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Let’s Pack! (Part 3 of 4)

You’ve just Checked In to The Pineapple Academy!

Today we’ll be continuing our last thread on what to pack for your Uniforms at SHMS Leysin! 

And here on Part 3 we will be dedicating our post to the Ladies!

So, whenever you’re ready, Girls, let’s grab your luggage and

Get started!

On our last post to the gents, we mentioned the clothing items that you will need to bring with you to complete the uniform requirement.

Unlike the students at Caux campus, Leysin students are required to bring their own uniforms to wear for the entire semester.

Yes that means you will have to bring a fairly heavy luggage filled mostly with your uniform and another for your casual clothes.

But please remember to check with your airline to see how much baggage you can carry with you (that means both check in and carry on luggage).

We covered this in the last post so if you would like to have a quick skim of it in PART I, we’ll wait til you get back...

Did you find it?

Oh good!

Okay so the most important thing to note while you’re packing is that you and all your colleagues (that’s what they call the other students) will rely mostly on wearing your uniforms the entire semester.

Why? Because from 7AM until 7PM Monday - Thursday you will only be allowed to wear your uniform.

On Friday, you only need to wear your uniform until 5:30PM or whenever your class ends for that day.

You also have to wear your uniform to the restaurants, cafeterias and all the places you will be dining on campus. Yes ALL.  

Don’t worry! You will adjust with this in time. It gets easier when everyone else is dressing up the same way.

The only exception to the uniform rule are Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and/or Public Holidays.

Basically, weekends and holidays.

So, my darlings, you CAN indeed wear your casual best around campus on your days off, but just make sure that it’s decent and appropriate.

What that basically means is no short shorts that will reveal the bottom of your ass. We’ll go through that more on another post.

Also, it’s worth pointing this out...

If you have no classes on, let’s say on Mondays, you CAN wear casual clothes! HOWEVER, if you want to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the school cafeteria, restaurants or concept labs, then you still have to wear your uniform...

Because otherwise they won’t let you in!

Soooo what we’re trying to say is...

If you have a free day then you’re better off either dining out of campus (which will cost you) OR you can just wear your uniform when you leave your bedroom and that way you can still eat at the various food outlets in school!  

All righty then...

Next!!

Now, you may or may not have received your Student Handbook by now with all the information you will need to get you ready for your arrival. The part about what to bring for your uniform might look a little something like this...

So just as we did with the boys uniform, we’re going to go through the girls list together.

Newbies, Take Notes! 

It’s going to be a long post!

1. Suit Jacket or Blazers

What’s the difference between a suit jacket and a blazer you may ask?

That’s a good question. I had the same thought not too long ago and decided to look it up myself.

So what I discovered was that the difference between a suit jacket and a blazer is simply this...

The suit jacket usually comes with matching pants.

No I’m not kidding.

Also, a suit jacket is usually also made of nicer fabric than the blazer.

Yep. There you have it!

I’m not sure if we just filled you in on something you didn’t know before or if you already knew this, but either way please make sure that when you purchase your uniform, your suit tops match your skirts/pants.

On the other hand, if that is not an available option to you, you can still get separate blazers easily at H&M, Zara and Banana Republic...oh heck! even Uniqlo sells them!

Also, black is probably the best color option. It goes with everything.  

We’re going to sound like a broken record by saying that you might not be used to wearing your uniforms on a day to day basis at first, but you will need to wear it from the start of semester til the end.

So don’t worry, you will adjust to it!

2. Business Shirt and Sweater/Pullover

Yes. These are also mandatory. Naturally.

Try to bring business shirts of the WHITE variety. Why boring white? Simply because it’s the easiest color to clean (especially when you stain it).

NO SHORT SLEEVES. Your tops must be long sleeved!

Cotton for best effect.

As we said to the guys, it’s worth bringing SIX or more tops.

Also, get on the Vanish bandwagon. It’ll save your life.

For example, if you stain your top after having dinner, you can spray some Vanish onto your shirt and throw it into the wash. It should come out just fine again.

