Should've done some learnin'

Assessment day tomorrow. I haven't studied much, but I'm not too worried.

Hit Animal Kingdom on Thursday after waking up far too early to sort out social security (apparently I'm not on the immigration system. Also, apparently that's not a problem). Vicky, Megan and Myah happened to be going as well, so we all went together.

Animal Kingdom is a great place, but as an entertainment venue, it's lacking a bit compared to the other parks. Expedition: Everest was fun, especially when it started pelting down with rain. Since we were soaked, we hit Kali River Rapids a coupla times before going home.

Listening to others, I'm tempted to argue early on that the Savannah Guides have the best program here, but I'll do some more research (read: tons of work) and get back to you.

Training away

Let's see, it's been a week since Traditions. What have I been up to?

Lots of training. I only "earn my ears" this Saturday if I pass an assessment based on a 300 page booklet. I've had some on the job training, so I've learnt a little about the operation here (basically standing around chatting to people, then occasionally doing an activity with 'em). One bummer is unlike the other countries, we don't get new arrivals every month, only every 3 months - so I'll be a noob until Novemberish.

What have I done in training? Mostly the usual values, safety and policies stuff. But we also went behind the scenes at The Seas (Disney's aquarium, the 2nd biggest in the USA) and rode Soarin'. Not too much to worry about with the job, but I do have to learn some stuff before I go out there by myself. Oh, and I got freebies from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund: a snazzy badge they usually only give to people who donate $100 or more, a shirt and a little cardholder thingie. Score!

Let's bullet point!


* Went to Hollywood Studios with 3 Canadians and a Scot. They got drenched. Then we ate at Mexico (the pavilion, not the country). I had chicken-something-or-other, and it. was. AWESOME. Plus, you get to eat in here:

So what if it's heart-stoppingly expensive?


* Been on tons of rides already - luckily Disney's generally less intense than Universal, and I'm getting better with the whole motion sickness thing. Currently my favourites are Tower of Terror, Soarin' and Haunted Mansion. I still haven't been to Animal Kingdom. Also, PhilharMagic is AWESOME.

* In fact, pretty much my entire first trip to the Magic Kingdom was awesome. Went on Haunted Mansion 3 times (walking on to a ride is most excellent. Unlike Peter Pan's Flight, which I'm going to have to get fastpasses for at some point), ate at Cosmic Ray's cafe and ended by watching the Electrical Parade and Wishes.

* The lamest ride I've been on so far? Tomorrowland Speedway. Avoid.

* Next day off: Animal Kingdom. Don't know exactly when that'll be though. If I get through my social security ish on Thursday quick enough, I may be able to do it then. Otherwise I think I may be off on Sunday.

Traditions

On Saturday we had Traditions, which is (for the uninitiated) Disney's introductory training course. Even the CEO's and higher ups have to do it.

It started with a visit from the union, who tried to get us to sign up without mentioning weekly costs and so on. Very dodgy, and I chose not to. After the union, we got a boring "working with integrity" introduction, and then Joe came in and started our Traditions class.

Disney have pretty much got this down to a fine art. The facilitator hands out exclusive toys to those who answer (so pretty much everyone ends up getting one - I got 4, and so did several others), there's a mix of him talking, video, gentle interactive bits - but no sign of the usual awkward roleplay ish that these things involve. In fact, at one point Joe said we should split into groups and come up with scenes to show the "four keys" (Safety, courtesy, show, efficiency). Just as everyone was mentally running for the door, he said "or maybe we should just visit the Magic Kingdom instead".

Hell Yes. Of course, while we were at the Magic Kingdom (mostly underneath the Magic Kingdom - Utilidors ftw!) we had to keep an eye out for the 4 keys, but I couldn't be bothered - there was far too much going on to actually attempt work.

When we got back, the boss himself showed up to distribute name badges and hand out a few more critters (I got 4 in total - they're totally unique to Traditions. Most people end up getting at least one). After a few closing issues, we headed out, with me at least having really enjoyed the whole thing.

Busy, and not so

 When I arrived in Orlando, I stayed in a cheap motel-y place (which made me extremely happy. Motels are very much part of the American experience, after all - as are the local ads from dodgy car salesmen and lawyers which were plastered all over the TV) which had pretty damned decent rooms.

Met up with some UK CRP's who I had met on Facebook (Daria, Myah, Vicky & Matthew - holla) and we marathonned Universal.

We spent about 12 hours between the 2 parks. 12 hours. In mid summer in Florida. It was crazy, but somebody had to do it. My first ever proper theme park ride (I'm not counting the twee little haunted ride at Durban beachfront, though as a kid, that thing was AWESOME) was Spiderman, followed up by the Hulk.

