Last day of the year!

Last night was probably one of the best nights I've had so far here in Florida.  We found out through the grapevine that Magic Kingdom was testing there new years eve fireworks at 11:45 pm last night.  A group of us bundled up and headed out to the polynesian resort, which is right across the lagoon from Magic Kingdom.  We grabbed a few drinks in the restaurant upstairs while we waited for the rest of our friends to get off work.  Then around 11 pm we met up and went to the beach and got some towels and sat in the sand and watched the new years eve fireworks!  There was about 15 of us on the beach, all international students from across the globe.  It was nice to celebrate new years early because we're all working tonight till close.  It was an amazing night with some amazing friends.  I've finally got rid of my cold that has been keeping me down since christmas eve. Now I can finally talk again and actually breathe through both my nostrils!!!  I've had the past two days off which was lovely (that probably helped shake my cold).  I went to Hollywood Studios the other day which was pretty fun.  Tower of Terror had a wait time of 120 minutes and Rock'n'Roller Coaster had a wait time of 140 minutes so we skipped those rides.  We did get to see Fantasmic, but we didn't really plan on it ... we kinda just stumbled into the line and once you're in a big line with close to 1 000 other people you stay in it.  It's also hard to believe that today is the last day of 2010.  This year has gone by fast, and I feel very blessed to be in Florida as a cultural representative for Canada.

I wish everyone good health and happiness for 2011 <3

From florida with love,
Jilly

I Am a Real Canadian

Don't let the costume confuse you, I am not a lumberjack
Toronto is actually really far from Saskatchewan
We speak english and french, not Canadian
Our alphabet is the same as yours, your name will not look different
Not all Canadians say Eh
Don't think you're the first person to ever say EH to our face in our pavillion, there were many before you
Yes we do say we're sorry, but that's because we are polite
I actually do come from Canada and I'm proud of it

Me No Speak Americano

Nodody understood what boxing day was.  I tried to explain it but I failed to get the point across every single time.  So I finally gave up.  I met a couple from Lanagan, Saskatchewan today.  It's easy to establish a connection with someone when they live in the same province and it's even better when they like to talk about the Roughriders.  I was working in kidcot this afternoon and this boy, who looked to be about 13, came up and asked me to stamp his passport (which you can purchase at any merchandise location).  I was writing in it and to make conversation I asked where he was from.  He looked at me and said in the most southern accent I have ever heard "America."  I could barely keep it together after he said that, it was hilarious!!  The kids say the craziest things sometimes.  Tomorrow I'm workinig the early shift so I better call it a night.  Hope yall had a good boxing day!


Sincerely,
Jilly

Shift Switch & Pretzels

Yesterday I took a trip to Epcot and wished all my friends a merry christmas.  The park was full of people and the Canadian attraction was close to pushing past the 4000 attendence mark!  When you come to Epcot you have to try the sugar pretzels and the glazed nuts.  They are amazing.  The pretzels come out warm and the are dipped in sugar and just fill you right up and the nuts are just fabulous.  Nicholas and I switched shifts today so I don't start till 11 am which is nice.  I'm feeling better today although I still sound really stupid because of my voice.  Anyways, that's it for now.  I'm sure work will be a giant blasty blast today. 

Sincerely,
Jilly

Extra Magic Hours

Tonight I celebrated the start of christmas by eating m&m's and watching the O Canada film.  It was extra magic hours so the people who were staying at a walt disney world resorts got to stay 3 hours extra and explore epcot.  Not many people came through but it was still fun.  I'm sick right now with a cold so I sound terrible when I'm doing theatre but the guys were nice enough tonight to let me do kidcot and greeter so I didn't have to do long spiels.  Other than that, it was another day at the happiest place on earth! 

Merry Christmas <3

Sincerely,
Jilly

Oh so tired

Hi.

