Last month some of our past students reunited in Switzerland!!!
Past Lexis students reunited! Angelo, Lisa, Valerie, Thomas, Maxime, Jodie, Estelle, Gaetan, Romain, Camille, Pauline, Anais, Amelie and Tito!
They all studied at Lexis Byron Bay over the last summer; with half completing our Cambridge Course and the other half studying in our General English classes.
After forming such great friendships during their time in Byron Bay they decided to reunite in Switzerland to have a catch up and reminisce, and in true Aussie style done it with a BBQ!
It was Valerie who started the plans and after a couple of months of messages and calls between them all they finally made it happen!
I got in touch with Tito to ask about their meet up and he provided me with this beautiful quote:
“It’s difficult to find the correct words to describe an incredible experience, maybe because it’s so unique, that you can only feel. It’s difficult to find the correct words to describe an incredible experience, something you lived that was so remarkable, that nobody could understand. Nobody, apart from the people you shared it with.”
Great to see all your lovely faces together and hopefully one day we’ll see them all again in Byron Bay?!
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.
Alessa is from Switzerland and studied at Lexis Byron Bay for two weeks on the English in Action – Surfing course. During those two weeks she studied English in the mornings and learnt to surf in the afternoons.
Her first visit to Australia was in January of this year, when she spent a month travelling with her family. She loved the country and the people so much that she had to come back!
She arrived in Australia with an Intermediate level of English and, although her time at Lexis Byron Bay was short, she feels has learnt more and improved her English language skills.
Alessa (back row, on the right) with the other new students on her first day at Lexis Byron Bay
Alessa had never surfed before, so was quite nervous for her first lesson! Over the two weeks she had eight lessons with the team at Lets Go Surfing Byron Baywho taught her the basics of surfing and helped her to improve. By the end of the eight lessons, she was feeling very good in her ability to surf and hopes to keep surfing when she returns to Europe.
One of Alessa’s favourite things about Byron Bay was the people. In particular, she enjoyed meeting all the people at Lexis Byron Bay and the friends she has made from all over the world.
Alessa (second from right) enjoyed the Coffee Lounge conversation activity with other Lexis Byron Bay students
Alessa said she would definitely recommend the English in Action – Surfing course to anyone thinking of studying English and learning to surf in Byron Bay. She said the team at Lets Go Surfing Byron Bayare really nice, very motivated, always have a smile and make the lessons really fun!
Alessa (centre) with her Lexis classmates on graduation day
Now Alessa is enjoying two months of travelling around Australia. After Byron Bay she is off to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and then Perth before flying back to Switzerland. We hope she has a great time travelling around the country and continues to practice both her English and her surfing!
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
We have two students graduating from Lexis Byron Bay this week.
Emiko with her teacher and classmates
Emiko is from Japan and graduates from Claudia’s Upper Intermediate class. She started in Pre-Intermediate and, over the 24 weeks she has spent here at Lexis Byron Bay, has worked her way up to the Upper Intermediate class. She has been a dedicated and hard-working student, improving her English skills and gaining confidence in speaking both in class and out. Emiko has made great friends during her time here and will be missed by staff and students alike! She is now off to travel through Cambodia and Vietnam before returning home to Japan. When she gets home, she plans to work and save up to come back to Australia, to travel to Uluru, Cairns and Tasmania. We look forward to seeing you again in Australia some day Emiko!
Anina with her teacher and classmates
Anina is from Switzerland and graduates from Kristy’s Pre-Intermediate class. She has been studying at Lexis for just three weeks but has made great progress in that time. Anina has increased her confidence in speaking and shows strong grammar skills for this level. She is a kind, polite student and works very well with her classmates. We wish you all the best for the future Anina!
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
Welcome to the six new starters at Lexis Byron Bay this week!