You can get it at the local grocery store here in Leysin called Coop and the Vanish bottle looks like this

3. Suit Pants or Skirts

The school doesn’t mind if you wear skirts or pants just as long as you don’t wear them too short.

Just a few things to keep in mind though,

- You may wear any style of business skirts. Generally it falls under the a-line or pencil category. Some also wear the female all-time favorite pleated school girl skirts, but it’s not for everyone.

- By the way, don’t wear your skirts so high up people can see your bum.

There’s a place and time for everything, people!

While it might be sexy on Friday nights when you head out to Maxx (that’s the name of our night club), during the day, try to keep your personal bits covered and....um...as PG as possible.

- Oh yes and wear stockings with your skirts! (we will go through this soon)

- Wear socks with your pants (nude or black doesn’t matter as long as they don’t see your naked feet or they will make a deal about it)

- No jeans, no tights, no pants with holes, no shorts, just professional business pants!

- Make sure you bring enough skirts and/or pants!

- If you are enrolled into PGD OM (Postgraduate Operation Management), PGD EM (Postgraduate Event Management), MIB2 (Master of Business) and BA3HE (Bachelor of Arts in Hotels and Events), please bring pants! You will be required to wear them when you work in service and also when you’re working for events.

- In any case, I think it’s good for everyone to bring a pair of BLACK pants in case you either HAVE TO for some school related/class related activity OR if you decide later on that you want to work for an event.  

4. Dress

I learned pretty quickly that wearing dresses depends on which course you take. If you’re doing operations, you will be required to move around a lot. So wearing dresses might not be favorable for you.

OM (PGD Operational Management) students whose course is the most active of all the courses and MIB2 (Master of Business) students who will be running the concept labs and spa are two courses on the entire campus who will likely move around a lot throughout the semester. EM (PGD Event Management) students will as well but only until their event is done and then it’s kinda uneventful for them until they help out with the BA3HE (Bachelor of Arts in Hotels and Events) for the big annual World of Hospitality Event at school.

See what I did there?

Some of the girls from the courses mentioned above MIGHT take the opportunity to sport their stylishly chic business dresses on a less eventful week (which doesn’t happen very often mind you).

HOWEVER, you will find that most times these students will stick to the white top and black skirt/pants combo with matching black shoes just because it’s easy to put the outfit together and they can move around comfortably on campus. 

For operation days, OM students have to wear pants and white tops (button down, ironed and long sleeves) or in the case of kitchen days, they have to wear a kitchen uniform that is provided by the school and can be picked up at the school Laundry room (not to be mistaken with the student laundry - more on this later).

Meanwhile, MIB2 FB students will wear their own uniforms depending on what their concept is. Different groups will have their own concept, hence every concept will wear something that suits their own themes!

MIB2 SPA students, on the other hand, will wear their SPA uniforms which is a combination of a polo shirt and black pants. Theirs is quite simple.

So I guess that leaves the remaining MSC, BA3, BA4, EM and HM girls (don’t worry you will adjust with these course abbreviations soon enough) who have the freedom to wear business dresses because they don’t really have to move around too much and will likely to have less risk of ruining their outfits than the ops students.

5. Stockings and Socks (Nude or Black)

Wearing stockings or socks is mandatory for everyone. It keeps you looking neat, professional and most importantly....covered. So even if your skirt rides up your bum, you can still cover your ass (literally) with your stockings.

Depending on your preference of course. I personally prefer the black ones since the nude ones won’t really help in covering...anything especially if your skirt is short. If they are slightly above the knee or knee length then you’ll be fine.  

If you choose to wear pants, please don’t forget to wear socks.

Black ones are good and nude ones too.

No white socks are allowed unless you are working in the kitchen.

If your course requires you to work in the kitchen (for example PGD OM), then please make sure to have white socks with you. Your shoes will be provided for you in the Laundry Room. We’ll cover this on a different post.

6. Black Shoes

For girls, this again depends on which course you’re taking. If you’re an OM, you might want to stick to a pair of low heel black wedge pumps instead of a 10 inch black stiletto. Your feet will thank you for it.

