St. Augustine, Kennedy Space Center, Universal Orlando and the NEW iPad...

A few weeks back I was able to attend a very close friend of mines sister’s wedding. I have pretty much been unofficially adopted as part of the family and we spend most holidays together.

The wedding was held in St. Augustine, Florida, which is about a 4 hours drive up along the coast north towards Georgia. St. Augustine is the oldest city founded n the USA by Spanish settlers in 1565. The city has kept the old world charm and is also home to the Fountain of Youth.

The wedding service was held on the beach and it was a beautiful day in a perfect setting. We partied the night away to a reggae band, good food and plenty of champagne.

After the wedding a few of us made our way into the city and ended up at one of the local bars which stocked 155 different bottled beers from around the world. Lets just say the rest of the evening was a blur…

The next day we spent a lazy day recovering and strolling the streets of St. Augustine surrounding ourselves in history and taking a tour of the old fort. We also got to witness a re-enactment of the
invasion of the British with the firing of canons and muskets through the narrow streets. We finished up the day with an amazing meal and good wine at the Tasting Room – highly recommended!

On my drive back from St. Augustine, I decided to stop and spend the day at Kennedy Space Center. WOW! What an experience. I got to feel like a real astronaut during the space shuttle launch experience, which is simulated, but as close to the real thing as you can get. I was in awe thinking back to 1981 when I was a young boy sitting at my home in South Africa watching the launch of Columbia, never to imagine that I would one day be standing right there at the launch site. I was in total awe to be standing were so much history had been written and was even able to touch a rock specimen from the moon. I am also so privileged that in my time in the US,
to have watched 2 successful evening launches.

To add more action to my weekend, we had a planned Workaway outing to Universal Studios, Orlando. I have been to Universal Studios before on previous trips to the US, but never got to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter… Yes, I am a fan! It was AMAZING! Like stepping into the movies. It was packed, as it is one of the most popular attractions and people come from all over the world to be there. It was well worth the 1-hour wait to do the roller coaster ride.

We got to spend 9 hours at both theme parks and we made the most of riding every roller coaster, some more than once. The bus ride home was very quiet as everyone just passed out from pure exhaustion.

Later that week was another big event on the tech calendar, the much-anticipated launch of the new iPad. Its crazy to see what frenzy everyone gets into when it comes to Apple device, myself
included. This isn’t my first iPad, I was here in the US for the launch of the original product.

I couldn’t wait and had to order a new iPad immediately. The anticipation of waiting all week for the package to arrive on launch day was pure torture. Eventually the day arrived and it was like being a kid at Christmas… unwrapping the packaging and looking at this gleaming piece of brilliant technology. The screen resolution is incredible. You can’t believe that you can actually see things in so much detail. I love it!

Well, I am off from work this Tuesday and have decided to spend the day in South Beach, Miami with my housemate Sam. Looking forward to sipping cocktails and people watching. Details to follow in my next blog…

Author: Andre Smith

The things we're missing!

The 6 months are nearly over and happily, and sadly, I'm not going home any time soon.

But sometimes it’s more sad than happy when I realize all of the things that I'm missing. This year my parents have their 30th wedding anniversary, my sister turns 18, and my older sister will be giving birth.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s going to be easier or harder to be away from them as the month’s progress. Luckily with work and all the amazing things to see in America I don't have a lot of spare time.

What do I do in my spare time? I'm busy finishing my TEFL course which is an English teaching certification. Paid for with the money I'm making here, ha ha. If this place gives me nothing it will have given me the opportunity to further my education. It sounds corny but it’s true. When I'm finished here in hopefully another year I'm planning on moving to Chile to teach English to under privileged children.

On my way to live the dream!

But no, I really don't think it’s going to get any easier to be away from the family. Luckily we have skype, bbm and international calling from T-mobile.

Author: Melissa Rauch

The Adventure begins!

So the time has come and we get to go on our first trip, Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. Everyone super
excited about the trip, we all get the bus at 5H45 and are amped for our 3 hour bus ride to Orland.

Off we go…
Arriving just before 10am we all get going and form groups and head out to enjoy a fun filled day. I have had the
opportunity of going to Universal 4 times previously so this was number 5 and I was just as excited. I paired up with 3 good friends, Mirela from Romania, Gillian and Charl from South Africa or should I say with Cinderella, Gilly bean
and Charles as they are better known, lol.

… And so the adventure begins.

We decided to start with Universal studio park first. We went on our first roller coaster and it was an indoor coaster “the Mummy” and my was it great, with three D special effects that where amazing! Then was Men in Black :-) and that was so funny I laughed all the way, next Bart Simpson 3D roller coaster and my, did I enjoy it! and I can go on and on…

Off to Island of Adventure and a chance to shoot up into the air on a roller coaster and flip upside down before beginning an adrenalin rush and feeling weak at the knees, Wow that was great!!! “the Hulk” coaster. We got to meet Scooby Doo and Dora and even enjoy the Harry Potter ride, now that is indescribable. Jurassic Park and so many more adventurous rides and places to see. We all felt like kid’s again and enjoyed every moment. We even got to wait 40 minutes for a water ride “RipSaw” and my did we get soaked on the ride and all I heard was Cinderella and Charles laughing behind me, every time another wave came into the boat. So much fun! It is always nice to share experiences with such great people and create memories for a life time. If you have not yet been to see the Park, it is a must for everyone.

