{All about Disney...}

Today was day one of being a Disney employee. We sat through hours of orientation, trainings, demos, and measuring ( my least favorite part).
What struck me most today was how much of a connection I have without realizing it to the Disney brand. I could date my childhood based on movies, and knew more characters and movies than anyone else in my group. There are a lot of different ways to teach in China and abroad, but I feel very excited to be able to do this through Disney, and the unique experience and program that is being formed over here.
A little about Disney English:
So, for those who don't know, I'm not just teaching in a university or provencial private school in the middle of nowhere. 3 years ago, Disney actually started a business in China opening up centers that target 2-7 year old children specifically for a fun, American style English program. The genious that is Disney has created an entertainment based emersion program that is extremely interractive, efficient, and motivating to young learners. Each classroom maxes out at 15 children, has one foreign trainer ( like me) and one local assistant trainer, and is decorated based on a disney movie. The rooms ar decked out in the latest technology and equipped with  high energy curriculum that includes music by Ralph Covert who actually is the brother of the woman ( Nancy) that I worked with prior to coming here.
The program is expanding faster than anyone expected, and new centers are opening up almost on a monthly basis in different cities around China. They are also looking to expand to other countries in the very near future. The opportunities are quite good and if I wanted to, there's tons of room to move up, stay longer, and do some really cool things with the company in the future. For right now, though, I think we'll take it one day at a time.

We were treated to an amazing ( and rather fancy) family style lunch lazy susan included at a restaruant that had dish, after dish of mouth watering Sechuan cuisine. I don't know who told me that this food wouldn't live up to my expectations, but they were wrong. We had a couple of local girls sitting at our table to tell us what we were eating, but even without them it was fun trying new dishes and discovering new flavors. They even had my favorites, those scallops that I fed to Jeff in that previous post! YUMMY!
Today was a lot of fun, and I really feel great about going into this job, definitely more so than I was before. It was all wrapped up with a mango smoothie from a vendor on the way home, which just might be a new tradition while I'm here.
Have a great day!
-Ashley