Hospitality?

Went for Taylor’s Open Day today from 11am to 4pm plus. The parking lots were taken, road congested with cars parked at the side, so much so that Heng suggested that we park the car at his former school, Sri KL. So by waving at the guards innocently, went in to the semi-deserted compound and parked at the available lots, went to the bookshop and took the Form 5 book list, and walked out again with an air of nonchalance, we managed to get a parking space :D

The wonders of pretense.

The moment we entered the Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH) in Taylor’s, we were immediately approached by a Chinese guy with some weird accent. He turned out to be Canadian, proudly declaring so by wearing a tie with a red maple leaf embedded to it. He was nice, a Mr. See Toh or sommat, and told the both of us many things about Pre-U stuffs.

I went out to attend this supposedly Mass Communications lecture on ‘Effective Communication’; turned out to be mostly about PR, which I doubt I could handle, but interesting nonetheless. It all comes down to the ability to “sell yourself”.

Went back to the MPH and tried to talk to one of the counsellors for Mass Communication but there seemed to be a severe interest on it that a bunch of parents + their children crowded about the booth and diminished my chances to talk to any of their officers.

The Law booth was quite empty. Sarah, Geok Leng and Edmund were there too.

Somehow or other, I got winded up with Heng with a Madam Cheng, a quirky, over-enthusiastic, passionate woman who talked rapidly everything about Hospitality and Tourism. Her thick black eyeliner was a bit intimidating. In fact, after I told her my first choice was Mass Comm, and I sorta lied that Hospitality was my 2nd choice (it’s more like my 3rd or 4th), she told me that after listening to her she’d be able to convince me that Hospitality is the way to go.

I had my doubts, when people seemed to be confident about it like that. But I was proven wrong.

She talked lengthily, convincingly, and passionately. She told me that Mass Comm is related to Hospitality (Hotel Management) at some levels, and one of the job prospects for Hospitality is as a travel journalist, among other management-related stuffs. Woot. “You can work at ASTRO if you want to go to that line.”

After learning that I have 10As for my forecast, she said very happily that I could get a 100% scholarship from Taylor’s for Hospitality. The catch: I only have to pay the miscellaneous fees each semester (can’t recall how much it amounts to, maybe about RM4k?), and have to register by December 18, and I have to go for the January intake.

The winning points of Hospitality:
- you are almost confirmed to get a job after completing your degree in 4 years. That is to say, job offers will come to you from other companies (apparently they’re very desperate in this industry as of late) through Taylor’s. Some students who recently graduated are currently working at Hong Kong’s Disneyland. x__X Their payment was in USD. One student also got an RM2,500 job offer upon completing her degree.

- the apparent inter-weaving of Mass Comm's aspects with Hospitality

- the fact that Business is part of the component, which really interests me

- job prospects include travel journalist and food reviewer. "Who doesn't love eating, oh my god!?" were her exact words. "Two Australians came up to me saying they don't like eating, and for the first time in my life, I don't know how to counsel them!"

- I have a freaking 100% scholarship for this course.

Social skills I'm not good at, but they're learnable I suppose. People skills, people management.

The boo-boos of Hospitality:
- I have to register by December 18 for the January intake if I want the scholarship. Wtf.

- I might not be able to go for the Langkawi trip in January. ;__; Or, maybe I’ll just ponteng the first few classes although that sounds bad, and will give a bad impression considering how I’m taking up their scholarship (assuming that I am). x__X

- I don't know if there are any bad points. I suppose those are the things that're hindering me >_>

- Freaking JANUARY intake!!

Craplah, thought I could get a good rest till March or April and enjoy myself without a care in the world. How now!?

I know many people, friends, teachers, parents, will say something like, “Hospitality & Tourism is for weak Arts students! Why you go!? You have good brains. You’re wasting it!”

I am so, so, so lost. For the first time. Scholarships are not offered for other intakes, FYI.

Also attended a lecture on “Managing a 5-Star Hotel from a GM’s Perspective” from 2.30-4pm. Then went to McD’s to get our lunch/dinner, and braved the huge raindrops to my car (we parked it outside of Sri KL before the lecture somewhere due to us having a conscience and felt uneasy about it).

Reached home at 5pm.

Your input on my uncertainties about taking up Hospitality is much appreciated.