Monday 25 November 2013

Kay's snappy Mexican summer

Third Year Events undergraduate Kay Thompson put her Spanish studies to good use when she spent the summer gaining work experience in Mexico.

We encourage students to gain practical experience to put their academic studies into context, and Kay gained a great deal from her time spent living and working abroad.

Kay takes up the story: "I worked in El Cid Hotel Puerto Morelos in the Animation team putting on activities for clients and making sure they had a fun holiday. The culture abroad was very different which I had to get used to quickly.

"As half of the clients were Mexican it was important to learn the language so you could communicate to all of the guests, but I'm learning Spanish at University so that came in useful.

"It took me a while to settle in at first, I found it difficult with the way people lived, and in the unfamiliar surroundings where I lived as my apartment was outside of the hotel. One thing I won't forget is I stayed in a hotel for one week whilst my friend was visiting and there was a huge crocodile living across the street!

"I learnt how to organise activities and events and to communicate with people in other languages. The highlight was living in another country, which is the most beautiful place I have visited, and working for a large hotel putting on fun activities for the guests.

"It didn't feel like work as it was so much fun talking to guests, making friends and having fun playing racing games, volleyball on the beach and playing competitive games in the pool which the guests won prizes for."

Kay is now back at UCLan studying hard for the final year of her degree but she is already thinking about where she might visit next.

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