Dean M. Craig,

Disappointment cannot even explain what the cancellation of the cruise has done to me. When I read the e-mail sent by Dean Craig stating that the Travel & Tourism trip scheduled for June 26, 2008, on Carnival Cruise Line had been canceled I was in disbelief. The financial expenses and time spent, never returnable, in planning for this trip is ruined and lost. I paid $670 for the cost of this trip. That does not include the week off work (not paid), the clothing I purchased, and the money obtained to help finance this trip. I honestly think it is absurd to make such a decision, without consulting any of the students, prior to our arrival from Switzerland. This is the most unprofessional situation that I have ever encountered with this school. Plans were made and my time was rearranged without my consent, which I find to be very disrespectful. Not only did BMCC lose credibility, but also any type of respect from me as a student towards this institution.

My arrival back to New York from Switzerland was ruined with an e-mail and voice message of the cancellation. The study abroad to Switzerland was an important trip for me and every student involved. The learning experience and opportunity of this trip not only taught me how to manage tours and be a vital strength in the travel industry, it also matured me as a person and gave me new inspiration to be a better person. I am also grateful to Dr. Elinor Garely, Prof. Sandra Blake- Neis, Elliott Williams, my fellow students, and the Travel and Tourism Club for making the Switzerland trip the best trip possible. If I could go back and have the opportunity to take this course all over, I would proudly do it all over again and I would only go if I had the same professors. It’s depressing to come back to such unprofessional drama, and unclear yet “unforeseen circumstances” as you stated in your email.

We as BMCC students were not given an opportunity or true explanation as to why the cruise was really canceled. This is extremely inconvenient, inconsiderate, and unjustifiable for this to happen. Also it makes me feel ashamed and disgraced to be a student of BMCC. And to think that when I arrived at JFK airport I had someone approach me in reference to attending BMCC because I wore the BMCC T-shirt so proudly, and I gave such positive feedback, ending the conversation with a ” See you in the fall at BMCC”. Well just so you know I take that back, and I must say BMCC is a disgrace to all students attempting to better themselves and their careers.

Unfortunately this was the way I had to be introduced to the Administrative Staff of BMCC.

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Thanks,

Sasha Muñoz

At 4:30am it was time to start heading home. Finally, the moment I had been waiting for has finally arrived. At 5:00am I took my carry on bag and my keys downstairs, Dr. Garely gave me a bagged lunch which included 2 sandwiches, banana, apple and a juice. Approximately at 5:45am we sat in the two vans and departed towards Zurich airport. I will definitely miss the fresh air and the mountain view.

At 7:40am we arrived at Zurich airport. It was a fast process going through security. Time flew by before I noticed it was 9:45am and I was already sitting in the airplane. As soon as the airplane departed I went to sleep, I was extremely tired from the previous night. Approximately 2 hours after we departed I was served lunch which consisted of some delicious chicken, pasta, bread and a Sprite on the side. I slept on and off through out the whole flight, and before I noticed it was 1:45pm we were arriving in New York City.

Upon arrival we immediately raced to the customs line. As much as I hated wearing the BMCC blue T-shirt for 9 hours it was extremely helpful because the customs officer didn’t ask me any questions at all. Once I cleared customs I went to the carousel to pick up my luggage. Dr. Garely gave me a hug before I walked out of JFK terminal 8. Once I said my goodbyes to all of my classmates I was greeted by my cousin outside the Airport, I instantly became overwhelmed with joy and emotions. Once I got home and saw all my family, I slowly began to cry thinking to myself, when again will I give this experience another try.

I have to say that I am very grateful to my professors Dr. Elinor Garely and Prof. Sandra Blake-Neis for giving me this incredible opportunity. They made my trip happen and if it wasn’t for them I would not have even made it abroad. THANK YOU PROFESSORS!!! And I would also like to thank Elliott for impacting my life the way he did. THANKS ELLIOTT!!!