I don't know if I will be able to make it through this blog without falling asleep.  Today we had to get up at 5 to go and get our social security in Orlando.  Once we got back around 9am I thought that I would have a short little nap and then go to work.  That didn't happen.  I didn't end up sleeping and that made me sad, cause I coulda used some REM cycles.  Instead I worked on my blog.  I haven't decided if I made it better, or just made it worse.  I worked from 1-9:45 pm today.  I tried to help a lady who wanted to learn about the monorail system. I didn't do so well and ended up leaving my post at Kidcot (which is a major party foul by the way) and got someone who would be more useful then me.  Other than that, it was a standard day.  When we do our pre show speeches we say where we are from and when I said Saskatchewan I heard someone shout "Go Riders!" and it made my heart just burst with love for our province.  That's actually something I've been discovering lately.  I've always had pride for Saskatchewan and Canada, but being here is making me realize how even more awesome we are.  So that's my little lesson for the day.  Have pride in our country and our province because we are awesome.  Anyways, I work tomorrow so I gotta hit the hay. 

Sincerely,
Jilly

Is this Japan?

Our attraction is in building.  It's made to look like a mine.  Lots of wood, low lighting, twangy music playing, shovels, barrels and rocks.  A man walks into the pre show area, gets half way to the doors of the theater, whips around and promptly asks "Is this Japan?" 

That my friends, is what we like to call an epic fail.

Anyways, today was a slow day at work.  I only worked 12-6 so that wasn't to bad.  After work I met up with some of my friends and we toured world showcase for a couple hours.  We managed to go on the Norway boat ride which was fun.  I finally watched the firework show "Illuminations: Relections of the Earth" tonight.  I started to laugh when I thought about our July 1st firework show in Outlook cause I'm sure that one Disney firework is equal to our entire show.  That's about all I did today.  Besides that one guy asking if he was in Japan, it was a pretty smooth day.  Tomorrow  all the new arrivals are heading into Orlando to get our social security number.  We have to be at the clubhouse at 6:10 am to catch the bus.  I also do closing tomorrow so it's going to be a long day.  Well, I am one sleepy bear, so it's time to hit the sheets.

Sincerely,
Jilly

Do you speak Canadian?

Do you speak Canadian?
Can you write my daughters name? Or do you have the same alphabet?   

Those are just some of the questions that I got asked yesterday in kidcot.  It was mostly the parents asking those sort of questions which was funny.  The kids were just so excited to be getting Duffy the Bear as well as getting the passports stamped.  Not only have I been meeting people my age from all over the world because of this program, I have been able to meet families that have come from places like Argentina, Costa Rica, France and China.  If you just listen, most people are happy to start sharing why they have come to Disney World and a little bit of their life story.  I like that the most, the interaction with guests who come to our pavillion.  Then you get some of the people who walk up to you and say "So you're from Canada eh? Eh? Eh?" and then they start laughing.  You just have to take it and laugh it off.  I'm sure that will not be the last time I hear that one.  Anyways, time for me to get ready to work at the happiest place on earth!

Sincerely,
Jilly

Magic Kingdom

I spent 8 hours today at magic kingdom.  I don't know how that happened, but it did.  I never thought that I would go on Splash Mountain in the middle of December, but I did.  Twice to be exact.  People thought we were absolutely crazy considering it is a 5 story drop into a bunch of water which in turn gets you soaked if you sit in the second row of seats.  We also managed to go on Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Stitches Great Escape, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.  In between we saw two parades and watched some fireworks go off the castle.  Little inside knowledge if you're planning on coming to Disney, always take the "slow" monorail.  It stops at 3 resorts along the way to Magic Kingdom but the cars are almost empty and you don't have to wait in line for it.  The monorail that takes you directly to MK usually has a long line and people get pushy.  Also use fastpasses as much as possible, especially if you want to do a lot in a short amount of time.  On your fastpass it will say valid from "2:25 - 3:25 pm."  No need to panic, you don't have to use your fastpass in that one hour only.  It just means you can't use your fastpass before 2:25 pm on that particular ride.  Now it's time to have something to eat, shower and go to bed!

Sincerely,
jilly

I have sailed away from the safe harbor of Saskatchewan and ventured into the heart of Florida for an unforgettable experience.  From now until I leave I plan on writing about my experience, post photos and maybe even some video.  I have also created a list of things that I want to do while I'm here so I will be posting that as well. If there is something I should do while I'm here, lemme know!  


sincerely,
jilly