Hi guys! Finally i found some time to blog! And tomorrow will be my birthday! Celebrating with the people in China! Cause it's their National Day! Ha! And i have one whole week of break! So cool! No work! Finally i can rest my lazy bum till late noon, then burn fats in the gym at night, with my own time... Cause next week we will start our supervisory post... so we don't have to make beds (I HOPE!) Well.. some parts in this blog will be quite repeated.. Ha.
Personal thoughts Personally, I felt that doing my attachment in Beijing is a test of adaptability, flexibility and endurance.
My first two days spent in Beijing is one of the most significant events that happened in my life. I believed the 23 students who came here shared the same sentiments. Though the students who left for Su Zhou and San Ya will enjoy better facilities, I believed the selected eight are left here to test our capabilities to live and learn independently in an environment that we never expect.
Adapting I am sure that most girls mentioned the showering incident in their journals because never would we expect ourselves to see each other naked.
Till today, the girls in Beijing are still trying very hard to become accustomed seeing many other naked females (young to old) walking around comfortably in the locker room. It felt even more awkward when we saw our mentor or colleagues nude because we see them often. We have a choice - take a shower later. Be flexible.
There are many other differences and hurdles that we need to accept and live with it. Such as eating meals with only chopsticks, using the olden type of squatted toilet bowls (and holding my breath as long as possible because the stench in the cubicle made me feel nausea).
Problems such as communication breakdown do occur. My mentor spoke Mandarin with a strong dialect accent from her hometown. Sometimes, I could not understand what she meant and that got her really frustrated. However I am glad that she is patient and understanding enough to know that I really cannot comprehend what she meant. Moreover I am a trainee from Singapore with no experience in housekeeping and I do not understand their jargons. Nonetheless, this gave me a chance to learn and gain experience in the operational leve, hence building a strong foundation before we get to the supervisory post next week. (No more making of beds! Yippie!)
Housekeeping Being attached to the housekeeping department, allows me to understand what I learnt in school better by working and experiencing it.
An example would be the work flow that started even before the guest checks into the hotel. My mentor and I rushed to turnover the dirty room. Almost immediately, the bell-boy comes up to deliver the guest's luggage. The next day we have to clean up the rooms by changing the linens and washing the toilet all within 30 minutes. When the guest(s) departs, we have to turnover the room as fast as possible so that the new guest(s) can enter.
At this moment, I am fully aware that it took many people and great effort to provide a seamless operation so that guests can feel the comfort of their rooms within the shortest period of time. Co-operation between the frontline and back-of-house staff is extremely important so as to achieve optimal effectiveness and efficiency.
Out-door Catering When the F&B director asked if anyone is interested going for out-door catering, being enthusiastic, I raised my hand immediately. This gave us an opportunity to experience outdoor catering. (Finally I can get out of the routine and tedious housekeeping duties!)
I feel that we will learn better when we have hands-on training because service not only comes from knowledge learnt but from experiences and most importantly, Attitude and Passion.
Conclusion I will not deny the fact that I still complain occasionally but I will not allow my emotion to get the better of me. I kept reminding myself that I am here to learn for only be 4.5 months. Whatever culture shock we faced, all we need is some time to adapt and accept. Whatever mistakes we made, we have to learn and never repeat it again. Whatever hurdles we encountered, treat it as an experience. Whenever I felt that I'm complaining too much, I kept repeating to myself, "If the people in China can do it, so can I."
In conclusion, I've learnt not to expect too much and be contented that at least our physiological and safety needs are met so we should not ask for more. Perhaps we are spoilt by our parents who gave us all the comfort that we need thus we felt upset when we received something that is not what we have expected. Currently, having the thought of owning the latest mobile phone seemed to be our last priority. I guessed staying here had made us more humble and easily contented. * * * * *