Clara is from Switzerland and is in Australia for a few months of her gap year between finishing high school and starting university. She has always liked soccer, and played it from the time she was a young girl. She even played in the national team for two years, which also helped her improve her German and French skills. In recent years she has given up playing soccer to focus on her school and when she returns to Switzerland she will then move to Berlin to continue improving her German. She plans to spend 6 weeks with us here in Byron Bay and another 6 weeks at the Gold Coast before returning home. She has always dreamed of visiting Australia and is very excited to study English here!
Pauline is from Belgium and has a brother and half-sister. She likes sports, such as going to the gym, skiing and handball. She has just finished high school and, when she returns to Belgium, plans to study at university. She is thinking about becoming an airline Pilot. She came to Australia to study English because she has dreamed of coming here since she was 14. She believes it is the perfect destination, as you can travel and learn English at the same time, while making lots of friends from all over the world. After her studies with Lexis Byron Bay, she plans to work and travel before returning home.
Lucile is from Belgium and lives in the capital of the country, Brussels. She loves to dance and has been practicing everyday for the past four years. Last year she was accepted into a dance company by a choreographer, which she is very excited about! She also loves to travel and visited California in the USA last year with her mother. She has just finished high school where she studied languages (French, German and English) and economics. She came to Australia because she has only ever heard positive things about this country and has always wanted to see it. In the future she wants to become a teacher.
Anna is from Germany and lives in Berlin with her mother. She is a passionate cook and photographer, and also enjoys fashion and culture. She came to Australia to get to know the culture here. She had also heard a lot of good things about the country from her friends and wanted a “seachange”, from the city to the beach, so decided that Australia was the best place for her to learn English. In the future, she plans to study Psychology at university.
Lucia is from Slovakia and is one of five in her family with her parents, sister and brother, plus a dog called Bambi. She likes swimming and cycling. She studied Finance and Investment at university and has worked as a Manager and Interpreter for a local company which conducts business in France. She has been speaking French for five years and is now in Australia to improve her English skills to enhance her job prospects when she returns home. She hopes to speak fluently in English so that she can obtain work as a lifeguard in Australia. She also looks forward to relaxing and having fun during her time here.
Lear is from Spain and is one of four in his family, including his mother, father and younger brother. He works as a chef and cooking is his passion. He also enjoys music, particularly old school rock and roll, and motorcycles, especially Harley Davidson motorbikes. He came to Australia to improve his English and to explore different types of products and flavours to use in his own cooking back home. One day, he hopes to open his own restaurant or to teach others how to be a good, hardworking chef.
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
One of our lovely teachers, Julia, is lucky enough to be travelling through Europe at the moment. On her travels, she managed to catch up with a group of her former Lexis CAE students who studied the Cambridge course in Byron Bay.
On Saturday afternoon, she met up with them at the Rote Fabrik (Red Factory), which is a great spot right next to the beautiful Lake of Zurich.
Julia said: “It was really lovely to see everyone and catch up on their news. All the students had such fond memories of their time at Lexis and in Byron Bay. Thanks for coming everyone!”
Front row (left to right): Quentin, Joyce, Martina, Simone, Jessica, Michelle. Back row (left to right): Teacher Julia, Aurelie, Nora, Julia, Raphael, Neil, Till, Geri, Raffi, Jana, Luana, Julien.
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
We have five students graduating from Lexis Byron Bay today – Donovan, Estelle, Jisu, Vera and David.
Vera is from the Czech Republic and graduates from Claudia’s Intermediate class. She worked very hard to improve her English while at Lexis, moving up from the Pre-Intermediate class she started in. She was a conscientious student and a pleasure to have in class. Enjoy your time in Perth, Vera!
Estelle is from Switzerland and graduates from Claudia’s Intermediate class. She was a pleasure to have in class and was a conscientious student. During her time at Lexis Byron Bay she moved up from the Pre-Intermediate class she started in and worked very hard to continue improving her English. Estelle is doing some travel down the east coast before returning to Switzerland. Have fun exploring more of Australia, Estelle!
