My penultimate day in Tenerife consisted of me walking around catching a last glimpse of where I have lived and worked for the past three weeks. It took most of the day as I took it slow and had a look around the shops and picked up presents for people back home. Afterwards, we went for a final group meal in La Bruschetta, a lovely, fancy place as we planned to celebrate one of the girls birthday. After the meal I headed home as my flight is tomorrow.
On my final day, I packed my things up as we had to check out by 11.30am. I got my things packed up by 10am and I went downstairs for breakfast with the other two lads. After breakfast we headed back upstairs and waited for Marivi’s arrival at 11.30am, so we could get deposits back and check out. One of the lads and myself wanted to make the most of our final few hours and we invited the group to go karting with us, but they decided against it as they wanted to soak up the last of the sun. Go karting was absolutely fantastic. We decided on doing it because it was cheaper than other activities and we could get it done in the time frame before we had to leave for the flight. We got 9 laps around the circuit that overlooked the ocean and the various mountains in the distance, which was beautiful. Next thing we knew it was time to get the flight home. We got the bus to the airport with the rest of the group, saying goodbye to everything on the way. -Liam
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Days 17-19: After our boating trip, I ended up getting severely sunburned, because I was in such a rush I forgot to apply sunscreen - BIG mistake! Applying suncream will not be taken lightly again, that's for sure. To my surprise even most of the locals use factor 50 and they live here in this heat. My Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday involved working, cleaning wetsuits, checking equipment and along with other task. The poor sea and weather conditions meant that there wasn't much interest in water sports today. The extra time I had gave me time to actually stop and look around at the people and the culture of Costa Adeje, and how this amazing trip has affected me and how it will impact me in the future. This place is amazing. Since I have been here I have not once come across one person without a smile on their face. It's not hard to see why, with street performers, people selling different items on the street, and the mile long sandy beaches - it truly is paradise. I have learned so much here that will be invaluable to me in future, like being patient and really developing my social skills for use in everyday life. I have also learnt from giving instructions to customers, how to truly command a space, where people will turn around and pay attention to me. This will be a key skill that I will make make good use of in my future work in the security sector.
Day 20: Today was an emotional day as it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Today was my last day walking to work, seeing the restaurants and shopkeepers start their day and my last time at Water sports Tenerife. I had an amazing experience here and I am grateful to have earned this opportunity and I can only say, thank you. Today we have a meeting with Erin (our GTI visiting teacher) where we will reflect on our experience and afterwards we plan to have our final meal as a group before we head home to Galway. -Liam Day 13: Today I woke earlier than usual as I felt like enjoying the day from as early as possible. I got to see the restaurants open for breakfast and watch the council workers landscape and tend to flattening the sand on the beaches. Here I saw a different side to Tenerife, as the local workers were out in force to make sure everything we see in images online, actually looks as picturesque... If not even more stunning in person.
