Hope everything is doing great. Sorry if you haven’t heard from me for a while, the academic life in Bulle keeps me quite busy…

I am pretty sure you are curious about the subjects we are being taught in Bulle, right? Last time, I mentioned that everything would be different from the academic point of view, compared to Glion campus. This blog post will give me the chance to explain to all my friends what we are studying at Glion Institute of Higher Education. Many times I have been asked: ‘what are you actually studying?’ ‘What do you do and which kind of subjects do you have?’ I guess many people imagine us, hospitality students, to be clearing plates and doing beds all day long. Well no, it is not only that!

Among the subjects I have this semester are: Food & Beverage Management, Rooms Revenue Management, Marketing, Entrepreneurship (a word I still have to think about twice before writing it down), and Management Finance. As you can read the word ‘management’ is present quite often. These courses are compulsory for all the students, but in addition to these it is possible to choose elective GenEd courses (General Education): I chose Architecture & Design and Natural Science.

As I am in semester 4, I have to look for an internship, starting beginning of summer. My dilemma is: ‘where would I like to go?’ Initially I was thinking of the U.S., New York City in particular, but it is very difficult to get an internship there.

On Tuesday I will have my interview with Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris. But right now I am on my way to Munich, Germany, where the Kempinski Career Day will take place in a couple of hours at Kempinski Hotel Airport München. So I will see where I will end up…

Well, I am landing in a couple of minutes, so I wish you all a nice day.
Greetings from the sky!

Alex

Happy New Year! Is incredible how the time flies isn’t it? X-mas has passed, New Year’s Eve has come and is already gone and let’s all hope to have a great 2012!

How is everyone doing right now? To all the new students joining Glion in a couple of weeks: how do you feel? Have you already started writing your checklists? Packing perhaps? Or are you still thinking what to bring with you to Switzerland?

I still have some weeks left before going back to school: I will start my 4th semester in the Bulle campus, which is only twenty minutes away from Montreux, however, everything is going to change one more time for me: the place, the campus… but luckily I will be back with all my friends, which is great! In the Bulle campus, we will focus more on our academic skills rather than on our practical ones, since there will no longer be Craft Based Learning (CBL). Once in Bulle, it will be possible as well to choose some elective courses, according to our interests and preferences.

Have any of you (new students) already tried to picture yourselves in a kitchen? Not really right? I couldn’t do it either! I was scared of the idea I had to cook, in particular since I was good only at preparing salads and sandwiches! But don’t worry you are going to be fine! I really enjoyed the time I spent during CBL. There was a lot to learn and things to do while you get to know your classmates even better and you will feel like being part of a family; a team that works together and helps each other, which is important for our industry.

Well everyone I wish you all a wonderful day and enjoy what is left of your holidays. See you soon!

Here at Glion we had the opportunity to travel around the world in one afternoon, visiting all the country-stands presented by the students during our annual Cultural Fair, which celebrates community diversity, ethnic and cultural roots of the Glion students. This event emphasizes the cultural diversity here on campus and it is a great chance to know more about our friends’ countries and the uniqueness of each culture. During this fair, students presented their home countries with pride and shared their feelings and values with the attendees, giving us the opportunity to know more about the beauty of their places, traditions and customs. All the students involved got the opportunity to display their culture through posters, traditional music, food, drinks, clothing and so much more.

This is one of the many wonderful things about Glion, and the hospitality environment in general: always surrounded by different people, nationalities and cultures. Being open-minded will always help you to be more tolerant and respectful toward others, and make the most of your experience at this university.

During cultural fair students were challenged with their creativity. France presented a real fashion show with French designers and models. It was quintessential French, from the Champagne to Karl Lagerfeld. Moving up to northern Europe, we met the country of Sweden where it was possible to listen to a live performance of Agnetha and Ann-Frid former ABBA singers. Moving then to the east there was the USSR stand, yes exactly, USSR, where Russia, Ukraine and Belarus joined forces and spirits, altogether, creating a unique atmosphere. I particularly enjoyed the Russian-Ukrainian-Belarusian stand for the great atmosphere, beautiful costumes, and delicious food, and let’s not forget their traditional drinks…

It was a very pleasant and humorous afternoon; instead of attending class, we all got to experience something special.

I would like to personally thank everyone for all the work they put into making this Cultural Fair a truly memorable experience for me and the rest of the students, and all who attended. Hopefully we all learned a little something about someone else, and because of it we are now a closer and stronger community of students, faculty, and staff.

For those of you who are going to join Glion this winter, the cultural fair is something you are going to enjoy a lot, and you will feel the Glion Spirit…

Right now, lots of you are looking for your first internship, aren’t you? Well, I hope the search is going well so far. As promised, in my last post, I would like to share with you some more information about my experience in the One & Only Reethi Rah of the Maldives. For most of you, this is your first experience in a real working environment; there’s nothing to be afraid of, trust me. It might seem a bit scary at the beginning since you don’t know what to expect, but you will be fine.

My internship started in the fine dining Japanese restaurant, where I began learning all the basic procedures of the restaurant. Even if I was taught during CBL how to operate in a restaurant and so on, once in the real work space, everything is completely different. During my first night I was completely lost. I didn’t know what to do, where to stand, how the restaurant was run and I had the feeling of being useless. Pretty normal I guess, but then I got used to it.

After a month in the Japanese restaurant, I moved to the main restaurant, which operates during the breakfast, lunch and dinner times. It felt like everything was normal again. Since the restaurant procedures were much more similar to those we learned during CBL. Compared to the experience of the previous month in the Japanese restaurant, it was much easier to adapt to.

