Disney Life!!!

HELLO FROM SUNNY ORLANDO

I have officially arrived and settled in to Vista Way apartments here in Orlando!

I left Sunday morning really early from Halifax. That was really sad to leave my parents... I did cry! I knew I was going to a happy place but fear of the unknown really made it difficult. Luckily I had a travel buddy, Syed, and we managed to get on a plane to Montreal.

We had to get on a different plane after Montreal- this was pure h-e-double hockey stick. We got off our plane and had to navigate to the other side of the Montreal airport. We were told to go into wrong (long) lines TWICE which really took away some of our time. Trying to get through customs- the customs officer told me we had missed our flight! I also cried a bit here... it was terrifying! But when Syed and I got our tickets scanned, the lady said RUN RUN RUN. Syed and I started SPRINTING through the Montreal airport, and with some help from an Air Canada lady radio-ing our flight, we managed to make the flight that, according to the customs officer, had already left. On top of all this- I'm soooo bad with flying so I got really sick too. pleasant.

We landed in Orlando and met two other people from our program, that were on the plane we were on- Victor and Sandra! The four of us got a Mears taxi to Vista Way!

Arrival was really smooth- it just felt hectic because it was a lot of stuff to take in. Victor, Syed and I were all in Vista- in fact all on the same floor in the same complex (20)- Sandra went to another complex though..
When I moved in, my other room mates weren't here yet :( But I did get to meet Alexis right away! Alexis knows my friend Lidia so we knew of each other before hand :)

We decided to go to Walmart first. This was so confusing to find the buses.. and Walmart was so HUGE! It was bigger than Chester I think. But I got everything I needed and some friendly ICP people helped me carry  my groceries up the stairs.

I met my room mates! They're amazing!
In my room is Steph Boden- she's from England! I love her accent! She's a total blast. I also have Erica and Saira in the other room (we have two bedrooms, 4 people) Saira is also from England, and Erica is from Ontario All of us seem so excited about being here and they're all super friendly- I can't wait for some bonding nights!

For dinner we took a bus to Downtown Disney- around 20 Canadians. We were caught in a HUGE downpour- and had to huddle under a bus shelter until it let up. It was fun though! We ate at Earl of Sandwich.. I'm a terrible flyer so my stomach still felt bad so I just had a salad. Downtown Disney is soooo cute at night= lots of lights, lots of people, lots of fun. It's also free to go and just look around so that's definitely going to be an option when I'm bored. If I ever get bored

After dinner we took a bus to the Polynesian Resort. This is one of Disney's more expensive resorts in the Magic Kingdom area (across the lake from the MK) We sat on the beach and watched Wishes, the MK fireworks! It was a total dream come true. In that moment, I was like... I am where I am supposed to be. It was breathtaking. All of us, (most Canadians were there) were so awestruck. Definitely a favorite moment.

I went to bed as soon as I could last night!

This morning we slept in a bit, and then Erica, Alexis and I went for a walk around Vista. Vista Way is gorgeous! There are two pools, fitness center, a place where you can use computers, rent books and DVDs, and tennis, basketball and beach volleyball courts. The weather here is gorgeous- yesterday was humid but today is just soooo nice.

We got our housing IDs and filled out some paperwork.

Soon we're going to Chatham to fill out some more paperwork I think.... and guess what.. TYPHOON LAGOON IS OPEN FOR JUST THE ICP CREW TONIGHT!!! Party at Typhoon Lagoon! I hear there will be Disney characters there, free food, DJ... I cannot WAIT!

I love it so much here! Everyone is so nice! It seems like everybody I meet lives in 20 Vista which is my house. Everyone is so friendly and so enthusiastic. not to mention, it's BEAUTIFUL here. I'm so excited for what's going to come. It feels like I've been here forever already too which is strange because it's been just 24 hours recently. I can already tell it's going to be tricky to leave.

I do miss everyone at home and I think of all of you every single moment- I just wish you all could be here enjoying this AMAZING experience with me!

I'm so happy I had the courage to leave the Halifax airport:

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not why ships were built"


Here are some pictures of around Vista: