Betcha Didn’t Know (#9 Random Fact About Me)

There’s a note going around on Facebook, “25 Random Facts About Me”, where people tag you to read their 25 random facts and then you are supposed to in turn write 25 facts about yourself. I liked reading about my friends and definitely found out things that I didn’t know before. Well, I figured that I needed more room than Facebook allowed, so why not bring it on home where I can get really funki? Get ready to find out more than you ever wanted to know about Funkidivagirl.

Betcha didn’t know that….

#9 I was a Club Med G.O.

If you are not familiar with Club Med, you can read all about in a blog post that I wrote awhile back. ”G.O.’s” are the name of the people who work at Club Med, usually for 6 months at a time at one Club before transferring to another one. It’s a fun, feel-wheeling nomadic life and most people work there for many years. I was 18 years old and spending the summer working at Club Med for college credit.

My first Club was at Sonora Bay in Mexico. Talk about an eye-opening experience! Now many Club Meds are family-friendly and just like other resort vacation spots, but back then, not so. The Clubs were in remote locations with intentionally spartan accommodations; the rooms had no televisions, phones, alarm clocks or mini-bars. But the rooms were insignificant to the Club Med experience; the grounds were beautiful, the food was magnificent and the G.O’s were there to entertain the guests day and night. A G.O. was never off-duty. After my “day job” was performed (I was a hostess for breakfast and dinner), I had the rest of the day to do what I wanted (in my case take tennis lessons, go horse-back riding or just hang out by the pool), but I was expected to chat with guests, eat with them, play games with them, put on an evening show and even encourage them to dance at the beach disco at night. It was fun, but very exhausting. By the end of my six weeks there, I was ready to move on.

The next Club Med I went to was, at that time, the only Club in North America in Copper Mountain Colorado. This was a ski resort in the winter and a camp in the summer for kids from around the world. Nestled at the foot of a mountain, it was absolutely beautiful. It took me awhile to get used to the high altitude, but I had a blast going hiking, white water rafting and doing tons of other outdoorsy activities. What fun!–until the kids came. I was in charge of the 7 year old girls and up until that point, I thought that I liked kids and would be a good camp counselor. I was wrong. The kids were bratty and whiny and I really didn’t like being with them all day every day. And to make matters worse, I really didn’t get along with the Chef de Village (the boss of the Club). His name was Tutune, an older french man who was a rude, male chauvinist pig. His girlfriend, Poo Poo, lived with him at the Club; she was about 22 years old, pouty and spoiled. Anyway, one day I had enough of Tutune, my temper got the best of me, and we got into a heated argument. As punishment, I got sent home 2 weeks early. I didn’t care; that man was crazy. I only cared if it affected my grade and thankfully it didn’t.

All in all, even with the crazy french man, it was a great experience and fueled my desire for adventure. Some of my fellow college students who were also G.O.’s that summer loved it so much that they didn’t even go back to school in the fall, but instead became full time G.O.’s. I didn’t go that far (my parents would have killed me), but I do have a special love for Club Med and try to vacation there whenever possible. If you haven’t been to a Club Med, you should go; I promise that the G.O.’s will make sure that you have a wonderful time. And even though he’s got to be pretty old by now, if you run into a crazy french man named Tutune, give a one-two punch for me. Just kidding. Kind of.

Betcha didn’t know that….

#1 I have a bad temper, I’m pretty fearless and I hate punks. And that has gotten me into trouble.

#2 I have toys in my home office. And they’re all mine.

#3 I have a library call number.

#4 I was a Keebler elf.

#5 I hate sneezes.

#6 I was a small part of the Minneapolis Sound.

#7 My father calls me Sam.

#8 People think that I am Ethiopian.