Alberto was one of Bailey's closest friends during her internship. He taught her a lot about guiding, about the wildlife, and about Chilean Spanish. They call him "Mono" which means monkey because he's a tiny little super- athletic mountain climber, can swing through the trees like a monkey, and is also a monkey with computers haha! He's a pure outdoors guy and is afraid of cities and lots of people. He reminds me a lot of Steve, the guide that I met in Tasmania. Bailey and Alberto were so so happy to see each other. Big smiles, lots of hugging, lots of kisses on the cheeks. Actually, Alberto missed Bailey so much when she left after her internship that he started a little journal that he wrote to her and drew pictures to give to her the next time they saw each other, whether it was a year or ten years. This time, it was a year, and that makes me so happy :)
We arrived at Cliffs in time for dinner. I met Drake, the on-site General Manager of the resort who is just so awesome and accommodating. He had space for Bailey and I to stay in La Ruca which is a common room with eight individual rooms around it and community bathrooms. It was so nice! It was especially nice to unpack, have some private space, and plenty of Internet and places to charge our electronics (ah the little things in life).
We put our things in our rooms and met our roommates, those who occupy the other six rooms in La Ruca. Felipe is a guide for Cliffs, and Luis is the resort bartender. He is so hilarious and definitely one of my favorites! I got to know both Felipe and Luis better than the others that I met, mainly because they both spoke a bit of English. Don Jose is an electrician, handyman, and was very much a fatherly figure to Bailey when she worked there. He made us a warm fire in the common room stove and also helped me find an adapter to charge our electronics since mine wasn't working. Andrea is the receptionist at the lodge, and there was another lady who's name I didn't catch who works as the massage therapist in the spa at the lodge. Christian is the older man who cooks for the staff. He is a chef, but prefers to prepare meals for the workers rather than for the guests. It's quite a job for him, as he's awake earlier than everybody fixing breakfast, and stays after to clean all of the dishes (Bailey and I washed the dishes after many meals to spend time with him and as a way to earn our keep).
We then headed to the casino for dinner. The casino has the staff kitchen and eating area, a TV and foosball table, and upstairs there are offices , a computer room, an exercise room, and a chapel. Bailey is so friendly and knows everybody! Everyone is so happy to see her, and she is so so so happy to be here! It's incredible! She really made an impression here with these people! Bailey's nickname while at Cliffs was "gringa loca" ("crazy foreign girl), so the casino was full, of shouts of "gringa loca!" and lots and lots of laughing and kisses. I was the faithful side-kick, "la amiga de Bailey".
Gosh I met so many people at Cliffs. They are such a big, loving family. Since all of the staff live together, eat together, and work together, it's hard not to get pulled in to the friendly and warm atmosphere. Bailey and I spent the evening drinking piscolas in the Wing (another housing building) where Bailey caught up with her friends and I got to meet them all!
I met Roberto, another guide like Alberto who is really in to photography. He has some great pictures from Torres del Paine! I met Marcos, Freddy, and Patricio who all work at the stables with the horses. I told them that I would love to help them out during my time at Cliffs! I met Miguel, Byron, and Negra who all work as chefs in the lodge. They sure can cook up some fancy food! Negra is also super animated and loud, she's one of those people who's personality fills the room :) There was also Arturo and Zorron who just started working at Cliffs in the kitchen at the lodge, and then Evelin who works in the organic gardens.
Bailey and I also got to meet Allison, who is the student from Tech who has Bailey's internship for this year. It was good to hang out with someone from Tech and speak some English, and Bailey gave her and I some great tips on using and speaking Spanish. Bailey said that she struggled at first, but it's important to try to speak and make errors, then to not speak at all. So that is my goal- to try to speak Spanish without hesitation and without being nervous, and to become more comfortable and fluid with the language. I also want to be able to hear Spanish and understand it without having to translate it in my head to English (this is how I am beginning to define fluency).
Right now I am struggling a lot with the language. I loved Spanish in High School, I can read it well, and I am to the point now where I can follow conversations and understand most of what is being said. I'm just having so much trouble speaking it. It's like I have all of the words, but I can't put them together into a sentence. I am having the most trouble with the verbs and congugating them as I speak. I'm great at it on paper, but my spoken sentences are fragmented and have little meaning. I want to be able to contribute to conversations and connect with Bailey's friends, but all I am capable of giving right now are short answers or statements of agreement. I ask questions, but hardly understand their answers well enough to respond and keep the conversation going. So mostly I just end up sitting next to Bailey, smiling, and laughing when they laugh. By the end of the day I am just exhausted and frustrated with trying to keep up with the language. Bailey and her friends are extremely friendly, hospitable, and understanding, so it's a great environment to learn in, but I can't help but feel incompetent and unintelligent.
Nevertheless, I have learned quite a bit at Cliffs about the hospitality business and running a resort, and I have gained some insight into business in Chile (which is mainly that the focus should be family-centered, and if a worker has a problem, they will most likely have another worker intercede for them to the boss on their behalf to try to address the issue and solve the problem). Cliffs is headquartered in North Carolina and market primarily to Americans. There is a Cliffs resort in the Blue Mountains in North Carolina, and this Cliffs is the "Cliffs at Patagonia, Chile". There is the main Chile office in Puerto Varas where the guests arrive by plane, and the resort staff lives onsite at Cliffs when they are working. The staff's schedules all rotate so they can spend time at home with their families as well. The staff includes chefs, waiters, a bartender, dish washers, activities guides, receptionists, cleaning and hospitality services, grounds keepers, gardeners, a wood shop carver, and horsemen. Bailey got work experience in all of these areas!
Some other business and operation strategies that Drake uses at Cliffs include all meals and housing provided, and there are all-staff meetings every morning at breakfast to go over the plan and activities for the day and to review the guests who are at the resort or scheduled to arrive that day. Guest preferences definitely come first, even all the way down to the type of pillow they want and what they prefer for breakfast (one guest wanted an egg omelet, but there was not a single egg in the kitchen or the storage or at the chicken coop, so the chef Negra used over 20 quail eggs to satisfy the guests requests!). Cliffs also has a community service aspect and supports an orphanage in Puerto Varas. The American couple David and Rebecca Hughes manage and run this orphanage for Cliffs, and they also visit the staff and deliver presentations about health and wellness. They were the ones who saw the construction and completion of the gym and chapel in the upstairs rooms of the casino.
No comments:
Post a Comment