Time to catch up on sleep, I think...

Well, today I finished my classroom based training for this role, which is great. I now have a couple of days off, in which I hope to catch up on some sleep before I start work again. What they don’t tell you is that you will be spending a lot of your first week getting up at, literally, the crack of dawn to get to your classes. I’ve seen a lot of 5 and 6 am this past week, and it hasn’t been the nicest start to the programme to be honest, but getting up early is also hardly the end of the world.

Settling in is proving slightly more challenging for me than for most people on account of the fact that I am the only UK Cultural Rep in my arrival group. To be honest, I might as well have been the only person in my arrival group in total, because after the first two days of paperwork, I’ve not seen a living soul in my training that has been consistent! It’s making it pretty difficult to make friends when your relationship-building time is mere hours. Still, as of Friday morning, I will be on my on the job training, which means I’ll be meeting and working with a lot more people and more consistent faces. Fingers crossed, I’ll be making friends in no time! I’ve hardly had the most conventional programme as it is so far, so I’m hoping it’ll normal out very soon now!

I’ve visited the Magi c Kingdom now, which was truly awesome – I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it! I really want to see Hollywood Studios again, so I intend to head there on one of my days off over the next couple of days. Probably Thursday as I have some bits and pieces to be doing on one of the days, like laundry and food shopping, so Thursday seems like a better day to be hitting the parks. I’ll have to go early though, as it will be Thanksgiving here so things will be PACKED!

I’ve also decided that I need to buy a wireless router – not be able to access the internet here whenever I want is driving me mental! They’re pretty cheap in Walmart so I’m hoping with Black Friday that I might well be in luck for a cheap one! Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the US when all the shops sell things at tremendous bargain prices – some places go as low as 90% off. It’s like the January sales but much much bigger. Apparently, there were people camping and queuing already yesterday.

I’ve unpacked everything into the apartment now, and it’s just about enough. I need to build up my shoe collection – this has become very clear, but I’m sure that really won’t take me very long. We have the Orlando Premium Outlets within walking distance, and free buses to the Florida Mall, for M&Ms amongst other goodies, so I’m certain that I will be spoilt for choice once the money starts rolling in!

Still, tonight is Glee night, and I think I’m going to head to bed early to make the most of tomorrow – who knows, I might pop by a park in the afternoon! Still, looking forward to a lie-in!

Chat soon,

Terri xxx

The Magic Begins...

Well, I've made it to the land of dreams.

It's really warm and sunny here, and I have a lovely apartment. It's in the newest block out here, called Patterson Court and there's all sorts of people living here from all different cultures and walks of life. I arrived and am doing Orientation with approximately 150 Peruvians, who are all on much shorter visas and a different programme. On the whole they seem to be really nice, but they've all come from the same University so they all know eachother and talk in Spanish all the time, which makes it a little diffcult to make friends. From what I can gather, I've certainly not had a usual Disney orientation, but it's still fun and I've made a couple of good friends, which is really lovely! There's a lovely Italian who I've started to hang out with too, on my programme, so I'm looking forward to Traditions knowing it's not just me now! :)

So far it's just been a lot of paperwork, but the real fun starts on Saturday and that's when we get our Disney IDs, so that'll be a lovely trip to the parks from then on.

I'll update soon! Keep dry over there in England and I miss you all very much!

Love & cuddles xxxx

When You Wish Upon A Star...

So, the excitement has begun. It's crazy to think that I applied for this job in June, interviewed in August and earlier this month, and now, in 3 weeks' time, will be flying out to Florida for the most amazing experience I'll ever have.

Walt Disney World is only 22 days away, and today I booked my flight and sent off my CRB check. I cannot believe I only found out about this 4 days ago! My whole world has been rocked, but I am so excited! I don't want to leave Dan behind, but I know we'll stick with it and manage to get through it, and hopefully he'll be able to come over to Disney to visit me some time next year.

