YO YO YO WHATS UP EVERYBODY! *virtually blows all the dust away tsk tsk*
I KNOW. I have not been blogging for almost half a year already (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ *flips table*
I am not even qualified as a blogger anymore. But trust me when I say I tried. I really did .__.
Anyway I'm finally back from the States! No more excuses this time, I hope.
Starting off with a new header which perfectly matches winterhearts.com! Been designing my blog with illustrated snowflakes, animated snow all these years and finally I could use my very own picture! *tears of joy*
I spent hours dealing with this so bare with me seeking for some credits here heh :D
Okay. So I was part of this Work and Travel USA program, where I get to work at SeaWorld for approximately 3 months, then travel for 1 month. Obviously I have A WHOLE LOT of stuffs to share & to be really honest, I have about 10,000 photos altogether. I'M NOT KIDDING.
# LIFE IN ORLANDO
Now that everything has come to an end, I would say the best part of this program would be my life in Orlando, Florida! This is where everything is still pretty laid back & I get to chill at le luxurious apartment - Integra Cove, the place where I call home! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Even more comfortable than my own house seriously.
So throughout the three months, I spent most of my time working at SeaWorld, visiting the best theme parks in the world & having all kinds of outings / gatherings / getaways during my off days.
Now that I think about it, life is pretty good back then HAHA.
#1 WORKING AT SEAWORLD
FYI, I worked in SW Photo Department (Merchandise), where we sell all the epic photos taken for thrilling rides like Manta, Kraken, Journey to Atlantis & etc. Manta is my favourite workstation & I gotta say I'm pretty lucky to be scheduled there most of the time :D
Working is indeed tiring but I am so glad that I have wonderful colleagues to work with! Not forgetting to mention my leads / supervisors are AWESOME.
Throwback to my first day at SeaWorld during our Orientation!
My first bunch of Peru-ian friends :D
And I met this sweetie, named
Lucia ❤
So happy when she gave me this Turron! A very sweet kind of nougat that she brought from Peru.
The internationals in my department!
From left: Yours truly, Kamilla & Jana from Brazil and Ana from Peru. Love them much much ❤
Best Peru-ian friend: Ana ❤ whom I super love to work with because we have 31837913 things to talk about! :D And she forces me to go for all the thrilling rides in SeaWorld T.T
My dearest colleagues: Lauren (MY FAVOURITE LEAD!), Danielle, Denise, Meagan ❤
and other humans who are not in the picture : Sam, Myriam, Cindy, Lynn, Gerardo, Vanessa & so many more!
And special column for my best Brazilian friend over here : Jana ❤ who is forever energetic and hyped up. I super love our heart-to-heart talk session, you'll always be remembered!
SeaWorld is very strict with cellphone usage and hence I don't really get to take photos with them at work. So pardon our blurry selfies taken during our farewell party okay :P
#2 VISITING THEME PARKS
Florida is best known for its theme parks! And being SeaWorld's employee certainly has its own perks. Because we get to visit Universal Studios (both parks) FOR FREE. I swear this is the best best best best best part ever because I love Universal Studios so so so so so much.
Being a fan of Harry Potter since I was a kid, I cannot explain how much I love Universal Studios T.T And one day I went there alone after work for Harry Potter Celebration just to see the casts LIVE! ヽ(´∇｀)ノ
Diagon Alley @ Universal Studios
Hogsmeade @ Universal's Island of Adventure.
Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Cho Chang & Luna Lovegood, #HPCelebration
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Walt Disney World in Florida is very well known worldwide too, as it's the first and original Disney theme park! There are 4 different parks in Orlando, namely Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot & Hollywood Studios.
However, the entrance to Disney is not free for us, which means we have to pay around USD 300 to enter all four parks. Fortunately, I met Brett who works in Disney & he is kind enough to bring us in & to accompany us all day long. THANK YOU SO MUCH BRETT ❤ !
So I went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios! Epcot is my favourite among all :D
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Apart from that, we could also visit other parks that are under SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment such as :
SeaWorld's Water Theme Park : Aquatica! FOR FREE AGAIN HEHEH.
And discounted ticket to Discovery Cove; where we could swim with dolphins, sting rays & etc :D
☑ Universal Studios
☑ Universal Islands of Adventure
☑ Disney's Magic Kingdom
☑ Disney's Epcot
☑ Disney's Hollywood Studios
☑ SeaWorld
☑ Aquatica
☑ Discovery Cove
ALL CHECKED!
#3 OUTINGS / GATHERINGS
From left clockwise : Yours truly, Teck Soon, Ji Tsong, Pei Qi, Guo Jie, Pei En, Ming Wei & YY !
To be frank, I am surprised with the number of Malaysians who are in the same program as me! If I'm not mistaken, we have about 32 Malaysians working at SeaWorld in total! I remember meeting another girl who's in this program & according to her, there were only 3 Msians at her workplace - Utah D:
Anyway, to me it's a happy thing because the more the merrier HAHA WHAT.
So usually we would see who have the same off days and hang out together! ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ
Here's a summary of everything, I will get into details in a separate post if I feel like it! :
Witnessed the launch of a rocket at NASA.
Visited University of Central Florida (UCF).
Scrolled around Winter Park & visited Farmers' Market.
Posed like students @ Rollins' College.
Watched an NBA Game LIVE ! | LA Clippers VS Orlando Magic.
I swear it's a dream come true for a basketball lover like me! ⊂（ﾟДﾟ⊂
Okay sorry I cannot hide my excitement. Continue :
Witnessed Nights of Lights @ St. Augustine // The oldest city in the States.
Took a day trip to Daytona Beach + Daytona International Speedway.
Shopped at the premium outlets till drop.
Celebrated Chinese New Year together with the fellow Malaysians!
And cooked our very own reunion dinner during CNY Eve!
Took a short getaway to Keywest & to Miami with the bunch during CNY !
Explored a variety of Chinese cuisines possible with my kindest housemates -
Joanne & Sinyee ❤
and last but not least, partied once and for all at Senor Frogs ♪┏(・o･)┛♪┗ ( ･o･) ┓
TRAVELLING
From left : Stefan, yours truly, Miichii & Hong Jian.
Call us
The Steady Cheesecake. HAHAHAH can't believe I'm announcing our group name here wth.
Anyways, I'm thankful to be able to travel with them throughout the whole month !All the way from
Florida - Washington DC - Pennsylvania - New York - Illinois - Colorado - Las Vegas - Utah - Arizona - California.
Had lots of joy and laughter together & most importantly, took lots of pretty photos with the breathtaking landscapes!
It wasn't smooth sailing all the way though. We had our hard times, dealt with 232323 issues particularly carrying our f-ed up luggage around.
In short, it was one hell of an adventure; but definitely a worthwhile experience \(^ㅂ^) /
Introducing Miichii Khoo Jing Yee : My best companion throughout my trip ❤
Afraid not you will be seeing A WHOLE LOT of their pictures in my blog in time to come.
That's all for now.
Blogging is indeed time-consuming, but I know I need to do this for myself.
I really want to pen down all these significant moments so that I'll always remember them (:
For those who spent their time reading,
Thank you ❤
Dreams can come true; if you have the courage to pursue them.
P.S.: For more information about Work and Travel USA, google Speedwing / Out of the box.
