the last blog

the last night was a rough one. after spending the day quietly at our home with my roommates we went to magic kingdom to watch wishes for the last time. i went back to my work location one last time, said some more final goodbyes and met up with my friends. we walked together to main street to watch the fireworks and as they set off, so did the waterworks. all the girls were tearing up knowing that it was our last time togther, in this wonderful, magical place that we called home for six months. after wishes, walking down main street usa was hard too. my favourite place in the world was no longer 'in my back yard.' no more can i just go and ride a roller coaster, or watch a parade, or see a fireworks show, or eat at one of the worldwide known restaurants in disney. there was so much we had at our fingertips that people spend years and years and years saving money to experience just for a few short days. after the show, we went back and just limed together for the last time. one by one everyone decided they needed to go home to get some sleep for the long day of travelling the next day. each goodbye got harder and harder. the friends that i made while being here are such wonderful people and not knowing when i'll see them again is something i can't quite wrap my head around. i got home, tried to repack my suitcase (for the fourth or fifth time) to get everything to fit and then after one hour's sleep, it was time to say goodbye to two of my roommates. lord that was so difficult. these girls who became my best friends and my sisters were now leaving. we waited for their bus to pick them up and when it came we quietly walked over, and then it was the moment of truth and it hit me like a brick wall. niza and i went back to our apartment, and it was so quiet. but after a few hours, we had to get ready for our taxi to pick us up and take us to the airport. i had to hand in my disney i.d and my housing i.d and my key and it wasn't a nice feeling at all. while we were waiting for the taxi to come, we were just watching other people say their goodbyes to their friends, and even though we didn't know them it was still so emotional. they were far away enough that we couldn't hear what they were saying, but close enough that we could feel the sadness in their goodbye hugs. after our taxi finally came, we picked up mauricio from his house. there i had to say goodbye to britt one last time, and again, one of the hardest things i've had to do. we drove off and i quietly kept to myself in the taxi while i had to control the tears from coming. when we got to the airport we struggled to carry all eight hundred thousand of our suitcases so we had to get a cart. thank god mauricio was there with us because we probably would have died if it weren't for him. my suitcases were overweight, but the lady i was dealing with was bajan and she let it slide. she also let the three of us sit together on our way to miami. i was fine in the airport, fine when we boarded the plane; it felt as if it was part of our adventure, and we were just going somewhere together for the day. but as the plane started to move, we all just sat there with tears in our eyes, quietly comforting each other, knowing exactly what everyone was feeling. when we got to miami, and got off the plane, i was fine again, knowing that i had a couple hours before the last goodbye came. however, when we got off and the lady was there to direct us, we found out mauricio's gate was in the opposite direction from ours, and so far away. ours was in egypt apparently and we had to take the sky train over to it. finding that out was shocking, and i cried like a baby when i had to say goodbye to him because it was the last goodbye, and he became one of my very best friends. i couldn't stop the tears from coming as we waited for the plane home. and even on the plane, i kept tearing up. i was so exhausted, and so emotional, that i didn't know if the exhaustion was making me more emotional, or if the sadness was making me more tired. coming home felt good as my family was there to meet me at the airport. coming to my house, and seeing everything, and my dogs and my room and my bed and everything made me feel good as well. it definitely felt like home when two of my friends and my brother came home at two thirty in the morning (slightly tipsy) to wake me up and welcome me home. i'm home.

and i just want to thank all my friends on the program for making it the incredible experience that it was. without you it definitely wouldn't be the same, and without you i wouldn't be the same. i've grown to love so many people from around the world and i know i have best friends wherever i go. so thank you. thank you thank you thank you for everything. i love you and wish you the best with everything and look forward to seeing you SOON. always be safe and always be happy and find the magic in everything. i wish you all the success in the world. always know you have a friend in me and a home in barbados. love you always.

last day

yesterday was the day of many "lasts." it was my last day of work here at disney and although i almost held it together, i broke halfway through my day and realized how much i really am going to miss everything. i heard the three o'clock parade coming by, so i went outside to watch it... and realized it was my last time seeing it. i was being strong, right up until the last float. then a couple hours later, i got handed my last bumpout (which is a piece of paper that the person taking over your assignment gives you, that tells you to go and clock out.) that hit me hard. but definitely not as hard as clocking out for the last time. having to say goodbye to my new friends and family was difficult. not knowing when i'm going to see anyone again is overwhelming because i've grown to love them all dearly.

after work i got my last home cooked meal (out of barely any) since i've been here. my last mexican meal (which is what all my home cooked meals consisted of.) afterwards we were all just liming together. just sitting together on the couch, in quiet conversatoin, simply just enjoying each others company. and it was perfect. i still can't wrap my head around the fact that i only have two days. bleh.

fireworks & more fireworks

everything is always incredible here. tomorrow's a week until home, and i can't wrap my head around it. in fact, technically it's a week until home right now. and like my roommates and countless of my friends, i'm so not ready to leave yet. it does make it easier that the majority of my friends are leaving at the same time, but it's going to be hard to come to terms with the fact that the best thing that's ever happened to me is coming to an end.

the past few days have been great. a few days ago, i met up with a friend at magic kingdom. she was still working, so i decided to go to main street to get my name embroidered on my graduation mickey ears - something i had been waiting to do since the moment i got here. it's such a unique milestone and it's a very special 'souvenir.' on the way, i saw one of my friends crying, and she just found out the sad news that she has to leave a bit earlier than us. it's heartbreaking to have to say goodbye already. obviously i got emotional too and everyone knows i'm not too good at hiding my emotions. i went to my old friends on main street and they comforted me, and gave me treats from the confectionery, and i got my name embroidered on my hat. that just added to the height of emotions. we went and ate a quick dinner together and then headed back to her apartment complex where we met up with the rest of our little posse and we went for a midnight dip in the pool. completely unprepared for this little adventure, we went in our clothes. my phone went for a swim too, but it's okay now. thank god.

the next day, july 3rd, i was upset i had to work a late shift because disney had special 4th of july fireworks on the 3rd and the 4th. i so badly wanted to see them. however, i got the right assignment at the right time and was working outside during the 25 minute spectacular. it was absolutely amazing. they had identical fireworks shooting off from two different locations in magic kingdom - one in their usual spot behind the castle, and one somewhere else (i'm not too sure where it was because our restaurant was blocking the view for me.) at the end, the entire perimeter of magic kingdom was lit up with fireworks. it was the most incredible thing i have ever seen. my shift ended about five minutes after the fireworks, and waiting for the bus was insane. there must have been hundreds of kids on the college program waiting for the bus, which was taking forever due to closed roads for the fireworks. more and more people kept on coming and me and a friend of mine were just sitting there in shock. friends of mine with cars kept passing by, greeting me and i was just secretly hoping they would offer us a lift home. finally another friend of mine from main street came by and i begged him to drop us home. thank god i saw him or we would have been there for another three hours waiting in the confusion. that night i got the exciting news that my good (only friend who visited me haha) (except drew) friend scott tasker and his family were coming up this side for just one day on july 4th. i literally spent all night contemplating whether to call in sick to see them. i asked my managers and coordinators what to do and everyone was telling me to call in.

i couldn't do it, and i went to work. working on july 4th was insane. i was actually afraid of some guests. what made it even worse, was that it started to rain. when it rains, it feels like the whole guest population (about 70,000 people that day) takes cover in our restaurant. i did my best to keep a smile on my face when explaining to people that we simply can't stop serving food, and politely refusing all the other brilliant ideas they were suggesting. i put in the request to leave early so i could meet up with scott but it didn't look hopeful. after about 3 hours of working, my manager told me i could leave. i was so happy. i was just so excited. i got home as fast as i could, showered and got ready in about ten minutes and met them at the gate, since they so kindly picked me up. they took me to old town to this little amusement park. it was just like what you see in the movies. they had been there so by the time i got there they were winding down. but we drove gokarts on a few different tracks, in between laughing at other people having their turns while we waited in line. after that we went and had dinner together and then drove to this town called celebration (which used to be owned by disney.) seriously the cutest little place i've ever been to. all the buildings are perfect and it looks like a town that would be in a tv show. all the little shops are so quaint and sweet. people were riding in horse-drawn carriages and, the one thing i have found an obsession with while being here, is that the lighting was perfect. it didn't even look like a real-life place. we moved through the crowds, past the live concert, to a spot on the lake where the fireworks were being shot off from. there were so many people but we found a spot and didn't move. when the fireworks finally went off it was so exciting. we were so close we could feel them (literally - pieces of ashes kept kitting us.) there were a lot more fireworks than expected, and every time we thought it was done, more were set off. there was one lady a couple people away from us who was so hyper, and was unsuccessfully trying to get everyone to scream along with her - she couldn't get the hint that everyone was peacefully enjoying the fireworks with their loved ones. but everything there added to the perfect little evening. of course as soon as the fireworks were done, plenty people were ready to go home, as were we. they dropped me back home and headed back to their long drive 'home.'

