Back to Bluche

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So after 6 intense months of being in South East Asia I am now back in Jamaica preparing to return to Bluche for my next semester.

When you go off on your internship you don’t really realize how involved you get with the place until you leave it. Cambodia was such an awesome experience and I have made many good friends who I will hopefully get to work with in the future.

I could not have asked for a better or fuller experience at La Residence d’Angkor.
As a Management Trainee I was able to move through more than one department, gaining a more complete picture of the operational areas of the hotel. I spent the bulk of my time in Food and Beverage, 1 month in Front Office, 3 weeks in Housekeeping and rounded out my time in the executive offices working with the Executive Assistant Manager. As the hotel is small and intimate, I have had the opportunity to work very closely with the managers of each department and to join the heads of department morning briefing, which has been so valuable in gaining insight into the workings of the hotel.

As one of the few foreigners at the hotel, I was able to really get to know the Khmer people. I answered a lot of questions, most about “my country” (not many people knew where Jamaica is) and I asked a lot of questions about how they live. It’s funny how little parts of their culture travel with you when you leave. I have found myself trying to thank people first in Khmer, then in French and finally, the right language for this country, English.
My last weekend there, my dear friend who worked in Malaysia came to visit and I was able to play a real tourist for a bit and then amidst tearful goodbyes I got on the plane back to Jamaica.

The holiday here at home has been too short, but so good to recharge and get ready for the fun we are all bound to have in the Kitchen next semester.

Bon voyage! to all who are returning and Bien venue! to those we will meet for the first time back in Bluche.

Whitney

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Waiting is killing me

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I chose that title to express my exact feelings and also those of my fellow future students. First of all, Happy New Year everyone, hope 2012 to achieve your goals and be happy!!! Christmas time is finished, and as I mentioned in my previous article, I spent a lot of time with my family and also with some of my close friends! Shopping took a huge part of my Christmas, but I really enjoy it! My dad and I spent a lot of time in tailoring shops, trying to find me suits, shirts and shoes. Upon acceptance, the upcoming students receive the details about the dress code including the number of suits, shirts and shoes needed for Les Roches.

Also I had the ability to hang out with two current Greek students of Les Roches. Christianna and Nano will start Ho3 this January and I am very happy that I already know them. They are both very passionate and motivated for the hospitality industry!! They shared with me their experiences about previous internships and also about the life on campus. I want to thank them for the support and all the advice that they gave me and can’t wait to be all together in Les Roches!!!

Furthermore, I had the ability to network with some of my future classmates through Les Roches for New Students page on Facebook. It is page designed by Les Roches in order to interact with future students, post questions and generally sharing our experiences. The Enrolment Management Department of Les Roches is very helpful and answers all of our possible questions. I had the opportunity to chat with future students from Ecuador, Brazil, Italy and many more countries. The diversity of students is amazing!!!

Now about the final packing and some advice before arrival! A good advice if you finished your shopping and everything is to “test drive” your luggage! You need to be able to hold your bag without the help of someone else. Also, for the students coming to Les Roches this January make sure before you leave that you have all the arrival documents listed on the site of Les Roches and also in the pre arrival guide. Thirdly, electricity in Switzerland is 230 Volts so if you are coming from a country with different type make sure to bring a voltage converter (adaptor). This is a very helpful site to find and compare the voltage of your country.

I know that most of you have diverse feelings about this big change in our life. I spoke with many other future students and shared with me the excitement, the nervousness and some others that will miss home and friends. But in order to have a successful career life in the hospitality field we need to adapt easily to the changes, we need to be able to collaborate with new people from all around the world and finally we are all a big family.

Les Roches, due to the diversity of culture, helps us to achieve that. Everyone seems so exciting and passionate about coming to Bluche! For me to be surrounded by a friendly and happy environment is the best thing in my life. A big Smile everyone, forget all the worries in your mind and in a few days we will have fun all together.

Thank you so much for your support!!! Can’t wait it is a small word to describe my feelings…

Feel free to ask me any question or add me on Facebook – Leandros Pembos

Leandros

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Happy New 2012 & less than a week to go…

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I have a feeling that this year is going to be awesome with lots of fun to look forward to! It started off really well with New Year celebrations in London with good friends, and in just a few days I will be on a plane to Switzerland for my third year at Les Roches, and in June it’s already time for graduation…

 

And who knows what’s gonna happen after that?! My goals are set high and I’m going to work for what I want really hard. As long as I put my mid to it I think everything is possible. Friends are also a very big part of my life and I can’t wait to meet new and old classmates. During my time at the Marbella campus I had the privilege of meeting people who soon became very good friends. A hand-full of them are actually transferring to Bluche at the same time as me, and knowing that makes me really happy because they are some of the kindest and funniest people in the world. I know that together with them and all the new friends I will make, we will have a fabulous year.

I know that many of you new students are probably a bit nervous (I know I was) and I’m sure that a lot of thoughts are going through your mind right now, so I thought I’d try to answer some questions I got from a soon to be HOI student.

Are you happy with your choice of Les Roches? Was it tough in the beginning with a lot of work, feeling homesick etc?

I am very happy with choosing to study at Les Roches, and although I haven’t finished my studies yet I know that I have gained a lot of experience and developed important contacts for my future career that I would never have done without the help from the school. Just remember, especially when it comes to looking for internships, that the school will push you along the way but in the end it’s what you do of it that counts. Hard work and dedication are what will bring you forward in this industry! I don’t want to lie; first week of HOI was a shock to me and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. As you probably know, first year is “service” and for a whole week I was in stewarding polishing glasses and cutlery. I said to my self “This can’t be what I paid all this money for, to make glassware shine?!”, but it quickly became clear that this was only a small part of my education and good things only could come from it. Today, for example, I know how hard the stewards work in restaurants and that their job is very important to the business, and not only putting dirty dishes into a dishwasher. When striving to be a Hotel Manager, you need to learn the hard way and you must know how every department of your hotel works. There will be times when you feel homesick, and the best ways to cheer up is to surround yourself with friends, Skype with family, read a good book or why not STUDY HARD… Managing time is what you will come to learn at Les Roches because otherwise you will be swamped with exams and projects in the end… I say this from experience.

You did your first internship in Sweden. Does the school find it OK that you do an internship in your homeland?

I have been traveling and living abroad for a large part of my teenage years/early twenties and because of that developed a good knowledge of English. When I was offered to do an internship at a luxury hotel in Sweden for my first year, I didn’t hesitate to take it because I knew I would gain a lot of experience from it and still not drop my level of English. I think it’s a very good opportunity for students to move to places they’ve never lived before and learn a different culture and improve the language skills. I think the school also would agree on this.

I also noticed that your internship started in June, does that mean we won’t get a summer holiday?

You have to do a minimum of five months internship although many hotel’s prefer to hire you for six. Some want the interns to start in June and other’s in mid-July. It is up to you to find out how many days off the hotel can give you if you have signed for a six months internship. The shorter summer holiday you get the longer winter holiday, and vice versa.

And one last question… How can I improve my English in order to pass the language test in first year?

Some last minute advice is that you read an English novel and perhaps write down the words you have a hard time understanding and look them up as you’ve finished the book and make sure to keep yourself updated with the latest online news.

That’s all for now folks, see you end of this week.

Stay cool and keep warm!

X Filippa

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The final countdown has begun!

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Just one week left now until my arrival at Les Roches and I couldn’t be more excited! I really can’t wait to meet everyone, to start studying again and to be in such an amazing place!

My Christmas/New Year holidays were a perfect way to relax and prepare myself for this final week and for the start of school. I made immense progress with the recovery of my ankle during my time away – going from having to use crutches and a huge ankle brace when I left home – to returning home without needing the crutches at all and even wearing two shoes! This being a big deal for me as I have not had a normal shoe on my left foot for about 3 months! This progress I was able to make with my ankle has seriously boosted my confidence, meaning I am feeling much better about arriving on campus knowing that I have an ankle that works!