I was so happy to not have to attend breakfast that I forgot and woke up scared thinking I had missed it. At 10:30am we have our last meeting with the Professors in regards to our departure. During the meeting we were clearly explained the airport rules and regulations. The meeting was 30 minutes long and very informative. Afterwards, we attended lunch and were presented with our Swiss School Tour Management by Mr. Beat Wicki (CEO of SSTH). Once lunch was over we had free time to pack, hangout or venture to Chur for shopping until 6pm.

During free time some of the students went to Chur, while Prof. Blake-Neis, Elliott, Andy, Curtis, Mark and I chose to stay on campus. We sat outside Paulener’s and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. For a few hours we chatted away about how great of an experience it has been in Switzerland. At around 6pm we enjoyed our last meal which was a BBQ. During our last meal, the international students were surprised with a slide show presentation, as a graduation gift along with the barbecue. Although Swiss BBQ style is not better than Americans I did enjoy my meal.

After dinner was done there were several games prepared, the first one was the Water Obstacle Course. This game involved 4 international students vs. Curtis, Katherine, Andy and I. We each raced through an obstacle course with a glass of water and the team that made it across the finish line with the most water would win. As soon as the race started Andy ran so fast that he bumped into Curtis. Unfortunately we lost the race. At around 8:00pm as a class we loaded up the 2 vans with our luggage. Amazingly it only took us 5 minutes; of course it only happened because we worked as a team.

Once the vans were loaded and set for our early morning departure, we ran upstairs to shower because the disco was going to be open until 2am. At around 10pm we started heading towards the disco. I must say it was a great experience. The music and the atmosphere were great. As the night went on we were having more and more fun. We all danced the night away. Every American student including Elliott stayed at the Disco until the party ended.

Tonight was our last night in SSTH. I am definitely going to miss everyone!

Today Andy and I were assigned tour guides of the day. Andy made sure that by 6:05am everyone was awake. At 7:00am we all met in the lobby for breakfast. At 8:00 am we met Sophie in the lobby to present her with some Thank You gifts for the students and the professors, and at 8:15am our lesson with Mr. Beat Wicki began. It looked like a sleep fest in the classroom, everyone kept falling asleep, I will not lie, I caught myself nodding away a couple of times.

At 12:15pm we had our last lunch together as a group. Following lunch we went to a GEVAG, one of Switzerland’s waste burning facilities and were given a tour of the facility by Mr. Francois Boone, who is the General Manager. During the tour Mr. Boone showed us how the trash is delivered, sorted and crushed in the compactor before it’s burned. Also we were able to see how the trash is converted into energy and deposited into the river as clean water. Once we completed our 2 hour tour of the waste facility, we went to a water sewage facility. We even saw that they store dead animals there. The tour was a little gross but cool.

After the waste facility tour was completed, Mr. Wicki and Sophie took us out for a traditional Switzerland farewell dinner, which involved a cable tram ride up a very high mountain, cows, a view of the beautiful Swiss mountains and some fabulous cheese fondue with potatoes, pineapples and bread. The “Cheese Fondue” was hot, cheesy and very tasty and the group conversation was even better. I really did enjoy myself in spite of that fact that I was full of “cheese” and still a little hungry afterwards. Once we arrived at SSTH around 9:30pm, I was full of energy once again and immediately started packing my clothes and books for out official last days in Switzerland. I have never packed my clothing so quick in my life; I guess I’m really anxious to be going home. We now only have two more days left in Switzerland. I think it’s time for bed.

We had breakfast at 7am and at 7:29am departed for Lugano. We arrived at Bellinzona at 9:53am which gave us only 1 minute to transfer to the train station. Over the weekend Andy and I had taken the same route to go to Milan, so he decided to lead the group. He immediately jumped off the bus and stopped traffic to make sure Dr. Garely and Prof. Blake-Neis made it across the street safely. It was sure a quick transfer, but being the New Yorkers that we are, we caught our train on time.

Upon arrival at Lugano there was heavy rain. We took a bus heading towards the Grand Hotel Eden. Unfortunately the bus left us a little far from the hotel do we had to walk in the rain the rest of the way. At the Grand Hotel Eden we met Mr. Maurizio Lieto (assistant front desk manager) who greeted us and put our back packs and wet clothes in their closet. My first impression of this hotel was great; it had animal print furniture and there were plants everywhere. The hotel features 117 gracious rooms and suites fitted with all comforts (8 suites, 7 junior suites, 48 deluxe rooms and 54 superior rooms).

