I've so depressed this morning. While I was having breakfast, I was told that I made a mistake for the reservation. I checked the account after breakfast and it was undoubtedly my mistake. I booked a wrong room for a customer. Since our hostel was fully booked yesterday the customers seemed to get angry because they couldn't move to another room. I felt so sorry for the customers and the stuff who delt with them.
I was not supposed to work this morning, but when I was checking the system the customers who want to check out kept coming. For this reason, I worked for approximately one and a half hours with another stuff. What I got depressed more was that I couldn't deal with customers well. Firstly, I got a call from a customer who I guess is Kiwi and I couldn't get her words. Because of my lack of listening skill, she got angry and she said she wanted to talk to someone who can understand her. Secondly I was asked by a customer about a tour around Auckland. I should have been familiar with this thing because I am a receptionist and a travel consultant at the same time. However I couldn't explain to her well and she seemed to be irritated. After all she's gone to another place.
I was so terrible this morning. If I had been a customer, I would have got irritated as well. My customer service was terrible and horrible. What I could do was only a basic thing like check-in and check-out procedure. I should have learned more about Auckland or other general knowledge.
This must be a good lesson from my mistake. I need to keep it in my mind and make use of it to the next step.
Nov 29, 2013
Nov 27, 2013
Finished studying
I finally finished my course in the school. I finished the roll play which was the final assessment of this course. I passed all the assessments and completed the 100% attendance!! I am proud of myself. To be honest, it was not that difficult since this course was just a national certificate level 4. However, learning travel & tourism was my first experience and I think I did well. I hope this experience would be usefull for my next career.
What is left is the lunch with my classmates next Friday, and the graduation on 13th December. As there was a huge difference between my classmates and me, I can't say I got along with them well. My English skill was not good enough to keep up with them. In addition, they are so young that I felt the generation gap, even though I felt culture gap at the same time. I wish I could have talk to them a lot more. This must have been a great opportunity for me to make friend, have new experience, and improve my English skills. But I couldn't. What a shame! I should have tried harder. I could have done that. This is the biggest regret in my New Zealand life.
Since I finished studying I have to think about my next career. I need a job hunting in Australia at first. If I am asked what the most important thing is to get a job overseas, I would have to say "English skills". No matter how good qualification I have, no matter how hard I can work, I can't get a job in a foreign country unless I have English skills. To improve English skills is the most important objective in Australia.
The preparation for the journey to Australia has almost done. What I need to do is just to wait time comes.
What is left is the lunch with my classmates next Friday, and the graduation on 13th December. As there was a huge difference between my classmates and me, I can't say I got along with them well. My English skill was not good enough to keep up with them. In addition, they are so young that I felt the generation gap, even though I felt culture gap at the same time. I wish I could have talk to them a lot more. This must have been a great opportunity for me to make friend, have new experience, and improve my English skills. But I couldn't. What a shame! I should have tried harder. I could have done that. This is the biggest regret in my New Zealand life.
Since I finished studying I have to think about my next career. I need a job hunting in Australia at first. If I am asked what the most important thing is to get a job overseas, I would have to say "English skills". No matter how good qualification I have, no matter how hard I can work, I can't get a job in a foreign country unless I have English skills. To improve English skills is the most important objective in Australia.
The preparation for the journey to Australia has almost done. What I need to do is just to wait time comes.
Nov 22, 2013
Running situation
I haven't run last four months. I just started again to run two weeks ago. I was not in mood for running after moving to the backpackers hostel I am staying now. Accoriding to my negligence, I didn't run Auckland Marathon even though I had already registered to participate in this event and I had paid about $100!! I felt self-loathing. I should have motivated myself to run. I wish I could have taken part in this marathon because it is the biggest marathon event in New Zealand and must have been a tremendous experience for me. But it is meaningless to think about the past. What happened happened. What I need to do is to motivate myself again to get my objectives.
