Intern in China

Greetings and salutations! It has been quite a long while since I have posted anything, so prepare yourselves for an onslaught of posts in order for me to get you all caught up. So we shall start with an incredible internship opportunity I had, thanks to our helpful program director, George, I was able to intern for a month at Zhejiang International Hotel. It is a five star hotel located at the heart of Hangzhou, with a short five minute walk to a shopping center and half an hour walk to West Lake. It is quite the place, complete with a self playing piano, bell hops, an electric car to rent, two restaurants, and a plethora of other fancy five star hotel rooms and services. From my understanding it is mainly a business hotel where companies send their employees when doing business in the city. There is also a rather large conference/convention room, along with smaller meeting rooms that are used regularly by the companies.

Interning, but first, let me take a #selfie HA!

          My first day I was greeted by the secretary, Lidia, and the business center manager, Jan. Lidia could not speak English and Jan could speak more than most, but not entirely perfect English, let's just say that many times what I was trying to communicate was not properly interpreted. Anyway, I was taken down to the basement to get fitted for my uniform. Yes, it is true, I had to wear a pencil skirt, nylons, and heals. If you are unfamiliar with my character, I do not wear pencil skirts, nylons, or heals unless they are trendy and hip. I was given the largest size skirt they had, but because nobody has hips in this country they had to alter it a little bit more. After I finally found a uniform that fit I was taken to the locker room and given my key and locker. 

          My internship was in place of a class, so I was able to focus solely on the internship and not have to worry about class for about three weeks. For the last two weeks of my internship I had to adjust my hours around one class. I would take the bus there and back, which took about 30-40 minutes depending on traffic. I worked 9 a.m. but when class began again I worked 9 a.m. to 11:30. Once at the hotel I would head down to the locker room to change and head back up stairs to work with either Jan or one of the five Assistant Managers. Only three of the five managers could speak English, so when the other two were working I would be in the business center with Jan. 

Louise (one of the Assistant Managers)

          While working with the Assistant Managers I was able to speak with a couple from  the Netherlands who frequent the hotel and were having difficulty, at the time, with booking their room. I also had a nice chat with a fellow from Canada, but it was brief. The assistant managers had a nice round desk next to the doors, that is shared with the bell hops. They answer phone calls from guests and questions, and make sure they are happy and satisfied with their stay. It was interesting to see them interact with the bell hops because it reminded me a lot like working at Menards. Just how they got along so well with each other and could tease and goof around during the slow times of the day, but work well with each other when it was busy. I wasn't quite expecting that, but I am not completely sure what I was expecting. It was nice to see though, and helped reinforce the fact that they are not so different from us after all.

Jan (left) and Lidia (right)

          With Jan I was able to write English replies to online reviews that the hotel receives and phrases that the Assistant Managers can use when guests ask questions or comment on certain aspects of the hotel. For example if a guest wrote a positive review about the service the hotel could answer with "Thank you for staying at Zhejiang International Hotel. We are glad that you enjoyed your stay and look forward to serving you again." or something along those lines. It was kind of fun and I felt like I was being useful. Jan also showed me the switchboard where they transfer calls to different departments. I became a pro at switching out the newspapers and helped stamp the hotel address on new travel guides. 

          It was quite the experience and I am very grateful that I had the chance to experience working in China, with Chinese people, overcoming a rather large language barrier. I only wish I would have learned Chinese before coming. It would have been a great help, and I would have been able to learn a bit more about the tasks of other departments. I hope other students that participate in the program have the opportunity to intern either at the hotel or anywhere to enhance their cultural experience. 

I will leave you with that, my friends. Look for another post tomorrow or soon after. Goodnight! Much love from China :)