Other girls who are not part of the operation courses can bear to wear higher heels but be mindful that in the case of a broken elevator or even worse....BROKEN SKYTRAIN!!! you will want to switch to lower heels...or even more comfortable shoes. (More on that later)

If the elevator is broken, you will have to walk up the stairs That’s easy, you might say... (In Mont Blanc there are 6 levels...from zero to six where between each floor there are 3 stairways..) If you’re a fairly fit person, I would agree, it’s not problem to climb up the stairs, but for the less fit, it may take some time for you to adjust.

Now, if the Skytrain is broken, you may have to 

1) Pray that it will be fixed ASAP 

and then  2) Take the long walk up the long ramp to the next building

Using the Skytrain really depends on where you live and where you have your classes. You might be extremely lucky and have your bedroom and all your classes in the same building....

Most times, however, you will have to exchange between buildings either to get to your room or to go from one class to another!

More on the Skytrain later!

By the way, you are not permitted to wear sneakers or sandals to class either. Don’t even think about boots, sandals or crocs.

All right, Ladies! This concludes our segment on Uniforms and what to bring! Catch us next time when we cover Hairstyles, Hygiene and Accessories!  We’re going to try and cover the segment for both guys and girls!

Til next time! 

This is Pineapple Academy Checking Out! 

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Let’s Pack (Part 2 of 4)

You’ve just Checked Into the Pineapple Academy! 

It’s great to see you back here again! 

As you know....

Packing is important! 

Yes. But KNOWING what to pack is even more important. This will save you so much time and money from having to buy more things just because your first attempt fail faced. 

On this section, Juan and I will help you list a number of items to pack for your trip to SHMS! Namely...your Uniforms! 

Your Uniform is the most important thing you need to pack because it will be the outfit you will likely be wearing about 90% of the time you are in Switzerland.

We will begin with the guys first so....

As we promised, LADS, let’s get to packing!

FIRST and FOREMOST you will need to bring....

1. SUITS

As the great Barney Stinson would say...

”SUIT UP!”

That’s right, gents! Time to wear your best attire EVERYDAY for the next SIX months!

According to the Student Handbook, you will need to bring your own SUITS.

FACT!

Gentlemen, you will be required to wear your suit from 7AM until 7PM EVERYDAY except on Fridays when you will be able to go casual after 5PM or 5:30PM depending on when you finish class!

Also, Juan has just reminded me that it is MANDATORY (i.e. YOU HAVE TO) wear your uniforms to go to Market Place, Sitio, Coffee Beans, Mont Blanc Palace and both the Concept Labs.

Now you’re probably wondering what on earth all these words mean...

Well, my darling hombres, these are the names of the places you will be dining at for the next 6 months!

They are name of the outlets where you will have your breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday!

In fact, you are NOT permitted to dine at ANY of these places WITHOUT your suits on UNLESS it’s on Saturday, Sunday or Public Holidays!!

(Some Concept Labs may allow you to come casual but that depends on the concepts)

Yep.

You will also find that most of the male students on campus will be wearing black or dark blue suits that are complimentary in colour. Make sure your suit pants reach an appropriate length (in other words, not too high above your ankles!!

If they are you absolutely MUST WEAR SOCKS! - **refer to point #4. Socks).

Depending on how nice your teachers are that day, you could be sent back to your room to change or if it’s a bad day, you could risk getting kicked out of class completely.

Don’t be a doofus and use this as an excuse to cut class. Besides, you’re only allowed to cut about 4 hours from each class before you get a warning letter – we’ll talk more about this later.

Also, if you absolutely MUST have your suits dry cleaned, there is a dry-cleaning shop right next to the lovely Davinda Lounge which is right across from Mont Blanc Palace Reception. They offer a pretty fair rate for students, you only need to pop into the shop and ask for prices at the counter. They will usually give you a sheet of paper with a list of items they clean and their rates. We can’t guarantee the prices as they could change each semester/year.

