~*Disney College Program Thus Far*~

Hey guys!! I'm sure you thought I had died since it's been a few weeks since I updated my blog... I've just been SUPER busy at my new job at Star Tours! But I should give you guys an update on what my Disney experience has been thus far! ^_^

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But hey....I'm not gonna lie or sugarcoat or anything. In the beginning, I hated my Disney College Program.

Well, hate is such a strong word....It's Disney, after all. You can't put the words "hate" and "Disney" in the same sentence. But it was really rough for me at first.... I missed a very important meeting and almost got in trouble due to being late because of a stupid bus. Not a good start.

Oh, and they weren't kidding about Vista Way--it is party central. And that's NOT a good thing when you're being kept away most nights because of crazy drunk people who are too inconsiderate to keep their voices down. Oh, and being locked out of my room didn't help much either...

And work. Work was REALLY stressful at first. I kept making SOOOO many mistakes! It wasn't even funny! Star Tours is a very complicated attraction to work at and I didn't realize all the responsibilities and tasks of cast members in the Attractions department... I just wasn't getting it at first.

But I was really fortunate--I had the BEST trainer ever!! He kept encouraging me all the time and tried to put my mind at ease. Not to mention, he kept cracking me up! Benny was such a fun trainer!! I owe it to him for breaking me out of my shell!

Speaking of shell, I think the hardest thing for me at Disney at first was my overwhelming loneliness :'( I just couldn't seem to make any friends at first....
>A girl I met at orientation that I thought could be my friend completely ignored me everyday after that. Am I that weird?
>Some of my coworkers were talking bad about me behind my back at first and I knew it..... From what I overheard, I was the new girl and I was "awkward" and "unapproachable".
>It's hard to be friends with my roommate since she's big into partying...And me? Well...that's just not my scene....and I don't like being pressured to go out and drink and get out of my comfort zone.
>Overall, I just couldn't make friends at first.

I really liked my roommate Clare but she was leaving ;__; And I hardly ever saw the other girls...

I was really pathetic at first. Because I didn't really have any friends, I took myself out to Magic Kingdom by myself :'D But....I had fun. Despite being alone, I had fun. I rode Splash Mountain three times and got to see some amazing shows!! ^^ It was a day well spent, I believe!

And then I met Tiara <3 Definitely my new best friend! She was a new trainee, too, and we instantly clicked! Oh, and her roommates are the nicest people EVER! ^____^

And then my Disney program started getting better <3

I began making friends with more of my coworkers after a while. In fact, one day during training, I had lunch with Tiara, Benny, and Steve (Tiara's trainee) and we spent the entire laughing and cutting up. It was the most relaxed I had felt since I had arrived! My sides burned from laughing and I had tears coming out of my eyes! Hahahaha! I owe it to them, really. I started being less timid and nervous at work and more outgoing to people. Disney isn't the place to be shy or insecure.... Yeah, people didn't like me at first but I think it's because I didn't get a chance to show them who I was, ya know? I'm to the point where there is not a single person at work that I dislike. Everyone is so nice to me now and everyone is even really helpful whenever I make mistakes and need assistance. Star Tours isn't a scary place like I had originally thought.

And to think I called my mom crying one day telling her that I wanted to come home.

But....I've been really homesick. TERRIBLY homesick.
I mean, I was only at home for about two weeks from Japan before I had to pack up and go to Disney. I thought it would be adventure....but you never really realize how much you love home until you've been away from it for awhile. I'm a baby at heart--I miss my momma more than anything. And of course my sissy, daddy, MawMaw, PawPaw, and all my BFF's like Ricey and Analee... Let's not even talk about how much I miss C.J.....I don't even like thinking about it T_________T

But....I guess this is part of growing up. I had a great time in Japan but Disney was a little harder since I only had a taste of home after being gone for two months, only to leave right away. I guess I'm just most scared of what will happen when I come back... So much will have changed...

BUUUUUUT! Enough of the emo stuff! Hahahaha!! Let's talk about the super great stuff about my Disney College Program. The reasons I'm still here. The reasons why I knew I wanted to do the Disney College Program in the first place.
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Work. At first it was unnerving, but now Star Tours is my favorite place. Why? Working there is SOOOO much fun! Now that I'm out of training and I've got the hang of things, it's been SPECTACULAR! I absolutely adore my coworkers, like I've said before! They're amazing people!! I've been invited to several events in which I'm so glad I got to go! I've hung out with people at restraunts and I even went to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!! ^____^ I had a great time and got to meet even more people!! (I went as Snow White, of course <3 Didn't get any real pictures at the castle but the parade and fireworks were especially magical!)

I also just really love working with guests. I'm so weird....I love making people smile. When I make a little girl smile because I call her "princess", I get so excited. I love using cheesy Star Tours lingo when loading guests in and out of their cabins. I love joking around with guests!

I had a really special moment with a person with disabilities. He was in a wheelchair by himself and I noticed he had a Star Tours shirt on. I told him I loved his shirt and how Star Tours is soooo cool and he got so excited and fist pumped me. It was great for me seeing the smile on his face!

