Tag Archives: Filippa

65 Days in Switzerland

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Hello friends!

I apologize for the very late update but during the past weeks I’ve been so busy with school and travelling to different places that the time to write was non-existent.

Since my last post I’ve been:

  • Skiing and drinking hot chocolate by the slopes

  • Organizing a welcome party for all new and returning students in one of the bars of the school

  • On a trip to Milan. It took us about three hours to drive there from school. We checked in at the Nhow Hotel, went to brunch, walked around the city centre and looked at all the nice shops. We went for dinner, drinks and dancing and drove back the next day. A very short but intense trip and I can’t wait to go back when the weather is a bit nicer
  • On another trip to a place called Blatten where I got to experience the Swiss carnival and go sledging down a mountain in the pitch dark (so scary!)

 

  • Travelling to London for a weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday
  • Enjoying the sun in parks, on a balcony, and during the “après ski”

  • Hanging out with my family who came to visit for a week
  • Booking a flight home to Sweden for Easter break

But I’ve also been…

  • Finishing a huge project involving six different subjects
  • Writing seven out of nine mid-term exams
  • Preparing three presentations
  • On many interviews and presentations with many hotel companies

I’m enjoying my time here in Switzerland a lot and time flies by so fast it’s hard to believe we are even past the half point. In three to four months I’ll be living and working in a city, but I have no idea where…That’s the beauty of the hotel industry–you have no idea where life (or work) will take you.

X Filippa

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

Welcome to the life of a hotel management student…

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My name is Filippa Hertzman and I’m a 24 year old globe trotter from the south of Sweden  starting at Les Roches Switzerland in January 2011. I will transfer directly to the semester 5 of my Bachelor. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by hotels; these magical places where people sleep on fluffy pillows with chocolates on top, wake up and go to large scrumptious all-you-can-eat buffets, get new towels and made up rooms every day, and 24 hour assistance only by pressing a button.

I have never regretted my chosen career path; in fact, it’s probably one of the best choices I’ve made in my life so far. What’s most thrilling about working in the hospitality industry is the fact that you’ll have no idea of how the day will turn out –every day will be full of surprises.

When I graduated from high school I still hadn’t figured out what to “be when I grow up”, so I went on a three-month backpacking trip with my best and oldest friend to Australia and Asia (no need to mention we had the time of our life right?).

When I came back I started working at a supermarket in Sweden, and after a few months I had saved enough money to move all the way to the home of the sheep, or in other words, Palmerston North, New Zealand, where I found a job as a waitress and ended up living for seven months. The following year I moved across the pond to Melbourne, Australia and enrolled at RMIT’s fashion merchandising course. I love clothes and fashion; always have, and naturally I thought that was what I was destined to work with.

After five months I realised that this was not for me, and moved back home to continue working at the supermarket. I earned quite a lot and still lived at home but I was starting to get restless, and knew that I couldn’t stay for much longer. My only ticket to the “real” world was through education. Period. I was accepted to a business school in Sweden but changed my mind at the last minute –it just didn’t feel right. Instead, I moved to the city of lights and the home of the croissants – Paris, and when I wasn’t partying on Champs Elysees or vintage shopping in Le Marais I worked as a babysitter for two French boys.

During my first couple of weeks I picked up a book I had read a few years back in Oz called “Hotel Babylon” about a receptionist’s 24 hours in a luxury London hotel. I finished it the following week and as I put it down it was finally clear to me –I’m going to work in hotels! I started writing the application letter to Les Roches Marbella and a month or so later I got a reply that I had been accepted.

I was beyond excited. In January 2010, I started my first day as an HOI student at Les Roches Marbella, in June I went on my first internship as a front office agent and concierge assistant at a five star hotel in Sweden, returned to Marbella in January 2011 for HOII, and my latest internship has been in PR & Marketing at a four star hotel in Abu Dhabi.

I thought it was time for me to meet new people and hit the slopes (and of course enjoy the après ski), so I decided to leave the Marbella campus and move back to Switzerland for my third year. Yes, back. I lived in Basel for two years during my early teens, but the difference this time is that the people will be saying bonjour instead of gruetzi… and that I’m a little older and wiser too, of course!