Changes

Hi everyone!! I have made the decision to switch my blog over to wordpress, for many reasons which I need not go into here. So if you have found yourself at this blog, not to worry, click here to be re-directed to the new blog! Please change your bookmarks to http://www.ericaamber.wordpress.com/ for all future blogging adventures!! But don't worry, this blog will still be around to re-direct you in case you get lost, there will just no longer be new content on here! Thanks so much for your support and I'll see you on the new page!!

Erica

Carnival Expectations

So, I guess it's time for an update on my life. Lots of big news in the last few weeks. So the interviews with Carnival Cruise Lines went really really well, but I didn't want to say anything until I got the official word back. Well, I got it and the word is that I've been offered a Guest Services Assistant position with Carnival. This means all kinds of things, first and foremost, I GET TO LIVE ON A CRUISE SHIP!!!!! Secondly, I get to go back to Florida for training. The training will be in Miami or Port Canaveral, so I'll be heading over there a week or so early to spend some extra time in Orlando with my Disney friends! I can't wait! I don't know what cruise ship I'll be on yet, I'll know soon though. And of course, as per usual, I will keep updating this lovely little blog with stories of my adventures. Here for your enjoyment is my list of things that I am expecting from this experience, and at the end of it I'll look back and see whether I was right.

Erica's List of Cruise Expectations:

1) Lots of fun new places to explore. In my position we don't work really long shifts, we do work everyday but because it's a tough job we don't do long shifts, so I expect to have lots of time to explore the places we dock.

2) Cell phone withdrawl. Enough said.

3) Lots of time to train. I would liked to be training for a couple hours a day while I'm at sea, because I'd like to stay in racing shape for when I come home.

4) Lots of spare time. I know this sounds crazy, but compared to how packed my schedule is at home, I anticipate more free time. Here my days are booked solid from 6am til who knows when, on board I will only be working one shift a day and I won't be able to get any second or third jobs.

5) Catch up on my reading. I have so many books I want to read and not enough time!

6) Eating glorious fresh fruit all the time!!!


Thats all for now!! Check out the Carnival website HERE!!!

Awards

To say that co-operative education has changed my life would be an understatement. More like revolutionized! I'm a huge advocate of co-op education, and imagine my surprise when this morning I opened an email that said I had recieved honerable mention in the CSOTY Co-op Student of the Year Awards. That's Canada-wide! I'm so amazed and grateful for this honor, I can't even belive it. I am so fortunate to have an amazing support network both at home and at school, as well as amazing leaders from The Walt Disney Company who were also commited to helping me succeed. I'm still in shock, I don't even know what to say except thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me along this path!! I promise to do great things in my lifetime, I won't let any of you down!!

Obstacles

Well, february is approaching! I had hoped to have better news for you all but as of right now I still do not have a work visa, which means I can't go to Paris yet. It's been quite stressful, lots of paperwork and visiting the french consulate. So at this point I don't really know exactly what is happening. I've kind of come to terms with the possibility that I might not be able to go. It's not ideal but I do love being home and I can make the most out of whatever I end up doing. I am a gypsy and I love the next great adventure but sometimes we have to adjust our dreams. I'll keep you informed, fingers crossed I'll be in Paris by this time next month!! The quote of the day, keeping in the theme, is this:

Life at any time can become difficult: life at any time can become easy. It all depends upon how one adjusts oneself to life. - Morarji Desai

Exciting news!

So I've been a little bit worried because I haven't officially had a contract for Paris and I've just had the word of my recruiter that I've got a position. Which is fine except the closer I get the more nervous I get. What if they changed their minds? All kinds of questions arise. Well I spoke with my recruiter the other day and she informed me that as soon as I have my working visa (dec 28th) and I fax a copy to her, she will be able to tell me my position and start date!! So that's very very exciting! I feel so much better have a little more reassurance. I guess if I think about it from their point of view, they can't just go off giving everyone contracts without proof that they can work in France or else a lot of people wouldn't show up and whatnot. Also, I'm currently typing this from my very own brand new IPAD!! As a vagabond gypsy, large computers arent really on the list of things that fit in my carry-on. So as my birthday/Xmas/going away present, I am a very lucky girl and have received an iPad. No word yet on what her name is but as soon as she has one I'll let you know. Yay!!

