Another Internship Opportunity

If you just got a little worried from the title, have no fear! I'm still at Disney, but I'm starting a second internship, too! But you'll hear more about that later...

Saturday, Aug 13th: After work, the roomies and I went shopping for Florida's weekend of tax-free clothing. (I miss PA for not having to pay clothing tax there!!) It was absolute CHAOS. There were people parked in the grass and on curbs! Unfortunately, I didn't end up finding much, but I did buy a new sweater at GAP and a McFlurry at McDonald's (yummm).

Sunday, Aug 14th: Sonia and I went to Forever XXI today, and I bought a few shirts and a new purse! Yay! I could have probably shopped in that store for hours; it was fabulous!! Afterward, we drove to EPCOT, where we eventually met up with Cassie and Alyssa. We explored The Seas, rode a few rides, and then worked on a Kim Possible mission in Norway. Yeah, we're THAT cool. Then we got some delicious ice cream, went on Soarin', and headed home. Another great night!

Monday, Aug 15th: Tonight, the roomies and I went to Vista Way because there was a welcoming party for the CP (College Program) kids. We got free pizza plus met Mickey, Chip, and Dale! WIN. Later that night, I received an email from Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge. I had applied a few days ago to volunteer there, and they said I should go in on Thursday to check out the facility and sign some papers!

Tuesday, Aug 16th: Work was pretty boring, but I found out that Bethany, Andy, and Aaron are coming to visit me in October, yay!!

Wednesday, Aug 17th:  At work, I had a few really good conversations with families in Spanish. Slowly, I'm starting to speak more and more fluently...ish. Later on, Sonia, Cassie, Alyssa, Steph, Melissa, and I went to Johnny Rocket's for dinner--my milkshake was delicious! Then we went to Fort Wilderness to watch "Lilo and Stitch." I never used to like that movie, but now I love it!!

Thursday, Aug 18th: Today I drove to Back To Nature (BTN)! Kelly, one of three full-time employees, asked if I wanted to be an intern instead of volunteer because I would be able to log more hours. Ummmm yes, of course! So she told me a little bit about the facility and had me read the intern manual and sign papers. I'll be working every Thursday and I'll get to clean cages (can I add "professional shit cleaner" to my resume?), feed the animals, and sometimes even take care of the babies that people bring in! They have about 43 permanent residentsthat include squirrels, opossums, goats, deer, raccoons, tortoises, doves, mockingbirds, owls, vultures, bald eagle, sandhill crane, emu, cougar, bobcat, and an arctic fox! Also, a ton of animals are brought in every day to be rehabilitated--sometimes up to 20! I can't wait to work with all of them!! Also, I'm excited to get some rehabilitation experience to put on my resume. The only bad thing is that I have to pay $7 in tolls each week. EW.

Friday, Aug 19th: Boring day at work!

Saturday, Aug 20th: I decided to look for some internships online, but I didn't find any legit possibilities. However, I did find some volunteer opportunities in Tanzania, South Africa, Costa Rica, Guam, and TIPUTINI (the biodiversity station I stayed at for a week in Ecuador)!!! I wish I could get paid to work in such exotic places!

Sunday, Aug 21st: I was at the Africa KDC, and after going through all the clues with a little girl, I said, "This animal lives in Africa, has 3 toes, eats plants, and has a horn on his head. Do you know what it is?" Her guesses were: "A UNICORN!!...A PONY!!...A RHINO!!" Third time's a charm, I guess. Not gonna lie, it was pretty hilarious.

Also, I realized that today marked exactly two years since I arrived in Ecuador to study abroad. This made me so sad! Sometimes I wish I were back there with my host family, trying to tell the maid in broken Spanish that I needed toilet paper (ask me about that story--it's a classic), or listening to my host grandmother explain a Spanish "novela" (soap opera) to me when I didn't understand a single word she was saying.

Monday, Aug 22nd: Today I literally melted at work because I had the 3 hottest stations--Dinoland, Cotton-Top Tamarins, and Asia--all in a row.

Tuesday, Aug 23rd: I had fun with Megan while we were at Conservation Station! The whole time, we people-watched, and she pointed out all her fellow Canadians. Well, we had to entertain ourselves for two hours somehow! Later, at Dino, a kid knew EVERYTHING about the dinosaurs just by looking at the lower jaws!! At the end of the day, I closed Tree of Life with Megan, and it POURED the entire time. Luckily, it stopped just in time for us to leave at 5:00!

Alright, time to go. Next time, I'll tell you all about the awesome EPCOT scavenger hunt and my first day at BTN!