Seeing as I went to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for my holidays, I thought I would just quickly share with you my hotel experiences during my stay. In Abu Dhabi we stayed in the ‘Yas Island Viceroy Hotel’ – a stunningly interesting hotel to look at from the outside, as it is covered with an LED dome which changes colour constantly, making it very visible from a distance, and it even displayed the words ‘Happy New Year’ on new years eve.

Then in Dubai we stayed in the ‘Raffles Hotel’ – again another amazing looking building from the outside as it is shaped like a pyramid! The grand entrance is very inviting and the facilities are great. But for me what really makes this hotel, is the amazing level of customer service. From the second that we stepped through the Egyptian themed sliding doors the staff were incredible in making us feel welcome and giving us any assistance and information we needed. The concierge desk was particularly impressive. At this point I was still using my crutches and was wearing my giant ski boot of an ankle brace, and the concierge (even though I had not asked him anything, I was simply walking past his desk) came out of his way to say hello and ask me how my leg was. Then whenever I saw him he would wave and smile a big smile even if he was busy, and he would always come over and joke that I should go and play football with him, he gave me tips on how to relax my ankle, and he even helped me get comfortable on a sofa in the lounge so that I could eat whilst keeping my ankle up!

I have seen good customer service before, but this to me was the “going the extra mile” bit that makes all the difference with the level of satisfaction of the customer. I couldn’t help but think, if every hotel had staff like this, then everyone would be able to enjoy a great hotel experience, and it made me even more excited about learning about this industry!

Returning home was quite a climate shock, leaving behind the sun, shorts and 26 degree weather – coming home to a typical Swiss winter of snow covered Jura and 3 degree weather! Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way complaining – I love winter in Switzerland, I’m just saying it was quite a big change in one day.

Now that I am back home the serious preparations have begun. Sorting out clothes, planning where and when to go shopping to get the last bits and pieces and of course, my favourite – making lists! There are only a few things that I am missing now, one of them being shoes. I am having a bit of a dilemma finding shoes due to my ankle, but I know I will find a solution, even if I do end up wearing black trainers to go with my suits!

I’m finding it a bit hard to believe that there is only one week left until we will all be arriving on campus. I’ve been waiting for this for months and months and it is so exciting to have it so close to actually happening!! Of course there are a few nerves and worries, the usual what if’s and so on, but these are easily forgotten by the thought that I will soon be studying in such an amazing place. I absolutely adore being in the mountains and I seriously can’t wait to be surrounded by incredible views and people!!

Another thing that I am looking forward to is meeting everyone! I have to say that the Les Roches Facebook page for new students has been an excellent source of information for any questions and queries, as well as being a great place to get to know a little bit about new classmates!

I hope that everyone’s last week of preparations go well and that your journeys to Les Roches go smoothly! I guess I better get on with my packing now.. So see you all next week!!

Samantha

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Time for a Change

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For most of my time here I was in the Food and Beverage Department. I learned a lot about operations, staffing, service and guest interaction and a little bit about the administration of running the department. But after three months, in what is described as a luxury boutique hotel with only a few F&B outlets, it was time for a change.

At the same time, a bigger change was taking place, a new General Manager became a part of the team here. It is has been very interesting to see two very different styles of management.

So for one month, I trained in Front Office and for the remainder of my time I will be training in Housekeeping and very briefly in the Executive Offices.

In Front Office I spent time learning about reservations, guest relations, transportation, concierge, room allocations and some basic reporting. It was both a joy and a pain to interact with guests on an hourly basis, but I was reminded of why I love this industry. You deal with so many guests that smiling and making small talk becomes a chore and your cheeks build some extra muscle.