When I arrived at work I completed my usual tasks, and at about 12pm a booking came in for our luxury sailing trip around the coast of Costa Adeje. This was a completely new experience as it was the first booking for the trip since my arrival. My colleagues and myself prepped the yacht with fresh fruit, sandwiches and beverages for the group’s arrival. The trip takes you on a tour along the coast in the hopes you come across dolphins and whales and then stops for you to enjoy the water, food and beverages on offer. This really sparked my interest and hopefully I have the time to go on something similar before the end of this wonderful experience. The end of my working day came along extremely quickly and before I knew it, I was on my commute back again. Day 14: I had a bit of sleep-in today, as I was extremely tired from my working days during the week. I started thinking about the sailing trip from the day before and it really did appeal to me, it would really be an exciting experience. I looked around for the best price on similar trips and to my amazement it was actually very reasonably priced. 40 euro for 3 hours. This consisted of going out to spot whales and dolphins, and being able to swim in the water with the whole view of the south side of Tenerife as your backdrop. A truly a once in a lifetime experience. I couldn't say no! I looked to book for Sunday as I am off, but they were already full up. I booked the trip for Monday for just after 4pm so I can go straight after work and I also managed to convince 3 of my group to come along which is very exciting. Day 15: As I knew I was going on my boating trip tomorrow I wanted to save my money and energy so I explored around Costa Adeje. I work in Costa Adeje in Puerto Colon but outside of the workplace I never really took the time to sightsee, so I wanted to walk around and experience a different part of the area I am used to. I called it an early night as I knew I had to be fresh for work in the morning. Day 16: I woke bright and early as I was extremely excited about my booked sailing trip and I also wanted to make sure I made the most of work. Everyone at work seemed to be in a great mood, constant smiles and laughter emanating from the workplace. Today was busier than what I have experienced so far, due to the fantastic weather. With the instructions and training I have received I felt I coped exceptionally well with days like these. Today was busy but nothing outside the norm as I was still doing my usual tasks of giving guests information, cleaning wetsuits, and promoting some of the activities on offer. The day flew by and before I knew it I was with my friends for the boating experience. We were told by the captain to remove our shoes and socks as we would just slip and he instructed us to leave our belongings downstairs, inside where they would be safe and we could retrieve them when needed. We came across two other boats that had dropped anchor not too far away so the captain headed in that direction. We could immediately spot the fins bobbing up and down through the waves - Dolphins! As we continued to sail towards the anchored boats, watching the creatures... another dolphin came along the side of the boat and started to bob and weave left to right in front of our boat. The captain later said that there were baby whales as well but they were off in the distance and not easily spotted. A bigger ship was arriving so we had to make way for them. On we went towards the shore once again but taking a slightly different direction as to go to the area we could swim in. The captain dropped the anchor and we were free to take food and beverages and dive into the sea. I was a small bit apprehensive about going into the water but talked myself into it. It was an unbelievable experience and my only regret is forgetting to take more pictures I was just too caught up in the moment! -Liam Day 10: Today I got up at 7.30am and made it to work early where I executed my daily procedure of washing wetsuits, giving health and safety briefings etc. I also had the pleasure of talking to a lovely Scottish man and found out that his relatives actually own a bar and restaurant in Galway city, it really is a small world! I finished work and walked back to Oro Blanco and I decided against going with the group for food as I had planned to eat in the apartment with the food that I had bought. I continued to work on some assignments from college and had an early night.
Day 11: Today I completed my daily tasks and did some promotional work. I do feel that handing out flyers shows that I am a capable worker as I get to experience something new whereby I develop confidence and communication skills and the establishment also receives more clients - its a win-win! I completed another hard days work and went to bed early as the busy day left me tired and wanting to catch up on some rest. Day 12: Today was actually quite a special day as I was trusted by my colleagues to undertake some tasks by myself today. This was great as it showed that I am doing my job well and have a good understanding of the requirements to complete the jobs well. I carried out my usual activities as well as operating the machinery to lower the jet skis into the water which was interesting. After work, I met with my group and we all went for food. Overall it was a good day and I am happy with the progress thatI am making. - Liam Day 6: I started with my usual routine of getting up at 7.30am and getting to work that bit early. Today I carried out my daily responsibilities as well as help with a booking. An Irish family came in wanting to go on a jet ski safari but my colleague found it hard to understand the accent, so I helped and confirmed the booking. These are a few pictures from my workplace and the information I give each individual before they partake in some of the water sports on offer. Today I also went to Siam mall which is a huge shopping centre about 15 mins from where I am staying. We went to a restaurant there called'Martini' and it was the best food we have had here since arriving and reasonably priced too.
