Points to remember from week 1 is the way to greet people and introduce ourself in mandarin. I learned about self-pronounce and a few common words that we use in daily life. Besides that, we were also taught new words in every lesson to improve our vocabulary. All the new words would be used in a video to aid us on how to use those words in daily life. In Chinese, every word is pronounced using their phonetics system. Each syllable is composed of an initial, final and a tone. I learn how to pronounce each word with a tone. Lastly, after every lesson, a quiz was given to test my level of understanding which encourage me to focus more during the lessons.

 

It is always fun to learn a new language and it is not as tough as I thought. I am sure that I will be more confident interacting in mandarin in future. 

 

There were no difficulties throughout the week as the videos and study materials are provided and the study time is flexible.

 

Two words to describe my elective posting is fun and exciting.

 

My plan for week 2 is continue watching to the teaching videos and answering the quizzes.

2.

I have done an online course on Coursera to learn the Korean language which is conducted by an Associate professor Kang seung hae from Yonsei University. The first video briefly introduced the Korean language and the composition of the units in this course. 

For my first week, the videos were about learning korean alphabets which are simply called ’hangul’. Hangul is composed of a consonant and a vowel forming one syllable. By learning hangul, I can then proceed with the next video given. 

There were also additional materials to practice reading them and graded quizzes. 

3.

Points to remember from week 1 is to know their 10 basic vowels and 14 basic consonants. Next, I learned that hangul is written from left to right and top to bottom. 

4.

I feel excited and having fun learning Korean because I always want to learn it. I’m quite confident to learn it fast although there are some hard parts. Besides that, the study time is flexible so I’m able to learn it anytime and anywhere. 

5.

I think the tricky part of learning a new language is how you are going to pronounce it. I noticed in Korean there were similar pronunciations for some vowels and consonants which made it hard for me to distinguish between them. But, after several practices and writing them, now I can differentiate them. 

6.

Two words to describe the first week of my elective posting are challenging and very exciting. 

7.

My plan for next week's learning is to watch the provided teaching videos and do the quizzes that have been assigned. 

•  Xianzai means now, Jiao means to be called, Jintian means today, Xingqi means day, Yue means month, and Hao means date.

 • The use of tone marks is important when writing pinyin

• Guo, which meaning country, is not used by Chinese for every nation like Riben is for Japan

4. I'm glad I learned something new, and I look forward to using Mandarin in the future. 

5. Getting easily sidetracked was a challenge I encountered when taking this course. I have goals for how many learning days I want to have each week.

6. Productive and Fun
 
 7. The goal and timeframe will be followed to while continuing to learn the new lesson in week 2.

 2. What have you done?
 
 Assalammualaikum, da jia hao, eppadi irukinga, to my esteemed supervisor, Prof Madya Dr. Noor Dina Binti Hashim, legendary coordinator and Komanden(the most pro), Dr. Syamsa Rizal Abdullah, and to my dear peers and friends, this is my  elective posting project in Y3, which is learning and exploring on Food & Beverages Services, specifically in a 4-Star hotel branch in Taiping called Novotel. It is an absolute honour and pleasure to have been accepted to work under such a prestigious global hotel brand owned by Accor, in total having 559 branches in 65 countries, as a Part Time Waiter (PT Waiter).  Before explaining any further, there are three main departments under F&B for this hotel, which includes Food Exchange /Restaurant service, Banquet service, and Gourmet and Bar service( am not doing this due to religion beliefs).  For the first week, I was involved and tasked on restaurant service, and it has been an amazing experience, blessed with very organised, friendly, supportive and helpful co-workers that I now call friends. There are 4 main shifts, which are 6 am – 2 pm, 7 am – 3 pm, 12 pm – 8 pm, and 3 pm – 11 pm, and working exceeding the hours is called Overtime,OT, if wanting extra income, provided being able to physically commit. Routine starts with punching in, followed by going to the uniform room to obtain your uniform and changing in the locker room right beside it, and then head down two flights of stairs to the main restaurant floor. For the first day, I was given an orientation on the services, utensils, observing what and how each work is carried out, the place of the items, cleaning areas, work areas etc.
 The jobscopes for restaurant services are several to many, and varies according to shifts and any special events, and is listed as below.
 
 Morning shifts

  - Setting up the buffet set up i.e the utensil and dishes

  - Clear the used plates and utensils of guests’ during(with caution) and after guests are done

  - Sorting the rubbish and leftovers of the food during clearing before sending to steward to be washed, rinsed and heated in the dishwasher

  - Cleaning the table which includes wiping and setting up the tissues and fork and spoon set whenever a table is cleared and cleaned

  - Clean and clear the buffet counters after the buffet is finished

  - Sweeping the f;loor followed by mopping

  - Wiping the utensils that have been washed 

  - Rearranging and parking the utensils that have been dried.

  - Removing the boxes and any recyclable items to the back storage for processing purposes.

  - Replenishing tissues when supply is low, which includes having to fold them before rearranging the stock or to be put at the main area

 

 

Afternoon-Night shifts

  - Mainly a la carte unless any functions or events requiring to set up

  - The tasks are similar if there is any functions or events

  - Includes any room service, but will be touched on the third week

  - Mainly serve the customers that come to eat in

  - Seat the customers and provide them the menu 

  - Start serving warm water first.

  - Allow them 5-7 mins to decide what to order, and take their order when they are ready

  - Entertain their questions and requests whenever mentioned

  - Key in the food and drinks ordered in the system, for the data to be sent to the kitchen for them to start preparing, along with any requests on the food

  - Serve the food and drinks ordered when the chef rings the bell signaling the dish/drink is ready and can be served.

  - Clear the table when they are done, which is the usual routine of wiping and setting the table with new utensils once done

  - Prepare and set up slightly for morning buffet the next day, to ease the morning shift workers

  - Once towards closing, double check all areas and ensure all is arranged ready, all tables and chairs are in good order and arrangement, before finally closing and switch off all the lights at the main area.
 
 

 

 

3. Points to remember from week 1!
 
 -Remembering all the utensils and where it is located is crucial in this job, as having to set up and restock things are a norm

- It's not about the pay, but the lessons and experience to be obtained, with a bonus of getting income

- Always remember to punch in on time, and punch out on time, to avoid any misconceptions and complications

 

4. Your feelings & thoughts 
 
 - Coming from the medical field into a completely different field but on hospitality, enabled me to assimilate good traits that can also be used in the future when working in the hospital.

- Learning and understanding the concept and process, procedure of being a hotel waiter has increased my knowledge immensely in this field, and excites me to learn more

- It is a physically challenging job, and requires a lot of movement, and working considerably moderate to long hours, so I get to appreciate and increased my respect for this job that most look down upon. This exposure in first week itself opened my eyes so much.

 

5. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?
 
 There were not much difficulties faced in the first week, probably just rusty on the first day, as it was the first time. But Alhamdulillah the team taught me slowly and allowed me to observe and learn slowly.

 

6. 2 words to describe elective posting progress so far
 
 2 words to describe this Elective Posting so far would be fun and challenging in its own way at the same time.

 

7. Your plan for next week (Week 2)
 
 My plan for week 2 would be to dive into banquet services, which is different in concept, but similar in procedure when it requires it. I look forward to this to learn more about the different services available, with friendly supervisor, manager, and of course co-workers.  That is all for this week. Thank you.