I keep looking around our little flat and thinking that I have to pack it all back up, sell a load of things I should really get rid of, and it feels like I've only just unpacked it. I'm only planning on taking the one suitcase out to Never Neverland with me, though, so I have to get rid of some of it! :)

Best get cracking then...

Don't Quote Me On This...

I wanted to introduce you to a few quotes that mean something to me. Be it that they mean something right now, in this moment, or they have always held a special place in my heart.

'You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.'

From John Lennon's Imagine, the above says exactly what it days. We are all dreamers; we all have missions and visions and places to escape to in our heads, where nothing is bad. Is this a good thing? Does it matter? I believe in dreaming, because dreaming helps us to ground ourselves. Often a dream is a step more than an ambition, because a dream has an element which seems unacheivable, but it is important to remember that this is the key. It may only seem unacheivable.

'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.'

What an exceptionally wise woman Eleanor Roosevelt was. I wish I had had the opportunity to meet her. My motto in life is the above quotation. It's very true. People can only put you down if you let them, and you should always strive to be proud of yourself. No one should make anyone feel inferior. Unfortunately it happens in life multiple times everyday, but don't let anyone do it to you. Remember: It's your life and you can live it how you want. Don't let anyone make you feel inferior.

'Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.'

If I knew the 'author' of this quote, I would credit it to them. As it is, however, I don't and therefore it shall just sit here until someone claims it. A very important message is written in those words, and it simply means don't let fear of something going wrong stop you from try. You will never know until you take that leap and try it. If you do strike out, so to speak, then don't worry about it; it's good to have an area to work on building a strength. You can't be good at everything, and just remember that ultimately, 'no one can make you feel inferior without your consent'.

'Reach for the stars. You may not get a star, but at least you won't end up with a handful of dirt.'

How true is that? Strive for the best and you'll shoot past the worst very quickly. It's important to aim high in life and get what you want out of it. We only live once - make it count!

Change isn't just to be spent.

There have been some really amazing people in the world in the past.; people who have made change and caused change, or just stood up for what they believed in. People who have inspired or taught, and lead and been lead to help create today's world. People like Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.


I wonder if Emmeline knew quite the effect that she would have on people when she started the WSPU and quite how much the change would be integral to the start of many other politial equality campaigns. Still the effects are truly evident and are now such a massive part of daily life that people rarely think of the part she had to play in the introduction of this standard - people often forget what got them to where they are.


Perhaps this is not such a bad thing on a day-to-day level. Being reminded every day of what Martin Luther King Jr. helped fight for should not be the case, and it is good that the standards these days are complete opposites to what once existed. School history lessons are surely enought ot remind people of what once was and now isn't - and rightly so?

I've been thinking about change a lot recently, and how people's actions can impact generations, and lifetimes. Can we pinpoint which individual started the Civil Rights movement? Which single person first said that something was wrong? If we can, does it really matter? Surely the main thing is that someone did...

Does it matter if I am the first person to put up my hand in a gathering and say something is wrong? Does it matter if it is me who says it and not someone else? Does it matter if where I say it is wrong? Does it matter for what reason I say it?

Perhaps the forum to say it is not the issue, nor if I am the first, or the last to say it. Perhaps the matter just needs to be addressed and someone needs to say something. So what if the forum that I say it in isn't necessarily the right one - as long as it's not entirely the wrong one. As long as it's said, then the issue has been raised.

I became a student officer to say things in the right place, at the right time. Places and times that perhaps othe students don't always have access to. I became President of a team because I believe I can do the job. I believe I can lead, listen and liaise. I wanted to push for change where change was needed, and fight to keep consistency when that is needed.

That is what I intend to do, and that is what I am now doing. I believe change is important. It is crucial to maintain progress. Progress in it's very nature is positive; change should only be made to continuously improve and move forward. However, progress is not progress if the direction headed in is not the direction that is correct.

Change for change's sake is wrong. Progress should be made with caution. Sometimes, just sometimes, keeping things as they are is the best way forward.