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."--Ralph Waldo Emerson

This One Time, at Disney World...

Hi! I have a lot of fun things to talk about in this entry, including my day at MK when I met a bunch of characters!! Here it is...

Thursday, August 4th: Today I went to Coronado Springs Resort with Cassie to search for Hidden Mickeys.The resort had a Mexican theme, complete with a Mayan temple surrounding the pool. One of the lifeguards told us where some of the alleged Mickeys were, but we couldn't find most of them. After we gave up on our scavenger hunt, we walked over to the cabanas. They each had their own little beach with some palm trees and a family-sized hammock. I'd love to stay there someday!

Friday, Aug. 5th: Melissa Hulbert, Steph Pierson, and I went to Magic Kingdom, and we met A TON of characters. I was SO excited to act like a little kid again and get their autographs and pictures with them! First, we met Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora. When we saw Minnie and Mickey, I let them sign with my "Mickey hand" pen that I got at Cumberland, and they were disappointed to see that it actually had 5 fingers instead of 4. Oops...sorry. Not official Disney merch! After that, we met Pinocchio, Buzz Lightyear, Angelica (from PotC: On Stranger Tides), Goofy, Aladdin, and Jasmine. It was an absolutely great day at MK!

Later on, the roomies and I went to Friendly's for dinner. It brought back memories of the one I went to after the Wildwood beach ultimate tourney a few years ago. Good times have always been had at Friendly's! A few other interns joined us, and they probably thought we were crazy. My roomies and I are so loud and we bicker all the time and joke around, but we all mean it in good fun. From the outside, you'd think we hate each other, but we actually get along really well. The best part of the night was when a woman came up to us and made balloon animals: Cassie had a shark, Alyssa had Minnie ears, Sonia had a monkey, and I had a blue and gold macaw(yes, I AM being that specific with my balloon haha). That whole day was one of the best I've had in quite a while.

Saturday, Aug. 6th: Nothing of note happened today, but two little kids gave me a hug after they did the Africa KDC. As Sonia would say, it was "so ca-yoooooot!"

Sunday, Aug. 7th: So today I walked over to Asia and heard the weirdest noise. It took me a few seconds, but then I realized the Siamangs were vocalizing!!! Check out a video of their call here. And look at the inflated vocal pouch on their neck--so cool! You have no idea how excited I was to hear this--it took them over a month to vocalize while I was there!

The highlight of my day was when I was at Conservation Station with Nicole. This Guest from Alabama  saw my Pittsburgh, PA name tag and proceeded to ask if I was Amish. No, sir, just because I'm from PA doesn't mean that I'm Amish. I live near the city, thank you very much. If I could have died of laughter right there, I would have. As if that wasn't hilarious enough, a Hispanic man came up to Nicole and I, and had his wife take a picture of the three of us together with his iPad. He then uploaded it to his facebook right there. Well, I guess I'm famous in some other country!

Monday, Aug. 8th: Nothing too eventful happened today.

Tuesday, Aug. 9th: I was at the Tree of Life and my next-door neighbor from home and her grandson stumbled upon the KDC and came down to visit! I knew they were in Disney, but I didn't think they'd be able to find me among the thousands of people.

That night, I started looking on the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) website for some jobs and internships that I could do after Disney. I found THE PERFECT JOB at the North Carolina Aquarium. I would help with educational programs, do presentations, and be one of the primary bird trainers. That would be AMAZING. Ugh, too bad they probably need to fill the position asap because the deadline is soon. I guess that for now, I should focus on looking for internships instead.

Wednesday, Aug. 10th: Today I was at the Flamingo exhibit because it was raining at the Cotton Top's area. I met a family that lived in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, so I asked them where they were specifically from. They actually live in the neighborhood I grew up in as a little kid! Also, their son goes to Avonworth Elementary School and has some of the same teachers I did!! Considering there are only about 1,500 students in grades K-12, that's pretty amazing that I saw a fellow Avonworthian in Disney World. (Is that what we're called? That sounds weird. Oh well.) To top it off, the next family I talked to was from Greensburg! *Cue the "It's A Small World" theme song*

Thursday, Aug. 11: We had our first of five leadership seminars today. This one focused on the "Disney Values" and the basics of how to be a good leader. Because it was technically my day off, I got to go home after the seminar. Nicole and I decided to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" with James Franco, and it was actually very good--the CG animation was pretty amazing.

