It's like 'Parade', but with an 'M'!

As a cultural representative, I represent Northern Ireland in the UK Pavilion in Epcot.

However, a lot of guests are unaware that the UK Pavilion actually represents four countries; England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland; and many think of it as the 'English Pavilion'.

This may be the reason for guests becoming slightly confused when they hear my rich Northern Ireland accent (Not as bad as Cora's though) :)

Which brings me to the main part of this blog post - the top ten things people say to me whilst working in the UK Pavilion.

1. 'Where in England are you from'?
2. 'Oh my god you're Irish'?
3. 'Lurgan, is that near London'?
4. 'Are you a leprechaun'?
5. 'Is that really your accent'?
6. 'Why are you working in the UK pavilion if you are Irish'?
7. 'I'm 1/16th Irish - my name is Murphy',
8. 'I love your freckles',
9. 'Do you know my cousin John Finnegan from Dublin'?

However, the question I get asked the most at work;

'How do you pronounce your name'?

Well...

It's like 'Parade', but with an 'M'.

10 Things that Americans do different

Okay. So American life is a lot different than life back home. In fact, majorly different. 

The food is different, the people are different, the weather is different. Everything is different. Here is a list of everything that I find different in America.

1. The Food;

Back home in Northern Ireland, we enjoy a good Irish Fry Up; potato bread, soda bread, sausages, bacon, eggs, Heinz baked beans & if you're feeling really adventurous, maybe a fried pancake as well. In America, the bacon is awful and they have wieners in place of sausages. Totally dissatisfying! 

Back home we also have a Sunday Roast Dinner; potatoes, roast beef, gravy, vegetables and maybe one or two Yorkshire puddings! Over here in the US, our Sunday dinner is a Wendy's or a Dominos. 

We also sell amazing sweets back in Northern Ireland, as well as chocolate and crisps! (Or potato chips if you are American). American stores do not sell multi-packs of crisps; and the one thing I would love to have in my cupboard is a multi-pack of 30 bags of Tayto! (By the way, that was a major hint to anyone who is thinking of sending any surprise packages to America anytime soon).

2. The Weather;

So back in Northern Ireland, a nice day would be classed as anything over 15 degrees. Anything over 20 degrees and that justifies boys walking around shirtless, and girls getting their most amazing summer dresses on.

In America, anything less than 75 degrees Fahrenheit, then that justifies wearing a hoodie and a pair of sweats. Bear in mind also that 75 degrees Fahrenheit is almost 24 degrees Celsius. And that is quite cold!

3. The People;

American people are generally lovely; but their mannerisms and personalities are completely different to those I am regularly used to. 

For example, a lot of Americans aren't very good when it comes to interacting with someone from another country. I regularly get asked 'Where in England are you from'? and 'Is that really your accent'?

I have also almost lost count at the number of times I have been asked to 'say hello to me in your native language'. 'Um, hello'?

Not to mention the famous question that I get asked 17 million times a day; 'Oh my gosh, how do you pronounce your name'?

4. Hygiene Products;

When I arrived in the US, I had to go to Walmart on my first night to buy some essentials because the airport had lost my luggage, I was extremely surprised to see that Americans do not use spray deodorant. WHAT??

As well as this; I find it almost impossible to find nice baby wipes! They do not exist over here - so if you ever plan on living in America, bring a lifetime supply of baby wipes and spray deodorant!

5. Television;

American television; Keeping up with the Kardashians, Ridiculousness, Friends - there are so many amazing television series. 

I love seeing the opening credits of friends and singing the theme tune, 'Well it hasn't been your day, week, your month, or even your year, do do do do do'. BOOM! Advertisement.

Why are there so many adverts on American television? I flick through the channels and its advert after advert after advert. Noooooo! Why can't I just watch an episode of friends without seeing so many adverts!

6. Money;

In the UK, we have 7 types of coins - 1p, 2p, 10p, 20p, 50p a £1 and a £2 coin. In America we have 4 types of coins - pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. 

The most annoying thing about American money though, has to be the one dollar bill. Your purse could be bursting, and you think you have lots of money - when in reality, you really only have $17 in one dollar bills. Epic fail. 

7. Sports;

In life, I love nothing better than sitting down in front of the TV and watching some Football! (Soccer for all of you knowledgeable American Sports fans). 

I really miss watching Manchester United play, and the time difference between here and the UK, it is difficult to keep up to date. So I am stuck with American Football. And it's not even real Football.

8. Tipping and Sales Tax;

It is not only common courtesy to tip in America, but it is expected - and most people tip at least 18% - 20%. Add on a little bit of sales tax as well - and the $19.99 Steak that you have just ordered might now just cost you at least $25. That cocktail that costs $6 because it is 'Happy Hour', might actually cost you $8.50 now.

Tipping is not just exclusive to restaurants or bars either; you are even expected to tip your Dominos delivery driver, and your hairdresser too! 

Don't forget the sales tax too - it can spring a little surprise when you head to the checkout! Always have a little extra money with you in case of emergency, and to avoid the embarrassment when your card is declined at the till! (Yes, that has happened me).

9. The legal drinking age;

One of the most annoying aspects of living in America - the legal drinking age. In the UK, the drinking age is 18; in America it is 21. 

Being 20 years of age in America is absolutely awful! You can't go into an off licence and get a few bottles of beer because you will be ID'd. You can't have a nice cocktail at a restaurant with your friends because you will get ID'd. 

Roll on January when I turn 21 - there will be major celebrations!

10. Driving

When I arrived in America, my good friend Eddie picked me up from the airport. I tried to get in to the left hand side of the car, and not realising that it was actually the driver's seat and not the passenger seat. The American road system is so unusual compared to home; there are so many main roads, not a lot of roundabouts, and you don't have to have a number plate on the front of your car. So weird!

So, those are the ten things that I find different about living in America compared to living at home in Northern Ireland. Let me know if you think I have missed anything out! Thanks again for reading! Mairéad.

October Adventures - Volunteering, Mickey's Retreat, and a Missing Minion!

October has been filled with adventure and excitement; I've been working a lot more and earning more money, I was able to visit the Disney parks a few times, and I have spent some amazing time with amazing people! 

As well as this, I found out that I have been accepted to volunteer with Special Olympics Florida and I have also been accepted to volunteer at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Golf Tournament in Orlando in March! I'm so pleased to be able to volunteer here in Florida, because I'm so involved with volunteering back home - especially with Special Olympics Ireland!

October has been an amazing month - and I was able to visit Mickey's Retreat for the first time, which is an area for cast members and friends to chill out and have some fun! It has two pools, paddle boats, volleyball beach courts, a play-park area, football pitches, basketball courts an tennis courts! Pretty amazing eh?

Me and Geraldine (my amazing housemate), go to Mickey's Retreat a lot because we both have Friday off work and we enjoy being able to chill out and spend some time together.

October was also a pretty significant time during my program because I finally started to go out more! Back at home I love going out with my friends, but for some reason it took me quite a while to finally move out of my comfort zone and make new friends. 

'Lasses' has been a major boost to my happiness over here in Orlando; because it's the one night a week when all the girls in the UK Pavilion can get together for a few drinks and have an amazing time! I had my first Lasses in October, and haven't missed a week since! There are some amazing people who I love spending time with and I'm so glad I've finally got involved with everything!

Not only this, I made an amazing new friend in the first week of October; and you may be surprised as to who it is..

I bought a HUGE minion from a guy who works in the UK Pavilion for 5 bucks. That's an absolute steal for a life sized yellow creature; who we eventually named Kevin. He is now Apartment 16206's new mascot!

As with all friends in life - you go through your ups and downs. Kevin has been an absolute delight to have around the house; his mere presence always brings a smile to my face.

So I was absolutely devastated to wake up one morning after Lasses, and he was gone; along with some of my potatoes (P.s, you should never steal potatoes from an Irish person).

Silly me decided to have a drunken power nap (that lasted, like 12 hours), and when I woke up to find he had disappeared, I was extremely sad and tearful. (The effects of the previous night's antics did not make me feel any better either).

So I made it my mission to get him back!

Well, actually, that was a lie; in totally honesty, I was always too tired or working to go and get him back - and he ended up in yet another persons apartment. He must have felt so homesick! 

We finally got him back a few weeks later - and he is now happy and content at being back in 16206, and is having the time of his life! I made him a promise that I will never let anyone steal him, ever again! :)

So that's it for October's Adventures! I hope you've enjoyed my posts and I promise I will update you all again soon. I will leave you all with a photo of me having a blast at Magic Kingdom! Adios amigos! :)

October Adventures - Andrew's Visit!

Okay, so I got a message from my friend Andrew in September saying 'I might be coming to Florida'. Totally didn't believe him - but then I got another message a few weeks later saying, 'I'm coming to Florida'! I was so excited to see another familiar face from home!

When he arrived, he brought me lots of chocolate from home - Freddos, Dairy Milk Caramels, Wispas, and Brandy Balls. He also collected some spray deodorant from my mum because Americans don't use spray deodorant!


We first met up and went to Hollywood Studios. Andrew's friends Michael and Caitriona came along - so we decided that we would visit the American Idol auditions first. Michael and Caitriona are both amazing singers, so they decided to audition. Little did we know how it would all end later that evening..

Caitriona was first up - singing a rendition of Kelly Clarkson's 'A Moment Like This'. The producer seemed to enjoy it! Michael sang ' Your Song' by Elton John, and she loved it as well! They both got through to the next round of producers; so we were brought to a VIP Coke Lounge where Andrew and I waited until they were finished.

Good news - Caitriona got through to the live stage show that evening! We were given a time to return to American Idol - so we had a quick walk around Hollywood Studios before we returned.

When we arrived, we were given VIP seats to watch the show! 

We waited for Caitriona to perform, and she was the last act on stage. She was incredible! The audience loved her, and luckily they voted for her to go through to the Grand Finale later that evening! 

To kill some time before the Grand Finale - we went on Toy Story Mania - which was so much fun! 

We also grabbed a bite to eat, and had a few pictures taken before we headed back to the American Idol attraction.

Again, we were brought to the VIP seats, and Caitriona was scheduled to be the last singer. After everyone had performed, the decision was down to the audience. We waited in anticipation whilst the crowd voted; and when the result was announced - Caitriona had won!! 

Her prize for winning the show was a 'Dream Ticket', which can be used at any American Idol Audition in the USA, and entitles her to skip the queue at the auditions; and the ticket never expires!

What a day! As we left, several people had waited behind to meet Caitriona and get photos. It's safe to say she felt like a celebrity!

A few days later, I had some time off from work so I stayed in the hotel with everyone so we could go to Magic Kingdom the next day. 

Andrew had never been to Florida before - and he absolutely loved Magic Kingdom. We were able to pack so much into one day, including checking out all the merchandise stores, meeting Gaston, and getting to see the amazing parade! (Which conveniently rhymes with my name).

After a majorly long day at Magic Kingdom, we decided to head to Epcot to watch the fireworks and illuminations; even though I get to watch them every night at work! 

I also bought everyone some chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop which I work in; and they loved them!

After Illuminations, it was time to head home, Andrew going back to the hotel, and myself going back to my apartment. It was the last time I saw him before he headed back to Ireland so it was pretty sad saying goodbye! I wish the visit could have lasted longer because I had an amazing time - and hopefully they will want to come back again before my cultural representative program ends!