Training: Day Two & Three

The safety training we went through yesterday was the most fun and the most exhausting. We had some swimming exercises to do in the pool while wearing life jackets. If I didn't have a hard time swimming on my own, the life jacket definitely made it rough. Actually, I'm a terrible swimmer so it took all of my energy for the day. We had to swim the length of the pool and back wearing them, then take turns pulling a partner across one way, switching for the other. Andrew from Poland was my partner and he pretty much did all the work. haha.

We learned the 'caterpillar' technique wear you line off horizontally head to foot, hooking your feet under the arms or around the torso so you stay together when you propel backwards with your arms. Then we inflated a life boat, got inside and squished all twelve of us inside. Cozy little floating tent.

In the night a few of us took the sky train to downtown Vancouver and went to a little bar and grill by the harbour. Pretty sight with all the yachts and city skyline. The night was warm and it felt good to spend some time in the city for a few hours.

Today we had "Traditions" where we learned about the Disney company and how to best treat the guests. Disney is way bigger than I ever realized. I had no idea that they owned ABC or ESPN and had so many companies and projects under its wing. Walt Disney was quite the visionary, from humble beginnings with a genuine desire to make people happy. At the end of the session we all got our name tags. I have to say, it looks pretty cool.

When it finished at 3:30, my friend Nicole came to visit and we did a little shopping at the Pacific Centre and walked on Robson street. It was so so good to spend some time with her. Really just what I needed.

We're off to the boat tomorrow morning. We are to leave the hotel 'promptly' at 6:30 and so now I shall go and enjoy my last night in a big comfy bed. Wish I could take it with me!!

Training: Day One

I've finally met the rest of the group. There are people from all over the globe which has been amazing. Portugal, Trinidad, Jamaica (yah man), Poland, Oklahoma, to name a few. My roommate is from Scotland and we'll both be youth counselors.  We met the rest of the group at 7am while waiting for our ride to our first day of Personal Survival Training.  I'm loving all of the accents but sometimes I feel rude asking some people to repeat themselves. Sometimes I just smile and nod. Oops.

Our instructor for the course, Barry Walker, is an easy going bloke who used to captain a ship in the 60s I think, and has been on all sorts of different ships. He said that for the last 7 years he has worked here doing all sorts of training courses. The first part of the day we talked about various emergency situations, and he emphasized life jackets like crazy and successfully made me frightened to death of drowning or dying of hypothermia. Or walking into a non-ventilated area with bad air and dropping dead from lack of oxygen. It happens. Yay. Ummm, do I still want this job? (Now, Mom, stop worrying! I'll be okay!) But then he showed us silly videos of people failing at getting onto boats, and it lightened the mood.

We had an hour off for lunch so a few of us wandered beyond the doors of our little training school to a market close by. The last time I'd been in a place like that was in Florida. Lots of little trinkets to buy, fresh fruit, and apparently a mean bowl of minestrone soup according to Mackenzie. Afterwards we all got a crash course in lifeboats and got to experience going lowered down in one. Rocky and uncomfortable to say the least. Once we were in the water it wasn't so bad. There were otters in the harbour and it was a beautiful day.

Now we're back in the hotel, relaxing, cleaning up before we all meet for supper at 7:30. Many are still jet lagged, myself included, because despite my fantastically comfortable bed, I kept waking every few hours. Tomorrow we'll be getting into a pool while wearing survival suits and practicing with a boat to some capacity. We're hoping to explore the city a little bit after that session. Should be fun!

That's pretty much it! I'm liking it all so far.
Love and miss you all back home and wish you were here.
(I'll add pictures later.)   

at long last

I have been up since 4 to catch my flight at 7am and after a lot of travellin' I have arrived safely in Vancouver! Phewf. Why am I in Vancouver? Well, I haven't wanted to say much about my job because I was afraid something would go wrong and I'd jinx it. But all is well and I'm in Vancouver for training for my work on Disney Cruise Lines. I'll be working with the kiddo programming while heading to Alaska, then down to the Mexican Riviera. Can't. Believe. I'm. Finally. Here. Today is literally going to be the longest day of my life, with the time zone changes. My body feels like 9pm but its only 4:30 here. I'll sleep tonight for sure. I've never been on the west coast before! Flying over the Rocky Mountains was probably my top favourite flying moment ever. So crazy pretty.

 

I'm both excited and nervous to start my safety training tomorrow morning. It requires jumping in a swimming pool and it'll probably be my first time swimming this summer. Yikes. But get this, in this place, in this province the sun actually SHINES! Ever since I left NL, I have seen sun and I am so happy to see it again, friends, no joke.

Anyway, I'm checked into my hotel and my roommate hasn't arrived yet. I think I might go back out and explore the airport a little more, or take a walk outside. I don't know how often I'll get to update you all on what I'm up to in the next few months, but I'll sure try my best to catch a moment here and there or post a photo or two.

And despite how I feel about myself on camera, here is a little tour of my hotel room right now.