Gore and catgut available at the Rose and Crown!

I haven't blogged for a while but it's only because I've been pretty busy. I've been working and when I'm not working I've been trying to learn the menu. I've already taken the pre-service test (and passed) so now I have to spiel menu items to three managers and a chef. It means I need to know every one of the items we serve and what goes with it and descriptions. I like studying (which is fortunate) but I'm really struggling because I'm working to a timescale. I've told management I'm ready to spiel on Thursday which gives me two days off to learn everything. I can now do all the appetizers and most of the entrees. My way of remembering things isn't exactly PC but it really helps. For example, our herb roasted lamb is marinated with garlic, olive oil and rosemary which I remember by thinking GOOR (gore). Also, I think of CATGUT when I'm describing the chicken because it helps me remember Canola and olive oil with whole Garlic cloves and Rosemary and Thyme. It was originally COGRAT (Canola, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and thyme) but catgut makes me laugh and I remember it better. If Disney knew I'm describing their menus with words like gore and catgut, goodness only knows what they would think! Still, if it works, I don't see any problem with it!

I've been ER'ed the last two days I've been in. That means "Early Release" and it happens when we have too many people at work and not enough to do. I probably shouldn't have taken todays as we don't get paid for ER's but it is so tempting. Imagine working in a 90 degree heat where you're standing on your feet the whole time and there's very few guests so alot of the time you're just standing there. Now imagine someone says, "hey, do you want to go home?" Trust me, even though the little voice in the back of your head is saying, "you need the money", the rest of you is picturing a cool blue swimming pool and the chance to jump in it! I think today will be one of my last ER's though as I had something I actually wanted to do (menu study). I need to start realising money has to come from somewhere so if I don't have any plans, I need to work. Still, we won't get ER'ed once we're in service so I may as well enjoy it while I can.

I'm heading to the bank in a little while to arrange online banking. I'll be taking my "cheat sheets" with me so I can study the menu on the bus. I've made some cards with the menu items on so I can carry them around and learn "on the go". I should definately be ready for Thursday at this rate.

The only other bit of news is Hurricane Ike. He is a massive catergory 4 hurricane and right now he's just to the south of us battering the hell out of Cuba. He's been a bit erratic and last night, people feared he was going to come barrelling through Florida. They called for a mandatory evacuation of the Florida Keys and Bush declared a state of emergency for Florida but it looks like we may be lucky this time. As my little map shows, he's going to bypass us and head off into the gulf but nothing is certain with storms as dangerous as these. Everyone is keeping a very close watch on Ike, as well as all the other storms that will form behind him (at the moment, Josephine and Kyle). I know alot of people are excited to witness a hurricane and I've actually had people wishing for Ike to come our way but they have no concept of the raw power in these storms and the damage they can cause. I'm hoping they won't have to find out but it's a very active season this year. We're not even at the height of Hurricane season yet (that's next week) but we're already up to the letter L (that's 12 named storms this year). Well, all we can do is wait and see and deal with things as they happen. I personally think Ike will miss us (though I pity Cuba) but they'll be others. Don't worry though, I'll keep you up to date.

The hurricane that never was

Hi everyone,

Well, yesterday was a pretty eventful day. We've been on tropical storm watch here in Florida with the advancement of Tropical Storm Fay. All day yesterday, people have been saying, "she'll be here by 8am" then it was "she'll be here by 10am" and so it continued at 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm but all we got was alot of rain. Alot of people were almost excited to experience a tropical storm and I suppose we should all be grateful that she never really put in an appearance but it had been built up so much we were at least expecting something. We were told to pull our beds out from the windows in case the wind shattered them in the night and everyone had to pick stuff up off the floor in case of flooding. However, aside from light drizzle, we had nothing from Fay. One newspaper called her "a damp squib" which I agree with. Still, a few papers are signing off with the cheerful "we'll consider Fay a practise for the next one". That's nice to hear, huh?

