Experiencing Florida

By Steffanie Martinez |Staff Writer|

There are vast differences between Florida and California.

Firstly, the thing people comment the most on is the weather.

Whenever I meet guests while working my shift, and they find out I’m from California, their first comment is always, “What are you doing here? Why would you leave?”

I never realized how great California actually is until I got to see it from an outsiders’ perspective.

Many of my friends tell me that California is “the dream.”

The humidity and constant tropical rain is not something I would like to take back home with me.

Yet living in Orlando in particular, has so much beauty that it is hard to allow the weather to hold people back from enjoying the day.

“The City Beautiful” and “The Theme Park Capital of the World” is what the city is nicknamed and also known for.

When I arrived at the airport, I was greeted by the welcome message “The City Beautiful,” I was excited but also skeptical on how great it could actually be.

Once I drove around the city it was easy to figure out why the city does live up to its reputation.

The buildings, streets and green scenery all throughout the streets were breathtaking at first glance, even now, it is something I cannot get over.

While it is simple to compare the states in terms of weather and appearance I have found that it is not as simple to compare them in terms of how they make me feel.

We do get the busy streets the same way Los Angeles becomes crowded.

But Orlando is a tourist city which makes it more difficult to narrow down exactly what residents are like.

More than likely everybody you meet living in Orlando either works for Disney, worked for Disney, or knows somebody who worked for Disney.

They come from all-around the world.

I cannot speak for all of Florida but as far as the “Disney bubble” that surrounds Orlando, I have found it has a huge resemblance to California in regards to diversity.

This makes it more difficult but even more fascinating to learn about different cultures and people’s stories.

From guests to friends that I’ve made from around the world it’s refreshing to get a perspective that helps me compare not only California from Florida, but to the rest of the world.

Even better is the fact that everyone is equally as excited to learn about each other.

Being a Latina, sharing my culture is something I have always taken pride in.

Being a part of the program has magnified that because people who are unfamiliar with it always ask questions.

Disney has given us a community within Florida that treats each other the way a huge family would.

In terms of difference, while there are quite a few, regardless of where in the world I travel to, I have come to realize it is the relationships I make that contribute to the experience the most.

Fortunately, living in Orlando has been able to give me the dream experience I hoped for, but there is no place like home.