Dining at the Grand Hotel Eden is top of the line, the hotels award winning restaurant features contemporary Italian cuisine in an elegant setting, offering spectacular views of the lake and mountains. Their wellness centre offers an indoor heated pool and a space dedicated to fitness, beauty and general well being, such as Jacuzzi, massage area, sauna and relaxation area. During the summer guests can spend a day of complete relaxation, sunbathing or diving in the lake. The bathrooms had plenty of amenities. It was a very sexy hotel I would say, one I look forward to visiting.

We had lunch (bread, ham, cheese and juice) in the train station because once again our day was cut short due to bad weather conditions. Dinner time came quickly and surprisingly the curry chicken, fiesta styled rice and raspberry sorbet with a coconut cookie was actually tasty. I enjoyed my dinner so much; too bad seconds didn’t make it to my spot on the table. Blogging came next and then counting sheep followed.

The morning started with a 6am wake-up call from the tour guide of the day, Mark. We proceeded downstairs for the 7 am breakfast, which was the usual, “pork, pork and cheese”. Mark was in charge for the day and made sure everyone was equipped with their “wonderful” sack lunch, rain gear (umbrellas, rain poncho) and Gore-Tex shoes. However, it was raining out so we made sure that we were ready for our damp journey to St. Moritz. The excursion for day was Hotel Laudinella in St. Moritz.

When we arrived at hotel Laudinella, Mr. Stephanos Giannakis (Concierge) greeted us and gave us a wonderful tour of the hotel. He explained that during the summer most of the hotels guests are senior citizens. The reason for this is that the seniors could relax and have a good time in this fairly nice neighborhood at a reduced price. During the winter - the busiest time of Year at the Laudinella hotel -the guests tend to be younger because the hotel targets skiers and snowboarders. This hotel has 5 restaurants, 1 bar, 200 guestrooms and a fabulous room which allows you to place your ski’s for storage and repair if they get damaged. The hotel wasn’t Luxurious but it must be a gorgeous hotel in the winter time with all the snow surrounding it. The guestrooms are simple as this hotel is a family oriented property.

After the tour of the Hotel we went to the tourist office. Once again people at the tourist office behaved rudely and  could care-less. Mark asked a question and was answered in a rude tone and told to go get pamphlets.

Lunch time came and we sat outside the tourist office and ate the same bagged lunch we eat every time we’re away from the Swiss School. It was so cold we had to cut our day short and return back to Chur. When we arrived in Chur, I went to Migros where I purchased some things to snack on between meals.

We arrived on campus earlier than the original plan. For dinner we had Asparagus soup, Veal, potatoes, mixed vegetables and a strawberry sorbet. The meal was a very new to me but I actually enjoyed it. After dinner it was blogging time and next thing you knew it was time for bed.

Weekend Travel itinerary, Saturday June 07, 2008

Attendees:

Elliott Williams

Professor Blake-Neis

Sasha Munoz

We will be taking an excursion from Chur to Tirano, Italy, via the Bernina Express

Schedule:

7:29 AM Take the Die Post Bus from Passugg to Chur

8:28 AM Departure on the Bernina Express to Tirano, Italy from Chur

12:35 PM Arrival in Tirano, Italy

12:40 PM Sightseeing in Tirano

1:00 PM Lunch

2:25 PM Departure on Bernina Express from Tirano, Italy to Chur

6:29 PM Arrival in Chur

6:30 PM Dinner in Chur

7:30 PM Taxi to Passug

Lessons Learned:

This weekend Andy and I took a two-day excursion from Chur, Switzerland to Milano Italy, via the Swiss Rail Travel System. On Saturday at 7:29 am we took the Die Post Bus from Passugg to Chur. At 8:10 am we departed from Chur to Bellinzona Stazione via Post. We arrived in Bellinzona Stazione by 9:50 am. At 10:13 am our train departed to Milano. We arrived in Milano Centrale by 11:38 am. Andy and I immediately ran to use the bathrooms; we had to pay 1 Euro each to use a nasty filthy bathroom. After we used the bathroom we sprinted to convert our money into Euros and get a map from the tourist office.