Yesterday was the throw out for a few people in our pavillion. Throw outs are great fun for everyone involved (unlike Throw In's that seem to be fun for everyone except the people being thrown in). It's when people get to the end of their year here and call everyone together to get rid of any stuff that they can't take home with them. The people going home hold each item up so people can see it and the first person to yell "shotgun" gets the item. There was all sorts of stuff being thrown out last night; fancy dress costumes, pillows, bedding, ornaments, hats, TV's, DVD players, CD players, books, posters...basically all the crap you accumulate in a year. I managed to get a DVD player for our apartment as well as a small plastic set of drawers, some books, a Tinkerbell ornament and an Ariel costume. The good thing is that at the end of my year, I'll throw all this stuff back out to people coming in! It's almost like recycling, in a way. It's a great idea.

I've been out here for three whole weeks now and I'm no longer considered a "newbie" because yesterday we had a whole bunch of "newbies" arrive. No one has met them yet and we don't expect to see them for the first few days because they'll be training. I'm looking forward to meeting them though. I feel a bit sorry for them as the weather is awful. I'm looking out of the window right now and it's drizzling. If it wasn't for the fact I can see palm trees, I'd think I was home in England. When they get time off to go to the parks this week, it'll be in the rain. Still, they'll be out here a year so they'll get their share of sun.

I've got one more day left in the Chippie and then I have two whole days off! I'm planning on visiting the Florida Mall tomorrow as that's indoors under cover. As to Friday, I haven't yet decided. If the weathers okay, I might head for Seaworld but I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, until next time....

I'm here!!!!

Well, I’m finally here in Florida! Yay! It’s so difficult to believe as I seem to have been counting down for absolutely ages. However, it’s true. I really am writing this while sitting at a desk inside apartment 1615 of The Commons!

Tuesday’s flight went fine. I got to the airport in plenty of time and met up with Tino, Lauren, Nic, Josh, Andy and another Lauren. We all went and had a drink and then we boarded the plane. The flight was a very long one. I was sitting next to Tino but time still went fairly slowly. The others were all sitting together, except for poor Lauren who was on her own, bless her. However, every time I went over, she was happily chatting with the people next to her. Finally, the flight was over and we all collected our luggage and made our way out of the airport. We hung around a bit because we were meant to be meeting Pippa but eventually we figured she must have gone on ahead so we caught a taxi to Vista Way.

When we arrived at Vista, Pippa was already there. We were welcomed by some cast members and given an envelope full of information, plus our room keys. We also had to watch a short video. It wasn’t very long, only about five minutes. After that, we were taken to our accommodation. The room numbers are four digits and the first two tell you which building you’re in. I’m in building 16 which is about smack bang in the middle. It’s only a short walk up to the clubhouse.

I arrived at my apartment and unlocked the door. Oh my goodness! The apartments are huge! I think I could play badminton in our bathroom! I made a video in which I sound hysterical but this place really is gigantic! I noticed some luggage in one of the rooms and I checked the luggage tag but there was no name. I noticed the letters PHL so I guessed my roommate was from the Philippines. I unpacked some stuff and then headed up to the clubhouse to catch the bus to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately; they don’t run the bus to Wal-Mart on a Tuesday so I had to get a cab. It cost $12 each way so it’s not a cheap way of doing things but I desperately needed bedding. I shot round Wal-Mart and then caught the taxi back.

When I got in, a very pretty blond girl came towards me. I remember thinking, “she doesn’t look very Philippino”. She wasn’t. Her name is Vikki from the UK (yes!) and she flew via Philadelphia (hence the PHL). She’s really nice and after chatting for a while, we went to bed.

Around midnight last night, I heard a noise in the front room. I came out to see who it was and met our other two roommates who had just arrived. Saudi and Nami from Japan. They’re doing food and beverage too. By this time I’d been up for 23 hours so I muttered an apology and went to bed.

I woke up early on Wednesday (I must still be on British time) and had a shower. The shower here is great; it’s so easy to use. I put my hair up because today we had to be “Disney Look” from the shoulders up. Then we went up to the clubhouse. We met up with everyone else and we also met Heather from the UK. She’s been out here for a while and had come to meet us. Next Wednesday she’s invited us all to a “get to know everyone” party which should be good.

