The first few days...

Please bare with me, this will be a long post- theres a lot to recap!!

Tuesday 3rd May- 
I had to get up at about 5.30am after only 2 hours sleep to get ready for the airport. The taxi ride up to Gatwick was awful, I had a lump in my throat and was really trying not to cry otherwise it would set my Mum off. I went and checked in and dropped off my bag (that was slightly overweight), and both BA staff tried to change my seat, which I was having none of!! Then came time to say goodbye :( My Mum was actually the strong one, and I was the blubbering mess!
So once through security I went to look for Kyle, as we had arranged to meet at HMV. Surprise surprise HMV isn't there anymore. But we found each other, and then Mark, and then came the flight.
Flight was... hmm... pretty bad. I am not one for turbulence (as the boys will tell you), and the seatbelt sign seemed to be on all the time. Still, we got here safe and sound, and headed for Immigration. Now just a heads up, when you land you have to present your white I-94 card AND the blue customs form. The immigration officer will also ask a few questions about where you are working and how long you intend to be in the United States, also if you have brought through any cigarettes or alcohol. Luckily I got a really nice, chatty guy but others can be a bit scary.
So then we headed for baggage claim, then the Mears transportation desk where we had arranged to meet Julie, from Canada. Problem is, theres 4 Mears desks in Orlando international, 2 for each terminal. So when Julie wasn't there Kyle and I decided to go on a hunt for her! Unfortunately we didn't find her but we did find Sergio and Tania from Mexico and while we had been waiting Kirstie's flight from Manchester had also landed. So that was the 6 of us and we headed over to Vista Way.
Upon arrival we were welcomed by 3 or 4 of the Disney team, they checked our names off and gave us an arrival pack, Disney program guide book and our room keys. There was a slight glitch here as everyone was put in The Commons, and mine said Patterson Court- which I didn't mind but it meant I wasn't near any of the others. Luckily it was just a printing mistake and I was in The Commons. They show a short video welcoming you to the housing complexes, and offer some refreshments- which were much needed!
At this point we all piled into the minivan and round to The Commons, they dropped us off at each of our buildings so we didn't have to walk far with all our bags. Mark and I were put in the same building, which was a comforting thought to have someone so close. In my apartment a French girl welcomed me and took me to my room, and we talked for a little while. Also in my room is another new arrival, Cristina, from Mexico. It was so good to have someone else going through exactly the same process, and she is really sweet.
We are in a 4 bedroom apartment which means that I am sharing with 7 other girls, I've met 5 of them so far. We have 2 British, 3 Japanese, an Italian, a Mexican and a girl from France. So a really mixed bunch.
Then we had the epic first night trip to Walmart!! Except buses finish running at around 5pm on a Tuesday, so we had to get a cab there and back. We all went for the "bed in a bag" option; which has your sheets, comforter and pillow cases for around $45, and then the pillows are around $8 each.
When we got back, we all went back to our apartments. Cristina and I came back and met two of our housemates and ended up staying up until about 1am before sorting out bedding and then sleep.

Wednesday 4th May
We had to be up,and at the Clubhouse at The Commons for 9.55 to start off Orientation. We all met outside about 5 minutes before we went in, and as we entered "We're all in this together" from High School Musical was playing (LOL). The Disney guys basically talked to us about the main reasons for people getting terminated, what not to do etc. Health and safety. And then we had about an hour to spare before heading off to do more orientation stuff. So us UK lot, Cristina and some of the Canadians went and sat by the pool just chilling, chatting and getting to know each other. Then at 12.40 we went and caught a bus to Vista Way. Here we had to present some of our paperwork (They tell you what stuff to bring before hand) and then we signed housing agreements, policy forms etc. We had to queue up to sort out payroll cards/forms except because I'm HRC (an operating participant company) I was taken past all that stuff to the front of the queue to have passport/visa checked. And then it's time for your Housing ID photo! This has to be in the Disney look, so I had to take my necklace off, and a few of the girls were given a jacket to wear just to cover their shoulders for the photo. The ID is then printed then and there for you to start using! (Before this you are given a sheet of paper which you have to carry around with your passport to get you into The Commons, or whatever housing complex)
After this we then headed to Walmart again as I hadn't picked up any grocery items. I just went for the basics really; Apple juice, cereal, milk, bread, butter. I'll do more shopping at another time, but at the moment I just haven't really been hungry, and the first few weeks are going to be all over the place until we settle into some sort of routine! I then went and hung out with Julie and a friend of hers from home that is here over at Antonia and Kirstie's apartment. Then coming back I got to talk to a few of my housemates a bit more, find out more about them. One of them even makes balloon animals which is pretty cool. Finally I rolled into bed and then spent some time on Facebook and on the internet catching up on stuff, it's nice to have the internet all sorted here. The girls I'm living with have just bought a wireless router which is great and we all just chipped in $6 and it seems to be a really good, fast connection which is a relief as I'd heard some places were really slow.

So this is an insanely long post.. hopefully I can update you on the goings on of today a little bit later or tomorrow. Then I can develop some regular blogging :)