NBA Basketball: MIAMI HEAT vs Atlanta Hawks 🏀

As part of being a BSG intern did I forget to mention the amazing cultural trips? WELL … I’m not a basketball fan but this trip was so much fun and guess what … MIAMI WON !!!!!

The day started by getting picked up on a large coach with all the other interns from other country clubs like Mizners, Ballenisles ext, and this was a perfect opportunity to get to know other BSG interns. We arrived arrived in Miami around 6:30pm and that gave us chance to have pictures, buy Heat tops, or in my case find the bar haha. The game started at 7:30 and a guest singer then sings the national anthem. Such a powerful voice and an amazing song for America 🇺🇸

The game was on for a few hours and after we all went to a bar that was over the road because traffic would of been a nightmare, so instead of getting into traffic we all went to this bar and that gave us more chance to get to know everyone and especially Rasheeda who’s put all this together for us and made our dreams come true ❤️

Can’t wait for the next trip ❤️

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A typical week at St. Andrews- 4 months down 8 more to go!

My mornings would start of with coffee. A LOT of coffee… these past few weeks we’ve had quite a lot of events and function rooms to set up such as a charity balls and baby showers. It can be tiring and It can take up to about 2-3 days to make sure the room is set up and looking perfect and then it takes literally 1 hour to break down. Crazy!! I love setting up events because that’s where my skills fit in perfectly. But the most draining part is chair covers! If you know what I mean by that then you feel the pain, but if you don’t it’s basically where you put a covers on chairs lol. It’s simple but it takes some energy.

As season is basically here I’m seeing a lot of new faces, members are coming home and we’re employing a lot more people for season. Before we was such a little group of j1’s and how we have quite a lot of staff from South Africa and Ireland. It’s so cool to be with a mixture of people from around the world and knowing their culture.

I’m beginning to see a bright future with the skills and talents I have learnt and gained whilst being here and I’ve still got 8 months to go. Not only does this experience mature you but it sets out the start of your career. You meet so many amazing people along the way of you’re journey.

It’s so nice when members start to recognise you and you develop a close bond with them. You remember what they like to drink on certain nights. Especially wine and dine, complimentary wine is their favourite night haha.

So.. an average day at St. Andrews will start from 10am. We make sure the restaurant is clean and presentable for the members and for their lunch. At lunch times they like to have a quick lunch and then get back to their activities such as golf or tennis. At dinner they don’t want to be rushed because that’s when they drink, socialise with their families and listen to the entertainment. Of course there’s a lot more to it but I will do a separate blog explaining all that jazz. The members know what the expectations are and we have to aim higher than that to make them fully satisfied, for example – knowing what drink they have for lunch without them asking – making every possible adjustment to make them comfortable. Knowing what foods they like, making suggestions on the menus when they can’t decided. And make sure that you know the menu to, there’s nothing worse when a members asking you a question about a certain item and you don’t know!

Here’s some photos of the recent event and look how amazing the food looks

Disney world ✨

Being here in America I’m taking every chance I get to explore what this beautiful country has to offer, and one of those is Disneyworld 😍

I can’t even begin to explain how magical this place is and it’s only a 3 hour bus journey, even quicker by train! I’ve well and truly spoiled myself and had the feeling of being a little girl again.

The best part about Disneyworld is definitely the firework display. Can honestly say Disney will be in my heart forever!

If you get the chance to be an American BSG intern catch it with both hands and don’t let it go, explore complete you’re bucket list because for me since I’ve been here I’ve completed so much already ❤️

What is a country club? How does it work?

Well, this was one of my very first questions when I heard about the opportunity to work in a country club. The idea that I had in my head was was some what different.

So to spare you the research I thought I’d let you in on what a country club actually is all about. Perhaps you’ve watched a lot of movies featuring characters who belong to country clubs, but you’ve never actually been to one yourself. In that case, you may feel that you have a decent idea what clubs are all about, but you’re rather fuzzy on the details.

What Is a Country Club?

A private country club is a membership organization for golf, recreation and social activities. Clubs often boast expansive facilities with top-rate golf courses, dining options, pro shops and more.

Because a country club is a private organization, members must pay for the privilege of memberships. The fees cover the costs of maintenance, upgrades and staffing for the facilities and allow the club to offer activities and events to the members.

The top reason that many people join a country club is for the golf. private clubs can have some of the best courses around.

Members may be able to rent the club facilities for private events, such as birthday parties or wedding receptions.

Work life – 3 months down 9 more to go!!

I can’t believe how quick this experience is going!!! Feels like I’ve been here forever.

So I’ve been here for about 3 months now and each day brings a new challenge. As season is starting it’s started to get more busy in the club as members will be returning home with their families.

So far I’ve learnt how to do a wine presentation (it’s not as easy as it looks!) It was actually really interesting how the members go about wine, it’s not just the taste they like, it’s the smell and the colour and also the fruit notes.

Working in a country club is something I’ve never experienced before and I haven’t come across a job back at home which is similar. The difference with working in a country club and working in a restaurant back at home is you look after the table to an exceeded amount. From start to finish until they leave the table you are looking after them. Where as restaurants back at home you will most likely have to go up to the bar and place your order and a waitress will bring your food out and that’s it, where as in a country club you approach your set table as soon as they sit down, greet them, let them know what the specials for that night is and also offer them a beverage. You take care of them at all times!

Another difference is offering tea or coffee at the end of service, back at home no waitress has ever offered me tea or coffee. That is the most important thing to remember about the end of service, it’s your key to know when to drop the check.

