I think it only took me two weeks to find the best way to re- charge my batteries. I got settled into my new life in Brisbane very quickly, it took me even less time to find the perfect escape for my brain. And trust me after my first fourteen days of intensive English Course I really needed it. This new intense study routine was sucking the life out of me! What have I discovered you wonder ? I discovered National Parks.
It is something that is usually free. It is something the locals do week in week out and it is something that every single person should do.
The first time me and my classmates looked at each other begging for a rest we decided to go to Ballina, a small town located in northern New South Wales. It was just amazing. You never get to feel something like that, being in Australia, studying English to get a better career in the future . Since then, my new group of friends would organise something to get out of the city and enjoy Australia’s wonders on a weekly basis.
Not long after we have visited Ballina, we went to Springbrook National Park. Once again, it was free, which is important when you are on a student budget! We got to enjoy one of the most amazing places that I’ve ever seen: Natural Bridge. This is a tiny spot that you will find after not even 20 minutes walking through an amazing rainforest. Despite my English not being the best at the time I had a great conversation with my friends. One of them was from South Korea, and the other one was from Switzerland. We were enjoying every corner, every massive tree that surrounded us and all of a sudden I realised: This was the perfect break. Being in such an amazing place practising a new language without even noticing.
Ballina, Australia
Let me give you a piece of advice if you are planning to study abroad. Look for your perfect escape, a getaway from your study routine. It doesn’t matter what it is. It can be a coffee in a different place every day, it can be a short road trip, it can be a library or a football club, but you need to find something that makes you practice English without the struggle that sometimes is to be sitting in front of your desk in class thinking “If I have to learn one more phrasal verb I’m going to die”.
It takes courage and lots of energy to be learning a new language for hours every day, so the more relaxed we do it the better results we will get.
After one of those short escapes, it was Monday, and I realised that my English that particular day was much better than usual. It wasn’t because suddenly I have learned everything, it was because my mind was fresh. I had new ideas, new vocabulary and the fact that I practised my English with different classmates over the weekend made that routine, without any doubt, the perfect escape from my studies.