2. BUSINESS SHIRTS & SWEATERS/PULLOVERS

This one seems pretty straight forward right?

Yes you will be required to wear a business shirt underneath your suit jackets!

In our opinion, your best bet is a professional WHITE BUSINESS SHIRT. You can pretty much wear white with any suit color. It’s also probably the easiest to clean later.

Long Sleeves. Yes

Cotton. Well, it will at least keep you warm when winter comes around. Tell you now, it gets pretty friggin cold.

Classic Style. Yes.

Bring AT LEAST SIX (shirts)...or more if you think you’re a total klutz.

You’re also better off buying the shirts outside of Switzerland since a white business shirt at H&M can rob you cost you between CHF30 to CHF50...and that’s considered the cheaper option!

The Handbook also mentions bringing a sweater/pullover to wear over your shirt and under the suit jacket. In actual fact, it’s not really that important to wear one and is not mandatory. It just looks....neater.

In our experience last semester not many of the guys wore the “required” sweater/pullover and no one even blinked an eye. So if you wish to wear a vest or something on top of your business shirt, that’s totally up to you. Just make sure it’s completely professional (i.e. no patterns/plain) and is also within the boring wonderfully attractive 50 shades of grey, black and blue.

While we’re on the subject of shirts, let’s also squeeze in the topic of

IRONING

Guys, if you don’t know how to iron, this is a great time to learn! Your laundry rooms will have the irons and tables that you will need and yes they will be very useful for you because they are easy to use and completely user friendly.

But!! if you don’t know how to use them, it’s probably a good time to ask your parents or house maids/cleaners/helpers (whatever you call them) to give you a quick training on how these contraptions work!

You might hate it at first, but when you get to doing the laundry...you won’t regret it :)  

P.S. Please don’t come to class with wrinkled shirts.

P.P.S. Buy something called VANISH. It comes in a pink bottle and is a bleach spray. It’ll keep your shirts white as snow (Well…not really but it’ll keep it white).

Also it looks like this...

Short Story TIme! (I swear it’s totally relevant!)

One time last semester, I stained all of my white school tops pink in the laundry (I know right?...well done, genius!)

So out of panic, I soaked in half a bottle of Vanish on all of my shirts and threw them back into the wash in hopes that they will turn white again.

An hour later, I came back to check on the tops and sure enough, they all came out of the wash completely white again!

Crazy amazing. It works.

3. TIE

Yes. You will be required to wear a neck tie for school.

And Yes. You will have to wear these together with your shirt and suit.

A plain coloured silk tie with solid patterns is fine or one with stripes. (Please for the love of God NO Hawaiian prints!)

Something professional in pattern and colour is preferred and should be business-like.

You can even add on a pocket square if you like to look for business savvy. Teachers will like that. You do not, however, need to wear bowties. Maybe save those for the more formal occasions (i.e. Winter Ball or Graduation).

Additionally, if you don’t know how to tie a tie, please ask a parent or friends who know how to before arriving. Alternatively, we have found a basic Youtube video for you to help you out. Please click on the link below.

However, for you lazy people out there

There is also the option to purchase some pre-tied neck ties...

But we think learning to tie a tie is worth your time and future.

Get on it

4. SOCKS

Don’t leave your room without it. Your teachers will be quite strict with you about wearing socks at the start of semester…and depending on the teacher, it could even go throughout the six months you are there.

Your PCD class (Professional Career Development) will require you to wear socks. All the time. They will do checks on you at the start of every clas. If you don’t wear the appropriate attire, they might even use you as a prime example of that guy who doesn’t follow the socks and shoe rule. Yes, it happens. Don’t be that guy.

Some nice knee high or ankle length socks are preferred. Like your ties, please wear one with solid patterns and colours. Nothing festive or bright or neon colours are necessary.

Make sure the socks you wear are also warm enough for you to wear in winter. Both spring and winter semesters will need this because both semesters will most likely see snow and/or at the very least you will experience the cold weather.

Wear socks. You will not regret it. 