Each member is different. As time goes by you will understand how to exceed to their needs. For example, Mrs Smith always has ice tea, so when I see her about to walk in I go and get the ice tea for her before she even asks. That’s exceeding to their needs, knowing what their going to order before they order it. Knowing how where they like to sit. I know that Mrs Davis doesn’t like lemon on her Coke, remember what they do like and what they don’t like. A little tip that I do is I write down on a notepad everything each member likes and don’t like, that way I won’t be asking the same questions to them and I know exactly what they want every time I serve them.

We do lots of events and socials and it’s so nice to see the members having a good time and dancing. They even love it when we join them for a dance to, but professionally of course.

Here’s some photos of the summer social which was a fantastic night!

It was such a great night! But the break down was hard. Your tired and you just want to go to bed but everything had to be removed at the end of the night, but you all work together and even laugh through it with the most amazing friends you make.

Tips about preparing and packing for the USA

List – My very most important tip about preparing and packing to move to America is to start a list, that way you can see what you have or have not done / shopped for and it will be very useful when it comes to packing as it took me around a week to eventually pack everything. I used ‘notes’ on my iPhone and it has a ticker list alteration which I found extremely useful. This is what my list looked like during my packing process. This is just an example of what my list looked like. Many more things needs to be added to the list.

What to pack – There are many things you want to pack, but you have to keep it to a minimum as you will have a weight limit and also you can buy most things out here. When I started packing I decided to take 2 lots of shampoo and conditioner I would recommend only bringing 1 shampoo and conditioner because it didn’t take me long to figure out where the local supermarket is and 1 bottle lasts ages so there’s no need to bring 2 like I did. Also you have to keep thinking about the weight limit. I packed 2 deodorants and lots of sunscreen. Because I packed quite a lot of heavy products my suitcase went over the limit and my dad had to pay an extra £50 at the airport because my limit went over. Don’t make the same mistake I did and pack light. Also don’t forget to pack picture and memorable things from home.

Preparing – As you will be extremely excited to come live in the states you need to be prepared. Know the area you will be living in, preparing yourself for your new journey, and think wise about money. Because I’m a spender and will buy anything I see, me and my mother decided that It would be best to take around $700 in cash to get me started before I get paid and if I needed more she would transfer me more money. This would include things like food shopping, things for the apartment, and just money incase I needed it. $700 was more than enough for me because I got paid after 3 weeks of being here. This might not be the same for you and your club, you could be paid sooner or later.

My last tip is to not overthink. Bring whatever you think you will need to get you started with your new life. In time you will make your room cosy and homey to come back to after a long hard day at work.

Visa process 🇺🇸

This is the way my visa process and application played out. It may or may not be the same steps for others.

The visa process can be very confusing. I was certainly confused about how it all works but I will try and make this sound easier for you as when I was going through the process I wish I had it explain haha.

At the very beginning you start with an application, similar to an application form for work, but this is about yourself and experience / personal information and a bio about you Etc. You will have a sponsor who emails you the required documents and will be with you through out your journey here in the states. My sponsor is AHA ( American hospitality academy) and the next step was to print off evidence documents for my college tutor to sign, and one for my parents to sign. Then you scan it through ( I used a printer at my college) so it appears on your emails to send back to them. Once you have signed and sent back all the documents required and paid the £500 you then patiently wait for your package to be posted with the information you need to book and get your visa. (DS-2019) make sure you keep it safe as these documents are the key to your visa.

Embassy booking – When you have your visa package you then need to book your embassy appointment. This part was the most trickiest for me! So, you first need to make a profile which will be your (160 document) it took me quite a while to find the right website but you will be emailed step by steps in how to find the right website. Once you have your profile set up it will automatically send you to the embassy appointment page where you can choose your day and time and also pay the £180 for your visa. I would recommend booking your appointment as soon as your get your package as the waiting list can take up to about a month. I was quite lucky because I kept checking for others cancellations.

Embassy interview – On the 4th June 2019 I had my embassy appointment. As my lovely Grandmother knows London very well she had nominated herself to come with me as I have no clue how to find the embassy and would probably get lost haha! We got the train down at 7:00am, my appointment was at 12:30pm and we arrived in London around 10:30am. My advice is to get to London as early as you possibly can because it’s better to be early then either be stuck in traffic, can’t find the embassy or a train is late, plus you can always go shopping like I did! The interview went really quick, well quicker than I imagined!

When you get to the embassy there will me 2 hostess at the door and you will need your 160 form with your sevis document (you will be emailed the sevis) when you enter you then wait again for a few minutes to check in and be given a number and you will be directed to some elevators. Once you are in the main waiting area you wait for your number to be shown on a screen and then you walk up to a window and have your initial interview where someone will check your documents to make sure your have the right documents and you will be seated again. After your number is shown for the second time you then go up to the window shown and have your interview, you will be asked what you are doing and just a general chat about what’s going to happen with your visa.

After having the two interviews you will be told if you have been granted the visa and wait a few days for it to be delivered.

I was massively over prepared for this interview. I didn’t know exactly what documents I needed. I brought my birth certificate, bank statements to prove I can provide for myself, proof of ties to the UK, but it turns out I only needed my AHA package.

This doesn’t mean when you have your appointment that you won’t be asked for proof of certain documents, better to be prepared than having a document missing and then booking the appointment again and having to pay again. Your experience may be completely different but this is a good guide for the process.

It seems like a long process but if you are organised like me and having everything signed on time and keep up to date with your emails then you will be perfectly fine. The interview in general was a piece of cake. This is a video I found very useful about the embassy interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOHqCigJ6Jk&t=92s