That's the Hulk rollercoaster in the background.

I had already been nursing a cold upon arrival, and the intense heat did nothing to help the motion sickness. I'm going to get some meds or something, otherwise I'll have to take it easy and do one or two rides a visit so I can recover (I've certainly got the time...). I struggled on Forbidden Journey (the Harry Potter ride), so I definitely have to come back and give that a full go when the crowds are a bit more manageable.

On Tuesday we all waited at the wrong place for half an hour (our driver had taken the printed directions he was given at the gate, glanced at them, then set them on fire and thrown them back at security. Ok, he didn't do that last bit, but he could've. Maybe), then got checked in.

I'm at the Commons, tucked in the back in building 23 (an area which I've heard referred to as "The Ghetto"). I'm in a 4 bedroom apartment, which means I have 7 flatmates: 3 Mexicans, 1 Frenchman, 1 Canadian, 1 Irishman and 1, er, Hongkong-ian? who is also my roommate. They all seem pretty swell, and the apartment's nice 'n clean, so it's looking good so far.

Paperwork today. Two days off (what to do without my Disney ID?), then Traditions on Saturday.

Things I've learnt about America in a day

This is just across the road from my hotel.

* There really ARE infomercials from local car dealers and shady lawyers.

* There is an endless amount of kitsch and absurdity.


* Orlando is frickin' hot.

* I really like Southern accents.

* There's a very slight unease when dealing with traffic. I sometimes have to remind myself which directions cars will be coming from.

* I almost crapped myself when the weatherperson said it'd be "107 degrees with humidity" before I remembered the whole fahrenheit thing. Then I almost crapped myself again when I realised 107F is 41C.

Currently sitting in:

Charlotte, North Carolina, of all places. Coupla hours to wait for my connection to Orlando. And then, sweet, sweet hotel room (that flight was fairly brutal).

This won't be helpful to South Africans...

... but I got my travel insurance with Direct Travel in the UK. They were cheap as chips and I confirmed that they covered all the minimums, but other African CRP's would have to look elsewhere as you have to be a UK "resident" to use 'em.

The whole dual citizen thing comes in handy quite often.

And that's it, I think. Everything's sorted. Nothing else to do now but get to Orlando.

Sittin' in England...

Sitting in a cosy little lounge in a poky little English cottage, catching up with my good friends, Ben & Jerry. My family all have jobs, so I get the house to myself during the day. It was warm yesterday, but order has been restored and it's pissing down today.

Next Friday I fly from Bristol to Dublin, then from Dublin to Orlando on Saturday. I'm a bit worried about that one, actually, since US Airways don't have seat-back video screens, just an overhead display and a set 3 or 4 movies. It's like the dark ages of air travel. So I'm hoping I luck out and get several seats to myself (I had 4 on the way from Dubai to London. 4!) so I can just snooze.

Still have to sort out my medical insurance, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. I'm going to get the first 4 months then compare it to the Disney package once I'm over there.

Right, I'm off to download some more movies at 20 times the speed of South African internet. Ciao.

Veni, Vidi, Visa.

Even I'm cringing at the corniness of that title.

Today I had my visa appointment. Drove to the consulate in Durban, left everything I didn't need in the car, strolled in and queued.

I was a bit worried because of my dual citizenship and the fact that I earn money overseas and locally - none of it with any proper invoices or anything, but after waiting for 45 minutes, I was called to a window for fingerprints, then called to another for a quick chat with someone about why I was going, where I was working, what I do here.

And then, my visa was approved. Just some insurance to get and I'm all set. Soon I'll actually have something to put on this blog...

The Update Monster

I took a break from this blog because blogger.com wouldn't load to let me edit it. Just a quick update. Hopefully, I'll have more photos and things to upload once I get to Disney World.

Some news:

* I've just returned from Namibia, where we did a play and workshops on Shakespeare for school kids. We were generally treated like royalty, almost everything was paid for, and we got rave reviews - so success all-round.

* When I got back, my Visa information pack had arrived, so I've been filling that out and trying to fit in appointments between play-dates. We've got 2 more weeks of rehearsal, then onto Grahamstown and the National Arts Festival.

* All my flights and accommodation are now booked. I'm arriving in Orlando on August 13 to recover from jetlag, explore and shop.

* Got a list of fellow South Africans arriving on my date. Sent them all an email, though no replies yet. However, on the way to Namibia, in a random little town, I met one of them - Sam, working at a biltong shop. It's a Small World indeed.

Now that Blogger is working again, a proper post will be on its way soonish.