Our lovely French student Lulu will graduate this week and we’re all going to miss her! Lulu first came to Lexis Byron Bay last September. Then in December she spent a few weeks at Lexis Perth, before returning to Byron in January to do the FCE course (Cambridge First Certificate of English).

Lulu is a friendly, sociable and hard-working student who has embraced all aspects of Byron life. She has been a regular at our Cheeky Monkey’s student party nights as well as a fierce competitor in our table tennis tournaments!

I had a chat with Lulu this morning to find out more about her time in Australia…

Where are you from?

Paris, France.

Why did you come to Australia?

First I was choosing between Canada and Australia. In the end I chose Australia because of the weather and because the people are so open-minded and friendly. Also if I was going somewhere I wanted it to be really far away!

What is your favourite thing about Byron Bay?

I think the atmosphere at night. Even if we go out to the same places every week it is a good routine. There is a nice group of people and there is a global feeling.

What were your weaknesses with English when you first arrived in Australia?

Speaking! I was ashamed of my accent and for the first few weeks I could only speak with people for 2 minutes because I was embarrassed by my accent. Then my confidence grew and I realized it didn’t matter, so my speaking improved a lot. I studied English in high school for 6 years so for me things like grammar were just a review.

How is your class/teacher?

At the moment I’m in the Cambridge FCE class with Josie. I like the class, there is a good relation between all the students and our teacher Josie is always smiling and patient, even when she has to repeat something many times.

Is your English improving?

Now I am not so shy, I speak naturally and I realise mistakes are normal. I think I also really improved my writing, for example things like word order, prepositions, verb patterns.

You studied at Lexis Byron Bay first, then Lexis Perth, then back to Byron Bay! How was that experience?

First I spent 12 weeks in Byron Bay and then I transferred to Perth because I also wanted to see the west coast of Australia. I really loved my Upper-Intermediate class there because we studied in the evening and all the students were really nice. Byron Bay and Perth are very different, near Perth there is good scenery but for me the city was too big. So I came back to study in Byron Bay because it suits me better.

Would you recommend studying at Lexis Byron Bay?

For sure! My advice would be to stay for more than 3 months if you can because for me, I felt like just 12 weeks was not enough. You need time to settle in, get to know people and get to know the place.

What are your plans after you finish studying?

I will go back to France because I have to do some exams in March. Then in September I hope to study a Masters degree in Illustration, maybe in Paris or maybe in Canada – although the climate will be so different from Australia, I’ll have to get used to the cold!

Thanks for chatting with me Lulu, good luck for the future! 🙂