work today was brutal because i was over exhausted, and i definitely did not have enough energy for a twelve hour shift. it was a nice day though. to thank us for our hard work, the managers had a little cook out for us, and they all took turns grilling chicken, burgers and hot dogs back stage of our restaurant and when we had our breaks we went and limed with everyone out there. it was quite nice. i thankfully got to leave a little bit early again, and of course now that i'm home, i'm full of energy. but it's time for lights out and sleep. just one more week. wow.

eight-seater to daytona

yesterday was another unforgettable day. or an afternoon rather. after only a couple hours of sleep, and waking up in the same clothes from the night before, i was feeling quite lazy but still in the mood to do anything and everything. i got a call from my friends saying to be ready in an hour because we were renting a jeep and going back to daytona. of course i willingly accepted the challenge, got ready in the speed of light and met them up. we rent to the car rental place, piled in the suv and made our way to daytona (after of course finally making that decision after about a hundred other suggestions were made, because it is more difficult for eight people to come to one decision than you would think.) the road wasn't as empty as the last time we went, and the ride took longer with the traffic, but it didn't feel that way, because we were content with each others company the whole way there. when we got there, we learned from our mistake last time, and parked in the paid parking lot and headed down to the beach. there were tons of people, granted it was a beautiful day instead of the stormy weather we went in last time, but we found a perfect spot for the eight of us on the beach. we set up our towels all next to each other and within minutes everyone was sleeping. it didn't matter that we weren't doing all the rides on the boardwalk and going in the sea and doing everything we possibly could. we were just there, together and that's all that mattered. after we woke up, we went in the sea, just around sunset and it was so nice. after that, we decided to go get some dinner. we drove to steak and shake (very high class of us, i know.) we spent the entire time there laughing and laughing. to me, one of the most treasurable moments is sitting around a table with people you love just chatting and happily enjoying the company, so it was really wonderful. after dinner we decided to go to downtown orlando, and it was the first time i had ever been there. it was beautiful. all the lights and trees and buildings were so pretty. everyone walking around the streets going in and out of clubs and bars were dressed up, ready to party. the eight of us looked like beach rats, but we didn't even care. we went to downtown orlando to go to a specific bar to drink a specific drink. apparently on fridays, they do something different, and block off the whole street and charge people to just be on that one street. we would have paid the money, but they had a rule that you had to be over twenty one. of course, me being the baby, couldn't go. the boys were going to drop me home and meet the girls back later, but on our way to the car, they called back and said they wouldn't accept their mexican id's so they had to go home and get their passports anyway. so they all drove me home, and even though i was sad to leave my friends because i knew they were still liming all night, i didn't care all that much because i had just had another beautiful day with them.

today i woke up at my own time. i probably would have died if i set an alarm. i met up with aunty serena and family at epcot and travelled around the world with them. it was nice to be with family, especially because they're my family., and i truly have the best family in the entire world. we went to all my favourite places - italy for lunch, paris for tea and england for dinner. after dinner, because we were at the right restaurant at the right time, we had a special vip viewing of the fireworks. it was absolutely beautiful as usual. everytime i watch the fireworks it gives me a different feeling - something i will definitely miss, among everything else. the time is drawing nearer, and the closer it comes, the more difficult it becomes for me to comprehend, and the more emotional i feel. i can't believe it.

'graduation'

yesterday was just lovely. honestly. it was 'graduation,' formally known as 'cast service celebration.' it was just a little lime that was organized for all the college program participants who end their program before july 28th. everyone was there, wearing their biggest smiles. the sun shone all day long, and the day was beautiful. it was perfect timing since the past few days it has been storming like crazy every single day. while everyone was overjoyed, many people were also quite sad, knowing that goodbye is on the way. but it was beautiful to see the hundreds of people laughing, and hugging, and taking pictures with friends that they only recently met, but without a doubt, they know that the friendships will last forever. we did have to say goodbye to some people right then and there, and that really made me emotional, even though i wasn't best friends with them, there was still something about saying "it was so nice to meet you, and please keep in touch," adding a goodbye on the end that was just so heartbreaking.

after socializing at the little event for a little while, me and some of the best friends i have ever known went to downtown disney specifically to (finally) go on the hot air balloon. we were getting very impatient while we waited for what seemed like forever for our turn, but in the end it worked out perfect because when we got up in the sky, we could see everything, including the fireworks at magic kingdom which had just started. that, with the beauty of seeing things from above with the music playing at downtown disney was the perfect combination to just stand there, tons of feet in the sky in the best company, admiring everything. it was such a special time. i felt so happy. and so sad. and i really had no idea what i was feeling but it was perfect.

after that we went back home, where we laughed, and sang, and played games, and it was the perfect end to a perfect day; mainly because that scenario has become a routine over the past few months. the night didn't end until all hours of the morning (in fact, i'm surprised i'm awake right now.) of course the day wouldn't have been complete if i didn't cry. realizing that we only have two weeks left is overwhelming, and things got sentimental. compliments were overflowing and all the love in the world was declared right then and there. it didn't matter who saw, or who heard, because the friendly embraces and the mutual feelings trumped everything. the moment ended when there was a knock on the door, and we assumed it was security breaking up our little party, telling us to be quiet. so we all scrambled to find a hiding place, waking up people in the apartment who were sleeping, but it turned out that it was just a friend who got locked out.

afterwards, everyone was just sitting on the floor chatting. some people fell asleep, and eventually everyone followed the trend. after a little while, it was time to go home. it was made sure of that everyone went home or was where they were meant to be and we all said goodnight. it felt like last night was a dream. but then again, it feels like the last six months has been a dream. and knowing that i only have two more weeks before i have to wake up again makes me, and everyone else, way too emotional.

these moments, and these people have changed my life. i think differently, i act differently, i've become more interested in everything, they have given me space to mature, even though i'm considered 'the baby' (because i'm the youngest person here,) the little things that used to break me are now insignificant. i have met some truly special people while being here and this is the happiest (and saddest) i have ever been. and now we just have two weeks ot spend every last second with each other. i do miss my friends and family at home, but i know i'll always have them at home. these wonderful people? i don't know when i'll see again and it breaks my heart every time i think about it.

anyways. the sad moment's over and its time to go and enjoy the beautiful sushine with my friends. <3

a week with family

finally! a chance to sit down, breathe, and write a post since before my family got here. everything was incredible. the day they came, i spent the morning cleaning the apartment, getting it "show-ready" (disney slang) and packing my suitcase (full to the brim with clothes because i couldn't possibly decide what i was wearing every day, and of course i packed way too much..again.) i was ready and waiting for them to come pick me up... chomping at the bit, i kept texting and calling them to see where they were because they were taking forever. after a while, i decided to be productive so i started doing things around the house, and as soon as i did, i heard a knock on my door. i was never so excited. seeing them made me ecstatic, in fact, so happy i was crying, obviously. we then went to our hotel, checked in, went to publix to get a few supplies and then went to downtown disney. downtown disney wasn't as pituresque as it normally is for me because it was so packed with people that you could barely move. but i didn't care. i was with my family, and so happy.

the next day, we woke up (before seven in the morning i may add,) and got ready for hollywood studios. the four of us eating breakfast together was so nice and something that i definitely missed. the first thing we did at hollywood studios was get our fast passes for rock n roller coaster, because clearly i was taking the family on that without a doubt. we went to see beauty and the beast (which ben and dad really must have found less than interesting because sleep took over,) and did more of the attractions there (including rock n roller coaster, which mum did cry before we went on, and during the ride, i just had to say) until the rain came down, as i promised my family it would. it poured and poured and leaving was not an option without getting ponchos since we had no other rain gear. the four of us wearing ponchos really was quite a sight to see, but because of the rain, we decided we weren't waiting for an hour to see fantasmic.

the next day was animal kingdom. we did a couple things, like go on everest, watch the festival of the lion king (which is always brilliant) and watch bugs life 3d. that was the most hilarious thing i have ever witnessed. not so much the show, but ben's reactions. oh my god he was so funny, screaming in his monotone. i'm pretty sure he thought everything was real. in fact, ben was our entertainment for the week, and every ride or 3d show we went on or saw, we all called to sit next to ben just so we could be closer to him for his priceless reactions. we left animal kingdom early, so we could meet some of our family for dinner that night, which was also lovely. we had lots of laughs until it was time to go home.

the following day, we went to epcot. i insisted that we didn't need to go super early because we wouldn't want to spend like twelve hours there because we'd have time. we didn't have time. we first ate lunch in england, which was jolly god. then we did so many rides in the future world that we didn't even have time to spend time in all the countries. it was a rush while i was trying to get us to a great spot to watch the fireworks. we ate dinner in morocco while the show was going on, and i was so upset because we couldn't fully see the show, but we watched it. niza had joined us by the time we got to the countries so that was nice that i could introduce my family to her. we dropped her home and headed back to the hotel since we had an early start the next day, which was fathers day.