5. BLACK SHOES

Professional business shoes are what you will need to wear on campus 90% of the time! That said, wear something comfortable and make sure you bring TWO pairs just in case.

Without trying to sound like your mom, please also make sure that your shoes have excellent GRIP for the cold weather. This is going to save your ass when it starts snowing. There has been a lot of slipping and sliding on ice during the winter (because yes it does get that cold), so we’re only advising this for your own safety.

We REALLY recommend the shoes with grip and it’s worth buying the pricier option for this one.

Also, don’t forget to throw in some shoe polish to keep them looking new and minty fresh! Remember, you will be wearing them for five days a week from 7AM until 7PM.  

6. BELT

Another thing Juan wants to remind you of is to consider packing some waist belts.

This will help you out especially when your course requires you to move around a lot (OM students take heed!)

A plain black leather belt will suffice. You can be as decorative as you want but REMEMBER! Too much bling on the belt and you might get sent back to your room to change.

Bummer...

Just do yourself a favor and stick with the code. You’re not really going to impress anyone by trying so hard. If anything you’ll just make a spectacle of yourself by doing so. 

Keep It Simple! 

All righty! Well, that’s all the time we have for today, boys! 

I don’t know about you but I think we did a pretty good job covering most of the important things. 

Check in on us again on Post 4 for tips on Hairstyle, Accessories and Hygiene (what you should bring vs. what you can buy once you’re in Switzerland)!  

Ladies, you’re up!

Grab your bags and we’ll see you on the next post! 

This is Pineapple Academy Checking Out!  

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Let’s Pack! (PART I of 4)

You’ve just Checked Into Pineapple Academy! 

If you’re heading to SHMS for the first time, you are probably wondering what exactly it is you should take along with you.

Don’t worry! You are NOT alone!

In this article, Juan and I thought it would be a good idea to help you pack for your first trip to the Alps!

We know that packing your belongings can be a bit overwhelming when you’re not sure what to bring along with you for SIX whole months!

ALSO...if you’re traveling a long way from home (which most of you likely will be) it’s not like it’s just a hop, a skip and a jump away to visit mom and dad over the weekend to grab the things you’ve forgotten.

Nope. In fact, home for you might be a 14 hour flight away....

That’s why we take this packing thing pretty seriously. 

But not to worry, friends!

We’ll help you figure this out!

Awesome sauce! 

OH BUT WAIT! 

BEFORE YOU START GRABBING EVERYTHING YOU OWN, DO YOURSELF A QUICK FAVOR RIGHT NOW AND CHECK WITH YOUR AIRLINE CARRIER ON HOW MUCH BAGGAGE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE WITH YOU! 

“Why is this important?” you ask

Because weighing your luggage prior to going to the airport is REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT.

For one thing, you don’t want to have to take a bunch of your stuff out of the luggage in the middle of Checking In just because you didn’t know how much stuff you could carry!

Not only will it save you from holding up the line at the airport, but it will also mean you don’t have to throw away or leave behind any of your belongings due to overweight baggage. 

However, on the account that you ABSOLUTELY MUST bring the entire house including the kitchen sink with you (*hint of exaggeration naturally*), you may, of course, have to pay MORE dinero so you can check them all in.

And doing that can be a bit pricey....  

In any case, if money is no issue for you then here are some links on excess baggage for some major airlines to help you out...

Air France

Singapore Airlines

Etihad

Lufthansa

American Airlines

Avianca

Okay, now that we have all that sorted...

Let’s grab your luggage and begin packing!

First thing you need to know about packing is the weather? 

Why? Because you need to know if you’re going to be walking around in 30 degree sunshine, humid rain or a blizzard of snow. 

In the case of Leysin weather, it’s pretty temperamental...so that means you will have to bring prepare for every season known to man because up here it could all exist in a day!

We’ll give you a quick example....

Last semester, we had a few days of pure sunshine and I mean beautiful bright sunny days, birds chirping, ice cream kind of weather and everyone traded in their winter attire for relaxing summer wear...