The morning was spent doing boring but necessary paperwork. We had to pay the housing assessment fee and they take a photo for your Disney ID. They also go through the 1001 ways you can get terminated. Then we were let loose for the rest of the day. I went back to Wal-Mart to get some groceries plus some “roommate bits”. There are a few things the roommates share (such as toilet roll, cleaning supplies, bin liners etc.) We each put in $10 and I got it all while I was there. I took my suitcase along because there was no way I could have carried it all back otherwise. I struggled as it was. Still, we now have dish cloths and tea towels and all the other bits and pieces we need.

I plugged into the Internet in the evening. For the people coming out, you need to get a Cat 5 Ethernet cable for Internet access (if you have a laptop). You just plug it in and away you go. It’s quite easy. I was able to Skype my mum and let her know I arrived safely. For the rest of the evening, I hung out with the others and Andy and I went out for food. Then it was straight back to bed.

It's now Thursday morning and I haven't got any sessions until 12.30pm so both me and Vikki are catching up with home. That's all I have to tell you at the moment but I'll write again soon!

Here I goooooooo.........

Okay, I leave tomorrow! I am sooo excited but also kind of nervous. When I think about Florida, I feel excited but a little bit sick. Guess that's to be expected.

I met up online with a few of the others I've been talking to. We're all on the same flight so we checked in online and picked our seats. I'm in 15A, right next to the window and I'm sitting next to the amazing Tino (complete drama queen!) We have loads of leg room but I think we have to open the door if the plane crashes. Hopefully that won't happen!

Lauren, Nic, Andy and Josh are in seats 20 D,E,F and H. That's not too far away from us so we should all know each other pretty well by the end of the flight. I printed out my boarding pass and all of a sudden, it feels real. I'm about to go through and check I've packed everything I can and then I'm going to just relax and chill out because tomorrow is going to be so hectic!

I'm up at 5.00am so I can shower and double check I've got everything. We're leaving the house at 6.30am to beat the rush hour and I'm meeting the others at the bagdrop at 9am. Aside from that, I don't know what to expect. I'm "winging" it!

Sunrise - The Demon Moulting Cat!

I went to town yesterday to use the photocopier in the library. I photocopied all the documentation I'm going to need. I put in too much money and as the machine didn't give change, I ended up with about four extra copies of my birth certificate. Still, I'm sure they'll come in useful.

I finally got round to packing today. I know most people who are going the same day (next Tuesday) are already packed. However, I prefer to do my packing later because I hate having to think "oh, I need that, I can't pack it yet". At least now, all I need to put in is my toothbrush, razor and my diary.

I got everything out onto my bed in order to pack it. I spread it out in piles such as "night stuff", "underwear", "swimwear" etc. I was dashing all over the house trying to find certain items that I wanted to pack. I must have looked through the washing box four times for a certain red top without success. I looked again hours later and it was there. God knows how I missed it!

Anyway, it was hot today and my bedroom is the size of a mousehole and extremely stuffy. I left the stuff on my bed and went downstairs to cool off and watch Friends. I forgot one rather important thing though. My cat, Sunrise. Sunny will sit where ever you don't want her to. Buy her a catbed, she'll ignore it. Put down your visa papers, she'll park herself on top of them! I wouldn't mind so much except she is moulting something awful. I have no idea how she still has fur, the amount I'm finding all over the house. When I'd finished laughing at the exploits of Joey and Chandler, I went back upstairs. Sunny was laying across most of the clothes on my bed! I shooed her off but they were so furry, I almost mistook one of my socks for a mouse and battered it to death! I had to wash everything again. I put the remaining piles in my case then headed for the washing machine. Guess who was sitting in my case when I returned?!? I love my cat, I really do but I swear she was doing her best to wind me up today! Still, I'll miss the little furball.

So, that's my main case all packed. I've got all of Sunday and Monday to think if there's anything else I need to put in there. At the moment, I think I've got everything I need. I still need to sort out my hand luggage but I know what I'm taking in there too so it won't be a major job. I kind of wish I was going tomorrow because then I wouldn't have to wait. Still, the next two days will pass quite fast. I still need to get a couple of case padlocks plus a combination lock for my locker in Florida.