Awards

I received a very exciting letter in the mail a little while ago. Sidebar: isn't snail mail just the best?! I love getting postcards and letters and fun things like that, and I also love to send them! Since I've been home I've been over to various friends homes and seen postcards that I sent them from Florida on their fridges. That just warms my heart! Anyhow, back to my letter. It was from Camosun and it said that I won this year's Hotel and Restaurant Co-op Award! How exciting!!!! I'm so thrilled and proud of myself. It's really amazing when your hard work pays off, isn't it?! Awards ceremony is on monday, I'll try to get a nice picture to post! Have a magical day!

Torn

Well it's almost December, I have an appointment with the french consulate to procure my working visa, I'm preparing to move across the world and I'm just waiting for my contract to be ready. It's the most excited I've ever been in my life. And most possibly the most terrified. I'm loving being home and hating it all at once. I absolutely adore my family and have a really hard time living without them, so leaving them is something I'm dreading. The other thing that's really tough is how many amazing friends I have here. The more I stay at home, the more I can see my life as it would be if I stayed here. Leaving my amazing Victoria life will honestly tear a piece out of my soul. However, I have come to know myself well enough to know that if I don't leave I will end up resenting everyone who made me want to stay. I'm in a constant state of delirious happiness mixed with insatiable sadness and restlessness. I have this insatiable desire to see EVERYTHING. When I think about moving to Paris, the mere thought of it literally stops my breath in my chest and makes my heart skip a beat from sheer excitement. As much as I'm sad and scared to leave my life and my loved ones, I know that I would be far more devastated if I didn't leave. It's also been a tough few weeks of loss for me, which I won't get into, but it makes me realize that life is far too short to compromise. I HAVE to follow my dreams and my heart because I owe it to myself to do anything in my power to be as happy as possible, and to sell myself short of my own dreams would be equivalent to dying right here right now. and I'm not ready to die. In short, I am so very ready for my next adventure, no matter how much it will hurt to depart upon it.

Everyday I dream of Paris

Well, as you can imagine, I'm freezing!! Apparently I got really spoiled living in Orlando. Brrrrr. Also, just my luck, they are saying that this will be the coldest winter in 20 years. Awesome. Anyhow, sorry things aren't very interesting right now, I promise that come february I'll have a million wonderful photos of Paris for all of you! There is one interesting thing, I was interviewed for an article for Camosun about Disney and my upcoming opportunity in Paris and it is currently on the front page of the Camosun website. Yup. Little old me. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here is the link. www.camosun.ca I'm not sure how long it will be up so go take a look right now! It's very exciting actually. I've done some guest lecturing in some tourism classes about Disney and international tourism, which was frighteningly amazing. Somehow I became a grown-up. People take me seriously, it's very unnerving. I have a few exciting things happening soon, one of my favorite friends from the Disney College Program is coming for Christmas all the way from Spain! So that's wonderful. I can't wait to see her! 47 days until her arrival. And in 86 days, Paris. I can't even wait. Sometimes I think about it and get so overwhelmed with excitement I can't even handle it. 86 days.

Winter?

Well it's been a little while since my last post, mostly because I'm home now and I'm in full swing with being back at school and work and riding horses and whatnot, also because non-Disney is so much less fun to write about! I'm getting my condo ready to sell, finishing the last class in my program, and trying to not miss the sunshine state so much. Victoria was glorious the last week or two and then something happened and now it's freezing!!! So upsetting, I'm so cold all the time. Orlando made me a big baby about cold!! My mom and I went on this really cool house tour of 6 amazing houses in Victoria. It was really neat to see, I love architecture and big houses and I'm one of those really nosy people who always wonders what the inside of other people's houses look like. So it was a great little afternoon adventure for us. It made me really think about priorities. Having a really nice fancy house on the ocean really seems like something I really want, in theory. But then I spent the day really thinking about what is most important to me, and I would rather have no home and a passport than a big fancy house tying me to a city. I love travelling and seeing the world. Obviously if I had unlimited capital then I'd buy a fancy house on every continent. But at this point, I'll settle for just getting to every continent. And that's what's important. But gosh were those houses gorgeous!!!

Customs

Well I'm in the Seattle airport awaiting a connecting flight. I know what you're thinking, and yes, I'm off again. I'm headed back to florida for a little bit, I'll be back on the island again by Monday. I just have to talk about customs agents for a minute because I think they don't get enough credit. Everyone complains about them but I love them. I've never had a bad customs experience. Even today, I was selected twice for random extra screening and all of my customs agents were great. The first one joked and laughed with me and we had a lovely time. I think that they have a job that sometimes sucks but if you are happy and co-operative with them, then in my experience they are the same way with you. Call me crazy but I always have fun going through customs. And I got a special screening test today that I've never had before, they wiped my hands with a gun powder residue pad and then scanned it!! It was just like CSI, I was so excited!!

New Friends

I have been meaning to post this photo for quite some time, however with the travelling across Canada, it was a little bit difficult. I met a couple of lovely ladies just before I left Florida, they were staying in the resort and I got to chatting with them. Carol and Deb were delightful and are a fabulous example of the amazing people that I get to interact with on a daily basis at the lodge. They had some great advice for me in my future endeavors and even took a photo of us on the 6th floor! If you ladies are out there reading this, it was a true pleasure to meet you!!

DLP

So I'm home now, and it's amazing to be back here.  I just adore Victoria and am so happy to be home. I miss Orlando tho, and I'm excited to go back for a visit next week. I have some great news, I spoke to the recruiter from Disneyland Paris and they've approved me for a later start time. I still have one class left to finish to graduate and I wanted to take an advanced french class as well, just to make sure my french is up to par, and if I started in September I wouldn't be able to do that. Plus this way I can tie up some loose ends here at home and that's very nice. It's a big weight off my shoulders, moving to another continent is a wee big stressful!
So I get to stay home for a bit, sell my condo, etc, and sort my life out before I leave! Yay!

So much to say

Well it's been a delightful time! We went to Banff, visited my friends over there, saw the mountains, and ate at my favorite restaurant. Which is 'The Grizzly House'. It's a fondue/hot rock restaurant and it's so much fun!! I adore it there. Derrek ate all kinds of crazy animals. Snake, shark, venison!! Etc. I ate chicken!! It was so wonderful to see my Banff friends and catch up. As per usual we didn't get to stay long enough, and it was hard to leave. From there we went to Penticton to see Lindsey which was wonderful also! We floated down the channel and enjoyed the sun! We only got one day there and then off to van we went. I got to see an old friend there that I haven't seen in a very long time so that was amazing. And now I'm on the ferry to the island!!! Huzzah!!! I can't even express how happy I am to be going home. I'm giddy!!! I haven't been home since January! Yay! .

This is the view of the Bow valley from the resort I used to work at in Banff, the Rimrock! So many memories

The Bow Falls.....still unsure why they call them falls, they're just big rapids!

You know you're in Banff when you run into lots of these guys!

This is actually Penticton as seen from Lindsey's balcony!

 

Niagara Falls

So we left Toronto and headed to Niagara Falls for the day! The way the buses worked out, we got to Niagara at noon and then would be able to leave in the evening for Winnipeg! So we spent the day at the falls. When you get into Niagara, the area around the bus stop is the 'old downtown' area and it's kind of like something out of a zombie movie! It's all boarded up and desolate. No people anywhere. We opted to walk to the actual falls and by the time we got down there, it looked more like civilization again. The falls are stunning!! Absolutely gorgeous! Then there's this random street called Clifton Hill that is like a little mini Las Vegas that just appears from nowhere. It also reminds me of highway 192 in Florida. Crazy buildings and haunted houses and massive dinosaurs coming out of buildings and stuff. Totally random. Massive tourist trap. There's also a few lovely parks and things that we wandered through. Overall I really enjoyed Niagara Falls, I would like some more time to explore it!!  