Then, there will be a guest who really makes your day, like two guests I had from America. Because of the flooding in Thailand, they decided not to visit Bangkok but to fly straight home, I offered my services to help them reroute their plane ticket. This was easier said than done and I spent the greater part of a day on the telephone to people in various countries trying to get the right flights. The guests were of course anxious (they were both in their 70’s) but I did my best at putting them at ease. Had they been different people, I would maybe not have tried so hard to get their arrangements in order but they were just the sweetest people and I wanted to help as much as possible. As a thank you, they gave me a little present and really flattered me with their compliments. It’s situations like these that reconfirm why I want to work in hospitality.

I have now started in Housekeeping and as I move from department to department my understanding is growing. Having a bit of knowledge from each area and seeing the context of its operations helps when you get to the next. I find that the big picture is becoming clearer and it makes me excited to get back to school and continue studying.

One more week to go!

Cambodia Travels
There are a number of villages on the great Tonle Sap Lake that spend a large part of the year completely flooded. They are mostly fishing villages and they carry out their entire lives on the water, transported by boats and canoes around the villages and to land for supplies. It is such a completely different way of life. The houses are all built on stilts that are 5 meters or more. In the dry season there will be no water and in the wet season the water will be lapping at the floor boards. There are schools, police stations, temples and pagodas for worship, shops, guest houses and government offices all “floating”. There was even a pig pen and chicken coops. However, while it was very interesting to visit Kompong Pluk for the day, I don’t think that it would be my chosen place of abode.

Baby Dara (Star) and his sister in the background enjoying a lollipop.

Kompong Pluk

 

 

 

Mobile Shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to charge your ever important mobile phone

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Final Countdown

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The final countdown to arrive in Les Roches started!! One month more and all of us will be in beautiful Bluche!! The snow arrived in Les Roches and I am too excited about that. I am huge fan of winter sports and Crans – Montana is a perfect location for skiing and other winter activities.

Melomakarona and Kourampiedes traditional homemade desserts

Also one more week and it is Christmas time!!! Christmas is my favorite part of winter. The whole city of Athens is decorated with Christmas lights and the scenery in the city center of Athens is magnificent. The shops also are in the mood of Christmas, decorated in an artistic way each one. Believe me, besides summer, Christmas in Greece is also a memorable experience for every visitor. You can see carousels around the main squares of the town with kids having fun, decorated trees all around the city and don’t get surprised if you see somewhere decorated small boats.

Traditional decorated Christmas boat

From the ancient years Greece’s economy was based on the sea, as a matter of fact a big part of the total population used to decorate small boats the last decades… unfortunately, today it is a very rare phenomenon due to globalization and modern trends. Also worth a mention is the local cuisine with special desserts made and traditional foods in order to welcome the New Year!!

But for me, this Christmas will have a special meaning. To begin with, packing and shopping will take a serious amount of time from my everyday life, I want to be well prepared for my journey to Switzerland. All accepted students receive a big pre arrival book which includes information about things to have upon arrival on campus, general information for Switzerland, the campus, and finally a list of clothes that are mandatory for our studies, like suits, polished shoes etc. During classes and until 5.30pm we need to wear business attire so suits will become part of our life. I have to say that I really like the idea and I can’t wait to see a whole campus wearing suits. I am sure that the companies coming for interviews every year are impressed from that approach. Furthermore, I have to buy warm clothes because the temperature during winter in Switzerland is really cold.

On the other hand, a few days ago I was researching about Bluche and Crans – Montana and I read that Les Roches is located in the sunniest area in Switzerland. It is really amazing that we can have access during the winter in Crans Montana for skiing and during the spring to have fun outside enjoying the sun. So I have to pack also several t shirts, swimsuits etc.

I have to say that my biggest doubt is where I will find some area in my bag to pack all that stuff!! Les Roches advise us not to bring too many clothes but I am not sure that I will follow that!

Also I booked my tickets; it is a 2.30 hour flight from Athens to Zurich and then another 45 minutes roughly to Geneva airport. I booked them 1 month before the flight and the price of the tickets was much better; this is a good action for the upcoming students to follow.
My feelings so far are really controversial, this Christmas I want to focus more on my family and my friends because maybe this is the last Christmas that we are going to be all together. On the other hand, I am really excited and I was waiting for the final month to come a long time ago. Everything happens in our life for a reason and I am sure that Les Roches is going to be for the best.