Of course, all jobs have their drawbacks. I'm not getting enough sleep and my feet constantly hurt! I've already had guests get mad at me because I wouldn't let their baby ride because they didn't meet the height requirement. And the time it takes for me to commute due to traffic is AWFUL.

But it's all right ^_^ I can deal with all of that!

My weekends have been pretty spectacular though so far!! Like I said, I got to do Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween last weekend and this weekend was ESPECIALLY magical!

I GOT TO GO TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AND ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE FOR FREEEEEEEEE~~~~~<3

I have AWESOME friends!!! My friend Minh got me in for free, God love him :'D And we all went as a group and it was amazing! I had never been to Universal Studios so it was definitely an adventure!! The Mummy ride was by far my favorite, even though it was SUPER scary and I screamed the whole time.

But Islands of Adventure will always hold a special place in my heart cause I went there with my family when I was ten. I'll never forget riding the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride!

.....and I got to ride it for the first time in 11 years yesterday <3

I had forgotten just how scary it was!!! But I still rode it in awe <3 Hahahah! I love dinosaurs!! :D I only got to ride it once, unfortunately, and not like...4 times like I did when I was ten hahahaha. But I've decided that I'm going to save up and buy an annual pass to Universal. I know I'm only going to be here until January but even if I only go to Universal and Islands of Adventure a few times, it'll pay for itself. And I really love those parks....

The Harry Potter section of the park was pretty amazing, too!! The main Harry Potter ride was REALLY cool and fun but a little too scary for my tastes...I had to close my eyes when I saw the spiders and when the Dementors came out at me ;_; I was petrified....

But today? Today was REALLY cool, too! I got to hit up a little bit of Animal Kingdom for the first time and go to Blizzard Beach! ^_^ I GOT TO RIDE THE DINOSAUR RIDE THERE, TOO!!!!! But I got scared on there, too....and had to close my eyes.....Wow, I'm really lame.

But Blizzard Beach is really fun!! I love water slides but there was no way I was getting on the super huge water slide with the super huge drop....

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Sorry if this blog post seems a little scattered and poorly thought out >_<;;; I'm a little scatter-brained, myself.

Overall, I'm having SO much fun in Disney now! I'm branching out, meeting new people, and doing things I've only been able to dream of doing. There's SOOOO much I want to do in Disney! I want to ride Dinosaur 100000000 times! I want to explore all of the parks! I want to ride Tower of Terror with out getting scared! I want to meet all the characters and get photos and autographs with all of them!! I want to hang out and get to know my coworkers better so we can make tons of memories together!

I just really want an adventure like I had in Japan! Only with less umeshuu....(But I do love the umeshuu...)

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But I won't lie. Tonight I cried my eyes out. I mean, I had the best weekend ever today! It was SOOOO much fun! But.... all my bestiest are at AWA right now. And they keep saying how much they wish I was there....and I just really miss them.

And Japan. Oh my god, I MISS japan! I went to Japan in Epcot today and I had REAL Udon for the first time since I've been in the states. Even though I was hanging out with a totally awesome friend and having a great time, I kinda almost started crying.

Why do I have such mixed feelings about everything? I wanna go home. I wanna go to Japan. I wanna stay at Disney.

I just can't have it all, can I? What's my future going to be like? Let's say I chose home. I'd be giving up dreams of working in either Japan or Disney World. But I'd have the people that matter, right? But how do I pay off student loans....? Or what if I choose Japan? How can I live being so far away from my family and friends even though Japan is perfect for me? Or if I choose Disney. I won't be living in Japan, where I felt like I really belonged, and I'd be far away from my family. But Disney is where dreams come true and it's a company that I could even interpret my Japanese language skills into.

I'm so torn right now....even though it's not like I have to make any decisions yet hahahaha. When I was in Japan, I was excited about doing Disney while missing home like crazy. When I was home, I was missing Japan like crazy and SUPER psyched about Disney. Now I'm at Disney, I miss home SUPER badly and Japan SUPER badly.

........Why am I even ranting about this in my blog? hahahaha! I'm sure you guys would rather know all the dirty little secrets of Disney and how the magic /really/ works ;) And I'm sure you're wondering one of the world's most popular questions--is there really ONLY one Mickey Mouse?

Well, I'll answer these another day ;D I'll tell you this though, Disney really is pure magic. It's a great company. The people are wonderful. The work is enjoyable. Making people smile really is the greatest feeling.

I'm really glad I'm here despite my homesickness for home and Japan. I'm glad I didn't pack up and go home that one day I was crying to mom on the phone....

And I know my adventure in Disney is only going to get better. Life is what you put into it, really. I gotta make the most out of my trip and not let homesickness get to me.

I guess it's okay if I cry tonight, though ^_^;;; Just for tonight, I promise!! I just really want to be apart of AWA with everyone. Everyone keeps telling me it's not the same with out me, hahaha! Breaks my heart but makes me feel special at the same time... I really hate being left out of memories.

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But anyways, I think I'll stop here :) To those of you who are actually still reading, thanks so much! Once again, I'm sorry if my blog is just not all that interesting! I'm mostly using it so I can look back on this in the future and remember it all. I want to remember everything--the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I can't wait to make more Disney memories! (And Universal ones now, too!) It's only going to get better from now on!!

So............who wants to come visit me? <3