Donovan is from France and graduates from Claudia’s Intermediate class. His English has improved a lot since starting at Lexis, moving up from the Pre-Intermediate class he started in. He was an active participant and contributor in class activities and discussions. He will be spending the next year in Australia on a Working Holiday. We hope you have a great year, Donovan!
David is from Switzerland and graduates from Claudia’s Intermediate class. He has improved his English in many areas, particularly his speaking skills,and his participation in class activities and discussions was appreciated. He will be travelling for the next two months before returning home. Enjoy your travels, David!
Jisu is from Korea and graduates from Josie’s Upper Intermediate class. She has worked hard, making excellent improvements with her English writing and grammar and becoming much more confident with her speaking. She is now heading to Lexis Noosa to continue learning English. All the best with your studies, Jisu!
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
This week we have four new students at Lexis Byron Bay. Welcome to Lucas, PedroNatsumi and Marina!
Lucas is from Brazil and is an artist. He completed a Graphics Design course and works as an Illustrator and Tattoo Artist. He came to Australia because it always seemed like a great place to visit, and was drawn to the beach at Byron Bay. Lucas hopes to extend his student visa to study an Arts course in painting and other new techniques.
Pedro is from Brazil and worked as an Electrical Engineer. He enjoys exercising every day and loves to cook, and is hoping to get some work in a restaurant, bakery or coffee shop during his time here. He came to Australia because he thinks it is an amazing country and he has some friends living in the area who are enjoying the great Byron lifestyle! Pedro hopes to become fluent in English and possibly apply to study at a Cooking College or similar.
Natsumi is from Japan and grew up in Amami-ohshima, an island off the south of Japan. She is the youngest in her family of six. Natsumi studied Sports Science and enjoys going for walks, reading books and watching movies.
Marina is from Switzerland and is living in a small village called Saas-Fee. There are no cars are allowed in the village and she prefers the clean air of the village compared to living in a larger town or city. She used to work as a Sales Assistant before but now enjoys her job as a waitress in the tourist town. Marina is in Australia for just six weeks and after her four weeks with Lexis she plans to do some travelling up the east coast.
We hope you all enjoy your time in Byron Bay with the Lexis family!
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
Jeannine has been a student at Lexis for the past 12 weeks. She has loved Byron Bay, with her favourite thing being the Lighthouse because it is such a relaxing place to look out at the expansive ocean. While studying, she said her favourite thing about Lexis was the afternoon activities and, in particular, Coffee Club. She has also improved her grammar a lot in her time here, which she is very happy with.
While in Byron Bay, Jeannine lived in a Homestay with her Host-Dad and 4-year-old Host-Sister. She loved becoming part of their little family and developed a special relationship with her Host-Sister who constantly tells Jeannine how much she loves her! They will all keep in contact and the little girl hopes to one day visit Jeannine in Switzerland.
After graduating this Friday, Jeannine has an exciting month of travel planned up the east coast and then down to Melbourne and Sydney. She is most excited about visiting Melbourne for the art, culture and cafes the city has to offer, plus some side trips to the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island. She also has a friend-of-a-friend there who is going to take her to an AFL match!
Jeannine is looking forward to returning home to see her family, especially her mum and grandfather, who are both meeting her at the airport in Switzerland. She plans to return to her old job as a Dental Assistant and save some money for more travel plans – to visit a friend in Canada next year, and then on to South America too!
It has been a pleasure having you at Lexis and I personally enjoyed our chats together and Coffee Club antics – your Lexis Jenga skills are very impressive! We wish you all the best for your travels in Australia and around the world! 🙂
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
Back row from left to right: Ronnie, Carmen, Tamara, Cendrine, Luana, Julie, Miguel, Blair, Chloe & Luca Front row from left to right: Alain, Danilo, Neil
We had three Cambridge classes starting on Monday. You’ve already met CAE and FCE1. Below are some quick facts about FCE2.
Ronnie is from Lucerne, Switzerland and came to Byron Bay because he likes surfing, the beach and the lovely positive atmosphere here. It’s his third time in Australia and he wants to learn better English for business and travelling.
Carmen, Tamara, Cendrine, Luana and Julie are also all from Switzerland. Carmen loves singing songs and playing soccer, Tamara likes snowboarding or go biking or horseriding, Cendrine enjoys travelling and Luana is planning to travel around Australia for three months after her course finishes and Julie has a pet.
Miguel is 25 years old and from Brazil. Back home he’s a mining engineer. He likes to skate and play soccer.
Blair and Chloe are from South Korea. Blair lived in Noosa, before coming to Bay. She is friendly and very confidence while Chloe’s partner described her as really nice and open-minded.
Luca and Alain are from Switzerland. Luca likes sport and is interested in hip-hop music while Alain like playing soccer and drawing. He is here because he wants to learn English and get his mind free. .
Danilo from Italy likes playing volleyball and, finally, Neil, also from Switzerland is really into surfing, which is why he chose Byron. He also likes going on holiday in other countries.
Today was the first full day of lesson for the Byron’s new CAE class. To help them get to know each other and for all of us at Lexis English to learn a bit more about them all, they each interviewed another class member and then wrote an introductory paragraph about them.
And here it is. The CAE class in their own (unedited) words:
From left to right: Michelle, Miguel, Naomi, Tom, Aurelie, Raphael, Jasmin, Chris, Paola, Till
Michelle is a very passionate soccer player in her hometown Embrach, Switzerland. She’s working in a bank as an accountant. She’s going to stay in Byron for 3 months and then she’s going to travel all around the country for 1 month. That’s where she can fulfil her biggest wish – to see and travel a lot and just be happy.
Miguel is from Spain. He likes the sport in general like swimming, running. He likes listening to music and reading. Miguel want to work in a place where he loves what he’s doing. Laos and Vietnam were the best places he has travelled. Miguel stay here 3 months to improve English then he would like to travel one month.
Naomi comes from Switzerland. She is staying in Australia for three months to pass the CAE and travellilng around Byron Bay. She likes sport a lot like soccer and swimming.
Tom was working for a bank before coming to Australia. Tom loves practise sport, especially water sports. He likes listening rock and house music. Tom thinks that Byron Bay is the best place where he’s been to.
Aurelie is from Montreux, Switzerland. She is here to improve her English. In Byron she can recommend to go to the lighthouse. In Switzerland she was a student and in her free time she was fencing and playing volleyball. In her life she wants to have a family.
Raphael is from Switzerland. He is going to be in Australia for 4 months and a half; 3 in Byron, studying English, and one and a half travelling around the east coast. He has already travelled for 10 days in the west coast. He is living in a homestay in Suffolk Park and he is very happy with his host mother, who is a teacher in the school. He likes practice water sports like diving, snorkelling, swimming and he wants to learn surfing. He works in a hotel.
Jasmin comes from Switzerland. The town she lives is called Duebendorf, that’s situation near Zurich. She’s here to improve her English for her future job. From Australia she haven’t seen so much yet but she was at the market in Byron and also at the beach.
Christophe is from Switzerland and he’s staying in Byron for 3 months. Before arriving here, he’s been in Sydney for 5 weeks. He enjoys playing tennis and travelling. His favourite place he visited was Benin in Western Africa.
Paola arrived here in Australia in March and has already been travelling from Cairns to Byron Bay. She lives in the accommodation in Lexis and loves all the outside sports like surfing, walking, running or climbing. She worked as a manager in a restaurant in Spain before she came here.
Till lives near Zurich. He finished his high school in June and then travelled to Greece. He’s here to improve in English, having good time and travelling after school. His homestay’s close from the school. He likes sail, watersports and fitness. He’s also interested in what happens around the world like actuality and politics.
It’s lovely to meet you all. We wish you a fantastic three months in Byron Bay.
Today we went for a little adventure to see some of the surf spots around Byron and to learn a bit more about surfing. We even hiked to a secluded beach and to the light house and saw some dolphins and even whales!!!
The boys looking for whales and just seeing Mirko’s tongue!
At the Light house the boys got some Ice Cream and were on the hunt for whales and dolphins. It was a long hike with a lot of stairs and we even went to the most easterly part of all of Australia! We watched a few pods of dolphins playing and saw some whales breach and splash their tails!
S for Surfing!
At little Watego’s the boys posed for some pictures at a beautiful beach on a great sunny day!
Adventuring around Little Watego’s!
Break Time!
We stopped in at the local surf shop C-Skins and the manager Tom told the boys about surfing and surfboards! They even had some time to do a little shopping as well!
The boys learning about boards from Tom, manager of our local shop C-Skins!
We had the ever-popular Swiss Cooking activity this afternoon.
Claudia had nine students at start of the hour as she took charge of Yvonne’s classic Cheese Fondue recipe. However, by the time I went down to the kitchen to take some photos, there were a lot more students enjoying a dip. Everyone really enjoyed it, even those who’d never tasted fondue before. And DK said that since it contained schapps and wine, nobody would be able to do any homework tonight!
Two of the students took the recipe home so they could make it again at the weekend. And here it is it below in case you want to try it out at home.
Cheese Fondue
Ingredients
600g shredded cheese (50/50 Gruyere and Emmental)
I garlic clove
A third of a bottle of white wine
3 teaspoon of cornflour
3 small glasses kirsch
Ground pepper and nutmeg to taste
Method
Rub a heavy saucepan or fondue pot with the split garlic clove.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch.
Put the cheese and wine into the pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
When the cheese is completely melted, add the kirsch and cornflour mixture, stirring vigourously.
Continue to cook and season to taste with pepper and nutmeg.
Serve over an alcohol lamp or candle plate warmer so the cooking can continue on a low heat.
Now enjoy by dipping in small pieces of bread, meat or vegetables speared on a fondue fork.
Linda and Bill have been providing homestay accommodation for Lexis students for the past two years. In that time they’ve hosted students ranging in age from 16-55 and from countries as diverse as Czech Republic, Japan and Reunion Island.
They always get excellent feedback from our students and I think this is because they really enjoy the process of welcoming students to their family.
I asked Linda to share some of their memorable homestay moments and photos and also to explain what they get out of being a host family.
Toshi at the Lighthouse on his first day in Byron
We’ve had so many memorable times with our students. I remember we took Toshi (pictured above) for his first ever snorkel, and I wasn’t sure once we got started… Bill had to put on his fins, and I had to get his mask on, and when we got over the wreck at main beach and he put his face in the water there was this enormous ray right underneath us and I thought he’d swallow half the sea he was so shocked and excited.
Priscilla, Dayan and Kay
This next picture shows Priscilla from Brazil with Swiss student Kay and our 14 year old son Dayan at an Xmas dinner. These two fell in love after they left our house… I’m pretty sure she is travelling to Switzerland in June/July to visit him.
Kainoa and his mum
Last year we played host to two lovely boys from Reunion lsland: surf enthusiasts Jean and Kainoa. At the end of their three week stay Kainoa’s family came out and joined them and we still keep in touch with them like we do with many of our students.
Freddie from Switzerland
Hynek from Czech Republic
We’ve also really enjoyed hosting Freddie, Linard and Kevin from Switzerland, Hynek from Czech Republic and Tomoyuki from Japan. Our Maltese dog Harry was so sad to see Hynek go that he kept going into his room and dragging the bathmat out of the bathroom.
Harry the dog!
As for us, I’m trying to think about what it is that we enjoy most about having the students and I think it is that because we are Canadian and don’t have any family here in Australia so the students who stay longer term actually become like part of our family. Dayan loves that he has these brothers and sisters from all over the world and he particularly loves it when they are keen to hang out and watch bad movies together.
Dayan loves to cook and guests love his speciality – Pork Ribs
Dinner times are great fun because that is when we all share stories about our lives, culture, food, travel experiences and so on. We love to witness the fun that student’s have at school, with the friends they meet, and the active social lives they have in this safe community. It is a joy to see so many students who enjoy surfing, the beaches and relaxed lifestyle of Byron Bay while they learn to improve their English language skills.
Ultimately it is a privilege to be a positive part of people’s lives when they are visiting Australia often for the first time and we enjoy showing them some of the more special places around the area.
Thanks for sharing Linda, and for providing Lexis students with such a wonderful homestay experience.
Ex-student Mario Koch dropped in today to tell us about his Farmstay experience, which Lexis organised for him at Hosanna Farm.
He told us that he loved it! During the week, he worked in the mornings, weeding, driving the trailer, feeding the animals and cleaning and then in the afternoons he got to swim, kayak and float in a rubber rind in the water.
He said that everyone was really friendly and would sit around and eat and chat together in the evenings. There were other volunteers there from England, Denmark and the Netherlands and Mario said his English really improved while he was there too.
This week Lexis English Byron Bay will be very sad to say goodbye to Mario, a 22 year old Swiss German student, who has been at Lexis for the last six weeks.
But Mario, isn’t leaving Australia; he’s going on to a farmstay that Lexis organised for him. He will be working as a volunteer to provide animal care, housekeeping, landscaping and cleaning for a rural farm hospitality business.
I met with Mario, this morning to ask him about his trip.
First of all, why did you decide to come to Australia?
Actually, I was going to go to Canada but my agent told me that there were too many Swiss students there and recommended Australia instead. I didn’t know which city to choose, just that I wanted to be by a beach, so I wrote different locations on bits of paper and chose Byron Bay at random. It was a good choice.
And why a farmstay?
I wanted to have the experience of living in the real world and mixing with native speakers as well as other international students. I’m really looking forward to it.
Hosanna Farmstay
How has your experience been so far?
Fantastic! I’m staying in a homestay in Suffolk Park, which is near a really great beach. I love to spend time there. I’ve also learnt so much at school. All my teachers and classes have been excellent. I really enjoy the way Kathleen, my Pre-Intermediate teacher teaches. She is very funny and makes you want to come to school.
My favourite lesson was when we went to the Farmers’ Market and then came back and wrote an article about it. We do a different writing each week and this is really useful because it means I can see where I make mistakes and which grammar I’m still not using.
Mario and his Pre-Intermediate Class at the Farmers’ Market
So are you happy you chose Byron Bay?
Totally. The beach is wonderful and it’s so great to feel free after coming here straight from the military in Switzerland. It’s really good to know that if I don’t want to get up and come to school I don’t have to. But I come anyway, because I choose to and I’m enjoying the process of learning.
Thanks Mario. We’ve really enjoyed having you here at Lexis English and wish you all the best for the future.
Today, Yvonne delighted us all with her classic Cheese Fondue. Everyone joined in to grate cheese, cut bread and stir the pot. And then of course, we all enjoyed participating in the dipping (even though I dropped most of mine on the table).
Below is the recipe Yvonne used. It’s extremely simple and very easy to reproduce at home.
Cheese Fondue
Ingredients
600g shredded cheese (50/50 Gruyere and Emmental)
I garlic clove
A third of a bottle of white wine
3 teaspoon of cornflour
3 small glasses kirsch
Ground pepper and nutmeg to taste
Method
Rub a heavy saucepan or fondue pot with the split garlic clove.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch.
Put the cheese and wine into the pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
When the cheese is completely melted, add the kirsch and cornflour mixture, stirring vigourously.
Continue to cook and season to taste with pepper and nutmeg.
Serve over an alcohol lamp or candle plate warmer so the cooking can continue on a low heat.
Now enjoy by dipping in small pieces of bread, meat or vegetables speared on a fondue fork.
Keep stirring with your bread as you dip.
NB. It’s tradition that anyone who loses their bread in the pan must either pay for a round of beer or a bottle of wine, or, alternatively, kiss the person sitting next to them!
