1) Sushi at the Polynesian
My roommate Michelle and I made the Kona Cafe our sort of "spot," where we went whenever we wanted to eat something different than what we had at the apartment (which was usually easy mac, peanut butter and jelly, and cereal). So much so that the waiter, Scott (yes I still remember his name), remembered us and told us he'd "see us next week." Anyway we always ordered crab rangoon, which is: crab salad rolled in Nori, tempura fried and served with won tons and eel sauce. Eel sauce made me question whether I wanted to order it, but it tasted like a sweeter version of soy sauce--so anyone out there hesitant, don't be, it's so dang good. This was probably one of my favorite foods at Walt Disney World and spending time there with Michelle makes the memories even better. If you're ever at or near the Polynesian I definitely recommend stopping at the Kona Cafe bar and ordering crab rangoon. Dang, now I'm craving some sushi.2) Coming home to all my roommates
This might seem like an oddly specific thing to miss, but I really do. I have a single dorm room at school now, so I only come back from class or where ever else to an empty room. I loved coming home from work or adventures and seeing my roommates on the couch, watching TV or doing something on their computers because as soon as I walked in they would yell, "HAILEY!" It was awesome to have a small family to come home to after a long or stressful day. I loved all my roommates even if there was an occasional problem, which does happen when you live with 6 girls. But the great thing is that for most of the program I felt that family feeling and it made it easier to adapt to the program and being so far away from home. The nights where we did random shenanigans like videos where we spit water in each others faces (it's a long story) or decided to leave to go to the beach at 4 am to see the sunrise--are the ones I will always remember. I'm so thankful to have lived and hung out with all my roomies--you all are the coolest ladies. 3) My Epcot family!
Even though asking, "is that the same finger you've been using the entire time?" was occasionally monotonous, the people I worked with made the time pass quickly and happily. I couldn't be more thankful to everyone who I worked with on a long 13 hour day, for the support after a guest was unhappy, and for the friendships I will always remember. Even though we had a not so appealing lavender costume with Epcot balls all over them, I think we rocked it. Hanging out with all or any of you on exit 13 (now 17 or something) and watching the holiday fireworks was always my favorite thing as well as adventures in IG. International Gateway was my home for more than a month at the beginning of the program, and even though not many CP's worked back there at first, it became one of my favorite places to work. Gate keepers, you shall not pass, and what time is it are my favorite things. All that's left to say is, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1...GO EPCOT!" Miss you all!
4) Being able to text or call someone and say, "hey you wanna go to downtown Disney or Magic Kingdom?"
Occasionally I took for granted how awesome it was to be living at WDW. Now I go to class, come back, go to the gym, do homework, see friends for a bit, and then sleep. Meanwhile if I was at Disney right now I would probably text my friends asking if they wanted to go watch the fireworks from the Polynesian or go to the Magic Kingdom to go on the Haunted Mansion. I miss being able to randomly do something fun involving Disney. There was never a dull moment my entire program, so now it feels extra weird having a lot of downtime at school. I think if I was back in Florida right now I would be at the Magic Kingdom, finally meeting Princess Tiana (Michelle and I never got around to meeting her), and going on the Jungle Cruise. Maybe even some Mickey ice cream bars would be involved. Basically, for 5 months I didn't realize how awesome it was to go to Saratoga Spring and get lost, to explore the world showcase daily, or to know all the words to Wishes. What I'm saying is: take me back.
5) Florida Weather
Okay, I never thought I'd say this. August and September I think I lost 10 lbs simply from sweating all the time from the hot humid days. But now that I'm back in NY, I miss the sun shining everyday and the warm days where I could wear shorts. Now I walk outside and my jaw is already quivering from the blast of cold air. Now not only are my lips chapped, but so is my face. Like seriously, that shouldn't happen NY! I also miss being able to go to the beach year round. There are beaches near my school, but if I went right now I would most definitely freeze my arse off. Even though Florida weather was occasionally a little random with rain and cold days, it's better than freezing every day.
So for now that's all I'm going to write about. Maybe I'll make this a series: things I miss most about WDW. Yeah, that sounds good. I promise I don't miss sushi more than my roomies or Epcot family, but I woke up really hungry so that's probably why I wrote about it first. If you read all of this, thanks! Stick around for another post in the next week or so.
