeling kind of bored and stuck, and my soul was craving for adventure. I talked to my parents about it and they thought I should go to the U.S to improve my English, that night I couldn’t sleep thinking about going to Australia instead, and that’s what I did.
10 years ago, my brother Simon lived in Byron Bay for 8 months in a student exchange program and when he came back home, all he could said was that Byron was made for me, he kept talking about that magical place for so long that all I wanted was to take the first flight and discover all the magic and beauty he witnessed. Even though I was born in a big chaotic city, I’ve always felt like -somehow-, I belonged to the ocean, so Byron Bay seemed like the ideal place to be.
Before living in Australia, I had an average English. I could maintain a good conversation but with very poor vocabulary and fluency, so my goal was to expand my vocabulary so that I could join different types of conversations and be fluent so that I didn’t have to stop every 2 minutes to translate in my head whatever I was about to say. Lexis English not only helped me with those goals, it also gave me better writing skills and a greater understanding at reading difficult and factual lectures. I must say that a big part of my heart is still in Lexis and I’m sure most of the students that have had the opportunity to study there does as well. I can still feel the warmth from everyone’s smile in the morning while getting to school; Lisa’s smile in the hallway, Claire’s sweet voice at the reception, Josie’s contagious laughter anywhere, Claudia’s super kind words… I could go on and on.
My accommodation was the easiest part, as I said before, my brother lived in Byron for a couple of months, and during his stay he lived with a lovely lady who ended up being friends with our whole family. When I told Jade that I was thinking about going there, she didn’t hesitate and told me to live with her during my six months in Byron (those 6 months ended up being a year and a half in Australia). I think my favourite thing to do was pretty much everything, let only commuting was fun in my bike feeling the salty breeze and the sound of the lorikeets in the morning, sunrises at Tallow’s, walking barefoot across town, playing ukulele at the beach, singing at C3 Byron with my local friends (I think that was my favourite part ever, I loved my Sunday’s so much…), having coffee while journaling somewhere by myself, hanging out at Ti Tree Lake, doing the lighthouse walk, etc.
I had some pretty rad moments in Byron, but definitely my most magical time was an afternoon surfing with my friend Polly at Little Wategos; it was such a beautiful day after an outrageous storm. The sky was so blue, the water crystal clear, there was just my friend and I in that unspoiled and hidden beach, there was a beautiful rainbow so close to us and all of the sudden, as if it was a fantasy movie, we had a pack of dolphins swimming and playing next to us, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A couple of minutes later, as if the dolphins, the rainbow and the gorgeous skies and water were not enough, a massive and spectacular stingray swam just below my surfboard, of course I cried. I hold on dearly to that beautiful memory.
After studying in Lexis for around 8 months and living/working in that same town for another 10 months, I can only say that it has been the most exciting, amazing, life-changing experience I’ve ever had. So, if you’re thinking about enrolling at Lexis Byron, please don’t think twice. Today, 1 year and a half after arriving back home, despite I long to be back to my beautiful paradise, here in Colombia my English level has given me lots of opportunities, and what matters the most, I have friends all over the world (some of them have come to visit me and I’ve had the chance to visit them in their countries as well). Don’t miss this chance, you won’t ever regret.
Love you forever Lexis Byron xx
Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE, and English plus Surfing and Yoga in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