It was wonderful. There couldn’t have been a more perfect day to start a brand new season!

So naturally, later that night we all went to sleep expecting yet another one of these gorgeous days.....

Right?

WRONG

The next morning, the entire Leysin village was blanketed in white snow!

So much for the start of summer.....

What we can all learn from this is, don’t fooled by a day of sunshine, kids!

Wow. I feel like this is the perfect time to impart some kind of life wisdom in relation to this but I have none prepared for you so I’ll be sure to pass it on if one ever pops up.

Anywho....

Let’s start preparing YOUR UNIFORMS!

Good on you, Jon Snow! 

Now we’re sure by now you’ve received your SHMS Handbook with a whole list of stuff they’ve written for you to wear during the semester.

Leysin newbies, Take Note! There is A LOT to go through!

So first, let’s skim through a few pages from the SHMS Handbook and get to the part where they talk about your uniforms.

You should arrive at a page that might look a bit like this one...

As you can see, SHMS Caux students will be provided their own school uniforms. If you were a Caux student, you will know from experience. Their uniform includes a suit jacket/blazer with a matching skirt (for the ladies) or pants (for the gents) and that really cute SHMS scarf/tie combo.

HOWEVER, things work a  little bit differently when it comes to Leysin.

For one thing, you’re not really given a set of uniform to wear when you arrive. You have to bring your own school uniform to wear for the semester. It’s a bit more effort when you think about it but make sure you have the right attire since they will be checking your outfit like hound dogs at least in the first few months of school (You have been warned!)

To help you out, here are a list of things we think will be useful to help you out with your semester wear.

We have provided these in TWO PARTS! 

For the Gents and for the Ladies! 

So without further due.....check out our next post to see what the LADS will be packing for the semester! 

So BOYS, let’s grab your luggage and meet us on the next post! 

This is Pineapple Academy Checking Out! 

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"A customer is the most important visitor....”

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Welcome to The Pineapple Academy!

Willkommen! Selamat Datang! Bienvenue! 

And WELCOME to PINEAPPLE ACADEMY at SHMS Leysin! 

Your very own personal declassified guide to surviving your semester at The Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) in Leysin, Switzerland!

If you've just Checked In with us, you most likely fall under one of the following categories:

1) New Student! 

You are about to go to SHMS for the first time (Yay and Welcome!)

2) Returning Student! 

You are continuing your studies from BA3 to BA4, BA4 to Postgrad OR Postgrad to MIB2/MSC (Don't worry, newbies, you'll get the hang of the abbreviations soon enough!)

3) Alumni! 

You have already graduated from SHMS or other SEG Schools...or even other non-SEG related hospitality schools! :)

OR 

4) Still Researching Your Options!

You are still considering joining the wonderful world of Hospitality and you are in the process of looking at various different schools to apply for. (in which case, a very very warm welcome to you!)

Whatever the reason is, we're super excited to have you here!

At the Pineapple Academy you will be guided by us on all the things you need to know about your new life at SHMS Leysin.  

We will upload weekly posts on various topics like how to prepare for your big move, what to wear to classes, how to survive your first week with jet lag, where you can find all of the important venues in school and other hospitality and school related tips and tricks that you may find useful on our blog!

But before we begin, I bet you're still wondering... Just who are these people from the Pineapple Academy? Why are we called The Pineapple Academy? How can we take their advice?  Have they even had any experience behind them?

These are really good questions! So let us begin by saying...

Hai! Apa kabar?

(That's how you say "hi! how are you?" in Indonesian)

My name is Angel and I‘m from the South East Asian country of Indonesia. 

Yeah....

Points to Gryffindor if you can figure out where that is on the map below!!

And more points to Gryffindor if you didn’t say BALI :P 

So yes. 

I was born in the capital city Jakarta and lived there for a total of..hmm...15 (out of 31) years of my life... I was also very fortunate to have lived in many different countries aside from Indonesia, such as America (San Francisco), Australia (Perth and Melbourne) and of course Switzerland (Leysin). 