In my next article I am going to write you about the final packing and some useful stuff before arrival to Les Roches!I am open to any possible question that you have!!!

Looking forward to seeing you all guys

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year

Leandros

 

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One month to go! …

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January is fast approaching and with each day that passes I am getting more and more excited about the arrival on campus – as I’m sure everyone who’s starting in January is!

Along with my emotions as well as the normal excitement, anticipation and a few nerves, have also been mixed with panic. Wondering and stressing about whether I would actually be ready to start school, as I am still recovering from a broken ankle.

This means that my planning and preparations for my arrival on campus at Les Roches have been slightly different to what I originally had in mind. Instead of getting things ready and organized as I would have liked, I have had to focus on learning how to walk again after my accident. But there you go, that’s life, and luckily for me I have been relieved of some of the stress and panic, as my recovery is going well, and I can now start preparing as I would have liked!

There is a little Christmas tradition that myself and my fellow horse crazy friends do every year at the beginning of December. This is to attend the “Concours Hippique International de Geneve” (International Horse Jumping Competition) which is held every year in Geneva’s huge exposition centre – Palexpo.

The event is held over four days, and spectators are able to see some of the World’s top show jumping stars (riders and horses) compete in numerous competitions, all of which get the crowds on their feet cheering for their nation – mainly the home nation of Switzerland. As well as providing entertainment and incredible demonstrations of riding – the event always proves to be a good place to indulge in a spot of horsey retail therapy!
My Christmas holiday plans this year involve a family trip to Dubai! It will be my first time in Dubai, another thing that I am excited about. Although there is still a tiny bit of stress wondering if I will have to be on crutches to go through the airport.. Doesn’t sound like much fun!

This year, my family and I will be “ringing in the New Year” at a concert of a rather well known band – ‘Coldplay’. This should prove to be a big celebration and an excellent way to start off the New Year, a year already filled with exciting prospects and new adventures, a year that couldn’t come sooner really!

So hopefully I will return from holiday nice and relaxed in order to start my final hectic week of shopping and organizing prior to arrival at Les Roches!

I have been keeping a close eye on the amount of snow that has been falling in Crans Montana, it looks great up there for skiing! Which I have to admit, is slightly frustrating for me, as I personally won’t be able to ski this season. However, I am really looking forward to being back up in a ‘mountain village environment’ during the winter season and I am super excited about the men’s alpine world cup skiing that is being held in Crans Montana in February! I’m really hoping (and I know I’m not alone in saying this) that I can volunteer to help out with the event!

I am thoroughly looking forward to arriving on campus and starting this new chapter in my life. I have a feeling that this last month is going to fly by, which is a good thing! I can’t wait to meet you all, but until then, season’s greetings and happy holidays!

See you in the New Year!!

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Christmas at home before Les Roches Bluche

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Santas Elf in Abu Dhabi

Hello new, old, current and potential Les Roches students! My name is Filippa and I will blog on this page for the next twelve months. So, welcome to my little world of words and pictures…

To me, it doesn’t matter where I’ve been or how long I’ve been away, it’s always good to come home. I have just come back from six months in Abu Dhabi where I did my second internship working for a hotel in the sales and marketing department. The city was very different compared to anything I’d seen before and the cultural differences were huge, but the work experience has been great, although the hours were long and I only had one day off per week.

Time flew by as it always does very quickly and I’m now back in Sweden with my family trying to make the most out of my four weeks of Christmas holiday before school starts in Switzerland in January. So far, I’ve unpacked four suitcases full of clothes, cleaned my room, decorated the Christmas tree and baked lot’s of goodies like saffron buns and gingerbread hearts, and decorated oranges with whole cloves – a must for Christmas! I absolutely love this holiday, and this year I’m going all in -no one can stop me!