Just remember not to be afraid of making mistakes, we all go through our first experience. The learning process never ends. So if you have any doubts simply ask one of your colleagues or supervisors, they are there, ready to help you. You probably remember your first day during service at Hotel des Alpes? Were you scared of the other students? Did you feel nervous? Well, during your internship, don’t be. Although I am aware that is easier said than done! There is no reason to be afraid of the guests because they understand you. You will realize that you will feel more confident being in contact with a lot of different people everyday.

During my F&B experience I had the chance to move to the bar as well. Sometimes it was very stressful but I had a lot of fun. I learned to prepare several cocktails (which of course I had to taste) and other drinks. It happened once or twice that I was left alone behind the bar, with big responsibilities, but luckily everything went smoothly and I managed to have a nice time, especially interacting with the guests.

Did you enjoy or are you enjoying the Wine class? At One&Only I worked as a sommelier for a whole month. Of course there was a lot to learn about grapes, wines and I did lots of wine tasting as well. In my opinion, it has been very useful not only for my job at the time, but as well for my own knowledge about wines. It has been one of the best departments I’ve worked in.

Then, I moved to room service, which is probably one of the toughest departments in the hotel. This is where the most absurd requests and embarrassing moments take place on a daily basis. Guests opening the door half naked, those that shout at you because you woke them up having forgotten that they had called room service, guests ordering bottles of vodka at 9 am and so on. Room service in my hotel was completely different from what one expects: picnics on deserted islands, barbecues on the beach,…It was quite funny at times. To deliver the order, I had to use a golf-cart, as the hotel is an all-villa resort. Sometimes, I took the opportunity of driving around the island. Naturally, I only did that when we weren’t too busy!

Have a nice week and I wish you the best of luck for the upcoming interviews.
Enjoy your midterm break!

Well everyone, how would you feel living and working in one of the world’s most
beautiful and luxurious tropical island resort? How would you like being in the lap of
luxury when you’re thousands of miles away from anywhere else? Have you thought
about it?

I’ve decided to take my first internship in the best hotel in the Maldives, One &Only Reethi Rah. An all-villa resort located in the North Male Atoll, just one hour by yacht
from the airport. For those of you who have never heard about One &Only, it is a luxury
brand which owns 7 exclusive resorts among the most beautiful destinations in the world such as Mexico, Bahamas, Maldives, Mauritius, Dubai and South Africa.

When I was in the plane, on the way to the Maldives, I was quite nervous about what was waiting for me in my new working environment, as well as curious to discover more
about it since I had been offered the job. I arrived in Male, December 19th early in the
morning, where the beautiful sun and an absolutely pleasant  28°C temperature gave me a warm welcome.

After being pick up by the hotel representative and boarded the guests’ yacht for the
hotel, I still couldn’t believe I was not there on holiday, but to work, for the next 6
months of my life. Upon arrival at the resort, together with the guests, we were welcomed by some of the executive managers. Then I met Gianni, the F&B assistant director, who made me feel at home from the very beginning. After a short tour I was shown to my room to get some rest.

The following day, after a very short orientation and some paperwork, I was introduced
to the One &Only principles, and the concept of blowing away the customers. Throughout my working experience I personally learned that a One &Only experience is
made of moments, which may relate to a time, a place, or a person. Some of these
moments make your day, others may change your life, some you’ll forget…while
others… you will remember and treasure forever.

I hope I gave you a nice and accurate idea of where I’ve been working for the last 6
months. I truly hope I can give you a good impression of my actual work experience in
my future posts.

Have a wonderful week!

Friday:

Saturday:
The following day, I woke up early in the morning. When I opened the windows, with some disappointment, I saw the gray and rainy sky all over the lake. The weather, however, did not put a damper on my excitement.

After breakfast, I was in the car on my way to school. I wanted to arrive there early, to be able to have plenty of time to check into the room, which would be my home for the following 6 months, and to get a chance to meet some people.

As hospitality students, we all know the importance of first impressions; since there is no second chance to make a good one. The first impression Glion gave me upon arrival has been great; friendly and genteel students, professors, and all the people involved in the long check-in process were absolutely fantastic. After the check-in, I finally was able to see my room.

My room is located in the Hotel des Alpes one of the residences in the Glion village; it appears to have been recently renovated in a simple, elegant and modern style. My room has a balcony and a stunning view over Lake Geneva and the French Alps.

View from my room

Montreux from the "Club"

Later that afternoon, I took the tour of the campus. The first person I met was Céline, a very friendly girl from Belgium. We decide to go to the ‘Club’ for a drink and after a while we met some people there. Afterwards, we decide to go that evening for some drinks at Paradise Bar, down in the Grande Rue in Montreux. We were a group of 15-20 people, from at least 12 different nationalities. Incredible isn’t it? Something like that can only happen in Glion!

Monday and Tuesday were induction days, and Wednesday I officially began with the courses. During those days I also started meeting my new classmates from class E32.
This weekend we will welcome the new students joining the school for their first semester at Glion Institute of Higher Education. We estimate we will reach maximum student occupancy. Next week we have a program for them called ‘Integration day’, where third semester students, are going to organize different activities around the campus.

For all those students travelling to Switzerland in the next coming days I wish you all a very pleasant journey and I’ll be seeing you on campus very soon.

Let me introduce myself; my name is Alex and I will be joining Glion for the Bachelor of Hospitality Management program, at the end of July. The program starts in less than three weeks; to be honest I haven’t even realized it yet.

As an E-Ambassador for the coming year, I will keep you updated on my experiences at Glion Institute of Higher Education. I will do the best I can to keep you interested and informed about life at Glion.

Read my complete bio !