At approximately 12:00pm we found a Mc Donald’s outside the train station and we each ate a Big Mac meal with French fries and a Coke. The food was expensive (14 Euros) – at least it tasted fresh and good. As Andy and I started walking we started feeling good about being in Milano, the streets started looking cleaner and we started seeing museums. We immediately ran into the Natural Art Museum which was fabulous. The museum tour lasted about 25 minutes because we had a lot to do. Following the brief stop at the museum we started feeling like we were in heaven we started walking towards the Piazza del Duomo (main tourist area) in Milano. I felt right at home we ran into several stores (Dolce & Gabbana, Diesel, Calvin Jeans and H&M).

Finally at 2:00pm on this beautiful and sunny day our walking paid off, we had reached the Piazza del Duomo. We were walking in heaven on cobble stone roads. First thing I saw was a train with a big letters across (Custo Barcelona) famous high end fashion designer from Spain. Along with the lettering he had plenty of models in the advertisement for his fall 2009 fashion designs. The colors and the way the models posed were amazing. Once we were in the plaza Andy and I were happy because we felt like we were in the real Milano. We went inside the Escada, Burberry, Max Mara, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari and Fendi stores. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the stores because of store policy, but I must say that the prices were high but the clothes were flawless; now I know why Milano is considered one of the worlds fashion capitals.

After we exited the front of Duomo we headed to the metro to take a 30 minute train ride to my aunt’s house. We encountered another issue we didn’t know which train would take us to her home. Luckily a Metro employee who saw us struggling came up to us; it was like god sent an angel from heaven to help us. The man spoke perfect Italian but also Spanish because he was born in the Dominican Republic. He helped us buy our metro passes and walked us down to the correct train.

By 6 pm we were at our aunt’s house. I must say I thought I was dreaming when dinner was served. She made amazing pasta with delicious steak, it was by far the best thing I’ve had he whole trip. I got to meet four cousins which I had never met so that was quite fulfilling. It was definitely time for some rest after that great meal.

The next morning I woke up stress free, after all who wouldn’t with the wonderful day I had on Saturday. My aunt had my breakfast ready at 10am. I had white toast (with butter), steamed milk and a coffee cake. Breakfast was delicious and I felt right at home. Once breakfast was completed it was time to get ready and head back to Chur (bummer). At 1pm I left my Aunts house, I became nostalgic because I wanted to spend more time with my family.

Andy and I had (1) latte marchiatto each at the main plaza while we waited for our train to come. At 2:25 pm we boarded on our train, it took us 4 hours to get back to SSTH. Once we reached Chur we were starving, since on Sunday’s Chur has become ghost town the only place open was Cindy’s Dinner. I had an all Americano burger (lettuce, beef, bacon, pickles, onions and mustard), large fries and a medium Coke. The food was delicious I was surprised because Cindy’s burgers taste similar to Johnny Rockets burgers (New York).

I will not lie – over the two days I missed my professors and classmates. Upon entrance at SSTH we were greeted by Prof. Blake-Neis, Dr. Garely, Shevy and Sarah. I was happy to see them it felt like an eternity without seeing them.

Sarah was the tour guide of the day. We have been getting up to get ready for breakfast at 6:00 AM because there are a lot of us here now and there is one standard time and it couldn’t be a little later. We met for breakfast at 7:00 AM. Today was a rainy day and we went to Zürich to visit a hotel and a museum.

We departed Chur at 8:16 AM and arrived at Zürich by 9:47 AM. We visited the tourism’s office where we picked up maps and brochures about the area. I must say that Zürich is nothing like Chur. There are many shops and it’s a very city like scene. We took a small over ground train called a tram in Zürich to Sihlcity which is a new mall like structure with a new Four Points Hotel by Sheraton and plenty of stores to shop.