Recently I finally managed to keep running constantly. My favourite running course is Victoria Park which is located near Sky Tower. I run in this park three or four times a week. When it's sunny, the park is really nice place to run and I can feel very comfortable.
Running is one of my important lifestyle. I want to keep this custom.
Recently I finally managed to keep running constantly. My favourite running course is Victoria Park which is located near Sky Tower. I run in this park three or four times a week. When it's sunny, the park is really nice place to run and I can feel very comfortable.
Running is one of my important lifestyle. I want to keep this custom.
Nov 21, 2013
About Adelaide
As I mentioned before, my next destination is Adelaide, South Australia. I want to write about Adelaide here.
First of all, Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia where approximately 1.2 million people live and which is the fifth biggest city in Australia. Since this city is not so big compared to Sydney or Melbourne and not so popular destination for tourists compared to Cairns or Goldcoast, lots of people say "where is it?" or "I have heard the name..." though there is not much difference between Adelaide and Auckland in population-wise.
Second of all, Adelaide is known for lots of great food or wine which means there are lots of nice restaurants and wineries. It seems that there are lots of opportunities to work as a waiter or work in a factory of wine and so on although I am not really keen on these kinds of jobs.
As of I have thought in my mind, I plan to stay in Adelaide for 3 or 4 months. However if I get a job which is really good and valuable for me, I may stay there longer. Nevertheless it would be up to 6 months to work in a same place because of the visa condition. Anyway I want to visit as many places as possible since I will go to Australia which is much bigger country than New Zealand or Japan. There must be a number of places I can enjoy or have new experiences.
I feel nervous when I think about going to Australia though I feel exited at the same time. The biggest thing which makes me nervous is whether or not I can get a job and whether or not I can keep it. It must be tough for me to work in English-speaking environment, but I don't want to work in the place related to Japanese such as Japanese restaurant. I hopefully will find a place Australian owe. Anyway it is useless to think about that even though I have't been there yet. I will realize everything when I get there.
First of all, Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia where approximately 1.2 million people live and which is the fifth biggest city in Australia. Since this city is not so big compared to Sydney or Melbourne and not so popular destination for tourists compared to Cairns or Goldcoast, lots of people say "where is it?" or "I have heard the name..." though there is not much difference between Adelaide and Auckland in population-wise.
Second of all, Adelaide is known for lots of great food or wine which means there are lots of nice restaurants and wineries. It seems that there are lots of opportunities to work as a waiter or work in a factory of wine and so on although I am not really keen on these kinds of jobs.
As of I have thought in my mind, I plan to stay in Adelaide for 3 or 4 months. However if I get a job which is really good and valuable for me, I may stay there longer. Nevertheless it would be up to 6 months to work in a same place because of the visa condition. Anyway I want to visit as many places as possible since I will go to Australia which is much bigger country than New Zealand or Japan. There must be a number of places I can enjoy or have new experiences.
I feel nervous when I think about going to Australia though I feel exited at the same time. The biggest thing which makes me nervous is whether or not I can get a job and whether or not I can keep it. It must be tough for me to work in English-speaking environment, but I don't want to work in the place related to Japanese such as Japanese restaurant. I hopefully will find a place Australian owe. Anyway it is useless to think about that even though I have't been there yet. I will realize everything when I get there.
Nov 15, 2013
Industry day
My visa was approved and I have got a flight ticket to Adelaide which is the capital city of Southern Australia. What I need to do more to go to Australia is to purchase a travel insurance policy. My preparation for the working holiday in Australia is alomst done.
After an arrival in Australia, I may apply for a full time job or just a part-time job. Whichever I will choose, I need to make money anyway. No matter how hard I will make an effort, it would be difficult to get a full time job due to my English skills. But I don't want to work in Japanese restaurant or Japanese supermarket. What I want about work place is a native speakers environment and hopefully it would relate to travel and tourism. I will try to find such a job. Never give up.