we woke up and gave dad his cards and little gifts and got ready for our breakfast at the crystal palace with winnie the pooh and friends in magic kingdom. even though we had to wait a little while to be seated, it was so nice because when we came when we were little, we ate there for ben's 4th birthday. we even got pooh to take a picture with us in the same exact spot we took it in when we were there those tweleve years ago. after magic kingdom we hit the park. i first took my family back to main street show i could show them where i used to work, and i had the privelege to introduce them to some of the amazing people i used to work with, and miss very much. afterwards we did all the rides we could, we ate lunch in pecos where i got to introduce my family to my newer co-cast members, watched the parades, and 'the magic the memories and you' and the fireworks. it was such a magical day, because magic kingdom has always been so sentimental to me, because it's everything i remember about disney. in fact, the whole trip was so magical and perfect. 

the next day, we had no idea what our plan was because we had suggested about a hundred different things, but mum (surprisingly) made the decision to go back to epcot to do the things we hadn't had a chance to do, which was a great idea. there were so many things i had never even done in the whole five months of me being here (some things i didn't even know existed,) so it was really nice.

the last two days we just did a couple random things, like going to some stores, and the outlet and whatnot. on the last day we went to florida mall, so i could get a pedicure and dad could buy me another (much-needed) suitcase. they then took me to publix to buy me some groceries and they took me home. we said our goodbyes, but it wasn't too emotional because i'll be seeing them in three weeks (now two weeks and four days to be exact:( .)

i was just so happy to see them and have them for a week, and i was so happy that i got to introduce them to some of the friends i have made up here. friends that for the last five and a half months i have talked about to them, dying for them to meet them. i know my parents loved all my friends (because they still tell me about it,) and i'm so proud to have the best family possible to show off to my friends, to have made such wonderful friends that i could show off to my family.

the night they left, we were just liming at a friends house, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the bottle of extra old that dad bought up for them to try. the next day it was back to reality, after an exhausting week of being a guest. i was happy to go back to work, because i, in fact, missed it for the week i was gone. the past couple of days have been storm-like weather. in fact, yesterday it did not stop raining literally all day long. it rained and rained from the time i woke up in the morning until all hours of the night. in the early hours of the morning it stopped, but when i woke up again today, it was down again. apparently we've been under tornado watch, but i don't think that's really happening. actually, i got to work yesterday, and alike many other cast members at magic kingdom (i'm not so sure about the other parks,) i got to work to get told that i had the day off. so back home i went and just waited for a little while until i went back to magic to meet some friends to go to epcot. i thought that plan might have been voided since we were basically in a storm, but no, "we only live once," so we went to epcot. we got soaked. absolutlely soaked. using the umbrella was pointless because it just got turned inside out and was stronger than me, and i couldn't wear my slippers because my feet kept slipping out of them. the three of us were an absolute mess but it was an evening i'll never forget. we even watched the fireworks from the usually reserved area (but due to the weather it wasn't reserved, since there were barely any guests in epcot,) trying to huddle under the baby-sized umbrella i have while the rain poured down on us, and the wind made nearly blew us away. it was such a funny situation. i think we were the only people in the entire park that weren't wearing ponchos. everyone was a mess. but it was wonderful.

not in paradise anymore

"well toto, we're not in kansas anymore." i am definitely not in barbados (island of paradise) anymore! tonight is not real life. i just can't believe it. i was sitting down on break, while i overheard a manager telling another cast member "just prepare for some rain in about twenty minutes." about ten minutes later insane flashes of lightning and the loudest thunder i have ever heard arrived, along with downpours upon downpours of rain. we could hear the thunder from inside pecos bills restaurant, followed by the shrieks and screams of children. looking outside the windows, the sky was flashing blue from the sheet and fork lightning. backstage was flooded, the water reaching above everyones ankles. the water flowed inside, flooding the walkway by the stairs and elevators too. inside the dining room of the restaurant there was masses of water as well. everyone was trying their best to get it dry so that it wouldn't be unsafe for the guests. the restaurant was so full, because people were trying to shelter from the storm. people were sitting on the floor, and sitting their children on the closed side of the counter so that they could just eat their food. it was so crazy. i still can't believe how bad the weather got. i have never seen lightning like that in real life. today was actually a beautiful day, all day long. guests were sunburnt and complaining about the heat. i was so surprised at how nice of a day it was (despite the humidity) because every day for the past couple of days it has rained. all of a sudden, when the sun was setting right after eight o'clock this monster of a storm came. i wish i knew what weather to expect when my family comes (THIS WEEK!) but living here, i have learnt to expect the unexpected. the weather is so unpredictable. i am exhausted and it's time to go to bed. i have the luxury of being able to sleep until ten thirty tomorrow, but i do work twelve hours. since i have the whole week after wednesday off to be with my family, i have been scheduled slave hours. so it's now bed time. tomorrow i can say 'my family comes the day after tomorrow!' I'M SO EXCITED! A;LKSDMF;ALKSDMFOIA;JSERMA;LKSMF;IOAMSDF;KLAMSDFK;ASDMF;LKAMSDIFOJASDKL;FMA;SDF;LKM

spontaneous adventure

to say yesterday was an adventure would be an understatement. it was a day of many firsts for me: it was the first time i went on a roadtrip with friends from all over the world; it was the first time i had seen an old man sitting in a beach chair in the tray of a pickup truck driving down the highway; it was the first time i got caught in a thunderstorm on a beach in florida; it was the first time i wore my new 'i heart latinos' t-shirt; it was the first time i tried shrimp; it was the first time i had been in an incident where a friend's car got towed; and it was the first time i rode a ferris wheel. but i'll get into all of that later.

the night before last night, i was in my bed, about to fall asleep (super early, at like eight thirty,) when a friend of mine texted me and told me to get ready and come watch wishes at magic kingdom. i jumped out of bed, and got ready in no time, and went over to magic kingdom. i was the only person on the bus, except for some random guy who was trying to make small talk, but that just wasn't happening. i didn't even have my headphones, so that's when smartphones come in handy (even though my phone isn't so smart nowadays.) i got to magic kingdom, visited a couple of old friends on main street and met up with my friends and we watched wishes. it was beautiful as always, and even more animated with the little kid standing next to me yelling "woah!" in amazement at every single firework. afterwards, we went back to a friends house to continue celebrating another friends birthday. it was a very quiet night, filled with lots of laughs until four in the morning. the spontaneous nights always turn out the best.

yesterday was also very spontaneous. i woke up early to go to armando's house to meet him, britt and mauricio so we could plan our day. the night before we were apparently going to tampa, which changed to clearwater, which changed many times to different places. when we finally made a decision, we headed to daytona beach. the drive was only an hour and a half. we missed a couple turns in the beginning but soon got on track and drove on a straight road for the majority of the time. there weren't many exciting things to see on the way so when we saw an old man (who must have been in his eighties) sitting in a fold-up beach chair cruising down the highway in the back of a pickup truck, smiling and enjoying the breeze, it was definitely a highlight. we found some parking in the back of a restaurant and headed over to the beach. i couldn't believe how gloomy the beach was. everything was grey - the sand, the sea and the sky. before leaving home, we checked the weather, which promised thunderstorms, but we figured that whenever we check the weather it's never right. so we prepared for a nice day at the beach. ten minutes into being there, we decided to go in the sea. we were just at the shoreline, feeling how cold the water was, and the police car (which just cruises up and down the beach all day long) made an announcement, telling everyone to get out the water because a thunderstorm was approaching. in a split second after he said that, it came down, giving us no time to shelter. we got soaked as we were trying to pack everything up as fast as we could. there was a party tent set up on the beach, and thankfully nothing was under it. we settled there while we waited for the storm to pass. we just sat, chatting and content with each others company. the storm didn't last long (or it felt as if it didn't last long,) and after it cleared up a little bit we went back onto the beach. on the other side of the pier, there was a boardwalk, complete with restaurants, shops, arcades and rides, including a ferris wheel. walking onto the boardwalk made us feel like we were on jersey shore.

we explored a little bit, and all bought our own customized daytona beach t-shirts. we sat down for lunch at a quaint, little restaurant under an umbrella outside. everyone except me ordered shrimp. but of course, i was forced to try it because i'm forced to try everything now - 'no' is unacceptable for an answer. they couldn't believe that i live in barbados and had never tried shrimp. and it really wasn't so bad. afer we finished eating, we stayed sitting down and were just chatting, taking in everything, then it started to rain again, so we went inside the restaurant for shelter. while talking inside, we decided to go put our things back in the car and come back to the boardwalk to continue exploring, and to go on the ferris wheel and whatnot. we walked back to the car, but this time on the roadside. i have to say, it wasn't a very nice area, and it looked a little sketchy when you weren't on the beach. when we got back to where we parked, the car park was empty. britt's car got towed. we probably also might have been a lot less irritated if a homeless man who was hanging around would have just shut up instead of yelling "dude! where's my car?!" nothing felt like real life. me, armando and mauricio didn't know what to do, but britt stayed calm and went inside a gift shop to ask what might have happened. they told her it probably got towed and to call the number on the sign. (by the way let me just say that the signs were put in terrible places. they put them on two walls in the carpark, which was not very specific at all.) she called the number and they confirmed it was there, and told her the amount of money she had to pay (way too much in my opinion, but whatever.) a taxi took her and mauricio to get the car (because if two more people came in the taxi it would have doubled in price - i don't understand the logic behind that either.) so armando and i waited for them to come back. it didn't take too long, and when we were all reunited again we were all happy campers.

despite the 'little incident,' we weren't ready to go home yet. we decided we should still enjoy daytona beach while we were there. so we went and parked (in a paid parking lot this time,) and continued exploring the boardwalk. we went and bought tickets for the ferris wheel and i was so excited since i had never been on one. i had always wanted to for my whole life because it's in all the movies. everyone else had been on before and was shocked that i hadn't. it was so beautiful. it was so nice to see everything while the sun was setting, in the perfect company of great friends. it was such a special moment for me. afterwards, we went and ate dinner at a restaurant called sloppy joe's. we shared two appetizers between the four of us and that was dinner. the boys shared a pitcher of beer, but of course i'm a baby in america and i couldn't have any. after dinner we went back to the parking lot to go home. we searched for the car on two wrong floors before finding it on floor three. we got in the car and headed home. everybody (except for britt, since she was driving) fell asleep. however, i was woken up by a call from mum because she was worried about me. i don't think she'll ever stop worrying.

we got home safe and sound and i couldn't have asked for a better day (i mean, probably minus the stormy weather and the car getting towed.) but it was truly one of the best days ever. the friendships i have made here are indescribable and i am so fortunate to have met such amazing people.

it's now only six days until my family comes to visit, and between now and then i am scheduled to work like a slave! i can't believe how long my work days are going to be. but it's so worth it to have a whole week off with the people i love most. right now, i think i'm the happiest girl in the world. i hope everyone is as happy as i am! missing home as usual, and sending lots and lots of love.

not ready to leave

was definitely missing home today since i knew everyone would be at king of the hill, having a jolly time watching the cars, but as much as i miss home i'm still having the most wonderful time here. it still feels as if i'm living in a dream.

work has been really good. except for me throwing out my back two nights ago, which has turned me into a crippled old lady and i can't do many strenuous jobs, so that leaves me with pretty much only two positions i can pick up, but it's been okay. everyone at work was so nice and concerned for me and it was just so nice to see that everyone cared. the managers wanted to call paramedics and wanted me to go to health services.. but yeah. no way. it's a lot better now, and i have the day off tomorrow, so i'm sure that by the time i go back to work on tuesday i'll be as good as new. but the whole thing really showed me what good friends i've made up here.

today after work, armando and i went to downtown disney. it took like two hours of travelling to get there, because we first took the ferry from magic kingdom to the transportation and ticket centre, to realize there is no bus that takes us to downtown disney; then we took the monorail back to magic kingdom, in order to take the boat to the polynesian resort (where we looked around for a bit and visited a friend,) and then we took the bus from the resort and finally got to downtown disney. we ate dinner at earl of sandwich, which he has been telling me about for so long, and it was really good. after that we walked around downtown disney and we just limed in the always-perfect setting. we went into sunglass hut, and as soon as we walked in the "sunglass stylists" (that's what they're called by the way - it's even on their nametags) picked out shades for each of us, without us even knowing they were looking at us. they were so quick, and of course the shades they picked out were perfect. i learned that we get a discount in two weeks (perfect timing for when mum and dad come, so dad: i REALLY NEED shades when you come here!) (p.s. bet you've missed hearing that.)

we even sat down, and just listened to the live music for a little while, which was so lovely. it was just one man and his guitar up on the stage while he played for an audience of all ages, including the little girls doing their ballet at the front. i swear he knows how to play and sing every single song, and he did lots of my favourites like here comes the sun, hotel california, and by special request for me, drops of jupiter. he said he had only ever played drops of jupiter once so he couldn't really remember it, and while he did forget some of the lyrics it was perfect. it really made my night.

today i fell even more in love with being here and i really am not ready to leave in a month. i have made such amazing friendships and i can't imagine not seeing these people on a regular basis for the rest of my life. i am going to be such an emotional wreck when this program comes to an end. but of course, i'm excited to see my family and friends and i can't wait to be reunited with everyone! it's probably going to be difficult to get my parents settled back down, since apparently they have turned into quite the party animals since i've been gone. ben, you need to start enforcing some rules and getting these home at a reasonable hour! i hope they've been telling you where they have been at all times and communicating with you when you go somewhere new! today's ten days til the family comes and as mentioned before, i am so excited! i start talking about it and i start shouting instead of talking, and i can't stop smiling! just ten days!! ahh!!! ask;dfma;klsdmfaiosdfma;lkweriaj;mwelkra;sdflkmadsfadsklfja;lsdkmfa;ksd. so excited.

wonderful days

the past few days have been so wonderful. on monday, i went to the outlet with niza's family who is visiting her from mexico. they are such sweet people, and even though they couldn't really speak english, i love them. niza had to do some translating for the both of us. i told her i would come along, but i didn't want to spend any money. of course that didn't happen and i am so thankful that today was payday. meeting her family made me want to go to mexico even more! i definitely need to start saving for that trip. i have already started my research on flights. niza has been spending the time with her family at their resort, so i really miss her. my room feels so empty! and it's so strange, while i don't feel as if i'm responsible for her, the first night she was gone i kept waking up during my sleep knowing and i kept looking over at her bed. i now can understand better how my mother feels when i go out.

on tuesday i worked in tortuga. since it is kind of pirate themed (because it's opposite pirates of the caribbean) a couple of us went to the store where little kids (both little kids, and kids at heart) can get pirate makeovers, and we got scars put on our faces. it made work so much more exciting, especially when i got to tell children who asked what happened about the terrible fight i got into with captain jack sparrow. on the way to work that morning, i tweeted about the terrible weather we were having. after i did, drew (FROM BARBADOS BY THE WAY! - just in case anyone who doesn't know is reading) tweeted back to me saying that he and his family were on their way, so make the sun come out. i honestly thought he was kidding, but after he really confirmed everything, i was so excited. it had been so long since i had seen a familiar face and heard a familiar voice. that excitement carried me through work and when my manager let me leave work early, i rushed home to change and came back to magic kingdom where they were. it was nice to hang out with an old friend and a new friend together, since my friend armando came with me after he was done work. we did a couple rides and chatted for a couple hours, but then they had to go. it was so nice to see them, even though it was so brief.

afterwards, we went to walmart so that the boys could buy all the food to cook dinner. we went back to one of the boys' apartments and we cooked (well, they cooked and i watched. actually i helped! i cut the limes.) so we cooked, and then sat down and ate dinner together at like 12.30. a little late, but like i've said before, being here has totally erased any sleeping or eating structure i had before i came here. we chatted and laughed til all hours of the morning.

the next day, the boys and i went to epcot. everything was beautiful as usual and being immersed in all the different countries is always so nice. we did rides and saw attractions that we had never seen before, and took our time strolling around the magnificent park. the sun was scorching hot, and it exhausted us. every time we got into a room with air condition, it was like heaven and we sat and relaxed until we built up enough energy to go again. we ate lunch in morocco, and ate dessert in france, and as usual everything was delicious - even though i can never finish anything because the meals are so huge. despite everything we saw, i think the boys favourite part was the store in the future world where you can try all the different sodas from the different countries. we actually went in there four different times during the course of the day so they could drink some more. unlike everything else that is so delicious in italy, their soda is the worst, and is the one that we saw many people daring their friends and family to try it, because everyone knows how terrible it is. the last time we went in that store, we saw a group of young boys having a competition on who can drink the most. the one kid i saw shooting back the cups of soda reminded me of ben so much, as he was so proud of himself for winning the competition.

the sun and the walking took the energy out of us, and when we were on the bus on the way home, i fell asleep. i came home, skyped aunty serena so i could book their resort for when they come up, changed into my swimsuit and headed back to where the boys were and we went in the pool at their complex. by that time i was full of energy again. a couple other friends met us there and we just limed there, enjoying each others company. when it got too cold, we went back inside, ate dinner and kept talking again, til all hours of the morning. eventually sleep called our names and it was time for bed.

when i woke up this morning, i officially booked the hotel for aunty serena and family and i am so excited! it's going to be wonderful. i was supposed to go to downtown orlando today, and was really excited since i had never been but i was dead and i just needed to nap. i slept for about four hours, and set my alarm because if not i knew trying to get to sleep tonight would be a challenge. when my alarm went off it was like waking up early in the morning for work, and i snoozed it a couple times before dragging myself out of bed. i then did my laundry and just enjoyed doing nothing all evening. skyping for a short time with my family was the perfect end to the perfect 'weekend,' and i literally can't stop smiling knowing that i'm seeing them in one week and six days - i just want to scream! i have a fourteen hour shift tomorrow (can't even wrap my head around the thought of that with how tired i am,) so it's time for me to get some sleep. as usual, hoping everyone is happy and missing everyone. <3

time's flying

it's been a whole week since my last post, but time has been flying. seriously, i can't believe how fast time is passing by. it's unreal. everything is still incredible. ya know, it's funny - i have less than eight weeks left of my program, and it still hasn't even fully hit me yet that i'm here. i honestly feel like i'm living in a dream; it just doesn't feel like real life. nothing extraordinary has happened in the past week that makes me feel so over the moon, but i guess just life in general has been extraordinary since my arrival on january 15th. i feel like i have a different outlook on life has changed so much; like, the little things that i used to worry about just don't matter anymore. material things don't matter anymore. it's the little things that matter. it's the intangible things that matter, and most importantly, the people in my life that matter. i've learned more about who i am as a person and what i want out of life. i've learned that i don't care what other people think about me, and i will stand my ground on decisions i've made and what i know is right (even though i was always like that,) and my morals are now stronger than ever before. i've learned to appreciate a lot more and i've been so happy since i've been here. i couldn't imagine how my life would be now if i hadn't come.

