September 18, 2012

Today I had an absolutely fabulous training day with Disney English!  It consisted of orienting ourselves with the history and traditions of the Disney company, extensive explanation of company policies, lunch with the new Chinese Assistant Trainers, an overview look at the goals and curriculum and sitting in on a demo lesson with an experienced Foreign Trainer and Assistant.

I found myself dumbfounded by the scope of the Disney company.  The possibilities for career advancement are endless and it sounds impossible but when you really look at all of the things Disney does it is clear that there is no corner of the globe that they haven’t touched.

Also, it might be silly but hearing the Disney songs, and seeing all of these iconic characters which are so familiar to me is so comforting.  I grew up with this stuff so it’s like going home again.

Still fighting the jet lag, during breaks we would run down to the Mr. Bean themed coffee shop.  I made Cam and Chelsea pose with the décor. (Neither of them was successful at looking like Mr. Bean but it was a noble attempt.)

Chelsea just spent the last year teaching English with EF in Guangzhou.  I almost chose to live in Guangzhou, after talking to Chelsea I’m glad that I didn’t.  When I started sending out applications to teach English, EF was my top choice…after talking to Chelsea, it’s clear Disney is a MUCH better fit.

Cam spent that last 8 years working at Disney World, primarily recruiting and training cast members from Australia and New Zealand.  Everything about him screams Disney (in the best possible way) and I have spent the past couple of days grilling him about his experiences working for the company.  He is so enthusiastic about everything Disney does and it makes me excited too. I’m totally jumping onto the Disney bandwagon.

After work, I wanted to try Chinese Hot Pot so I went with Krit and Chelsea to a place near our hotel.  On the tables there were large stone bowls attached to some kind of heating system that boils the broth and cooks everything right there in front of you.

No one in the restaurant spoke any English but we were able to select mushroom broth, potato noodles, lotus root, a mixed vegetable plate which turned out to be a bowl of lettuce and sprouts, and tofu.

We were happily eating when a mysterious black spongy thing bubbled to the top of the bowl.  What is it?  Maybe a mushroom?  Chelsea dared me to eat it so I fished it out of the bowl and put it on my plate, just as I was about to pop in my mouth I distinctly saw bone and then I realized....it was some kind of bird's foot!  We inspected the soup bowl more and managed to pull out FIVE birds' feet, I don't think they were from a chicken.
It's pretty funny that we ordered an entirely veggie meal and ended up with birds' feet.  In China, they don't really understand the concept of vegetarian.  Meat is synonymous with wealth so the general thought is if you can afford to eat meat why wouldn't you?  I've been here less than a week but already I've eaten some mystery meat morsels mixed in with my veggies, I'm glad I was able to avoid the feet...this time.