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My question is can we use coordinators and subordinating conjunctions in the same sentence? If we can, what is the right order of these two kinds of conjunctions in one sentence?
My sentence is:
It was a great journey not just because I have learned more about this culture, but I have made many good friends.
Is it a correct sentence? Is the order "because ... but" correct?
The sentence is correct. There are no problems with this word order.
It was a great journey
not just
because
I have learned more about this culture,
but
I have made many good friends.
In effect, the entire coordination (both things that the cordinating conjunction "but" connect) happens inside the compound clause that the subordinating conjunction "because" attaches to the main clause.
Other orders can also be correct. There are no problems with the following word order:
My great journey took place
after
I graduated high school
but
before
I enrolled for college.
Here, the subordinating conjunctions occur inside the things that the coordinating conjunction connect.
It make just as much sense for coordination to happen inside subordination as it does for subordination to happen inside coordination.
Not sure about a general rule regarding subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, but your sentence follows a different pattern in English: "not only... but also..." In your case, you're replacing "only" with "just", but the meaning is the same.
To use this pattern, your sentence should read:
It was a great journey, not just because I learned more about this culture, but also because I made many good friends.
It has been a great journey, not just because I have learned more about this culture, but also because I have made many good friends.
The because isn't part of the general pattern, but it's needed for parallel construction with the not just part of the sentence. Finally, the entire sentence either needs to be in the present perfect or the simple past. You can't mix them in this situation.