work has been really good. i'm becomig friendly with so many people and peco's bill, being the second busiest restaurant at disney, and the third biggest hamburger seller in the entire world (outnumbered by mcdonalds in japan, and cosmic rays also in disney world,) i'm always busy, which i love, because time goes by super fast, even when i get scheduled those lovely thirteen hour shifts, which i complain about before work, but when i actually get to work i really don't mind.

my three days off this week have been very relaxing. on monday, i just lay by the pool with majo, trying to get some colour! i was so proud of my 'tan' until i looked around and realized i'm still not very tanned. i'm probably the whitest person here. (not really, i'm exaggerating.. but still.) after that, we just chilled at home and then went to the movies at downtown disney. i automatically feel so happy whenever i go to downtown disney. it is just the cutest place ever. every single light, and all the sounds (especially the bands that play throughout the whole area) just make it the perfect setting for any occasion. on tuesday, niza and i went to animal kingdom to do some stuff that we'd never done before. the first thing we did was go to the festival of the lion king, which i hadn't seen since i was six. i sat down with my mouth open the whole time, in awe at everything. the show was absolutely beautiful and it really took my breath away. definitely kept me happy while we endured the blistering heat. orlando is baking us. the sun is so hot, and being outside for too long at a time gets highly uncomfortable. (this makes me very nervous for when my family comes IN LESS THAN THREE WEEKS BY THE WAY, because if you know my family at all, you will know that heat and harvey-reads do not go hand in hand at all.) it's not even a nice heat, like "oh wow, the sun feels so nice," (which i only say afor the first three minutes of being outside fter being in air conditioning for long periods of time,) it's like a sticky, humid heat, that makes you sweat without even moving. it's basically like being in a sauna. so we'll see how that goes when dad, mum and ben come (in less than three weeks!) after that, we watched the parade. the parade was very nice, and the floats were beautiful, but i got very restless because i felt like it was really long, and i don't know if it was me or the heat. after that we watched the bugs life 3d show and then headed home. when we got home we got dressed and then went to walmart. we were like children there and were just having so much fun. niza put me to the test and everything she pointed out, i found a reason why we "needed" it, and she found this very amusing. i literally went to walmart with her to accompany her, and to buy face wash, and ended up buying definitely more than just facewash. we missed the bus that we had orginally planned on taking, so we continued to enjoy ourselves while we killed time, and after a little while we decied to get in line. after being in line for about twenty minutes, i looked up and realized that we were in the 'express' checkout. while we were really cutting it close, we weren't even mad. we just laughed and laughed. and then we laughed even more when we got to the next checkout and saw the cart that belonged to the guy in front of us. it literally was full of nutella. i'm not even exaggerating this time. there was a mountain of the nutella& crackers snack set things. i asked him if i could take a picture, because i knew no one would believe me. on wednesday, niza and i woke up kind of late, and we were just lazy around the house for a couple hours, then took our time getting ready to go resort hopping.

we started at wilderness lodge, which was absolutely gorgeous. it was breathtaking. being there actually made us feel like we were up in the mountains somewhere. every pathway, every hallway, just everything was warm and romantic and perfect. we explored there for a little bit, then headed off to fort wilderness by boat. fort wilderness was huge, and it actually was impossible to walk around the resort, we couldn't even find the lobby. so with that, and the heat, we went back on the boat, where the wind felt amazingly refreshing. we got off at the contemporary, where we took the monorail to magic kingdom, so we could take a bus to coronado springs. coronado springs was also beautiful. its theme is old spain and mexico. everything from the architecture to the background music that played (inside and outside) was perfect, and it felt like if you were right there. disney is so particular about their theming and every resort i've been to so far has been so individual. even all the garbage cans and stop signs at all the resorts are different, to keep within the theme of each resort. we ate lunch there and then headed back home, where we relaxed for a little while and then got ready for the welcome party for all the new program participants.

today i had work, and it was in tortuga tavern. it was the second time i've worked there since training, and the one time before today i was bussing tables all day, so i felt a little out of my comfort zone today, but after a little while i got back into the hang of it and had it covered. the work day flew by, and when i clocked out at quarter to five, i almost felt guilty, like if i should be staying there until all hours into the night. i'm thinking tonight i should probably get a slightly early night since i work almost twelve hours tomorrow. crazy. hope everyone's well! missing everyone, as usual. xoxo

roller coasters in the rain

i am permanently exhausted, but that's only because: a) wednesday i went to universal studios.. will go into detail in a moment; and b) i've been working so hard... will also go into detail shortly after the before mentioned, a.

wednesday i had to meet my friends at a friends house at eight in the morning. therefore, i had to wake up at six thirty in the morning so i could catch a bus to be there on time. before i came to disney, i used to have no problem getting up early in the morning, which i'm sure i've mentioned before. now it is the most difficult thing. ever. when my alarm went off at six thirty, it was brutal and i wanted to kill my phone, but then i remembered how excited i was because we were going to universal. i dragged myself out of bed, and got ready, and got on the bus and got to my friends house. he of course was sleeping and we had to wake him up. i so could have slept later. after waiting a while, and after i bought my annual pass for universal (which is discounted for people who are living in florida, and which seems expensive but really ends up being a great price because if i even only go twice it works out to be cheaper than buying two tickets on two different days... i really just had to defend myself after of course my mother thought it was not a smart idea,) we headed off. we did all the rides and of course i was beyond nervous before every single one, with my hands sweating (attractive, i know,) and my heart beating out my chest. i've learned that disney roller coasters are for babies and old people - they are nothing compared to roller coasters at universal. we even did the roller coasters whereby you get absolutely drenched from head to toe in water. but ya know what? we're young, and yolo. i really didn't just say that. of course, it started to rain, because we're in florida and apparently now it rains every single day. but that didn't stop us. we continued to do what we were doing, in the rain. and let me tell you. doing roller coasters in the rain is awesome. the adrenaline rush you get intensifies so much more when its raining. besides the fact that the rain drops felt like needles and because my hair was wet it became super heavy and it was sort of unpleasant when it whipped me in my face, it was incredible. we saw a couple shows, which were super weird and we even saw their parade. after watching the parade (not even watching the whole thing) i realized how proud i am to work for disney. their parade was awful. it was just terrible. the characters didn't even look weird, the music was the most uninviting thing i had ever heard and the dancers were just so bad. you really need to see both for yourself and then make your own opinion, but i'm just saying.. it was the worst thing i had ever seen. but that didn't get us down. we still enjoyed the rest of the day immensly. after spending like nine hours at universal, we were all beyond exhausted and it was time for home. it took me so long to detangle my hair after it had gone crazy on roller coasters for nine hours (some roller coasters we even did more than once. they even have a roller coaster where you can pick your own song to listen to - we did that five times in a row - we just kept getting back in line every time we finished.) and bed had never felt so good.

waking up yesterday after universal was challenging, but i had to meet with my teacher of my online class before work. that went really well and he had lots of positive things to say about me. that was a great start to my day. then work yesterday was also really good. many managers and people i work with were recognizing my hard work and my guest interaction and they were making a point of telling me. it feels good to have people say nice things about you. i worked nearly twelve hours yesterday and it was hard work, and my eyes were burning from exhaustion, but all the positive feedback really gave me a strong desire to work harder. i was closing the restaurant as usual, and i was assigned to close an area i had never closed before. i felt so frustrated because i had never even been shown how and i had to do it by myself. but everyone was so nice and really helped me out when i needed it. today i kept getting more postive feedback, and that kept me going the eleven hours i had to work again. i feel like i worked so hard today because all the coordinators and managers kept telling me to do so many things, which is really okay, because i love being busy because it makes time go by so much faster. one of the things i had to do though, was throw away all the "expired" dairy products in the fridges in the counter of the restaurant. i have expired in quotations because they are technically not expired. the rule is that once they leave the storage cooler they have a lifetime of four hours, and if they aren't used in those four hours they have to be thrown away. and everything is always labelled, but sometimes people forget to change the label so a lot of things have to get spoiled when they aren't even bad. in total i threw away twenty-eight yogurts, thirty-four low fat milks and sixteen whole milks. i was absolutely disgusted. i had no idea how passionate i was about the whole "there are starving children everywhere, and we are throwing all this away?!" thing before tonight. yes, many food products are donated to hungry children and families organizations but i was repulsed at how much is actually wasted. it's so sad. but nonetheless, i did what i was told (but i made it known how terrible it was,) and i continued to do everything everyone asked me to do. i was glad that i was getting the recognition though. in fact, between yesterday and today, i received two gsf (great service fanatic) cards, so i felt rather proud of myself.