Yesterday was an industry day in our school, and some companies related to travel, tourism or buisness came to our school. I could talk to them and got some information about the companies I was interested in. They were so friendly I could be relaxed during talking and listening to them. It was a good opportunity to make some networks and learn what positions are available or how to apply for a job. To get a job in overseas is very different from Japan. And I like these cultures because the more experience I have, the easier I can get a job. In Japan, however, quitting job is to be considered as negative thing, isn't it? The more companies we work in, the more difficult it is to get a job.
Anyway, if I experience a lot of jobs in Australia, I guess would get better job in New Zealand in the future more easily.
After an arrival in Australia, I may apply for a full time job or just a part-time job. Whichever I will choose, I need to make money anyway. No matter how hard I will make an effort, it would be difficult to get a full time job due to my English skills. But I don't want to work in Japanese restaurant or Japanese supermarket. What I want about work place is a native speakers environment and hopefully it would relate to travel and tourism. I will try to find such a job. Never give up.
Yesterday was an industry day in our school, and some companies related to travel, tourism or buisness came to our school. I could talk to them and got some information about the companies I was interested in. They were so friendly I could be relaxed during talking and listening to them. It was a good opportunity to make some networks and learn what positions are available or how to apply for a job. To get a job in overseas is very different from Japan. And I like these cultures because the more experience I have, the easier I can get a job. In Japan, however, quitting job is to be considered as negative thing, isn't it? The more companies we work in, the more difficult it is to get a job.
Anyway, if I experience a lot of jobs in Australia, I guess would get better job in New Zealand in the future more easily.
Nov 10, 2013
One more month
One more month to stay in Auckland. My new journey is almost there. I have been thinking what I learnt in this year. A year ago I quit a company I had worked for more than three years. It was a big dicision and it changed my life a lot. I didn't expect such a thought came up to me. But now, my living situation has already become usual and I don't consider it special.
I met many kinds of people I have never seen. They were always kind, cheerful and positive. They can speak English much more fluently than me and it sometimes brought me a feeling of inferiority. To be honest I still have such a feeling because my speaking skill is not well enough to keep conversation. However, I think I could improve English skills at least much better than before I came here. For example, I brought DVDs of American drama, titled "FRIENDS" which is famous for those who study English through drama. When I was in Japan, I couldn't understand what the actors/ actresses were talking about at all because they speak so fast thouth it is needless to say. At the moment, however, I can understand more than 90%. It was a huge improvement. Of course I watched for many times and I got used to know their speaking. But even if I count this fact, I am sure my listening skill must be at much higher level now. At the same time, I feel it is still not enough. If I want to get a job which is not related to Japanese speakers, I need to learn more.
Other than English, I have many things I could learn here. The diversity of cultures, the way of thinking or the way to behave was one of many things I experienced here. It was sometimes irritating and sometimes I couldn't accept it. But understanding differnt cultures is very important to be with them. In the future I want to work in a global field and I can't avoid the situation which I have to communicate with various nationalities. Considering it, staying in Auckland was very valuable for me because there are a number of immigrants. There are countless opportunities to meet them. I think I chose the best way.
I can write more about what I learnt in New Zealand, but what I mentioned above is what is important for me. I guess just a month will go by so faster than I can expect. I would like to do as many experiences as I can in the rest of time.
I met many kinds of people I have never seen. They were always kind, cheerful and positive. They can speak English much more fluently than me and it sometimes brought me a feeling of inferiority. To be honest I still have such a feeling because my speaking skill is not well enough to keep conversation. However, I think I could improve English skills at least much better than before I came here. For example, I brought DVDs of American drama, titled "FRIENDS" which is famous for those who study English through drama. When I was in Japan, I couldn't understand what the actors/ actresses were talking about at all because they speak so fast thouth it is needless to say. At the moment, however, I can understand more than 90%. It was a huge improvement. Of course I watched for many times and I got used to know their speaking. But even if I count this fact, I am sure my listening skill must be at much higher level now. At the same time, I feel it is still not enough. If I want to get a job which is not related to Japanese speakers, I need to learn more.