Toronto

So we just left Toronto. It was lovely. I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the last time I was there, probably because I had some friends to show me around. We had a lot of fun wandering around during the day, we went to Chinatown and all over! Then we went for dinner with some of my friends from Banff, it was so nice to see everyone!! I enjoyed Toronto. I think I could live there, I like how much is going on all the time!  

More Ottawa

I think one of the most amazing things about visiting friends while traveling is that you get to gain an insight into their lives. In Ottawa that meant two kids. Now if you know me at all you know that I'm not good with kids. Not even a little. In fact it's comical how bad I am with children, probably because I never want any. But Aly's kids are different, we got along famously. So I had to take this chance to mention that I can be trusted to ensure that children don't explode or hurt themselves. Derrek is fabulous with kids, he just laughs at how awkward I am with them. I took photos as proof!!  

Ottawa

We have spent the last few days in the capital of our lovely nation!! When we arrived, my lovely friend Alysn picked us up from the airport with her two kids! I haven't seen her in a few years so it was a really fabulous reunion! We spent some quality time catching up while the kids (and Derrek) napped. The first night we went on a really cool walking tour of Ottawa and heard a bunch of ghost stories and stuff. The highlight was a hostel that used to be a jail!!! We got to go up to the top floor and see the cells and they were so tiny it was crazy. The jail was eventually shut down because of the inhumaine conditions!! So cool. It also has this awesome gallows that was the site of the last government sanctioned hangings in Canada. SO COOL!! If we hadn't had a place to stay I would totally have wanted to stay there! Apparently for a long time they had an offer at the hostel where if you could spend the whole night in one of the cells your night was free. However noone ever made it though a whole night so they stopped doing it. I bet I could last a night.

The jail cells!!

The location of the last sanctioned hangings in Canada!!

Aly and little Jasmine! Bedtime stories!!

z

Bus Adventure

So we are on a bus! We were waylaid a bit in Moncton but we are now back on track and are on a bus to Montreal!! That is a 15 hour bus trip, just so you all know. It's been fun. And wierd. There's always interesting folks on busses. Currently there's an intoxicated French man talking to himself about how we all 'Le text message' too much. So that's fun. About 3 more hours left until Montreal. I love how noone speaks English here, it makes me practice my French. C'est Bien!! I also forgot to mention that we spent our last night in Moncton at a lakeside cabin belonging to some friends of mine. It was gorgeous!! The lake was lovely and warm. There was a thunderstorm too, and the sound of the rain on the roof was so soothing and wonderful. I have some photos!
 

Peggy's Cove

So yesterday we parted ways from the lovely companionship of Chelsea and David and met up with my friend Mat. He's from New Brunswick so he came to meet us in Halifax! We went to Peggy's Cove, which is gorgeous and in fact I believe it is the most photographed place in North America!! It's absolutely stunning!! I loved it. Ive never been to the east coast of Canada and I'm so happy we came. We decided to camp at a site near the cove. We went to the store and Derrek decided he wanted to cook up some Nova Scotia lobster. So he tried to buy a pot, but they were really expensive. So he found a tin flower vase at winners and got that. And we managed to cook lobster in the vase over a campfire. It was pretty epic! The sunset was gorgeous and we had a really great evening by the fire. Today we are headed off to New Brunswick and are camping somewhere there!! I love the gypsy life!! I could get
used to this!!
  z

Living the dream

Not that I needed a new definition of friendship, but I have found new depths!! Every step so far on this journey that I have met up with old friends, and every stop feels like I never want to leave! I think that's a true friend, one that you never want to leave. We are in Halifax with Chelsea and David and I could just stay here with them forever. As I could have stayed with Katie forever. I think that all we can hope for in life is to have friends that are so close that you never want to leave!! A friend from New Brunswick is on the way to come get us!! The adventure continues!!

All I want to do is travel the world until I've seen everything!!

Best friends!!

 

David and Chelsea have the best dogs ever. Derrek has a new best friend

 

Magpie!!