i am now beyond exhausted, and my eyes are burning and my feet are hurting, as well as my back. i feel like i'm a hundred years old (even though i'm the baby here.) 'my bed' has never felt more amazing and i am so excited to just sleep. i'm sure i'll wake up before, but just in case, i have my alarm set for two in the afternoon. i would actually love if i could sleep til then. i hope barbados is having better weather than "sunny florida!" lots and lots and lots of love to everyone!

still extraordinary

i thought i'd write a quick post before i went to bed, since i've been nagged for another one. the past few days have been extraordinary, as usual. i continue to love every second of life up at disney world.

last wednesday, i had to go to a class where we took this personality quiz type thing. after the quiz, which consisted of nearly two hundred questions, it told us our top five themes (which is out of hundreds of other themes.) it carefully chooses themes for each individual. my top five themes were futuristic, communication, empathy, positivity and strategic. they also gave us detailed reports specific to each person, and i sent it to mum to look over and she said it definitely was me. after that, i went to a friend from work's house. he's from mexico and he decided to cook mexican food for me and some of his other friends. we all limed together and had a great night. it was super fun. i continue to make new friends from all over the world every day and i still don't fully believe that this is really happening to me. it still hasn't hit me yet, and it's been four months. in fact, i just looked at the date while i wrote that, and surprised myself by seeing that it's been exactly four months today. wow. time has flown. in fact, i think time needs to actually slow down a little bit.

going back to work on thursday after three days off was a lot more difficult than anticpated. it felt like if had been on summer for three months and was going back to school for the first time. but nonetheless, i still enjoyed work, even in the sometimes unenjoyable times, like cleaning the garbage. i'm making more friendships at work and can always find people to laugh and joke with, which is nice. i also had to do a leadership check in for the school that supports me up here, tc3 (tompkins cortland community college.) i chose to speak with the manager of mine that i could more easily relate to. after speaking to him, i learned that he's only 23 and he is currently studying international business, he's done two college programs at disney, and is now doing his professional internship (where hundreds of people apply, and only seventeen are chosen,) and he has been a translator for the us embassy and hbo, and has even had his name in the credits of one of their films. he had a company whereby he and a friend of his did tours across america for tourists, especially europeans. in the past eight years, he has lived in eight different countries and he speaks four languages. and he's 23 years old. i don't think i have ever gained so much respect for one person in such a short period of time. also at work, they put up sign up sheets to get register and/or kitchen trained. i was the first person to sign up to get trained for the register so we'll see what happens. many people have told me not to do it because they say i'll hate it, but i decided not to listen to those people. and i'm going to go for it. the more i can do here the better, right?

the other night, when i came home from work, my roommates were sitting on our balcony, with music blaring and were just having a good time singing along to some of our favourite songs. of course, i had to get something and transform it into a microphone and sing my heart away until exhaustion took over in the early hours of the morning and it was time for bed. the unplanned nights are always the most fun. building 18 at vista must have hated us, but we didn't care. we just enjoyed each others company and it was lovely.
i worked for four days until sunday, and i was given another three days off. yesterday, niza and i went to magic kingdom so that i could pick up a cast member performance evaluation form from one of my leaders in my previous role. all in all, it was a really good evaluation and i didn't get any negative comments, so i'm content with it. i visited some people on main street and i was shocked that there had been some changes in such a short period of time. there were also a lot of new people that i didn't know but i saw many old friends and it was nice to see them. after that, niza and i went to tomorrowland where there were a couple things we had never done, like the people mover and the carousell of progress. we also met some characters, and i got some more signatures in my autograph book, which i am very proud of. it's filling up quite nicely. after that, she had to go to work so i headed home and slept for a little while. it was so awkward since i usually have my music playing, but unfortunately my headphones broke. i wish all of you could know what it's like to sit on a jam-packed bus, where everyone speaks a different language, and everyone tries to talk over each other. while i love the diversity of all the cultures here, sometimes it's much nicer to have music playing and to zone out for a little while. i came home and fell asleep, which was probably a bad idea, because when i actually tried to go to bed later that night, i couldn't. obviously.

today i did absolutely nothing and it was amazing. the extent of it all was when i had to go to walgreens with my roommate because she needed medicine and i needed milk. but other than that, my bed and i have been best friends. this evening a thunderstorm came out of nowhere. it was insane. we couldn't even see five feet in front of us. but it's calmed down a little bit now. i sort of wish it was still raining loud enough for me to hear, now that i am going to bed. i can't believe myself how early i'm going to sleep. but since i have been here, i have become horrible at waking up any time earlier than ten am (because like i explained to my parents today, since being here, my sleeping and eating schedule is so messed up.) but tomorrow i have to wake up at six thirty in the morning. it is going to be absolutely torturous but i am very excited because i'm going to universal with some friends. i feel like a kid the night before christmas. so excited. but that means it is time to attempt going to sleep at a decent hour. goodnight to everyone reading; i'm missing every single one of you. i can't believe i have less than two months until i am home! while i am ecstatic about this, my friends and i don't like to discuss it because that results in us getting quite emotional. we are all definitely having mixed emotions.  in fact, some of my friends' programs are coming to an end this week and next, and it's sad to have to say goodbye already to people that i've grown to love. but i hope we will all meet again sometime.

continue to be happy and count your blessings everyone. sweet dreams xoxo

mesmerized by hollywood

another perfect day was had here at disney world. i slept in again, til about eleven and then just did nothing all morning. although, me and two of my roommates coincidentally had breakfast at the same time, and we sat down together at our table and ate like a family - something i miss very much at home. eating together with my family is a tradition that i always overlooked what were cherishable moments, and is something that i won't take advantage of again. eating as a family, sharing stories, talking about each others days, plans, dreams, needs and wants (which my family always says i have too much of) is a blessing in itself; it's another reminder of how fortunate i am to have the perfect family i have. i also never thought i would appreciate our kitchen table as much as i do now. it's things in our house like the kitchen table, the couch in the tv room, the bar, our beds, and the furniture in our gallery where my family and friends sit and chat for ages, creating special moments without even knowing it, and that's what makes it our home. i miss my home, and all the love and laughter (and occasional arguing and yelling) that comes with it.

after lazying around for a couple hours, i went to hollywood studios. there was so much there that i didn't even know existed! it was incredible! i was with a couple of friends and i just had a smile on my face for the whole day, once again. they were talking about how the magic has kind of disappeared for them since working here, but the magic continues to grow for me, and i continue to be mesmerized every single day. we went to the pixar animation studios, where we met up with woody and buzz, where woody did a little break dancing and buzz did the robot. after that we went to watch the indiana jones movie filming which was insanely cool. i felt like i was watching a movie, but it was real life. i still can't even fully comprehend everything that i saw. i don't know how it was possible for them to do some of the stuff they did. after that, we went and got pictures with mike and sully from monsters inc. there we had the most awkward group hug but i was so thrilled to meet them. afterwards, we went to watch the beauty and the beast show. now since beauty and the beast is one of my favourite disney movies, i was completely in awe the whole time. the music and the singing and the real life characters were all incredible. it was so emontionally connecting and it was magnificent how they summed up beauty and the beast into a twenty minute show. it was spectacular. after that we went to the animation place where a bunch of different characters were at their stations, meeting and greeting guests, signing autographs and taking pictures, including belle in her blue dress! i was so excited, i felt like a little kid. when it was finally my turn, i gave her my autograph book to sign, even though i got her signature when i went with eri to see the princesses, but this time, she made it so special, she wrote "love belle" on it, drew a rose, and gave it a kiss! i was head over heels. after that, we went to take a picture with captain hook, but he had to go, so we waited in line for sorcerer mickey. pooh was nearby but i decided that since i have at least five different pictures with him, i'd save him for last, but by the time we were finished, he was gone too. we then went to see a little show about animation and how they choose characters and draw them and whatnot, and that was really interesting, and very funny at the same time. last but not least, we went to rock n roller coaster, which is the first roller coaster i ever did when i came up here in january. i hadn't done it since so i was excited. but as per usual, when we were waiting in line, i was extremely nervous but it was so thrilling. it was amazing. my throat's now a little scratchy from screaming, since this time i kept my eyes open the whole time so i saw everything. 

i just couldn't believe hollywood studios was all that it was. there's still more i have left to do, but i will get it all done in time. today was just another regular, fantastic, magical, exciting day. this really isn't getting old yet..

