I stayed in Australia in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast for two and a half months. My stay was just great!
The school where I studied is in Southport (5/10 minutes by tram from the centre of Surfers Paradise and the beach). The atmosphere was really great, the teachers were all nice and they tried to push our English skills further day after day. I actually arrived there with a B1/B2 level and I left with a C1 level and 7.5 at the IELTS exam.
As for the accommodation, I first spent 4 weeks in a family. My family was a retired couple who owned a very big house and who don’t take in students for the money only but also to have company. They were always very considerate, the lady also washed my clothes for free. I didn’t need to ask where the washing machine was, one day I came back home after class and my clothes were all clean and folded on the bed. My bedroom was fitted with a double bed and I had my own bathroom. There was also a swimming pool in the house that the students could use anytime. The food was never bad, I would even go as far as saying it was good everyday.
Then I spent 5 weeks in the shared flats offered the school; the apartments are fully equipped, decently sized. There are four students per flat, 2 per room and one bathroom per room. The apartments also have a lounge with TV. The apartments are in a 3-tower residence that includes 2 fitness centres, 3 swimming pools, 2 Jacuzzis as well as a sauna and a hammam, which provides maximum comfort.
As for Surfers paradise, I think that it’s the perfect city in Australia for a stay up to 4/5 months, not too big like Sydney where I also went, but where you can find absolutely everything you need to be entertained. There are a lot of things to visit like Byron Bay, Brisbane, the zoo, aquatic parks and theme parks, natural parks, waterfall for swimming. Gold Coast is also ideal for surfing, I surfed a lot during my stay and that remains one of my most beautiful memories. As I am writing these lines, a round of the surf championship is taking place in Coolangatta (45 minutes away from Surfers paradise), which shows the quality of the waves you can find there.
I also recommend anyone going to Australia to plan spending time and money on travelling for it is a beautiful country and I think it’s a pity to go to the other end of the world without planning 3-4 weeks to travel after following a course at the language school.
What do you think?