First of all, my apologies for the month long hiatus. It seems my brain has yet to settle down enough to focus into a singular topic of post. That combined with a severe lack of internet access equals a month gap between blog posts. So without further a due, here goes my attempt at a jumbled post that may, or may not reflect my jumbled life that I’ve been adjusting to for the past month or so.
So let’s start at the beginning…. the happiest place on earth.
After Canada, the Magic 28 cast left the chilly winds of Toronto and headed south for the next leg of rehearsals (and a mini-vacation) in Orlando, FL, but most importantly, Disney World!
At first being put up in one of Disney’s famous All Star hotels with all expenses paid seemed like a dream come true, but we discovered that we were in for an aggressive awakening…B-E aggressive.
That’s right. Cheerleaders…lot’s of them. Apparently our All Star hotel also housed about a thousand or so of America’s loudest and most annoying competition cheerleaders cheering at all hours of the day and night.
But, cheerleaders aside it was a pretty cool time in Florida. We spent our days at Disney University and nights at the parks (AKA drinking around the world in Epcot).
After a couple of magical days in Disney World we left Orlando with our Disney degrees in hand and plenty of mouse shaped treats in our belly and headed off to our new home for the next 8 months… the Disney Magic.
Now imagine you’ve been dropped off in a foreign planet where everyone else lives cohesively and seamlessly together and you are expected to instantly absorb all information given to you and immediately fall into place with the rhythm, language, and lifestyle
…oh, and you’ve only had about two hours sleep.
Well, if you can envision this then you are perfectly prepared for your very first day of ship life.
And yet as overwhelming as the first few weeks on board can seem there are still glimpses the sometimes relaxing, always exciting moments and the progress and growth that lie on the horizon.
After our first week on board I sat at the most forward point of the ship for almost 3 hours and felt the sea air in my lungs and looked out at the most beautiful orangesicle colored sunset I have ever laid eyes on and felt the strength and joy of knowing that although this may be a sometimes overwhelming and trying experience it will also have the power to be one of the most exciting times in my life and will forever shape me as a person.
Now, fast forward to where I sit a month later and I have already met so many new friends from all over the world, laughed until I cried, felt completely overwhelmed until I cried, ate some incredible food with beautiful views, ate some very questionable food at the crew mess, sailed into tropical beaches, sketchy Bahamian ports, and New York City at sunrise with a lump in my throat and still find myself so grateful each and every day that I get to wake up and play make believe for a living.