Making gingerbread cookies

It is soon time to start my third year at Les Roches. I did the previous semesters at the Marbella campus where I had so much fun and met the coolest people, but this year I felt like it was time to swap the beach for the mountains, and so I decided to transfer to Bluche. I love skiing, although I must admit I’m not the best at it… I haven’t been on the slopes since 2009, so I could definitely use a private lesson or five.

I cannot wait to meet new faces (and old, since there are a few more of us coming from Marbella) and I’m sure we all will have the time of our lives.

The fourth Advent candle is lit

Wish I could write more but I’ve got to continue decorating the house. It’s a full time job being a Christmas enthusiast…

If you have any questions or thoughts regarding anything please feel free to post a comment at the bottom of this page and I will do my best to answer. You can also send me a message on facebook.com/filippah or follow me on Twitter @filippamaria.

See you soon… and a very Merry Christmas to you all!

X Filippa

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LRB Blogger : Leandros Pembos

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Greetings to everyone!!

My name is Leandros Pembos and I am from the beautiful country of Greece. I was born and raised in the capital city of Greece, Athens. Athens is such a wonderful place to live!! In Athens, a visitor can enjoy amazing local dishes, in restaurants called “tavernas”. On the other hand, the options and the range of entertainment facilities is huge, like access to vibrant restaurants and night clubs offering an experience worth mentioning by every tourist. The historic downtown of Athens is the most touristic destination here and the first place that everyone arranges to visit. Acropolis, Sydagma square, and all the small roads near the hill of Acropolis are fully occupied by tourists who have come to see this magnificent ancient temple. It is truly amazing for everyone to see all this ancient statues and the ancient architecture and design.

Some views of Acropolis, Sudagma Square and a city views of Athens

At the age of seventeen, I decided to join the IB diploma program (International Baccalaureat) and finish the last two classes of high school with extra knowledge and a competitive advantage for applying to foreign universities. My decision was to follow a business and management path of studies in University so I took several subjects related like Business and Management, Economics etc. This decision was important for my academic career. I improved my English language skills to the maximum point and also my business and management knowledge. Now the “story” begins, one day the educational counselor of Les Roches here in Greece came to my school, the reason was a brief session about the hospitality industry and the school. The session structure was individual interviews with every interested student. I decided to join the session and we had a very nice conversation about my future aspirations and also what Les Roches and the industry are capable of offering. I spoke with my family and they mentioned to me that a very good and close friend graduated from Les Roches and now owns a hotel on Mykonos Island. We arranged a meeting to talk about everything and the final part of the discussion was to offer me a volunteer job as a trainee host in his 5 star hotel restaurant Myconian Ambassador Hotel during the summer period. During that 2 month internship I developed higher interpersonal skills, increased my communication skills and most importantly, my team work skills. After that challenging experience I was mature enough to take a decision and develop my hospitality knowledge later in Les Roches International School of Hotel Management.

View of the restaurant and the pool of the Myconian Ambassador hotel that I was working as a host.

The senior year of International Baccalaureat was really difficult, a lot of assignments, tests and mostly a lot of stress. One year that everyone waits for summer to come and replace the hard work during the winter. I have to say that I was one of them…

The summer finally came and everyone had to decide what they are going to do now. I decided to spend one month on vacation around the beautiful Greek islands in order to relax and the rest of the summer to work in order to increase my hospitality knowledge. The only destination that came to my mind again was the island of Mykonos, a major touristic destination which attracts people from all around the globe.

View of the restaurant /bar that I was working as a waiter.

This time I found work as a waiter in Tropicana beach bar. Tropicana was voted the best beach bar in Europe and one of the most famous around the globe so I thought that would be a good experience for my resume. The experience was amazing, I met people from all around the globe and increased my service techniques knowledge. Additionally, I had the opportunity to collaborate with employees from several parts of Europe.

Tropicana beach bar

During this period, I had the ability to work in a fast service environment serving around 500 people over the day. I have to say that it was difficult but really beneficial to understand the hard working and motivation part that the hospitality industry wants.