Right, well, I'm off to watch some more Friends. Only three more days!

Eight Days and Counting

Wow, time is creeping up on me now. In only 8 days I'll be on a plane on my way to Florida! Yikes, that seems really close now.

I'm all sorted with everything I need to do. I've got my visa, flight ticket and insurance. I've even got my US currency. It feels a little like I'm carrying around the bank set from Monopoly but I'll get used to dollars again. I remember the last time I came back from working in America, I was amazed by the shape of a British 50p piece! It seemed so strange to me after quarters and dimes!

The last few days have been taken up with seeing family and friends to say goodbye. I've been up to Shropshire to say goodbye to my best friend, Louise and yesterday my little brother came down from Norwich to wish me luck. Bless him.

I don't think I really realised before but I'm going to be away from my family for an entire year! That's the longest I've ever gone. In fact, it's twice as long as one of my average trips. I'm going to miss everyone loads but the one I'm most worried about is my little niece, Isobel. She's two at the moment and the most amazing little girl! I'm going to be gone for a third of her entire life! I'm so scared she'll forget her Auntie Tori. I love that little girl so much. When I get back, she'll be three and a half! Nearly school age! Scary.

The next few days are pretty busy for me. Tomorrow I'm going out with my sister, Karen and little Izzy. Then I'm spending Wednesday with mum and my younger sister, Toni, has asked for a "sister bonding day" on Thursday which is really sweet....I'm hoping to start packing on Friday. I know some of the others who are on my flight have packed already but I'll wait a while yet.

Eight days to go. Yikes.....

Introduction, cringeworthy names and nine hour flights!

Hi, I'm Tori. I'm an English girl and I've recently been accepted to be part of the Cultural Representative Program at Disney World in Florida. It's a year long program so I've decided to keep a blog for it. Blogging is a new thing for me. I keep a diary but actually putting all my thoughts and feelings out there on the internet for anyone to read? Well, that's something a little different.

I've done quite a bit of travelling over the last few years (that makes me sound so old!) I've worked at a summer camp, did a bit of repping in France and Menorca, a little backpacking in Thailand and Australia and a bit of volunteering out in Africa. I've also worked for Disney before. I worked onboard the Disney Wonder, one of their cruise ships. The hours were crazy. Seventy hours a week (that's ten hours a day) without a single day off in a four and a half month contract. It was exhausting to the extreme. The video above shows a bit of my life on the high seas! I sound like a pirate!

The hours put me off Disney for quite a while but then I learnt about the CRP (Cultural Representative Program - Disney LOVES acronyms!). You get two days off a week so the working hours aren't so important. I can do 16 hour days if I need to as long as I know I can get some time to recover from it! Over the last few months, I've been organising everything I need for my trip. I've sorted out my flight, got my visa, paid the insurance and even got chatting to a few other people who will be doing the same thing as me. It's nice to know other people are in the same boat as me. This time not literally! I just hope I get on well with everyone. I should do as they all seem really great. Luckily, we're all on the same flight so we'll either become good friends or kill each other on the nine hour flight to Florida. I'm hoping for the former.

The agency that Disney use to recruit people for the CRP is called "Yummy Jobs". It makes me cringe every time I have to say the name as it sounds like I'm 3! Still, despite the vomit inducing name, they're really good at helping you with everything you need. They've sent me ALOT of literature. I've been rereading it to make sure I've done everything and there is now only one thing I still need to sort out. They ask you to provide your own bedding for Florida; sheets, pillows, duvets...the lot. Quick question. Do you know how much room there is left in a standard suitcase after packing a duvet into it? The answer is zero room. Maybe you can get a pen round the edge or a a couple of safety pins but any other luxuries such as clothes will need to be forgotten about. My flight arrives at Orlando at 3.20pm (their time). Hopefully I'll have enough time to nip out to Wal-Mart and buy what I need. Packing it really isn't an option. Especially as my cat, Sunrise seems to have decided all I'm taking is her!