starlit party

tonight was so amazing. i feel like i just came home from a mixture of harbor lights and the crane all in one day. the disney college program took over one of disney's waterparks, typhoon lagoon, and had a huge party for all the college program, international college program, professional internship program and culinary program participants. it was the first time this event has ever happened and it was absolutely incredible. i didn't know what to expect going there, but i had such a great time. when the special buses they had for us pulled into typhoon lagoon, we were greeted by upbeat, excited and welcoming cast members who got the party started for us before we even got inside. the first thing they did was hand us t-shirts on the way in. when we got in, they had a stage set up on the "beach" with an mc keeping the party going, and he was doing a super job. music was blaring and multicoloured lights were flashing, getting everyone hyper and excited. in the back of the water park, where their quick service food location is, they had a buffet dinner set up for us, and snacks, including mickey bars. at eight thirty, they turned the wave pool on for us and even though it was a pool, with fake waves, it was great, and reminded me so much of home. playing in the water with music in the background was so nice. the whole night didn't even feel like real life. while being back and forth between the dance floor and the wave pool, i saw so many people i know. i saw people i used to work with on main street, and people i work with now at pecos, and people i know from just being here. i didn't realize how many people i have actually met until tonight. i have literally met people from all corners of the world - it's incredible. we got bombarded by a ship of pirates. (is it a ship of pirates? i don't know. maybe i should google it.) tango of pirates (yes, i did know that and did not have to google it.) after taking a couple pictures and having fun on the dancefloor, it was time for the wave pool again. i met up with a friend of mine, and we decided to go do all the rides. they only had one ride closed, which was because there were no lights inside so it wasn't safe for us to do it. they normally have it up and running, but the water parks always close no later than five. the rides were good too. of course i was nervous right before doing all of them, but like everything else, they really weren't so scary - babies could do them! afterwards, we went back to the wave pool and then back to the dance floor again, where we were surprised by beautiful fireworks that made the night even more spectacular. unfortunately, the party ended at eleven, but i'm sure everyone could have gone all night long! as soon as eleven hit, the music was shut off and everyone had to head back to the buses. that was really the only iffy part, because everyone was leaving at the same exact time so it was jampacked. but like my friend said, we really couldn't complain because it was such a great night. i couldn't keep my eyes open on the way home, and fell asleep. when i got home, i went straight into the shower where i spent nearly forty minutes trying to detangle my hair. it was a mess. exactly like coming home from a beach day in barbados, and i'm the same kind of tired i am when i come home from the beach as well. i feel like i spent all day at the beach and i have sun stroke, even though our party started at seven pm, and there was no sun due to very overcast weather. also, after a beach day, i have my slippers outside, and my bathroom is very tastefully decorated with my wet swimsuit, clothes and towel hanging up to dry. at home, i would get quarreled with about this but i honestly have no where else to put everything! and maybe i would have been more considerate if my roommate was home, but she went on a cruise today so i'm all by myself! my room is so lonely now! but i can barely keep my eyes open, but i'm just so happy. and i'm so happy to sleep. and i'm so happy to have another day off tomorrow. so another day where i don't have to set an alarm, because i have no obligations, and no class, and nothing important to do. it's pure bliss. another night of going to sleep with a smile on my face. i still can't believe i'm here. wow.

mouseters and ducktorate

this week has been a good week so far. it's had a lot of 'lasts,' but it's the start of a new month. it was my last guest service class, my last corporate analysis class, and i got the last navy blue michael kors wallet at the outlet for half the price it usually costs. clearly that's the least important out of the above but just thought i'd mention it. monday was my last guest service class. i finished the class with perfect attendance, which i got a certificate for, and i also got a certificate for my mouseters degree (kind of like masters degree, but we're in disney... mickey mouse; thus the mouseters degree.) today was my last corporate analysis class. i got another certificate for perfect attendance and in a couple days i get to go collect my ducktorate degree (like a doctorate, but we're in disney... donald duck; thus the ducktorate.) today was extra special because the embassador of walt disney world, norman, came to speak to us. it was fantastic. he's young, full of energy and hilarious. i have never been so intrigued in a class or seminar or anything of the suchlike in my life. i was so excited to hear what he was going to say next. he told us about being an ambassador, the process it takes to get there and a couple inside things. it sounds like it would be boring but it was truly motivating and inspiring. i told him it was my friends birthday and he ended up singing happy birthday to her in german (he actually speaks four languages,) so that was pretty impressive as well. we even got a class picture with him. my teacher took one with my camera, so i'll be sure to post it as soon as i get a chance. i'm still continuing to enjoy everything. next week i have three days off, which is weird, but i'm definitely not complaining. in a few days niza will be going on a cruise, and it's going to be so lonely sleeping in here by myself for four nights! i can't imagine how quiet it's going to be! still miss home and my friends and family but i know that just next month i'll be able to see mum, dad and ben and i am so excited! absolutely cannot wait! still wishing everyone constant happiness always, and sending lots of love.

gross garbage

so yesterday i was begged to skip class, because i'm young and i need to live my life and i need to do things and have fun. i am so glad i didn't skip class. corporate analysis wasn't held in the classroom at one of the housing complexes as usual - it was in magic kingdom. our class was split into groups of five and we had to first go on the assigned ride and answer a few questions about it. after that we had sort of a treasure hunt to find hidden mickeys in specific locations and find out the answers to trivia questions. the last part was that we had to go downstairs in the tunnel and go on a computer and research some things on a disney website. it was pretty fun, and it was nice to hang out with the people from my class in not such a 'professional' environment. (i put professional in quotes because while we have to dress professionally and we're in the corporate analysis class, our teacher is amazing and totally laid back and it doesn't feel so blah.) after class was done, we hung out for a little while longer, and then i went and visited some of my main street friends that were working and got some more pictures, which was nice. after that, i came home and we had a movie night. we went and rented four movies but only ended up watching one. i don't know why we always set such high standards for movie nights. from the time i was a little kid and a movie night was planned, tons and tons of movies would be in the lineup and only one or two would ever get watched. it was nice to have a chill night in preparation for work today.

today i worked over eleven hours. it was my first day working since my assessment. for the majority of the day i was behind the counter, filling orders and serving guests there food, and helping them carry trays every so often when they had their hands full with children or lots of food. time went super fast there because i was always, always busy. around nine thirty i got a new assignment to hep close the dining room. i have definitely not worked that hard since i have gotten here. making the whole dining room "show ready" by cleaning tables, sweeping, cleaning the garbage cans, taking the garbage to the chute, and other tasks that resulted in me feeling absolutely disgusting, not feeling my feet, back aching and over exhausted. it really wasn't so bad when i was doing it but the after-effects are killing me. but to be honest, i really don't mind. i feel after just this one day of work, i can handle anything and my future jobs will be a breeze after having this to compare it to.  and i really don't mind the hard work. i was expecting hard work when i came. it's the gross garbage all the time that gets to me. but i hear i'll get accustomed to it. when i got home and got in the shower, i didn't want to get out. i could've stayed in there forever. three months of this is definitely going to be physically taxing but i know it's going to be very beneficial.

anyways, i just wanted to write a quick post to update but sleep is my priority right now. only nine and a half hours tomorrow! missing barbados' beauty every day and i am so thankful i have such an amazing place to boast about when people ask me questions. it really is pituresque and it always brings a smile to my face. sending lots of love from disney!

hollywood

yesterday was my day off. well sort of. i had class my guest service class in the morning. but this time, it wasn't at the usual classroom we normally go to; it was at the animal kingdom lodge, which was really interesting. i got a ride with a friend of mine instead of taking the bus. that worked out great, but because we didn't know where we were going, we left super early, and got there an hour early. but nonetheless, we made the most of it and went and got a quick breakfast and sat in the lobby and enjoyed it, while the rest of the class filtered in. we went under the hotel's tunnel into a huge boardroom where a class-like setting was created for us and we just talked about different services that the different types of resorts at disney world provide. after class, i was going to do my laundry and go to costuming to get new costumes since my costumes get so disgusting on a day since i swim in garbage (pretty much.) they definitely do not last as long as they did on perfectly clean mainstreet where the garbage smells like candy and chocolates (wise words from a friend of mine, which are actually very true.) i got the costumes, but couldn't be bothered to do my laundry since plans were made to go to the movies at downtown disney to see the lucky one.

the movie was great, and exactly my type of movie. funny thing is, i only read the book because of the movie trailer, but obviously, the book was way better. but still both were amazing, and as usual, i shed a few tears. i'm such a softie these days (years.) afterwards, we walked around downtown disney, which is always one of my favourite things to do. it's so simple but everything is so beautiful. i can't get enough. i told niza i wanted to live there, and while i thought she might have been a bit sad she figured she would just get two beds instead of one. we got hot chocolate from ghiradelli, which was nice because it was freezing outside! much like it is today. it has been so chilly the past couple days and it's so annoying. it's nearly may! and silly me for thinking that i wouldn't need a coat for my new costume this time of year, right?