Contrary to what my passport will tell you, I am far from being JUST Indonesian. Having lived away from home since I was 12, I also embody the cultures of four very distinct countries in one little person. Or...maybe not so little. 

Now, what do they call people like us again? 

Oh yeah

But I kinda like the term “Third Culture Kid” 

Er...ADULT

And let me tell you! It wasn't easy transitioning from one country to another!  (You readers might know what I’m talking about if you have move around just as much as I have)

I mean, oh boy! I could write a book....or twelve!

And this blog is technically the next best thing so...don’t get me started :P 

Anyway, if you can relate, hit me up on the comment below. I would LOVE to chill and get to know you :)

Aside from all that, and most importantly, I am a former student from the Swiss Hotel Management School in Leysin, Switzerland  I graduated SHMS with a postgraduate degree in Hotel Operations Management (otherwise known at SHMS as OM or HOM) and before coming to Swiss, I have had 10 years of hospitality experience behind me. Most of my time was spent in Food and Beverage Service while i was studying in Australia but for three years I also worked in Events and Wedding Management, Marketing and Sales in Bali, Indonesia where I ultimately found my love in Events. Aside from my postgraduate, I also hold a Bachelor Degree in Arts Media and Communication and a Master Degree in Business Administration International Specializing in Marketing.

So as you can see, my work experience in the past has always centered itself around people and service and specifically the Hospitality Industry. 

Despite all the experience acquired over the years, the most important lesson of all is knowing that, more than anything, there is STILL SO MUCH to learn. 

SO...not only am I excited to offer you as much guidance into the world of hospitality but I hope that by doing this, I will learn a lot from you too!

Onto the next question! Why are we called the Pineapple Academy?

Firstly, let's cover a Fun Fact about Hospitality that you should probably know if you seriously want to consider working in this industry.

And that is... The Pineapple Yes, that delicious yellow on the inside spiky on the outside looking tropical fruit, is the International symbol for this wonderfully innovative and ever-changing industry. 

FACT!

Tracing back to the Pineapple history reveals that it was Christopher Colombus who came upon piles of this delicious tropical fruit in the Carib islands and decided to bring them back to Europe in 1493. Since tropical fruits were expensive in Europe at the time, these pineapples were considered a rarity amongst the royal court. In fact, it took gardeners almost TWO HUNDRED YEARS before they could even figure out a hothouse method to grow a tropical pineapple plant. Even in the late 17th century, it was still a very rare fruit and King Charles II of England posed with a pineapple in an official portrait to symbolize that the pineapple (or receiving one) was a mark of royal privilege.

As a household tradition when it comes to hosting dinner parties or gatherings, the sign of displaying a pineapple on the dining table also reveals people’s ranks society. This was due mainly to the fact that pineapples were high in demand but low in supply, showing just how valuable these fruits were. Visitors would feel honoured by their hostesses who in turn would ensure their guests were always well taken care of. This was how the pineapple became the image of hospitality in homes.

Legends also say that sea captains who went to the Carib islands would return to their colonies with spices, rum and fruits which sometimes included pineapples. The captains would see his cargo and crew and then return home to New England. Upon his return he will pear a pineapple in front of his house to show that he returned safe from his journey. This symbol was also an open invitation for friends to visit, wine and dine so that he could share with them stories from his voyage.

So as you can see, the Pineapple has been a huge symbol of hospitality for hundreds of years!

This blog and everything you can find in it is created by someone who considers hospitality as not just a career but also a way of life. And to those who want to learn about this sometimes tiring, sometimes challenging but overall exciting and dynamic industry, I open my heart and home to you.

At The Pineapple Academy, we know that Hospitality is an industry that just about anyone can get into, 

HOWEVER...(and more importantly)

While it may be easy to get into this industry and learn to DO Hospitality...

What matters even more is that those who DO Hospitality, who has true passion for serving others, will, over time, also truly understand and grasp what it means to BE Hospitality.

So...

Join us won't you? :)

Till the next time!

This is Pineapple Academy, Checking Out!