That night, I tried to go to Publix, but my car failed to completely start. So I thought my battery had died. That's awesome because I had an important meeting the next day. I called AAA (because my windows were down and I was worried it would rain), and it took them forever to come. It was 10:30pm by the time they got here! The woman opened my hood, took one look, and said that the battery was fine--the terminal was just loose. Well, I guess I'm glad it wasn't as bad as I thought. She tightened it up for me and then said I should buy a new part and then my car would be fine.

Friday, Aug. 12: In the morning, I went to Epcot with Betsy because we both had a meeting with a few managers to discuss future career options. The first thing we did was see the "Captain EO" 4D movie. IT WAS GREAT. It's a movie that was made in 1986 exclusively for Disney World, and it was produced by George Lucas and starsMichael Jackson! MJ is Captain EO and he travels to space to give "The Supreme Leader" a peace offering. She captures MJ and his crew, but he ends up defeating her with his crazy dance moves. Let's just say this movie was the 80's at its best. While Betsy was in her meeting, I explored "The Seas with Nemo and Friends"aka The Seas. After my meeting (which went pretty well), we went on "The Sum of All Thrills," a simulator where you get to design your own rollercoaster and then actually ride it!! It's really cool!! Then after we went home, I went to Meineke to fix my car and Winn-Dixie to do some extreme couponing! Yeah!

"Disneyland is often called a magic kingdom because it combines fantasy and history, adventure and learning, together with every variety of recreation and fun designed to appeal to everyone."--Walt Disney

Year of the Forest and More!

Hello again! Here's a summary of what I've been up to during the past week or so.

Wednesday, July 27th: Today was DAK's celebration of the International Year of the Forest! We had a ton of fun special events going on at Conservation Station, and the presenters who were scheduled to work the KDC that's right next to it got to also help with the events. I was one of the lucky few! I helped out with two different stations. The first was a scavenger hunt for forest animals. There was a big backdrop, in addition to some logs, trees, and rocks where critters were hidden. After the kids found all the animals on their card, they had to match them to their habitat. Then they got to take it home and use the other side as a "backyard bingo" scavenger hunt that they could do later. At the second station, we had a three-paneled poster set up, and it depicted a mangrove forest, boreal forest, and tropical rainforest. We had 15 toy animals, and the kids had to match them to whatever home they thought they belonged to. Then they had to explain what adaptations made it possible for them to survive in those conditions. Although I only got to staff these stations for an hour, it was so much fun, and I hope I get to participate in more special events like this again!

When I got home that night, I found out that my bungee jumping picture that I took in Baños, Ecuador was one of the runners-up for the Juniata College photo contest last semester!! I was SO excited! It made it onto page 3 of the Juniata Magazine!!! Yayy! Check it out here.

Thursday, July 28th: The highlight of my day was getting the Cast Member discount at Chick-fil-A for dinner. Buy one meal, get one free! Alright!!

Friday, July 29th: I got some pictures printed at Wal-Mart, although it took forever. When I got home, I hung them up all over my wall. My room feels a little bit more like home, now.

Saturday, July 30th: Nothing really exciting happened today haha.

Sunday, July 31st: I tried out my new pedometer for the first time at work. It's pretty sweet because it counts the steps I take, converts it to miles, and tell me how many calories I burn. It also allows me to set a goal and tells me how close I am to completing it. Today, I walked over 10,800 steps (3.422 miles) and burned 343 calories! From now on, I'm going to see how much I walk every day and compare each letter in our rotation.

Monday, August 1st: I continued watching a bunch of Christian Bale movies because I absolutely love him, and I'm still really jealous that he's currently in Pittsburgh filming "The Dark Knight Rises" and I'm not there.

Tuesday, August 2nd: Today I finally got my hometown name tag! Now instead of it saying Juniata under my name, it says Pittsburgh, PA! Woot!

The best part of the day was when I was at the Cotton Top Tamarin exhibit. A little girl (maybe 7 or 8 years old) randomly came up to me and handed me an orange hibiscus flower then walked away. It was soo adorable! That's another one of those moments that makes me love my job.

Wednesday, August 3rd: I was at Dinoland in the afternoon, and one of my managers came to observe me so she could take notes on how I was interacting with the Guests. Of course, I happened to be speaking to a family entirely in Spanish. I did my best to give them most of the regular information and also explain to them how the KDC's worked. My manager also stayed around for me to talk to an English-speaking family, thank goodness. Afterward, she told me I did a great job with both interactions! I feel like I'm definitely getting more comfortable talking to people in Spanish, but I'm going to try to expand my conversations as much as I can each day.

That's all for now! Next time, I'll talk about my awesome day at Magic Kingdom when I met a ton of characters (basically the best day ever)!

"It's not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me."--Christian Bale