my assessment for training was today. work was scheduled from 9.15 in the morning until 5.45 this eveneing, which was really upsetting because 'night of stars' was on tonight at hollywood studios, which is a talent competition for all the students on the college and international programs only. our trainer today was a little old lady called gwen. she was such a trip. she was so confused and me and my other friends that i was in training with couldn't help but laugh. she was crazy. she was shorter than all of us, and had gray long hair that she obviously took the time to curl because it bounced with pride every step she took. we (i) kind of took the mickey out of her (been trying to fit that in somewhere since i've been at disney because it's just hilarious) because she was giving us a tour of frontierland and adventureland where our restaurants are (even though we already had one,) and was taking us to all the different stores and attractions and we told her we wanted to do so many things, like take pictures with pooh and tigger, and ride splash mountain and pirates of the caribbean, and she went and was talking to all the attendants asking if it was okay. she was a bit afraid to do splash mountain, and didn't want to wait in line to take pictures with pooh, so she took us to pirates of the caribbean. and i think she was excited because she hadn't been on since before it was refurbished, but she refused to sit on the end, so she sat herself awkwardly in between me and my two other friends. and since she was sitting next to me, i excitedly pointed out everything to her, as if a child was sitting next to me in awe at the ride. she teased us about getting an er (early release) because the manager's assessment usually didn't take long so we were so excited that we might have been able to get to go to night of stars, but then she broke the news to us that the assessment wasn't until three in the afternoon. even though we were a bit disappointed, she made it a little bit better by taking us to the country bear jamboree (which is the most boring show ever, but it wasn't so bad since we were technically at work.) after that she told us we needed our break, which was kind of funny because it was as if we were working hard all day. but clearly, we didn't complain and we took our break happily and ate together in the mousketeria, where we chatted and chatted, finding out about each other and each other's countries (barbados, mexico and china - quite an international group, eh?) after break, we had our written assessment, which was multiple choice and it was a breeze. we flew by that, and then the manager came in for the little chat, which was his assessment. he asked questions, and i was a bit nervous, which ended up in me being more talkative than normal, and he eventually told the others not to be afraid to talk. he then gave us a quick assignment (whereby we had to look around the restaurant and find one good thing and one bad thing tying into the basics (safety, courtesy, show and efficiency), and report back to him.) after that, he said he deemed us assessed and let us go. little miss gwen gave us our er and we still had time to make it to night of stars, which started at 6.

after the bus ride home, we got off at our respective stops and rushed to get ready and my friend met me at my bus stop a little while after with his friends. we took a special bus to the night of stars location in hollywood studios, and when we parked, we were greeted by a friendly cast member who told us that it was full. even though we didn't get to see the talent competition, we were still in hollywood studios and could still make good use of our time. it was just me and the boys, and they were astonished by the fact that i had never done tower of terror, which of course they made me do. i was so nervous waiting and the ride was insane. they kept scaring me and jumping me making me think something else was going to happen, but it really wasn't that bad. it gives you such a unique feeling and energy that i would imagine is hard to feel anywhere else. everytime the elevator dropped down, i felt my hair flying up, and my feet wouldn't even stay secure on the ground. but it was a good thrill. after that we got something quick to eat, and then we went to watch fantasmic, which is an illuminated show, with characters, including mickey, who of course is the star. the show was packed with thousands of people and we had to stand but it was okay. the show was incredible, and the music that went with it definitely triggered a little emotion, as all the disney shows seem to do. my favourite part, was when some of the princesses and their princes sail around the little lagoon or whatever it is on boats, dancing to a mixture of the princesses' movie songs. it was beautiful. afterwards, we went to do tower of terror again, but it was closed. so we headed back to the bus stop to get the bus home, which was so crowded since everyone was at hollywood studios. we managed to get on the bus, but we couldn't sit and i felt exhausted. but the day was so good. i laughed constantly and i met new people, which i always love, and i answered tons of questions about barbados and myself, which i never really have a problem with either. still, no one believes two things about me: one, that i'm eighteen. and two, that i'm from barbados because i'm so white. one guy said "i understand that you're not black, but you don't even have a little tan." that one cut like a knife. i know i can't tan! i'm kidding, i don't really care, but it's so funny because no one believes anything i say about myself. i probably could tell people anything now. i may just try that game. i continue to have great times and alongside that, i continue to miss my family and friends and i hope everyone is still safe and is laughing lots and lots. love to everyone, as always.

so far so good

there must be a storm or something going on outside, because it is the first time i have heard the rain from inside my apartment since i got here. i can hear the thunder and see the lightning as well, so it must be crazy out there. thank god i got home when i did or i would've been stuck trying to shelter. currently, the weather on my computer says it's cloudy. you can see how misleading that can be, and how annoying it is when i try to find out daily forecasts.

i just completed my last day of training, and so far so good. my first day on my own is tomorrow, for just six hours and then the next day is my assessment day. the day after that, the hard work starts and i'll be working eleven hours, and ten hours the day after that. i gotta brace myself, as i've never worked that many hours at disney before. on my first day of training i was trained in tortuga, which i mentioned before in my last post. day two was counter at pecos bill. training for pecos has to be divided into three days since it's so big. the counter really wasn't as difficult as i thought it was going to be. doing the drinks wasn't that tough either. granted, every time it was time for us to practice on stage, it was relatively quiet, but that's okay. yesterday, the third day of training was the toppings bar, or what we call the fixings bar since we're apparently western themed, don't mind we're all dressed like mexicans (not to steriotype, just how mexicans used to dress 'back in the day.') today, was the dining room. today was a lot of garbage. literally. we had to learn all the trash runs, and clean the most disgusting things i have ever seen in my life. (i'm probably exaggerating a little bit, but seriously, i wish you could try what we have to do just one day so you'd understand.) also, we learned how to greet guests (when we're 'greeter 1' we have to use a puppet and a cowbell,) and how to clean the dining room after guests as well. while it seems like a horrid job, i had a lot of fun tonight with the other people i was training with, and our trainer was hilarious. i don't think he meant to be funny, but he was very stern and straight forward, but made the funniest innappropriate jokes. he was great. i laughed a lot tonight.

so far, in all my training days, i have seen friends from main street who happened to come in for food. it was great to see them briefly, and i will definitely be going back to pick up some extra shifts because i really miss it! but so far it's not as bad as everyone told me it was going to be, but i guess i haven't really started yet. but so far, so good!!

p.s. for those of you who don't know, ben got his license & i can imagine how excited he must be! he's only been chomping at the bit since the day he knew what a car was! so good job ben! i'm proud of ya. drive safe and have fun. i know you'll be more than eager to do anyone's chores and errands for them, so between now and july, i'll create a huge list of places i need you to go for me;) hope everyone's doing well! xoxo

new day one

yesterday me and two of my main street friends were in paradise. we went to epcot and explored even more. during the time there, we went and ate lunch (slash dinner) at an italian restaurant. lord have mercy. focusing on the menu was near to impossible as every single man working there (who are real italians) were beyond attractive. we were like kids in a candy store, beyond excited. we sat there, more than content, eating our lunch with goofy smiles on our faces. we also went to germany, where even more cute guys were hiding in the shops in the back. we were all giddy with excitement, not even caring about any other countries other than those two. but of course, the day wouldn't be complete without me embarrassing myself. multiple times. one time i yelled out "where's marco?!" who is this guy i remembered seeing in italy last time i went to epcot, and of course, as soon as i said his name, he walked right past, greeting us with a lovely "ciao, regazzi." secondly, i was looking at some beaded bracelets, and i pulled the entire shelf down. my friends obviously could have helped me, but they stood up laughing at me, while i struggled to get all the bracelts back on the shelf. thirdly, i walked straight into a pole, hitting my head. but after eighteen years, i am quite accustomed to embarrassing myself in public accidentally, that i was barely even phased. friends of mine were going out last night, and of course, the only day i had training for my new job super early in the morning was this morning, so i was a good girl, and went to bed early.

waking up at six am this morning was brutal, but i took it well, and only snoozed my alarm twice. i got ready in my new costume and headed off to my first day of training. i was early and was the only person training for peco's billl/tortuga tavern. peco's bill is the main restaurant i'll be working at, one of the top five busiest restaurants in the world apparently, which is in frontierland. tortuga tavern is in adventureland, opposite pirates of the caribbean. backstage, they are very close to each other, and i'll wear the same costume for both. today i trained for tortuga, and i started in the kitchen, where i learned to prep some very easy things that they serve. then i moved to the counter outside, where there are like four different tasks i had to learn, and believe it or not, getting the drinks orders was the most challenging. you have to be very quick and know when to clear the computer screen in time to show that you've completed an order and know how to distinguish the cups right so that everyone else knows which drink is which. that was definitely the toughest part. everything is so drastically different from main street, especially the break room. in the main street break room, there are tons of big tables, tons of vending machines and a little store to buy microwavable food and other things that you can't get in the vending machines. in the peco's break room, there are two vending machines, six little tables and a bathroom with one toilet. main street had a huge bathroom with many toilets. i'm sure i will get the hang of things soon and will like it soon. a cool thing about working at tortuga, is that we have the option to get a scar painted on our faces, to keep the theming of pirates going. i can't guarantee that i will always do that, because working in the counter gets pretty hot since all the heaters are on too keep the food warm. but it does look pretty cool.

the best part of my day was when i was leaving, i was walking in the tunnel (which is a long walk,) and a guy in a little car thing that transports goods (don't know what it's called,) offered me a ride. so that was exciting.

i have the day off tomorrow, besides a couple hours of class in the middle of the day, but i'm still nervous for day two of training, which is actually in peco's bill. but fingers crossed it will be alright. i miss main street but am looking forward to all the new beginnings...