Getting up 4:30am wasn't easy this morning knowing that we wouldn't see weather like it for another good while. We met at the opening of our complex at 5am which gave us enough time to get to the Airport in time, check in our bags and get some breakfast before we boarded the flight home to Knock International Airport. The flight went really quick for me as I slept for 3 hours and the flight was 4 hours long. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but the experience we had was amazing. We all made friends friends for life and memories we will never forget. We all agreed that the placements couldn't have been much better.
Thanks for everything. - Eoin, Marcus, Cole, Ruairi
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Today consisted of getting the apartment to look tidy and respectable so the owner could approve of it and we'd get the deposits back. I also had to prepare my suitcase as we were flying out very early the next day. This took a few hours to prepare my suitcase and to clean the apartment. I then went out and got some presents and gifts for my family and friends.
Looking back on the three weeks I felt the time had flown by and it was a great experience that I immensely enjoyed. I'd recommend anyone to apply and do it. I'm pretty sure everyone on the trip had an amazing time, also the island of Tenerife is a travel location not to be missed as the Island is beautiful and the locals as veryfriendly. -Ruairi Day 18 of our work experience trip was jammed packed as we got a tour of the Tenerife fire station ran by 36 volunteers. The reason why we enjoyed this tour so much is because it was very much related to our course and we had a big interest in it. We were shown the equipment, fire trucks uniforms and rooms of the station such as the kitchen and a house fire simulation room. We also talked about the challenges the volunteers face when attending a fire. We finished the tour by talking about the history of the fire station and ended with questions. the tour to the fire station was one of the highlights of the trip as it was so closely related to our fire and ambulance course.
-Marcus Today was a day that the majority of us were off together. As a Celtic fan I knew Celtic were playing their rivals ''Rangers'' so I looked up where to watch the match and there was a Celtic pub close to us- 'Los Americas'. This worked out well as the girls wanted to go to Los Americas to do a bit of shopping. We got up at 10am and got the 11am bus to Los Americas. The match kicked off at 12pm so Cole, Marcus, Martin and I were there in plenty of time. The match finished at roughly 2pm and Celtic won 2-0, so the day was off to a good start. After the match we headed back to Adeje and went to a local Irish bar called ''Temple Bar'' and we all got an Irish roast dinner.
The roast was lovely but it wasn't better than a home cooked roast. Just as we were finishing our dinner we noticed that Galway were playing Tipperary in the hurling league final so we stayed and watched that. Galway won which was a plus. Once the match was finished we were really tired so we headed back to the apartment and had a little siesta for ourselves. That night we stayed in and I cooked for everyone. I cooked a tasty Chicken stir fry for all. All the plates were handed back empty so that was a good sign. As the day was so jam packed we decided that we would have a quiet and early night in. -Eoin I got up at 8am to get ready and headed for work as I was doing the early shift. This meant that I had to get new champagne glasses and a nice cold champagne bottle for the guests. I also had to get some ice to put in the bucket that the champagne sits in just so it will be nice and cold for the new arrivals. I also had to refill the orange juice for the guests as well. If they needed any help with there bags I would take them to there rooms and thats what my day consisted of. A few times as I was sitting at reception a few guests came up to me and asked me a few questions, for example, a few people wanted towels, where the closest shop was and also about the bus times. I was very happy as work was coming to an end as I had 2 days off, I haven't planned anything yet but I'm sure ill enjoy bringing in the culture this lovely island has to offer.
Now that Eoin has moved over to my hotel I don't see him that much as I would normally due to having different hours, but he seems to be settling in well and enjoys it in the hotel. Today I got to use my EFR skills that I learnt in GTI, as a woman cut her foot in the pool and I sterilised the cut then stopped the bleeding with bandages. She was grateful and the hotel staff and management were impressed with me. For the rest of the day I helped costumers checking in and also acted as an information person to take pressure off the reception staff so they could deal with more important matters. Today I felt like I did a very hard days work as I helped so many guests so overall I had a good sense of achievement walking home.
-Signing off Marcus :) Today was the second day of work in my new hotel. I was moved from La Pinta hotel as they were doing reconstructions. I joined my other colleague and friend, Marcus. The shift today was 2-8. My day consisted of pouring champagne for the new arrivals. After they enjoyed their complimentary drink, I assisted them with bring their bags and brought them to their rooms. The majority of the guests in my hotel are very generous and tip me very well.
When there were no check ins or check outs I patrolled around the hotel lobby and the entrance to the hotel just in case anyone tried to pick pocket the guests. On many occasions today I was asked general information about the hotel and the surrounding area. I felt this was a great way to improve my communication skills which are essential if you want to become a paramedic. The day flew as I was always kept busy. Thankfully when i got home the others decided that we would have a quiet night in as I was tired from my hard days work. Eoin Today I was working at 9am so I got up at 8am to have a shower and eat some breakfast, which give me enough time to get to the new hotel. As it was 8:30 I made my way to work because I wanted to give myself plenty of time as I didn't exactly know the where the hotel was. The reason for myself and Eoin changing Hotels was because La Pinta is planning a huge reconstruction of the hotel and it would take 4 months to refurbish. As I reached my new hotel which is called Panorama, I was introduced to the manager and reception manager they were so nice and gave me a tour of the hotel. After that they gave me a layout of the hotel which took time to get used to it. They day flew by, and I greeted new arrivals and asked if they wanted help with their bags. I showed them to their rooms at the same time. I always say to myself when dealing with new arrivals "treat them as you would like to be treated when you arrive at a hotel" . But all in all I had a great time at the new hotel and the staff were very friendly and nice, when I got back to the apartment Eoin was cooking up a storm.
Cole Working at Hovima Hotel Tenerife has been a great experience so far. My Spanish has developed a lot, with the help of being near the locals and trying my best to talk Spanish to them and also I am not shy anymore to go up to guest and ask them are they okay. My confidence has definitely developed thanks to this placement. The jobs I carried out in work today included destroying important past documents of past guest records so they could not be read. This is good practice to protect clients information. I also helped guests, mostly elderly people, with there baggage.
I would honestly go as far to say that today was the best day of the whole trip so far. I cant describe in words how much of an enjoyable day I had. Two of the other girls, Hannah and Linda, and myself made the most of the day and went on a cycling excursion that only cost us €40 as we got a discount from the hotel. At 1:15 Pm we got collected outside La Pinta Hotel by the company who do them excursion, Mr.Bike. It took roughly an hour and a half to get to where we would cycle down. We were so excited. On our way up we took in all the scenery. At the top we were given the bikes high visibility jackets, helmets and gloves. we were then ready to freewheel the whole way back down.
Throughout the whole cycle the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Roughly half way through the cycle we stopped under a tree and had a picnic which consisted of the local tapas. the food was delicious. We then cycled through a few little villages which showed us what rural Tenerife was like. It was nice to see an area that wasn't packed with tourists. I had the greatest day ever. -Eoin |
Security/ Fire + Ambulance 2016/17Linda Collins Map of Tenerife |