Four Points by Shearton @ Sihlcity

We entered the Four Points for a hotel site inspection with Alexia Hungerbühler, Director of Sales and Marketing. She gave us a tour of the hotel and told us the different categories of rooms available which are standard, deluxe, junior suite and senior suite. The hotel has an exercise area and an Asian Spa which is very beautiful. The hotel has five floors and is equipped with 8 meeting rooms. The rooms have a view to a small river that flows behind Sihlcity. The hotel is really nice and Alexia was a doll. After we finished doing the inspection she invited us to a cup of coffee which was very nice of her and asked us to tell her a little bit about herself. I’ve definitely come to notice that it might be a coincidence but everyone whom we have been getting a warm greeting from has an American background of some sort. Alexia worked for a hotel in Washington D.C.; she sat with us for a while and was very interested to learn that we all lived in one city but came from all over the world.

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We left there, and took the tram back into the city. Our next visit was the Swiss National Museum, but before we went in to explore the museum we had lunch by the river that flows right behind the museum where there is a boat to transport people to different parts of the city including the casino. While we were having lunch I couldn’t help but notice that in the water was a family of ducks with there mom and one ducky seemed to have a problem catching up with the rest. It amazed me to see the duck crying out but the current was so strong that he/she could not catch up with the rest. This broke my heart to see that we left for the museum and the ducky had still not caught up with its family. We finished our lunch and went into the museum to explore.

Swiss National Museum

The Swiss National Museum in Zurich contains Switzerland’s largest collection of objects regarding the cultural history of Switzerland. Its exhibition covers all periods, from prehistory to the 21st century. The building was officially inaugurated in 1898. Its young architect, Gustav Gull, was able to push through his choice of a location for the National Museum, his own city of Zurich. The building is distinguished by its use of stylistic elements from various historical periods, which it fuses into something new, a reflection of the historicist spirit of the age.

We left the museum by 3:00 PM. We were going to walk around the town but the crowd got a little out of hand since there was a Euro Cup game in town that afternoon. The fans were out of control and they were piling up everywhere, so we decided that it was best if we headed back into Chur.

Upon arrival in Chur, we did some shopping and then took the bus in time for dinner at SSTH. The disco was open tonight but I had blogging to do, since I was scheduled to leave for Italy early tomorrow morning. So I guess I will enjoy the SSTH disco the next time it’s open.

Adele was our tour guide for the day. We awoke a little later since today we were allowed to skip breakfast. After breakfast the group went into Chur to explore Kulturforum Würth Sculpture Garden. We saw the Stadtgarten sculptures behind the garden because the museum did not open until 10:00 AM.

We then proceeded to the Rätisches Museum where we were scheduled to meet Dr. Jürg Simonett, Museum Director. We were very thrilled and honored to be guided around the historical museum by this expert. He explained to us that the museum that the Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. It borders on Liechtenstein to the north, Austria to the north and the east, Italy to the south and southeast, and the cantons of St. Gall to the Northwest, Canton of Glarus, Uri to the west, and Ticino to the south west. Most of the lands of the canton were once part of a Roman province called Raetia, which was established in 15 BC.

The Historical Museum of the Canton of the Grisons, or Raetian Museum, is located in the House Buol in the Old Town of the cantonal capital Chur. The baroque patrician residence was built 1675 by Baron Paul von Buol zu Strassberg und Rietberg (1634-1697). He belonged to the ruling classes of the Three Leagues. The interior of the building is accessible through wide flights of stairs. They connect the basement, the ground/ main floor, the passage for carriages, two stately upper floors, the quarters of the servants and the attic.

Like in many other Swiss cantons, the founding of the museum was initiated in the waning 19th century by the increasing movement of cultural possessions.
The lawyer, historian and politician Peter Conradin von Planta-Zuoz (1815-1902) established a foundation for the benefit of a Grisons Museum for Science and Art. The museum opened to the public in the main floor of the House Buol on June 8, 1872. Initially, it held a library, a collection of antiquities and objects of natural history.

After the tour we headed into town to do some local shopping. We all met at the bus station and came up to SSTH for our regular lunch. During the afternoon hours we had lecture in room 104 and discussed getting ready for departure and things that were needed and should be kept in mind when departing considering that we will soon be going home. We had dinner as usual and got ready for the next morning.