Other than English, I have many things I could learn here. The diversity of cultures, the way of thinking or the way to behave was one of many things I experienced here. It was sometimes irritating and sometimes I couldn't accept it. But understanding differnt cultures is very important to be with them. In the future I want to work in a global field and I can't avoid the situation which I have to communicate with various nationalities. Considering it, staying in Auckland was very valuable for me because there are a number of immigrants. There are countless opportunities to meet them. I think I chose the best way.
I can write more about what I learnt in New Zealand, but what I mentioned above is what is important for me. I guess just a month will go by so faster than I can expect. I would like to do as many experiences as I can in the rest of time.
Nov 4, 2013
Harry Potter
I have been reading Harry Potter which is one of the most famous stories for kids in the world. To be honest, I was not interested in this book at first, and I only have seen the movie of the first story, "Harry Potter and the philisopher's stone". However, after I started to read the first one in English, it was really interesting and very easy to read. I already started to read the second story, "Harry Potter and the chamber of Secret".
At the same time, I have watched the movies of several Harry Potter series. I am totally into this stories now. Being interested in these series is quite useful to learn English because there are lots of same words in these books. Moreover there are similar expressions as well since the author tends to use same phrase repeatedly.
If I complete watching movies and reading books of Harry Potter series, my listening and reading skills must be at higher level than before I got intersted in them. At least I believe so. As I still have more one month to stay in Auckland, I will try to read all the series.
At the same time, I have watched the movies of several Harry Potter series. I am totally into this stories now. Being interested in these series is quite useful to learn English because there are lots of same words in these books. Moreover there are similar expressions as well since the author tends to use same phrase repeatedly.
If I complete watching movies and reading books of Harry Potter series, my listening and reading skills must be at higher level than before I got intersted in them. At least I believe so. As I still have more one month to stay in Auckland, I will try to read all the series.
Nov 3, 2013
Working holiday in Australia
I finally applied for the working holiday visa in Australia. It was so easy to complete because I didn't need to print out the form and write down. We can apply for the working holiday visa online. All I have to do is put the persnonal information and my intention about what to do in Australia.
What I need more is to arrange the insurance and flight ticket. At first I was planning to go to Australia on the top of January, but I am wondering when I should go because it would be so expensive if I fly on the end or the start of a year. I wanted to exchange in backpackers wherever in New Zealand except for Auckland before going to Australia. However, as the reason above, I may have to change my plan and I may go to Australia as soon as I graduate from the school in the first week of December.
Anyway, I can't wait for my new journey. I am so excited, though I am so anxious at the same time. I need to be more serious and more positive, but I'd better be careful not to be too serious. Having fun is the most important thing in the life. I really want to go all over Australia at this time. I have at most one year to stay in Australia, but if I do a seasonal job for more than three months, I could get a second working holiday visa which allows me to stay one more year in Australia with the same condition. I haven't decided what to do there but I want new experiences I have never done and I want to lead my career to the next step.
What I need more is to arrange the insurance and flight ticket. At first I was planning to go to Australia on the top of January, but I am wondering when I should go because it would be so expensive if I fly on the end or the start of a year. I wanted to exchange in backpackers wherever in New Zealand except for Auckland before going to Australia. However, as the reason above, I may have to change my plan and I may go to Australia as soon as I graduate from the school in the first week of December.
Anyway, I can't wait for my new journey. I am so excited, though I am so anxious at the same time. I need to be more serious and more positive, but I'd better be careful not to be too serious. Having fun is the most important thing in the life. I really want to go all over Australia at this time. I have at most one year to stay in Australia, but if I do a seasonal job for more than three months, I could get a second working holiday visa which allows me to stay one more year in Australia with the same condition. I haven't decided what to do there but I want new experiences I have never done and I want to lead my career to the next step.
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