Orange to Orange

did you know that orlando, florida is in the great county of orange?  it seems good ol' Walt had a bit of a sense of humor in picking his second location--orange to orange. or perhaps he just had a strange obsession with fruit.

well folks, i'm at DISNEYWORLD!  and its so unbelievably awesome its not even funny. i love my roommates. (for reals.)  i love my job. i love the weather. I LOVE DISNEYWORLD!

here's a general description of what i'm doing:  for at least 30-40 hours of my week i am working attractions at Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK). i am a villager of anandapur, in the asia section of DAK.  anandapur is a fictional village set at the base of the himalayas.  on the maharajah jungle trek (where i live) you can see all kinds of different animals that can be found throughout asia (generally southeast asia) including tigers, giant bats, komodo dragons, blackbuck antelope, sarus crane, eld's deer, bar-headed geese, banteng, and many many species of exotic asian birds. all of which i know very much about-i am a knowledgeable and adept guide in anandapur.

the best thing ever though is just talking to the guests. while i was training still i had an addition to my nametag that said "earning my ears."  one time in the bat house, a kid walks up to me and says "you're in training." with his hands on his hips. i told him that yes, i was still learning, and he proceeded to fire questions at me about the bats in an effort to quiz me. thankfully i knew all his questions, but boy did i feel grilled. i love that though. i love talking to all the different people about conservation and the animals they see in front of them. and THAT'S MY JOB, people! they pay me for that! not very well, granted, but i still get paid!

its a wonderful life.