Part of Mykonos city (chora)

All the experiences described above have helped me to decide the industry that I want to work for, they affect me in a beneficial way to develop several new abilities, put a goal in my career life which is to succeed and become a successful general manager of a hotel after years and finally to join the BBA/Hotel Management program of Les Roches International School of Hotel Management.

I can’t wait to join the school in January and with the support of my family I am ready to succeed and face the demands of the school. I am sure that’s it is going to be a memorable experience for my entire life both for my career but also as a person. Can’t wait to meet all you guys!! Hope you are having fun and see you soon all on campus.

Summer pictures of me in Greek islands

Leandros Pembos

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LRB Blogger : Samantha Parkyn

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Hi, my name is Samantha Parkyn (I prefer Sam though), and I was born and raised in Switzerland. To be more specific I was born in the French speaking region of Switzerland – the beautiful, international city of Geneva. As well as being the home to the European Headquarters of the United Nations, Geneva also houses the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which has proved popular in the media over the last couple of years.

The City is famous for its tourist attraction and landmark; The Jet d’Eau, which paints a beautiful picture of the city on a sunny day.

Geneva is situated just over an hours drive away from multiple ski resorts such as ‘Les Portes du Soleil’ (a favorite of mine), Verbier, and of course the amazing resort of Crans Montana which is sat just above the lovely town of Bluche, home to Les Roches.
Geneva is also a great place to see some breath taking views, such as Mont Blanc (shown above), and the lovely silhouette of the sun setting behind the Jura.

Me in the Three Valleys - Meribel, on my ski instructors course.

Because I have lived my whole life in Switzerland, I was fortunate enough to learn how to ski at a young age, and I have learnt to love the sport of skiing. Which is why I attended a 10 week ski instructors course in the french resort of the 3 Valleys during my gap year. I had the most amazing time, unfortunately it ended less well, with a ruptured cruciate ligament in my knee.

However, during my recovery from this accident I stumbled upon my desire to return to my studies, which then led to my discovery of Les Roches.

My dog Benji in the snow. And me at a local ski resort called Crozet, looking down onto Lake Geneva

I have to admit that the location of Les Roches and the fact that it is situated so close to Crans Montana, slightly aided my decision when choosing a school. Although, I knew I wanted to go there as soon as I went to visit the campus. Even after visiting the campus for only a few hours, I was already feeling comfortable and at home, I wanted to stay and start studying straight away!

My hobbie and passion is horse riding and I am lucky enough to own my own horse (Lysi, the one in the pictures!), we have competed in local show jumping competitions together. I love nothing more than spending all day at the stables with the horses.

Unfortunately I recently had yet another accident, this time a broken ankle caused by a fall off a horse. It would seem that my hobbies have not been too kind to me this past year! However, the time needed to recover has proved rather useful as I am using it to learn a new language – Italian.

I attended the International School of Geneva – La Chataignerai, for 13 years and obtained my IB. I Studied Geography, Economics, French, Environmental Systems, English and Maths, my favourites being Geography and French. During my time at La Chat, I was lucky enough to go on several school trips and study trips to different locations within Europe, including; Barcelona, Florence, the Camargue, Strasbourg and Wales, which were all educational and enjoyable.

I have always been interested in the hospitality/tourism industry, I was always happy when my geography lessons in school were centered around tourism. I even chose to complete my Extended Essay for my IB by researching how a small ski resort could improve its number of tourists.

I really enjoy traveling and going different places with my family, and I have always found myself being interested in, and observing the level of service given in hotels. Having been the customer many times before, I think it will be interesting to learn how to be on the other side of things, and to be the person providing the service. I think that this will be a challenge, but it is a challenge that I am looking forward to.

I will be starting at Les Roches in January to do my BBA in International Hotel Management and I am very much looking forward to joining the school, and to starting this new chapter in my life, January couldn’t come sooner!!

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Sam

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