Flying Solo

"Of all the questions which can come before this nation...

there is none which compares in importance with the 

great central task of leaving this land even a better land 

for our descendants than it is for us."

- Theodore Roosevelt

We got through our first week of working on our own - not shadowing, not in pairs, but flying solo! I was afraid I would forget to bring something I needed for a position or get lost backstage or be late through rotation, but nothing like that happened all week. It all went very smoothly for all of us!

I did my first scripted presentation on a microphone near the beginning of the week - it was in front of Sue the T-rex in Dinoland. Everyone said, "Oh, you shouldn't be nervous, you did the Safaris, that's a long script!" And it was. But on safari, I faced forward and spoke to everyone behind me... any eye contact was made through a rear view mirror. For these presentations, I'm face to face with my audience. I haven't given presentations like that in a while and it feels VERY different than a safari! I was nervous for the first presentation, and I got a few lines out of order, but I remembered all the facts and it sounded just fine. Once it was over, my nerves disappeared - I had the standard "well that wasn't so bad!" moment. Next time should be a breeze!

Overall the job is great and I'm loving it! I'm starting to form favorites - favorite KDCs, favorite animal positions to staff, favorite bugs to take out into the Oasis in the morning... All of us interns get along and work well together. Our managers are very caring and encouraging - they've started organizing teambuilders (our first is going to be at the Campfire Singalong at Fort Wilderness! Hot dogs and smores included!!) and seminars on career options for us. 

My "weekend" is Tuesday/Wednesday. That's something else that's nice about this internship - we work the same hours everyday and we have the same days off each week (unless we decide to switch days with someone or there's a special event). It makes it very easy to plan your week out, which I appreciate. :)  Luckily Brian's weekends so far have been Tuesday/Wednesday too, so we've been able to see each other quite a bit. 

I've also made some exciting decisions. First, I signed up for a sign language class! I've always wanted to learn ASL (see Disney Dreams To-Do List on sidebar --->) and I feel like this is the perfect time. The class is 10 weeks long, not too expensive, and it's held right on property right after I get out of work. How could I pass it up? :D  

Also, I'll be auditioning for a S.T.A.G.E. production. This is something I've been thinking of doing for a while (see Disney Dreams To-Do List again --->). The play I'm auditioning for is a musical, but I haven't had much of a voice over the last few days (I'm guessing all the presenting from the "Presenter" part of my internship is catching up with me), so we'll see how the audition goes. I don't have any high hopes about landing myself the lead role or anything like that - I just miss being in plays, so all I'm hoping for is to just be cast in it at all. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I am really excited that I could potentially cross 2 of my Disney Dreams off during this semester. :)