Getting ready to finish

Another good morning to all readers,

Almost done in Tenerife... A hard but real truth, I need to go home soon. I have to say I'm gonna miss this place! The weather,, the people, the work, the way of living... It's going to be hard being home again. But, I do feel it is going to be good for me to come back to reality for a while. I feel I've learnt a lot here and it will be time for me to reflect upon what I have learnt back home. I will be able to live life as I have always done, only with extra additions to my life-experience.

I've already booked my flight home. By checking how many hours I've recorded in my logbook, checking how many extra days I've worked and what days I took off, I could calculate when my final day would be. It was a perfect match, Friday the 22nd of March. This meant my flight could be booked for the 23rd of March. I decided to book this quick date as it would save rent and one other specific reason… My car. I've found out my time here was so incredible due to the possibility of getting out of Abades frequently. This was Always possible via Yanou's car or my own rental car. Without this possibility, an almost claustrophobic thought was rushing to mind; I'm stuck in this village. By tackling this thought by undertaking actions, to defy odds and get my own car, I've had a much more pleasant time than I would have thought possible.

Furthermore, my schoolwork is being graded in the next two weeks. Finishing up some last work and processing feedback. I do feel as if my time here has come to an end. Well, almost. Two more weeks remain, in which I will finalise my assignments and say my goodbyes. I wonder how I will feel next week!

Until it is time to upload again… Have a good week.

Cheers,

Tom

Already March!

A very good first morning of March to all readers.

The final full month has gone in, time is almost up! How fast it all goes is unreal.

The past week was slightly busier at Blue Explorers, seeing as there are a lot of holidays around Europe now. This was fun for us because we were doing more things than usual, especially at sales. There were more people to talk to who seemed interested in diving, which provided me with more experience than just same old answers. Also very fun, the carnaval is coming to this Island this weekend! I thought i'd miss out at home, but I hope it's gonna be even better here than it is back home. The Island is themed as deep-sea and there are decorations everywhere. The carnaval is in Santa Cruz, about half an hour drive away from my village. I'm going there with friends I made along the way here, all who seem to be looking forward to their first carnaval. I'm sure looking forward to it!

Another topic addressing schoolwork, I'm busy focussing on finishing what Cindy can grade for me, and waiting on answers for the other tasks and assignments. I will focus on this after the carnaval weekend.

Also, my father is coming to visit after carnaval for a few days. I hope to learn more about how he thinks i've grown here, seeing as this will give me an extra bit of feedback to work on.

Had a visit! Report of the last two weeks.

Good afternoon to all readers,

Last week I had some visitors! This meant that I took off some days and did not go to my work-placement as I still had many days to take off. As it stands, with the hours I have and the extra saturdays I have worked, I can go home in 4 weeks time. This means I need to finish up my schoolwork in the next week so I can have it all signed off in time.

As this story is supposed to reflect the past weeks of my internship here, I can say it has been a fun time. My family came to visit and I noticed something about myself. I really know the best parts of this Island and I could show them to places that were not crowded with tourists, but were hidden away! I really liked showing them around and overall seeing them again. I also managed to get some feedback regarding their thoughts of my personal growth.

They believe I've become a lot more grown-up and have an own voice more than before. I agree with them, seeing as they are points I realised myself too. It was good seeing them and knowing that there was progress to be seen by them. This motivates me to work further and keep improving myself. They also thought I was using my financial resources very well.

Regarding schoolwork I am busy rounding off my exams and asking for feedback and what I can improve or do differently. The only task giving me problems is Laws & Regulations, as the information I need to gather is very difficult to come by. This will be done after my other assignments have been finished, as I want to concentrate on these tasks first.

'Till next time!

Time is flying

Another good afternoon to all readers.

After a while of waiting to upload, I wanted to share a learning curve that has struck me like never before here; time passage. Because of the great weather, nice working days and positive people around me... I've been left wondering where all my time has gone and shocked at how much is left! Only two more months 'till the final day… and I've not even taken all my days off yet! (12 working days left). I will take some time of when family comes over, seeing as I've not seen them all for 3 months now. I'm looking forward to that next week.

The reason I've not uploaded last week is because there wasn't much news to report. Spanish speaking has still not taken flight as everybody around me seems to speak English and not even bother to speak Spanish. Unfortunately, I too feel less motivated to go out and learn the language. On the other side, my English has improved. To counter that, I've noticed my Dutch has suffered a slight setback! This is because I'm not speaking much Dutch, and I find myself making silly mistakes. I see the positives in this, but it will need some topping up when I return back to school.

Speaking of school, I'm awaiting feedback from my supervisor about the tasks I've already completed. There is no rush, as I am adjusting the tasks to the economical situation of BE. It is interesting to adapt the Wholesale part of the course with the practical and more touristic & Retail management side of the business. I feel i'm learning more than just one selected business, something I want to reflect in my assignments.

Further than this… No real news to report. I'm still happy at this business and life in Tenerife is good. I'm not missing home yet!!

See you all at the next upload.

Half way there

Hi to all readers! I hope you've had a good week.

I believe I am a true sick note. After getting the all-clear from my ear infection, I've been struck with a nasty cold. This means I'm sidelined once again and further annoyed with myself. Keeping in mind that this is just bad luck, I'm not getting too swept away. Anyway,, moving on to the report of my week.