And so the adventure lives on…

Author: Lucille Earle

Sea World...What an amazing adventure!

Well the season was trudging along and I’ve yet to do anything amazing yet. My housemates and I decided on a whim to rent a car for a weekend and take a trip up on a Monday to Sea World.

I’ve been to Sea World before, but it was at least 6yrs ago after a very long and tiring season, so I was really looking forward to this trip. We got up early in the morning and packed up the car for the 2 hours drive north to Orlando.

Walking into Sea World you are greeted by the Manta, one of the craziest rollercoasters I’ve ever seen. You basically hang like a stingray facing the ground and fly through the air and around some very twisty bends. After the rush of the first ride, we immediately ran back to do the ride again, and again.

One of the most amazing things is watching the Orca Whale show, Shamu. There is nothing more awe inspiring than watching these giants of the oceans perform majestic routines.

We then moved on to ride the Kraken. A rollercoaster that is almost 2 minutes long of twists and turns. It whips you along like a sea serpent moving through the seas. Of course after the trill of the ride, we had to do it again. I did feel like my spinal cord had been detached from brain after all the rides.

Later in the day we headed to Downtown Disney and got to like all the magic of the Disney characters as well as browsing through some very cool shops. The day ended with dinner at Planet Hollywood.

The next adventure planned is a 4-day trip next week to St. Augustine, one of the oldest cities in the USA. Founded in 1512, this historic city has still kept its old world charm. I will be there to attend a true American beach wedding.

After the wedding, I’ll be heading with the whole group from Addison Reserve to Universal Studios, so it will be a good 5 day mini vacation.

So, there will be more of my adventures to report in my next blog.

I also can’t believe that I am over half way through my stay here in the USA for this season and soon it will be time to return home to start the new recruitment season with Workaway. Presentation dates have already been posted on the Workaway website. Looking forward to seeing all the new recruits and to those that are on the program, don’t forget to refer your friends to the program for an incentive bonus at the end of the recruitment season.

Author: Andre Smith

Great work, great fun!

So...the season is in full swing now, everyone is running around and so busy at work. So many things going on but this is what we are here for... to work hard.

Is that time of the season when everyone is working so hard so we can get an opportunity to go up north for the next season, with interviews that have just happened we all very anxious to see how we did and who will be going to which club, it’s very exciting but on the other hand very nervous times for all, all you have to hope for is the best. We all can’t stop talking about what we will do when we “hopefully” get there :)

In the meantime you just have to make the best of the time while you are here, I Always have such a great time knowing that I’m so lucky to be here and experiencing all these great things that the US has to offer.

There is just so many things we are planning to do, Universal studios in the next few weeks is going to be amazing, all the AWESOME rides and roller coasters are overwhelming, if you think Gold Reef City or Ratanga Junction is fun you have seen nothing yet until you get to Universal,

CANT WAIT!!!!

So many things to do but time just goes by so quick...

Hope everyone in the USA is having lots of fun and the people reading this in South Africa get over here it is all worth it, you will have the time of your life!!!!

Author: Tyrone Havenga

Weeds!

The creation of weeds is a beautiful thing.

It’s that time of the season. Everyone hustling to try and go up north or making up their minds to go home and work beginning to get the better of us all. 'Uncle' meets with us to chat and keep us motivated, managers try to keep us going and so do your friends and family you make during your time here. Keeping yourself motivated at this point is essential to your survival (corny but true) so basically what I’m saying is, you got to laugh and smile, even if it’s at silly things, even if it’s at yourself. Things actually aren’t that bad when you really look at it. I'm glad I’m here, the experiences I’ve gained while here are priceless and worth all the emo times. I’m good for now (till I eat too many sweeties and get sugar rushes late at night) so…

I’m keeping this short and sweet because sometimes less is more (think about that!). It’s true that the little things in life sometimes matter the most so smile guys, it could be worse.

Author: Michelle Lowe

So America is still treating us well!

We have no car, and so is going out are limited. So we bought bicycles! It helps keep us fit and it helps us get around, coz everything is not really that far away. However, our fellow workers have been ever so accommodating. I work in the spa and one of the American girls oh so kindly hosted a secret Santa Christmas party at her house. It was great fun with all the girls getting together and giving out their gifts. And there was great food! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jaleigh for the memorable night.

We have also spent a day in Miami. It is just a hop, skip and a jump away, or more like a cycle train and bus ride to Miami. We spent a lovely day on the beach and went bar hopping along the gorgeous Ocean Drive. All the restaurants are on the pavement and they all have great specials. We can’t wait to go back!

It’s now the end of January, and our country club is taking us to Busch Gardens, which is an Adventure Park, next weekend. We are very excited and cannot wait to go on all the thrilling rides, and they have a zoo, so that will be super interesting to see. But apparently there is this ride that goes up 130 feet high, and it takes you down a 90degree slope head first!!!! EEEKKK. Can’t wait!

Well next blog I will tell you how awesome all the rides are! We plan to go to Universal Studios next month. That will be EPIC!

Till next time!
Big hug from America!

Authors: Roxane Gordon and Daniel Pfeil