The Weekend: Today was my first day off from work so I wanted to walk around and do a bit of sightseeing and explore the culture of Tenerife a little further. I strolled down by the coast and ended up in a built up part of the city. The main area was made up of designer brands and make-up outlets - out of my price range for sure! I kept exploring and came across the Tenerife Hard Rock Cafe. The building itself is amazing, and I also picked up a leaflet on their live music events, so I might venture down here again. I also took a picture of some of the regional fauna along my travels. I met with the group afterwards and we relaxed at the beach for the rest of the evening. I also researched the different activities and walks that the group and I could do when we are all off. I found that the water park (Siam park) and zoo (Loro Parque) are voted the best in the world on trip advisor and they are highly recommended. I researched everything from the mountain walks to the surfing that we could do as a group. I bought groceries for the week ahead and rang home to catch up with everything that is going on in Ireland. I relaxed today and recharged my batteries as I will be back working again tomorrow. Day 9: Back to work today where I carried out my usual responsibilities and I also asked if I could do some PR. This gave me the opportunity to engage with the other members of the public and was a great way to develop my interpersonal skills here in Spain. I took 50 or so flyers with me and I handed them out while speaking with possible customers about the excursions. 40 mins had past and I didn't have a flyer left! I headed back to find that my colleague was very busy trying to get people ready for their excursions… my idea must have worked! I helped my colleague with the other 3 or 4 families left and sent them on their boat to retrieve the jet skis. I feel I showed excellent initiative today, to put myself out there and work on my own using my communication skills and confidence to good effect. Later in the day I plan to meet with the girls in the Orlando apartments and go with the group from Oro Blanco for dinner which will be nice to bond more as a group. -Liam Day 3: Today I woke at 7.30am to give myself enough time to get to work, enjoy the scenery on the way and be there early as it was my first day working at the Water Sports Tenerife. When I arrived I was introduced to my other colleagues. I immediately got to work washing the wet suits, helping distribute the life jackets and giving information, safety instructions and disclaimers to the customers of Water Sports Tenerife.
Before long, it was lunch time. I was shown the different restaurants across the street where I could get my lunch at and I decided on a small Italian cafe. The staff were extremely nice and understanding my limited Spanish which helped! I carried on the tasks I had for the day as mentioned before and my first day was complete. I took my time walking back to the accommodation and took in the views around me. We went as a group for dinner and got home early as I knew I was in work again in the morning and the first day took it out of me a bit more than expected. Day 4 & 5: I got up at my usual time and made it to work a bit early as to make a good impression. Today I carried out the same tasks as the day before but I was more comfortable doing them and less shy when talking to my colleagues. I also got to meet some new faces that were not working the day before. I stopped at the shop to get groceries for the apartment on the way home after work as I had been meaning to for the past few days. I ate at home and got to sleep. Today I did my usual activities at work, I also spruced up the lifejackets by writing in the sizes and the needed information. I got loads of information on cultural things to do on my days off with the group. Mariam (Tenerife water-sports) pointed me in the right direction with activities to do. -Liam Day 1: The group and I arrived at 7.20pm on Easter Sunday so there wasn’t an awful amount of time to do much other than find our accommodation and get settled in. We set off in a bus from the airport and got to the Oro Blanco apartments around 8pm. We met Teresa from the Tenerife Job Agency and she gave each one of us a breakdown on the details of our work experience placements and what we could expect. As a group we decided to get something to eat and do a small bit of exploring. These are the pictures I took as the other two lads and myself waited for the girls to get ready. We explored a small portion of the immediate area around our apartment, then we got some food and went back to the apartment early as we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.
Day 2: Today, I woke at 7:30am to start my day before Teresa was to pick me up at 8:50am. Teresa brought me to my workplace and showed me the best route I should take to work every morning. I was greeted at the front desk on arrival with Teresa, she welcomed me and told me that I have the day to get to grip with my surroundings. I start work tomorrow at 10am sharp. Teresa told me the way back and I set off to find the best route back from work. The route I took brought me back to the apartment in around 30 mins. When I arrived, the rest of the group were out in the sun as they had some free time so I joined them. After half an hour or so, they had to meet with Teresa again to go to there work placements. I plan to venture further today and experience more of what Tenerife has to offer but still keeping in mind that tomorrow is a big day. -Liam |
Security Students Tenerife 2017/18Liam Fleming Map of Tenerife |