It was relatively calm. These calmer weeks are spent doing practical stuff in stead of focussing on sales: there is just not that much money to be made in this industry, especially at this time of year. So, what am I doing on a daily basis, along with my colleagues? We are improving, cleaning and overall refurbishing the centre. In terms of what I expected to do, it's quite accurate. I knew there would not be a great opportunity to enhance my selling skills. Unfortunately, there are some things that dissapoint me. In stead of focussing on subjects can enhance the business' performance, I find myself spending a lot of time doing maintanance, or otherwise activities that anybody could do. No specialitiy has come to me yet, apart from the fact that I am able to sell the idea of Diving a little better. I hope to complete further courses in the Diving industry, making me a more experienced person.

Receiving feedback from co-workers is something I appreciate a lot. I want to know how I am doing. This feedback has been given to me by several instructors, and I've come across the following points of improvement. 1. Show more initiative & don't let illness bring you down. The past few weeks have been physically challenging for me, due to the ear-infection and other annoyances. They noticed this tampered with my attitude and my temper. They will assess if this will get better in times of good-health, as their impression of me was harmed by this unfortunate turn of events. 2. Do schoolwork at home and do duties at the centre. The small centre is not a place for me to work on my schoolprojects. There are a couple of reasons for it being so: it is small, loud, uncomfortable and it is supposed to be presentable to customers. When somebody is working behind a laptop, it will harm the business. It is up to me to do my schoolwork at home and not wasting time at the dive centre. Talking of schoolwork, it is all following along nicely. Only real financial data is left open until now, as that requires information from a source that is not available yet.

Furthermore, my Spanish speaking skills have not improved. I'm only speaking English in my enviroment, I've become surrounded in a familliar space. As unfortunate as it is, I don't think I'll be able to speak broken Spanish when I get back home. I've also decided to work forward 1 extra week so I will be able to go home a few days early, or catch up with some hours. 'Till now, I've not taken many days off, and I plan to work a few extra saturdays.

I'll be seeing you somewhere next week. Cheers!

First weeks of the new year

Welcome back to a new blog of my time in the beautiful Tenerife.

Unfortunately, the first weeks were not splendid. I was ill, a bad ear infection had struck me so I wasn't able to work very efficiently. To get enough hours in, I was working during these days. The main problem was that I was very limited in what I could do, as I was on medication and had to let my body rest. Fortunately, I have been fever, pain and stress-free for a week now. Not much to report bearing that in mind, I was just a sick note.

I did, however, get to meet new people in the meantime. New arrivials from all over the world have come to Abades to become Masters & Instructors, so socially I'm doing good. I've also made progress with my assignments and other core tasks, believing that I'll be done in the weeks of March. Spanish hasn't improved much as I've not been surrounded by many Spanish-speaking people in the meantime.

Further learning curves stretch all the way from this new industry I am in, to what I would like to do further on in life. I've learnt about what influences this industry and where problems come from & idea's how to solve these. Also the amount of people leaving their country behind to go and explore the world has inspired me, something people do not tend to do back home. I wonder if I will be doing something like this… it has got my curiosity.

Further school related stuff: hours are good, I've enough time for school and I've recorded enough information for the grant I've received (logbook, cost of rent etc).

Concluding the report, following a 2 week abscence due to illness, I wish you a good weekend and I'll write you next week.

Cheers!

Sixth week, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone, coming from the warm Tenerife! 

Because of a busier period the coming weeks, we will all be working hard to get as many people as possible diving with us. After Christmas we will be right back on track. 

Since my last upload I have been up to a couple of things: exploring the Island, diving more often and I have got a new roommate. It is all working out fine and tonight we will have Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. I'm looking forward to having my first ever Christmas so far south. 

Lots of people have left Abades in the past week: they are all going home for the holidays. The team at BE is still complete, but there is only one person left from TDA, who has come to live at my house for a week. I can even get to practise my German with him. 

Not much to report about progress in my Spanish, it is still very limited. When exploring the northern and western parts of the Island, I still had a huge language barrier with the locals. I hope this will reduce in the coming weeks. 

Apart from all this, I wish everyone very happy holidays and I will upload ASAP. 

Cheers!

Fifth week, some changes

A good monday morning to all readers. Because of a busy day last Friday I decided to upload the new story this morning, reflecting on last week.

Unfortunately I had an ear infection, meaning I could not go near water. Therefore, I focussed on Spanish speaking skills and some extra schoolwork. I'm trying to make myself more fluent in basic Spanish, like getting my messages across when in a supermarket or when ordering something with a person who does not speak fluent English. It is difficult, but there is slight progress when compared to my first week.

When I went to sales, I practised my salesmanship at the hotels, speaking to representatives and potential customers. I received feedback regarding my way of speaking and what I could improve. I need to be more curious and work on my plan of action when it comes to selling the experiences. Busy weeks are coming in and I want to make the most of these opportunities.

In regard to social life, things are a bit different. Almost all people from the Tenerife Diving Academy have left, including people I spent a great deal of time with. It will be a new challenge to get back on top and figure out how I will spend my time, seeing as a great chunk has been removed. Luckily for me, there are still 2 friends left for at least 8 more weeks, so I have an easy introduction to the group that will come over after Christmas. I will be working during this busy period, meaning my holidays will simply shift up to when I want to spend this free time.

Furthermore, I am keeping myself busy with core tasks, doing a part of each task each day. This signals the end of the 5th blog and I am looking forward to the 6th week of this internship.

Be seeing you again! (: